Scenic Mount Lowe
By George Wharton James.
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The Grandest Railway in the World
SCENIC MOUNT LOWE
AND ITS
Wonderful Railway
How the Sierra Madre Mountains have been surmounted by
Electric Cars, and the most Beautiful and Grand Views of
Mountain, Valley and Ocean Scenery made accessible to all
PROFUSELY ILLUSTRATED
FIFTH EDITION
BY
GEORGE WHARTON JAMES
AUTHOR OF
Travelers' Hand-book to Southern California
In and Out of the Old Missions of California
In and Around the Grand Canyon
The Indians of the Painted Desert Region
Indian Basketry; How to make Indian and other Baskets
Etc., Etc.
1905
PACIFIC ELECTRIC RAILWAY
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA
[MOUNTAINS.]
Centuries old are the mountains;
Their foreheads wrinkled and rifted,
Helios crowns by day,
Pallid, serene by night;
From their bosoms uptossed
The snows are driven and drifted
Like Lithonus' beard
Streaming, disheveled and white.
Thunder and tempest of wind
Their trumpets blow in the vastness;
Phantoms of mist and rain,
Cloud and the shadow of cloud,
Pass and repass by the gates
Of their inaccessible fastness;
Ever unmoved they stand,
Solemn, eternal and proud.
—Longfellow
in "The Mask of Pandora."
[CONTENTS.]
| PAGE | |
|---|---|
| Mountains, by Longfellow | [4] |
| Man's Love for the Mountains | [7] |
| Distinguished Testimony | [13] |
| Mount Lowe Railway | [21] |
| Origin of the Mount Lowe Railway | [23] |
| Rubio Canyon | [27] |
| Great Cable Incline | [29] |
| Echo Mountain | [31] |
| Echo Mountain House | [33] |
| Lowe Observatory | [35] |
| Professor Larkin | [38] |
| The Spectroscope | [43] |
| Great World's Fair Searchlight | [47] |
| Operating Machinery of Great Cable Incline | [49] |
| Glen Canyon | [51] |
| Mount Lowe Eight | [53] |
| Phantom Sea | [55] |
| Alpine Division | [57] |
| Nature and Art | [59] |
| Magnificent Views | [61] |
| Circular Bridge | [65] |
| Alpine Club House, Hanging of the Crane | [69] |
| Benefits of Mountain Climbing | [79] |
| Health Gained in the Mountains | [83] |
| Mountain Canyon in the Winter | [85] |
| Flora of Mount Lowe | [88] |
| Coast Islands from Mount Lowe | [93] |
| Looking from Mount Lowe Over the Valley | [94] |
| From Alpine Snow to Semi-Tropical Sea | [96] |
| From the Mountains to the Sea | [102] |
| Dawn on Mount Lowe | [104] |
| Tri-Crested Summit of Mount Lowe | [106] |
| A Forest of Pines | [106] |
| The Name | [107] |
| How to See Mount Lowe | [110] |
| Summer on Mount Lowe | [112] |
| The Summing Up | [114] |
| The Beauties of Mount Lowe | [115] |
| Other Picturesque Trips on the Pacific Electric Railway | [116] |
| Long Beach | [116] |
| Whittier | [119] |
| San Gabriel | [120] |
| Monrovia and Baldwin's Ranch | [123] |
Alpine Scenery in Winter on Shoulders of Mount Lowe.
THE MOUNT LOWE DIVISION
PACIFIC ELECTRIC RAILWAY
Scenic Mount Lowe
[Man's Love for Mountains.]
In all ages of the world man has been a lover of mountains. Ruskin says, "Mountains are the beginning and the end of all natural scenery," hence it is natural that man should love them and that they should exercise great and potent influence upon him.
Carmel, Ararat, Hor, Horeb, Nebo, Sinai, Olivet, Hermon, Calvary, and others have left—through the literature of the Bible—ineffaceable impressions upon the highest civilizations of the world. All oriental literature abounds in references to mountains, and men were incited to lives of majesty, power, and purity by contemplation of them.
Every student of Japanese literature knows the influence Fuji Yama has had upon the destinies of that thoughtful nation. Life in the mountains of Afghanistan, Beloochistan and Northern India transformed the calm, meditative, pastoral Hindoos into active, impulsive, warlike peoples, whose movements resemble somewhat the fierce storms that play upon their mountain summits or the wild winds that whirl down their canyons.
Robert T. Lincoln and Other Distinguished Visitors in the Snow near Echo Mountain, Mount Lowe Railway.
The mountain traditions of Europe would fill many large volumes, and the folk-lore of the peasantry, as to how they came by their names, makes most fascinating reading.
Who is there that cannot discern—what Sir Walter Scott so forcibly presents—the influence upon the national character of the Scots and the Swiss exercised by the rugged, bold and snow-crowned mountains of their native lands? And the proverbial philosophy of both these peoples contains many coins with a mountain superscription.
There is scarcely a poet of any age or clime whose soul since Homer made Olympus the home of the gods and Parnassus the seat of poesy, has not thankfully accepted the uplift of mountain influence.
Of nearly all the true, pure, heroic souls of history one could exclaim: "He made him friends of mountains," and we read with thrilling delight the thoughts inspired by mountains in Homer, Virgil, Dante, Goethe, Schiller, Moliere, Fenelon, Bourdaloue, Massillon, Wordsworth, Browning, Agassiz, Winchell, Clarence King, LeConte and others.
White Chariot Ascending from Rubio Canyon.
On Sinai's rugged brow it was, amid heaven's awful thunders, God showed Himself to Moses, and, through him to mankind, in the two tables of the law. On Hor's solitary peak He condescended to place the priestly Aaron in his tomb. On Carmel, His servant, the dauntless Elijah called for fire, and God responded with the devouring element from heaven. On Ararat, above the drowned world, the family that was to re-people the earth, started after their long confinement in their floating home. On Pisgah, Moses stood to survey the promised land. On Hermon Christ's transfiguration took place. On Hattin He proclaimed the beatitudes. On Calvary He was crucified, and on Olivet He ascended.
While the exigencies of business and commerce have made it necessary for the large majority of people to dwell on level plains or on the shores of the ocean, the greatest peoples and the nations which have longest maintained their independence have been those which inhabited mountainous sections, and breathed the pure air of the higher altitudes. The purest patriotism, the highest intellectual attainments, the greatest love of family, and the most perfect physical development have been found among people who were inspired by the grandeur of mountain scenery. The clinging faith and stern patriotism of the Hebrews were the result of their love of the mountains of Palestine; the love of the Greeks for the mountains on which they lived gave them the intellectual and physical vigor which enabled them to roll back the Persian hosts; the sunny mountains of Italy were an inspiration to the Romans which enabled them to rule the world, and the heroism of the Swiss in preserving their national autonomy in spite of all Europe, is the most illustrious example of what has been the history of all mountaineers. Mountains are the barriers which have preserved nations from destruction, and national borders generally run parallel with mountain ranges.
Looking Through Open Door of Alpine Tavern, Mount Lowe.
[Distinguished Testimony.]
As a specimen of many such testimonials which have been publicly given in regard to the popularity of the Mount Lowe Railway, I append herewith portions of an admirable letter written by the Hon. W. C. Patterson, late President of Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce, to its membership. The date is September 27, 1895. He said: "In the interest of my health and for the sake of most exquisite recuperation and enjoyment, I have made thus far thirty-nine visits to Echo Mountain, and several trips to the summit of Mount Lowe. I have also passed three or four times over the matchless five miles' extension which is called the 'Alpine Division,' and which extends to Mount Lowe Springs, where is situated Alpine tavern, an altitude of 5,000 feet above sea level.
"The Mount Lowe Railway, which enables one to penetrate the very heart of the Sierras with entire ease and comfort, has no counterpart in the world, either to the originality of its conception, the solution of what has been heretofore considered impossible engineering problems, or the indescribable picturesqueness of the ever-changing scenery through which it passes.
"Any one who makes a single visit becomes full of enthusiasm, but mine has grown cumulative to such an extent that language seems utterly inadequate. As I have witnessed the results of Professor Lowe's great genius, enterprise, and perseverence, and have studied his personality, I am more and more impressed with the belief that he is an unique character, and one of the great men of this progressive age.
Professor Lowe Addressing his Guests on the Suspended Boulder, Rubio Canyon.
"It is a matter of intense surprise to me, and almost disgust, that so few of our own people right here in sight of our beautiful Sierra Madre, have availed themselves of the opportunities which he has opened for studying their more than Alpine beauties, their inexhaustible and intensely interesting geological and botanical resources, to say nothing of the benefits to be derived from the delicious mountain air, freighted as it is with sweet odors and buoyant exhilaration.
"These mountains are not, as many suppose, barren and bare. Vegetation extends to the very summit, more than 6,000 feet above the sea level, and the flora which abounds is a surprise, both as to its beauty and variety. The Alpine extension passes and repasses through delightful and romantic oak groves, and through forests of stalwart pines. Prof. Lowe's discovery of the existence of a quiet, steady, clear atmosphere suggested to him the idea of establishing in these mountains scientific institutions, especially astronomical and meteorological. The former science has already been installed in the splendid observatory, which is presided over by a distinguished astronomer, who nightly delivers free lectures illustrated by glimpses of the heavenly wonders through the great telescope. This observatory has already achieved a world-wide reputation, and from the superior conditions of the atmosphere in which it is placed, numerous discoveries have already been made, while other similar institutions have made no progress. It is said that for astronomical purposes, similar atmospheric conditions can scarcely anywhere else be found. These mountain peaks ascend almost abruptly from the ocean level, and in the great valleys adjacent the fogs and mists settle, leaving the air clear and transparent. The cool ocean breezes modify the effect of the sun's rays during the day and reverse the currents at night, whereby the atmosphere is, as it were, drawn from the desert over the higher ranges—nearly twelve thousand feet in height—having such cooling effects that the waves and tremors so annoying to astronomers in other localities are entirely absent.
Ready for the Ascent to Echo Mountain.
"There exists in the minds of Eastern people an impression that Southern California is a hot climate, especially in summer. This impression arises from a variety of causes. Many assume that oranges grow only in hot countries. This is not necessarily true. They will not mature in cold climates, but they will thrive luxuriantly in mild climates. It is said that in Florida, where the summer climate is hot and sultry, oranges mature in six months, whereas a year is required in California. Another cause for the existence of a false impression as to our summer lies in the fact that heretofore some of our large hotels, which were owned by Eastern capitalists who control Eastern summer resorts closed their doors about the first of May, which is really just the period when our climate becomes the most delightful. Even when our inland districts become somewhat warm there is always delicious relief to be found at the seashore or in the mountains. It would seem strange to those not familiar with the fact that the mildest and most equable portion of our climate is found at altitudes of three to four thousand feet. Those who visited Echo Mountain during the last winter may remember that delicate flowers flourished, while at an elevation of a thousand or fifteen hundred feet above snow fell to a depth of several inches and remained in the bright sunshine but dry atmosphere several days without melting. This has made possible an interesting experience, by which within thirty minutes after leaving the beautiful flowers of Echo Mountain and the valley below one can enjoy a sleigh ride among the pines in the vicinity of 'ye Alpine tavern.' The mountain atmosphere during the full six months is so mild and dry and pure that one could sleep in the open air without the least danger of taking cold.
Hon. R. T. Lincoln, Marshall Field, and Other Distinguished Visitors in White Chariot of Great Cable Incline, Mount Lowe.
"I can guarantee that every person who goes over the Mount Lowe Railway from end to end will want to repeat the experiment and will urge his friends to go. The enterprise should have the hearty co-operation of all people interested in literary and scientific progress.
"The mountains of Switzerland, especially since the advent of mountain railroads, have made that country, with all its climatic drawbacks, a Mecca for tourists from all over the world. When the beauties and attractions of the Sierra Madre are fully made known why may not a large percentage of this vast tourist travel be attracted to our very midst?"
PROF. T. S. C. LOWE.
Group of Alders near Mount Lowe Springs.
[The Mount Lowe Railway.]
A few years since, a man whose boyhood was passed among the mountains of New England, conceived the idea that by the use of modern electrical appliances the summits of the highest peaks of the Sierra Madre could be reached and an easy route opened up whereby people could scale these heights with the same ease they ride over a modern railway. The result was the construction of the Mount Lowe Railway, the most scenic railroad on earth. The originator and constructor was Professor T. S. C. Lowe. He constantly kept in view the artistic effects as well as the engineering conditions, and the result has been a road of easy grades and one where the most artistic pictures of scenery are brought into relief.
WINTER AT MOUNT LOWE SPRINGS. Thirty Minutes from Perpetual Flowers at Echo Mountain House.
Scene near Maple Springs, Mount Lowe Railway.
[Origin of the Mount Lowe Railway.]
The genesis of the Mount Lowe Railway is not far away. In 1889 some preliminary surveys that had been made for the purpose of scaling the Sierra Madre were submitted to Professor T. S. C. Lowe. He became interested in the matter and decided to make a personal examination of the ground, and shortly afterwards placed his corps of engineers in the field for the purpose of making a thorough survey in order to determine whether the work was practicable. After the engineers had been at work upon another route for many months Professor Lowe cut the Gordian knot by suggesting the now world-renowned Great Cable Incline. It was like a revelation to the engineers, and from this on the engineering problems were of easy solution.
In Glen Canyon, near Echo Mountain, Mount Lowe.
The route starts from Altadena, a beautiful residence section about four miles north of Pasadena, from which point an electric railway runs over the high mesa and up Rubio canyon, a distance of 2-1/2 miles. The lower portion of this distance gives some very beautiful views of valley and ocean, and as the route enters the canyon it winds in and out following the devious course of the sparkling little stream which leaps over the rocks, now crossing smaller canyons on substantial bridges, and then cutting through solid rock, making a picturesque road which, were it not overshadowed by the greater glories of the upper portion, would of itself be famous. At Rubio canyon the foot of the Great Cable Incline is reached at an altitude of 2,200 feet above the sea.
Rubio Pavilion and Concert Hall, Rubio Canyon, Mount Lowe.
[Rubio Canyon.]
Rubio Canyon above the pavilion is one of the most picturesque and beautiful spots to be found in the mountains. Immediately on entering the visitor is charmed and surprised with the richness of the verdure, the trees, shrubs, ferns and flowers that greet his eye. From the valley the mountains seemed barren,—now we see that they are fairly covered with mountain mahogany, lilac, holly, and other chaparral, while in the deeper canyons, pines, spruces, bays, maples, sycamores and live oaks flourish in large numbers. Ferns, mosses and trailing vines in profusion and variety cover the rocks, while
'The witching tangle of the maiden-hair,
The sweet grace of the gold and silver ferns,
The nodding coffee fern with beauty rare'
seek shelter in hidden nooks, whose perfect solitude is only penetrated by the lover and the enthusiast.
Among the objects of interest in Rubio Canyon are Suspended Boulder, fern glens, moss grottos, peculiar stone formations, grand chasms, Ribbon Rock, Thalehaha, and nine other exquisitely beautiful waterfalls. Just below the Suspended Boulder is Mirror Lake. It extends across the complete width of the canyon, which somewhat narrows at this point, and reaches for quite a distance, being bridged by the plank walk leading to the Grand Chasm and Thalehaha Falls. The exquisite reflections of the trees, shrubs and towering rocks, together with the electric lights and Japanese lanterns on festive nights, give to Mirror Lake an indescribable charm.
Great Cable Incline, Mount Lowe.
[The Great Cable Incline.]
The distinguishing feature of the road below the summit of Echo Mountain is the Great Cable Incline, run by a novel application of electric and water power.
This marvelous piece of railroad engineering has called forth the unstinted praise of many eminent engineers. The scientific press has been unanimous in expatiating upon its unique features and designates it "the greatest mountain railway enterprise in existence," and says "the engineering problems have been solved in a manner to challenge admiration."
This Incline extends from Rubio Pavilion 2,200 feet above the sea, to the summit of Echo Mountain, 3,500 feet in altitude. It is upward of 3,000 feet in length, and makes a direct ascent of about 1,400 feet. The grade begins at 60 per cent., after passing the turnout it is 62 per cent for quite a distance, then it makes two "buckles," one to 58 per cent., and on nearing the summit to 48 per cent. Sixty-two per cent. means a rise of 62 feet in going forward 100 feet, which gives an idea of its great steepness.
The cars are permanently attached to an endless cable, and are so balanced that in ascending and descending they pass each other at an automatic turnout, exactly midway on the Incline, and are so arranged as to keep passengers always on the level, regardless of the steep grades of the Incline.
The cable is of the finest steel and was thoroughly tested to a strain of ONE HUNDRED TONS, and, as under any circumstances the loaded cars will never exceed FIVE TONS, its absolute safety is at once apparent.
"White Chariot" nearing Summit of Echo Mountain. On Least Grade of Great Cable Incline.
The view, in ascending, is indescribably grand. The motion is smooth and easy as if soaring to the clouds on wings.
At first, the mountains composing the Rubio Amphitheater appear to rise with the car, and yet the view enlarges every moment. Passing through Granite Gorge,—an immense cut in the mountain slope, where all the workmen who could possibly be crowded upon the mass were engaged for eight long months before a single tie could be laid—over the Macpherson Trestle—an immense bridge, 200 feet long and 100 feet higher at one end than the other—the San Gabriel Valley unfolds its incomparable charms, and, as the elevation increases, the view expands until, on reaching the verandas of Echo Mountain Chalét, the whole scene is presented in its full glory.
The grade of this Incline was such that burros had to carry cement and water for building the walls and buttresses, before the track could be laid, and, as there were many points where not even burros could climb in safety, men carried the required materials on their shoulders.
[Echo Mountain.]
Seen from below, Echo Mountain appears as a mere abutment from the main range, but when one stands on its summit the name "Mountain" is then seen to be singularly appropriate, for it is dissevered, except by a small "saddle," from the main range by Glen and Echo Canyons—canyons half a mile and more in width and over a thousand feet in depth. Hence the location on this mountain, midway between the San Gabriel Valley and Mount Lowe, with towering mountains and abysmal canyons, affords a variety of scenery almost inconceivable to the dweller in the valley.
Echo Mountain Chalet and White Chariot on Great Cable Incline.
This outlook, 3,500 feet above the level of the sea, with mountains, foothills, ever verdant valleys, cities, towns, villages, old missions, sea beach, shipping, islands and ocean in full view, has no equal.
Thirty miles of bridle roads radiate from Echo Mountain, on which guests may roam or ride into romantic canyons, dells and nooks innumerable with freedom and safety.
These foot paths and bridle roads and the scenery they reach are not equalled at any resort on the surface of the globe. An entire week can easily be spent in rambles without visiting the same place twice, and then only a small portion of the delightful mountain and canyon recesses will have been explored.
[Echo Mountain House.]
On the crest of Echo Mountain Professor Lowe placed two hotels, one "The Chalet," which still remains, the other, "Echo Mountain House," which was destroyed by fire three years ago. It was a superbly equipped hotel, of magnificent proportions and unequalled outlook, where many visitors from all parts of the world congregated. It is the intention of the Pacific Electric Railway to rebuild Echo Mountain House in the near future. This decision will be gratifying to those who have experienced the delights of this beautiful hotel in the past. The exact location of the new hotel is not yet decided.
LOWE OBSERVATORY, With Hotel and Buildings on Echo Mountain, Mount Lowe Railway, after a Snow Fall.
[Lowe Observatory.]
This Observatory is located on a slope above Echo Mountain. A walk has been constructed from the Hotel to the Observatory, so that all who desire to visit it may do so without inconvenience or fatigue.
It is presided over by Professor Edgar Larkin. The instrument with which he is now searching the heavens is a 16-inch refractor, made in his best days, by Alvan Clark, the late lamented lens-maker of Cambridge, Mass., and it is, according to the maker's testimony, the best glass he ever made.
Professor Larkin thus writes of the advantages of the Lowe Observatory for astronomical work:
"The site of this institution is ideal, both for telescopic and spectroscopic purposes. So great is the purity of the air that both these instruments can be used in the most accurate measurement. The definition of the stars and disks of the planets is perfect, and the entire year presents but few nights during which a micrometer cannot be used. Stellar spectra are clear cut and steady, and in the solar spectrum the Fraunhofer lines are perfectly defined, the thin lines, in diameter equal to that of a spider's web, can be seen without difficulty. Few observatories in the world have a clearer sky, or a location presenting less trouble from air currents and changes. To illustrate the clearness of the atmosphere, it will be merely necessary to state that the trapezium in the Great Nebula in Orion shows distinctly at the exact instant of rising over the mountain peaks! The writer has often observed the trapezium—the entire seven stars—when only one minute had elapsed since rising over the rocks forming the summit of the mountains! This will be appreciated by all who have long used a telescope in any of the Eastern observatories. The moon is white—not yellow, and the floors of the craters, the cones, whence escaped molten lava ages ago, and the delicate tracery of shadows are revealed with marvellous accuracy of detail.
The 16 inch Equatorial Telescope of the Lowe Observatory, Echo Mountain.
"Nebulæ can be seen here that are invisible in many other instruments of equal or greater aperture. Double stars are separated at this observatory, that would seem to be beyond the power of a sixteen-inch glass. Closely packed clusters are dispersed into separate diamonds, rubies and sapphires. But no tongue or pen can describe the glories of the Milky Way. Imagine jet black velvet spread over with heaps, streamers and spirals, made up of every possible color of precious gem—with diamonds in excess. These stars all separately invisible to the unaided eye, are seen as individual points in the telescope. They glitter with supernal light, and scintillate in every hue of the spectrum. They are piled up by the million on the inconceivable blackness of infinite space, for never-ending space is black in the telescope. The Zodiacal light in autumnal evenings and mornings is seen extending almost to the zenith—a cone of pearly light.