Evening Republican, Volume 23, Number 210, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 31 August 1920 — LOG OF TRIP TO YOSEMITE [ARTICLE]

LOG OF TRIP TO YOSEMITE

WRITTEN BY JOHN WALKER, FORMER REPORTER OF THIS CIRCUIT. The following article from the pen of our former court reporter and very popular former fellow townsman is taken from the Tucson Citizen, published at Tucson, Ariz. The article will appear in installment of. which-the following is the fourth: At Carson City. “Upon arriving at Carson City, we took the mountain road to beautiful Loke Tahoe. This is a steady climb of 15 miles, the greater part of which has to be made in the low gear, for its is very steep, and a great deal of the way a sheer wall of rock on the outside of hundreds of feet. When the top is reached, upon turning a sharp curve, the lake is seen, and the first glimpse of it is ample to pay for the hardships of the trip up. “Upon leaving Lake Tahoe, we took tne Placerville road out, which is the old ’49 trail used by the early immigrants coming into California. A few miles from Tahoe the highest point on the Sierras is-reached,-and from that point on it is a general descent. The entire trail is marked, showing the points of interest that have been there in the early days. Such as “At this point ‘Straw’ Berry had a tavern and it was well patronized,” or “here the overland stage changed horses in the early ’so’s.” Every few miles a marker of this kind is found. Near Placerville, a stone monument has been erected where one of the Virginia City stages was held up just following the Civil War, and the messenger, driver, and deputy sheriff were killed. The robbers were captured /md said they had held up the stage to secure money to assist the Confederate cause, but regardless of their intentions, were executed at Placerville. At Placerville, the good paved roads are again encountered, and our road troubles are over, for it is a paved road into Sacramento and from these to San Francisco. “Inasmuch as Tucson is contemplating a free camp ground for tourists, a Vrord in this regard. After having talked with a great many tourists, some of whom used city camp grounds on. all their trips, others where it was more convenient .than going to hotels, I found that the average tourists does not want a camp ground that is in the heart of a city, but one that is on the outside, or better yet, one that is a short distance outside of town. Instead of* a large number of buildings, he would prefer tables, and a place to make a fire to do ms cooking, toilets for men and women and good water. He will get his supplies in town and drive out to the camp ground where he is away from the city. A place provided to put the garbage, and a few well worded signs placed around will call attention to these facts, add he will clean up his camp when he is ready to go. Such signs as Leave this camp as you would wish to find it,” will appeal to the average motorist, and if he has a place to put his rubbish, he will gather it up and put it there. Old Day Romance. “Some twenty miles from Reno, Nevada, stands the .‘House of Wedding Presents,’ which is a living demonstration of the fickleness of fortune. , , o “In about 1859 Lemuel S. Bowers, commonly known as Sandy, was an easy-going miner m Gold Canyon. Mrs.- Cowen was a cook and did washing and mending for the miners. A mutual attachment grew up between *Sandy and the humble washerwoman, and with the announcement of their engagement, the miners did them honor m true days “wildcat” mining stock was being freely most of which was not wort " t “ paper it was printed on. When ‘Sandy’ and Mrs. Cowen were married, theT miners, as a J oke - Presented, them with several 4 gunkß full of mining certificates. Sandy and his bride carefully preserved the gift, and seemed proud of the thoughtfulness of their fnends. Then the wheel of fortune turned, a mining boom came, and this paper which everyone considered

worthless, Became --- ---- and Mrs. Bowers became Billionaires overnight. “Upon finding the ordinary ways of spending money tame, the couple -looked around for a suitable site upon which to build their home, and finally decided upon a spot in J foe Washoe valley, surrounded by statelv nines. Before the house and garUTL completed MQO.OOO been spent. A large portion of this amount was paid in those aiding him in . “L plans and selecting the The stone came from the east, hard wood from the north, fur^” re Europe, and furnishings from Japan. The hinges and door knobs were of ' solid silver, and the doors were ’elaborately carved. Expensive pictures hung on the waMs, and the • house supplied withsilverware and china costing, a fortune. The gar--4 den was landscaped, and fountains

erected, warm water there! or oeing brought down from the hot springs in the mountains.. The entertainment was lavish, and gay patties were given from one year end to another. Musicians were brought from San Francisco, Sacramento and other places at great expense, and the couple were never tired of spending their easily acquired wealth. But their money was gone before they were aware of it, and /SaW M ”: ers then tried to make a living by conducting the house as a hotel for the accommodation of her friends, but the friends did not take kindly to paying for what they had heretofore received for nothing, and the project was a failure. She for several years, often times without sufficient food and finally died, and was buried alongside of her "husband on the mountain side back of the famous house, where they now lie in peace. “The house stood idle for many years, and has recently been purchased for the sum of $1,500 and is now used as a resort where light refreshments are served, and dancing indulged in. It is a place now much visited by tourists, many auto parties going a long ways out of their road to visit this once famous ‘House of Wedding Presents,’ a standing relic of the old west. , (Conclusion.)