Title: The Lake of the Sky
Author: George Wharton James
Release date: August 13, 2004 [eBook #13170]
Most recently updated: December 18, 2020
Language: English
Credits: Produced by Ronald Holder and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team.
California is proving itself more and more the wonderland of the United States. Its hosts of annual visitors are increasing with marvelous rapidity; its population is growing by accretions from the other states faster than any other section in the civilized world. The reasons are not far to seek. They may be summarized in five words, viz., climate, topography, healthfulness, productiveness and all-around liveableness. Its climate is already a catch word to the nations; its healthfulness is attested by the thousands who have come here sick and almost hopeless and who are now rugged, robust and happy; its productiveness is demonstrated by the millions of dollars its citizens annually receive for the thousands of car-loads (one might almost say train-loads) of oranges, lemons, grape-fruit, walnuts, almonds, peaches, figs, apricots, onions, potatoes, asparagus and other fruits of its soil; and its all-around home qualities are best evidenced by the growth, in two or three decades, of scores of towns from a merely nominal population to five, ten, twenty, forty or fifty thousand, and of the cities of San Francisco, Los Angeles and Oakland to metropolises, the two former already claiming populations of half a million or thereabouts.
As far as its topography, its scenic qualities, are concerned, the world of tourists already has rendered any argument upon that line unnecessary. It is already beginning to rival Switzerland, though that Alpine land has crowded populations within a day's journey to draw from. One has but to name Monterey, the Mt. Shasta region, Los Angeles, San Diego and Coronado, the Yosemite, Lake Tahoe, the Big Trees, the King and Kern River Divide, Mono Lake and a score of other scenic regions in California to start tongues to wagging over interesting reminiscences, whether it be in London, Paris, Berlin, Madrid or Petrograd.
Books galore are being published to make California's charms better known, and it has long seemed strange to me that no book has been published on Lake Tahoe and its surrounding country of mountains, forests, glacial valleys, lakes and canyons, for I am confident that in one or two decades from now its circle of admirers and regular visitors will include people from all over the civilized world, all of whom will declare that it is incomparable as a lake resort, and that its infinite variety of charm, delight and healthful allurement can never adequately be told.
Discovered by the "Pathfinder" Frémont; described in the early days of California history and literature by John Le Conte, Mark Twain, Thomas Starr King, Ben C. Truman, and later by John Vance Cheney and others; for countless centuries the fishing haunt of the peaceable Nevada Washoes, who first called it Tahoe—High or Clear Water—and of the California Monos; the home of many of their interesting legends and folk-lore tales; occasionally the scene of fierce conflicts between the defending Indians and those who would drive them away, it early became the object of the jealous and inconsequent squabbling of politicians. Its discoverer had named it Mountain Lake, or Lake Bonpland, the latter name after the traveling and exploring companion of Baron von Humboldt, whose name is retained in the Humboldt River of Nevada, but when the first reasonably accurate survey of its shores was made, John Bigler was the occupant of the gubernatorial chair of the State of California and it was named after him. Then, later, for purely political reasons, it was changed to Tahoe, and finally back to Bigler, which name it still officially retains, though of the thousands who visit it annually but a very small proportion have ever heard that such a name was applied to it.
| Clouds Over the Mountain, Lake Tahoe |
Clouds Over the Mountain, Lake Tahoe
Click photo to see full-sized. |
In turn, soon after its discovery, Tahoe became the scene of a mining excitement that failed to "pan out," the home of vast logging and lumber operations and the objective point to which several famous "Knights of the Lash" drove world-noted men and women in swinging Concord coaches. In summer it is the haunt of Nature's most dainty, glorious, and alluring picturesqueness; in winter the abode, during some days, of the Storm King with his cohorts of hosts of clouds, filled with rain, hail, sleet and snow, of fierce winds, of dread lightnings, of majestic displays of rudest power. Suddenly, after having covered peak and slope, meadow and shore, with snow to a depth of six, eight, ten or more feet, the Storm King retires and Solus again reigns supreme. And then! ah, then is the time to see Lake Tahoe and its surrounding country. The placid summer views are exquisite and soul-stirring, but what of Tahoe now? The days and nights are free from wind and frost, the sun tempers the cold and every hour is an exhilaration. The American people have not yet learned, as have the Europeans in the Alps, the marvelous delights and stimulations of the winter in such a place as Lake Tahoe. But they will learn in time, and though a prophet is generally without honor in his own country, I will assume a role not altogether foreign, and venture the assertion that I shall live to see the day when winter visitors to Lake Tahoe will number more than those who will visit it throughout the whole of the year (1914) in which I write. One of the surprises often expressed by those I have met here who have wintered in the Alps is that no provision is made for hotel accommodation during the winter at Lake Tahoe.
To return, however, to the charms of Tahoe that are already known to many thousands. Within the last two or three decades it has become the increasingly popular Mecca of the hunter, sportsman, and fisherman; the natural haunt of the thoughtful and studious lover of God's great and varied out-of-doors, and, since fashionable hotels were built, the chosen resort of many thousands of the wealthy, pleasure-loving and luxurious. What wonder that there should be a growing desire on the part of the citizens of the United States—and especially of California and Nevada—together with well-informed travelers from all parts of the world, for larger knowledge and fuller information about Lake Tahoe than has hitherto been available.
To meet this laudable desire has been my chief incitement in the preparation of the following pages, but I should be untrue to my own devotion to Lake Tahoe, which has extended over a period of more than thirty years, were I to ignore the influence the Lake's beauty has had over me, and the urge it has placed within me. Realizing and feeling these emotions I have constantly asked with Edward Rowland Sill:
What can I for such a world give back again?
And my only answer has been, and is, this:
In looking over the files of more of less ephemeral literature, as well as the records of the explorations of early days, I have been astonished at the rich treasures of scientific and descriptive literature that have Lake Tahoe as their object. Not the least service this unpretentious volume will accomplish is the gathering together of these little-known jewels.
It will be noticed that I have used the word Sierran rather than Alpine throughout these pages. Why not? Why should the writer, describing the majestic, the glorious, the sublime of the later-formed mountain ranges of earth, designate them by a term coined for another and far-away range?
I would have the reader, however, be careful to pronounce it accurately. It is not Sy-eer-an, but See-ehr-ran, almost as if one were advising another to "See Aaron," the brother of Moses.
Tahoe is not Teh-o, nor is it Tah-ho, nor Tah-o. The Washoe Indians, from whom we get the name, pronounce it as if it were one syllable Tao, like a Chinese name, the "a" having the broad sound ah of the Continent.
Likewise Tallac is not pronounced with the accent on the last syllable (as is generally heard), but Tal['x]-ac.
While these niceties of pronunciation are not of vast importance, they preserve to us the intonations of the original inhabitants, who, as far as we know, were the first human beings to gaze upon the face of this ever-glorious and beautiful Lake.
When Mark Twain and Thomas Starr King visited Tahoe it was largely in its primitive wildness, though logging operations for the securing of timber for the mines of Virginia City had been going on for some time and had led to the settlement at Glenbrook (where four great saw mills were in constant operation so long as weather permitted), and the stage-road from Placerville to Virginia City demanded stopping-stations, as Myers, Yanks, Rowlands and Lakeside.
| Vineyard on the Automotive Highway between Placerville and Lake Tahoe |
Vineyard on the Automotive Highway between Placerville and Lake Tahoe
Click photo to see full-sized. |
But to-day, while the commercial operations have largely ceased, the scenic attractions of Lake Tahoe and its region have justified the erection of over twenty resorts and camps, at least two of them rivaling in extent and elaborateness of plant any of the gigantic resort hotels of either the Atlantic or Pacific coasts, the others varying in size and degree, according to the class of patronage they seek. That these provisions for the entertainment of travelers, yearly visitors, and health seekers will speedily increase with the years there can be no doubt, for there is but one Lake Tahoe, and its lovers will ultimately be legion. Already, also, it has begun to assert itself as a place of summer residence. Fifteen years ago private residences on Lake Tahoe might have been enumerated on the fingers of the two hands; now they number as many hundreds, and the sound of the hammer and saw is constantly heard, and dainty villas, bungalows, cottages, and rustic homes are springing up as if by magic.
Then Lake Tahoe was comparatively hard to reach. Now, the trains of the Southern Pacific and the Lake Tahoe Railway and Transportation Company deposit one on the very edge of the Lake easier and with less personal exertion than is required to go to and from any large metropolitan hotel in one city to a similar hotel in another city.
It is almost inevitable that in such a book as this there should be some repetition. Just as one sees the same peaks and lakes, shore-line and trees from different portions of the Lake—though, of course, at slightly or widely differing angles—so in writing, the attention of the reader naturally is called again and again to the same scenes. But this book is written not so much with an eye to its literary quality, as to afford the visitor to Lake Tahoe—whether contemplative, actual, or retrospective—a truthful and comprehensive account and description of the Lake and its surroundings.
It will be observed that in many places I have capitalized the common noun Lake. Whenever this appears it signifies Lake Tahoe—the chief of all the lakes of the Sierras.
While it is very delightful to sit on the veranda or in the swinging seats of the Tavern lawn, or at the choice nooks of all the resorts from Tahoe City completely around the Lake, it is not possible to write a book on Lake Tahoe there. One must get out and feel the bigness of it all; climb its mountains, follow its trout streams; ride or walk or push one's way through its leafy coverts; dwell in the shade of its forests; row over its myriad of lakes; study its geology, before he can know or write about Tahoe.
This is what I have done.
And this is what I desire to urge most earnestly upon my reader. Don't lounge around the hotels all the time. Get all you want of that kind of recreation; then "go in" for the more strenuous fun of wandering and climbing. Go alone or in company, afoot or horseback, only go! Thus will Tahoe increase the number of its devoted visitants and my object in writing these pages be accomplished.
TAHOE TAVERN, June 1914.
Angora Peak Glen Alpine Mt. Tallac
Rubicon Peaks Fallen Leaf Lake
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| 'Panorama from South End Fallen Leaf Lake |
Panorama from South End Fallen Leaf Lake -
Click for full-size image
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Mt. Tallac Rubicon Peaks
Fallen Leaf Lake Lake Tahoe
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| 'Panorama from South End Fallen Leaf Lake |
Panorama from South End Fallen Leaf Lake -
Click for full-size image
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CHAPTER I Why "the Lake of the Sky"?
CHAPTER II Frémont and the Discovery of Lake Tahoe
CHAPTER III The Indians of Lake Tahoe
CHAPTER IV Indian Legends of the Tahoe Region
CHAPTER V The Various Names of Lake Tahoe
CHAPTER VI John Le Conte's Physical Studies of Lake Tahoe
CHAPTER VII How Lake Tahoe Was Formed
CHAPTER VIII The Glacial History of Lake Tahoe
CHAPTER IX The Lesser Lakes of the Tahoe Region and How They Were Formed
CHAPTER X Donner Lake and Its Tragic History
CHAPTER XI Lake Tahoe and the Truckee River
CHAPTER XII By Rail to Lake Tahoe
CHAPTER XIII The Wishbone Automobile Route to and Around Lake Tahoe
CHAPTER XIV Tahoe Tavern
CHAPTER XV Trail Trips in the Tahoe Region
To Watson's Peak and Lake
To Squaw Valley, Granite Chief Peak, Five Lakes and Deer Park Springs
To Ellis Peak
CHAPTER XVI Camping Out Trips in the Tahoe Region
To Hell Hole and the Rubicon River
CHAPTER XVII Historic Tahoe Towns
CHAPTER XVIII By Steamer Around Lake Tahoe
CHAPTER XIX Deer Park Springs
CHAPTER XX Rubicon Springs
CHAPTER XXI Emerald Bay and Camp
CHAPTER XXII Al-Tahoe
CHAPTER XXIII Glen Alpine Springs
CHAPTER XXIV Fallen Leaf Lake and Its Resorts
CHAPTER XXV Lakeside Park
CHAPTER XXVI Glenbrook and Marlette Lake
CHAPTER XXVII Carnelian Bay and Tahoe Country Club
CHAPTER XXVIII Fishing in the Lakes of the Tahoe Region
CHAPTER XXIX Hunting at Lake Tahoe
CHAPTER XXX The Flowers of the Tahoe Region
CHAPTER XXXI The Chaparral of the Tahoe Region
CHAPTER XXXII How to Distinguish the Trees of the Tahoe Region
CHAPTER XXXIII The Birds and Animals of the Tahoe Region
CHAPTER XXXIV The Squaw Valley Mining Excitement
CHAPTER XXXV The Frémont Howitzer and Lake Tahoe
CHAPTER XXXVI The Mount Rose Observatory
CHAPTER XXXVII Lake Tahoe in Winter
CHAPTER XXXVIII Lake Tahoe as a Summer Residence
CHAPTER XXXIX The Tahoe National Forest
CHAPTER XL Public Use of the Waters of Lake Tahoe
CHAPTER A Mark Twain at Lake Tahoe
CHAPTER B Mark Twain and the Forest Rangers
CHAPTER C Thomas Starr King at Lake Tahoe
CHAPTER D Joseph LeConte at Lake Tahoe
CHAPTER E John Vance Cheney at Lake Tahoe
CHAPTER F The Resorts of Lake Tahoe
FULL-SIZE ILLUSTRATION LINKS
1. Cascade Lake and Lake Tahoe the Lake of the Sky
2. "Bob" Watson, Tahoe guide, at home, with his dog Skookum John
3. Panorama from South End Fallen Leaf Lake
4. Panorama from South End Fallen Leaf Lake
5. Tahoe Tavern, Lake Tahoe, Calif.
6. Steamer Tahoe off Cave Rock, Nevada Side, Lake Tahoe
7. Mt. Tallac in storm. Lake Tahoe, Cal.
8. The picturesque Truckee River, near Lake Tahoe
9. A Washoe indian Campoodie, Near Lakeside Park, Lake Tahoe
10. Washoe indians at Lake Tahoe
11. The 'Signal Code' Design second photo
12. Dat-so-la-le, the artistic Washoe basket maker
13. One of Dat-so-la-le's masterpieces, 'Our Hunters' design
14. 'Our Ancestral Hunters' design
15. Washoe baskets made by Dat-so-la-le, 'Happy Homes' design
16. Susie, the Washoe indian basket maker, and narrator of indian legends
17. Jackson, the Washoe indian, telling traditions of his people about Lake Tahoe and Fallen Leaf Lake
18. Lake Tahoe near Tahoe Tavern, looking south
19. Lily Lake
21. Pyramid Peak and Lake of the Woods
22. Clouds Over the Mountain, Lake Tahoe
23. Gilmore Lake, Pyramid Peak and the Crystal Range, in winter, from summit of Mount Tallac
24. Desolation Valley, Looking Toward Mosquito Pass
25. Heather Lake, near Glen Alpine
26. Susie Lake, near Glen Alpine Springs
27. Pyramid Peak and Lake of the Woods, near Lake Tahoe, Calif.
28. Snow Bank, Desolation Valley, near Lake Tahoe
29. Grass Lake, near Glen Alpine Springs
31. Cascade Lake, Near the Automobile Bouldvard, Lake Tahoe
32. Memorial Cross at Donner Lake
33. The Steamer at the Wharf, Tahoe Tavern, Lake Tahoe
34. Donner Lake, on the Automobile Highway from Sacramento to Truckee and Lake Tahoe
35. The Canyon of the Truckee River in Winter
36. Automobiling along the Picturesque Truckee River, on the way to Lake Tahoe
37. Truckee, Calif., Where Travelers Take Trains for Lake Tahoe
38. Crossing the Truckee River Near Deer Park Station
39. Placerville, El Dorado Co., California
40. Vineyard on the Automotive Highway between Placerville and Lake Tahoe
41. Automobiling along the Truckee River
42. On the Automobile Boulevard Around Lake Tahoe
43. Atlantic to Pacific Automobile Party, Premier Tour, 1911, Stopping at Tahoe Tavern
44. Copyright 1910, by Harold A. Parker. Cascade Lake and Mt. Tallac
45. Casino at Tahoe Tavern, From Pier
46. Pier, Steamer Tahoe, and Lake Tahoe from Casino
47. Ballroom in the Casino, Tahoe Tavern
48. Tahoe Tavern from Lake Tahoe
49. Path in the Woods by Lake Tahoe, Tahoe Tavern
50. Morning Service at the Chapel of the Transfiguration, Tahoe Tavern
51. Ladies' Lounging Room, the Casino, Tahoe Tavern
52. The Front of Tahoe Tavern from a Table in the Dining-Room
53. The Launch Catalini, Lake Tahoe
54. Bathing in Lake Tahoe, Near Tahoe Tavern
55. Pleasure Party on the 'Wild Goose', Lake Tahoe
56. Looking Toward the Casino, Tahoe Tavern, Lake Tahoe
57. A Trail Party About to Leave Tahoe Tavern
58. On the Trail Returning from the Summit of Mt. Tallac
59. Angora Lake, near Lake Tahoe, Calif.
60. Glenbrook on the Nevada side of Lake Tahoe
61. The Steamer Tahoe, at the Wharf, just before starting around the Lake
62. Lake Tahoe from Tahoe Tavern
63. Steamer Tahoe Rounding Rubicon Point, Lake Tahoe
64. McKinney's and Moana Villa, With Rubicon Peaks in the Distance, Lake Tahoe
65. Steamer Landing, McKinney's, Lake Tahoe
66. Snowballing in June, July and August, near the Summit of "The Crags," Deer Park Springs, Lake Tahoe
67. Fishing in Grass Lake, Near Glen Alpine Springs
69. Brockway's Hot Springs Hotel, Lake Tahoe
70. Angora Lakes, Fallen Leaf Lake and Lake Tahoe
71. White Cloud Falls, Cascade Lake
72. Upper Eagle Falls, Emerald Bay, Lake Tahoe
73. The marble tablet on one of Maggie's Peaks, bearing the inscription:
74. The island in Emerald Bay, Lake Tahoe
75. 'Whispering Pines', Al Tahoe, on Lake Tahoe
76. E. S. Brown Cottage, Al Tahoe, on Lake Tahoe
77. Mount Tallac, Rubicon Peaks, etc., from Long Wharf at Al Tahoe, Lake Tahoe
78. Al Tahoe Inn and Cottages, on Lake Tahoe
79. Murphey Cottage, Al Tahoe, on Lake Tahoe
80. Porterfield Cottage, Al Tahoe, on Lake Tahoe
81. Cluster of Tents, Glen Alpine Springs
82. Glen Alpine Falls, Near Glen Alpine Springs
83. In the 'Good Old Days'. Glen Alpine Stage approaching Office at Glen Alpine Springs
85. Glimpse of Grass Lake, looking across and up Glen Alpine Canyon
86. The Triumphant Angler, Lake Tahoe
87. Boating on Fallen Leaf Lake
88. Fallen Leaf Lodge Among the Pines, on Fallen Leaf Lake
89. Camp Agassiz Boys Setting out for a Trip, Lake Tahoe, Cal. Copyright 1910, by Harold A. Parker.
90. Tahoe Meadows, With Mt. Tallac in the Distance
91. Picturesque Palo Alto Lodge, at Lakeside Park, Lake Tahoe
92. The Long Wharf at Lakeside Park, Lake Tahoe
93. Automobile Road Around Cave Rock, Lake Tahoe
94. Glennbrook Inn, on Nevada side Lake Tahoe
95. Sunset at Glenbrook, Lake Tahoe
96. by Harold A. Parker. Carnelian Bay, Lake Tahoe
97. Cottage overlooking Carnelian Bay, Lake Tahoe
98. Proposed Family Club House, Carnelian Bay, Lake Tahoe
99. Launch towing boats out to the fishing grounds, Lake Tahoe
100. An Early Morning Catch, Tahoe Trout, Lake Tahoe
101. A gnarled monarch of the High Sierras, an aged Juniper, near Lake Tahoe
102. Mountain Heather, in Desolation Valley, near Lake Tahoe
103. The Successful Deer Hunter at Lake Tahoe
104. Chris Nelson, With His Catch, a 23 lb. Tahoe Trout
105. Professor Fergusson at the Fergusson Meteorograph at Mt. Rose Observatory. 10,090 Feet
106. An Alpine White Pine, defying the storms, on the north slope of Mt. Rose, 9,500 Ft.
107. Tallac, Lake Tahoe
108. Looking North from Cave Rock, Lake Tahoe
109. The Fergusson Metrograph on the summit of Mt. Rose, wrecked by snow...
110. Refuge Hut and Headquarters for Snow Studies on Mt. Rose, 9000 Feet
111. Skiing from Tallac to Fallen Leaf Lodge
112. Snow Surveyor on the Mountains above Glen Alpine in Winter
113. Outlet of Lake Tahoe, Truckee River
114. Flock of Sheep being driven from the Tahoe National Forest
Lake Tahoe is the largest lake at its altitude—twenty-three miles long by thirteen broad, 6225 feet above the level of the sea—with but one exception in the world. Then, too, it closely resembles the sky in its pure and perfect color. One often experiences, on looking down upon it from one of its many surrounding mountains, a feeling of surprise, as if the sky and earth had somehow been reversed and he was looking down upon the sky instead of the earth.
And, further, Lake Tahoe so exquisitely mirrors the purity of the sky; its general atmosphere is so perfect, that one feels it is peculiarly akin to the sky.
Mark Twain walked to Lake Tahoe in the early sixties, from Carson City, carrying a couple of blankets and an ax. He suggests that his readers will find it advantageous to go on horseback. It was a hot summer day, not calculated to make one of his temperament susceptible to fine scenic impressions, yet this is what he says:
We plodded on, two or three hours longer, and at last the Lake burst upon us—a noble sheet of blue water lifted six thousand three hundred feet above the level of the sea, and walled in by a rim of snow-clad mountain peaks that towered aloft full three thousand feet higher still. It was a vast oval, and one would have to use up eighty or a hundred good miles in traveling around it. As it lay there with the shadows of the mountains brilliantly photographed upon its still surface I thought it must surely be the fairest picture the whole earth affords!
| Lake Tahoe from Tahoe Tavern |
Lake Tahoe from Tahoe Tavern
Click photo to see full-sized. |
And there you have it! Articulate or inarticulate, something like this is what every one thinks when he first sees Tahoe, and the oftener he sees it, and the more he knows it the more grand and glorious it becomes. It is immaterial that there are lakes perched upon higher mountain shelves, and that one or two of them, at equal or superior altitudes, are larger in size. Tahoe ranks in the forefront both for altitude and size, and in beauty and picturesqueness, majesty and sublimity, there is no mountain body of water on this earth that is its equal.
Why such superlatives in which world-travelers generally—in fact, invariably—agree? There must be some reason for it. Nay, there are many. To thousands the chief charm of Lake Tahoe is in the exquisite, rare, and astonishing colors of its waters. They are an endless source of delight to all who see them, no matter how insensible they may be, ordinarily, to the effect of color. There is no shade of blue or green that cannot here be found and the absolutely clear and pellucid quality of the water enhances the beauty and perfection of the tone.
One minister of San Francisco thus speaks of the coloring:
When the day is calm there is a ring around the Lake extending from a hundred yards to a mile from the shore which is the most brilliant green; within this ring there is another zone of the deepest blue, and this gives place to royal purple in the distance; and the color of the Lake changes from day to day and from hour to hour. It is never twice the same—sometimes the blue is lapis lazuli, then it is jade, then it is purple, and when the breeze gently ruffles the surface it is silvery-gray. The Lake has as many moods as an April day or a lovely woman. But its normal appearance is that of a floor of lapis lazuli set with a ring of emerald.
The depth of the water, varying as it does from a few feet to nearly or over 2000 feet, together with the peculiarly variable bottom of the Lake, have much to do with these color effects. The lake bottom on a clear wind-quiet day can be clearly seen except in the lowest depths. Here and there are patches of fairly level area, covered either with rocky bowlders, moss-covered rocks, or vari-colored sands. Then, suddenly, the eye falls upon a ledge, on the yonder side of which the water suddenly becomes deep blue. That ledge may denote a submarine precipice, a hundred, five hundred, a thousand or more feet deep, and the changes caused by such sudden and awful depths are beyond verbal description.
Many of the softer color-effects are produced by the light colored sands that are washed down into the shallower waters by the mountain streams. These vary considerably, from almost white and cream, to deep yellow, brown and red. Then the mosses that grow on the massive bowlders, rounded, square and irregular, of every conceivable size, that are strewn over the lake bottom, together with the equally varied rocks of the shore-line, some of them towering hundreds of feet above the water—these have their share in the general enchantment and revelry of color.
Emerald Bay and Meek's Bay are justly world-famed for their triumphs of color glories, for here there seem to be those peculiar combinations of varied objects, and depths, from the shallowest to the deepest, with the variations of colored sands and rocks on the bottom, as well as queer-shaped and colored bowlders lying on the vari-colored sands, that are not found elsewhere. The waving of the water gives a mottled effect surpassing the most delicate and richly-shaded marbles and onyxes. Watered-silks of the most perfect manufacture are but childish and puerile attempts at reproduction, and finest Turkish shawls, Bokhara rugs or Arab sheiks' dearest-prized Prayer Carpets are but glimmering suggestions of what the Master Artist himself has here produced.
There are not the glowing colors of sunrises and sunsets; but they are equally sublime, awe-inspiring and enchanting. There are Alpine-glows, and peach-blooms and opalescent fires, gleams and subtle suggestions that thrill moment by moment, and disappear as soon as seen, only to be followed by equally beautiful, enchanting and surprising effects, and with it all, is a mobility, a fluidity, a rippling, flowing, waving, tossing series of effects that belong only to enchanted water—water kissed into glory by the sun and moon, lured into softest beauty by the glamour of the stars, and etheralized by the quiet and subtle charms of the Milky Way, and of the Suns, Comets and Meteors that the eye of man has never gazed upon.
There is one especially color-blessed spot. It is in Grecian Bay, between Rubicon Point and Emerald Bay. Here the shore formation is wild and irregular, with deep holes, majestic, grand and rugged rocks and some trees and shrubbery. Near the center of this is a deep hole, into which one of the mountain streams runs over a light-colored sandy bottom where the water is quite shallow. Around are vari-colored trees and shrubs, and these objects and conditions all combine to produce a mystic revelation of color gradations and harmonies, from emerald green and jade to the deepest amethystine or ultra-marine. When the wind slightly stirs the surface and these dancing ripples catch the sunbeams, one by one, in changeful and irregular measure, the eyes are dazzled with iridescences and living color-changes covering hundreds of acres, thousands of them, as exquisite, glorious and dazzling as revealed in the most perfect peacock's tail-feathers, or humming-bird's throat. Over such spots one sits in his boat spell-bound, color-entranced, and the ears of his soul listen to color music as thrilling, as enchanting as melodies by Foster and Balfe, minuets by Mozart and Haydn, arias by Handel, nocturnes and serenades by Chopin and Schumann, overtures by Rossini, massive choruses and chorals by Handel, Haydn and Mendelssohn, fugues by Bach, and concertos by Beethoven.
The blue alone is enough to impress it forever upon the observant mind. Its rich, deep, perfect splendor is a constant surprise. One steps from his hotel, not thinking of the Lake—the blue of it rises through the trees, over the rocks, everywhere, with startling vividness. Surely never before was so large and wonderful a lake of inky blue, sapphire blue, ultra-marine, amethystine richness spread out for man's enjoyment. And while the summer months show this in all its smooth placidity and quietude, there seems to be a deeper blue, a richer shade take possession of the waves in the fall, or when its smoothness is rudely dispelled by the storms of winter and spring.
So much for the color!
Yet there are those who are devoted to Lake Tahoe who seldom speak of the coloring of its waters. Perhaps they are fascinated by its fishing. This has become as world-famed as its colors. Thousands, hundreds of thousands, of the most gamey and delicately-flavored trout are caught here annually, both by experts and amateurs. The Federal and State governments, and private individuals yearly stock the main Lake and the hundred and one smaller lakes of the region with the finest species of trout obtainable, and the results fully justify the labor and expense.
To the mountain-lover the Tahoe region is an earthly paradise. One summer I climbed over twenty peaks, each over nine thousand feet high, and all gave me glimpses of Tahoe. Some of them went up close to 11,000 feet.
Are you an admirer of Alpine, nay, High Sierran, trees? You will find all the well-known, and several rare and entirely new species in this region. This field alone could well occupy a student, or a mere amateur tree-lover a whole summer in rambling, climbing, collecting and studying.
And as for geology—the Grand Canyon of Arizona has afforded me nature reading material for nearly three decades and I am delighted by reading it yet. Still I am free to confess the uplift of these high-sweeping Sierras, upon whose lofty summits