Volume 036-4 - October 1982 (8 pages)

FROM THE LITERATURE Doris Foley, The Searls Historical Library. Sierra Heritage; Vol. 2; Nr. 1; pp. 8-10; Summer 1982. A brief history of Niles, Fred and Carroll Searls, three generations of lawyers in Nevada City. After having served as a law office for almost a century, the Searls law office was presented to the Nevada County Historical Society to be converted into a research library for the Society. A brief description of the research sources of the Searls Library is included. Also included isa brief biography of Doris Foley by Ed Tyson. Nona McGlashan, Donner Party Remembrance. Sierra Heritage; Vol. 2; Nr. 1; pp. 12-13; Summer 1982. Discusses the acquisition of four paintings by Robert Lebron for the Emigrant Trail Museum at Donner Lake. The paintings illustrate the Donner tragedy. Ultmately there will be a series of fifteen paintings. Also announces that, of the vials which contained a piece of wood from the door sill of the Murphy cabin, which were sold in order to help finance the Donner Monument, a number of left overs have been recovered. They are sold at the Museum to help finance the reconstruction of the Murphy cabin. Michael Claytor and David Beesley, The Basque and their Tree Carvings. Sierra Heritage; Vol. 2; Nr. 1; pp. 18-21; Summer 1982. In the October 1979 issue of the Bulletin of the Nevada County Historical Society, the authors presented an article on this subject. During the almost three years which have passed since this publication, the authors have discovered more information on the Basque sheep herders and their “graffiti” on the aspen trees. The illustrations in this article are new. Even for those who remember the earlier article, this one is well worth reading. BOOK REVIEWS Doris Foley Larsen, The Pioneer (Donner) Monument, the Origin of a Statue. Nevada City; Searls Historical Library; 1982. A booklet about the history of amonument is certainly unusual, but perhaps, so is this history. The story really starts when, in 1879, after many years of research, G.F. McGlashan wrote the first history of the tragedy of the Donner Party, which came to grief in the deep snow near present day Truckee in the winter of 1846/47. Although widely known, the main sources of the ‘history of the Donner Party, prior to 1879, were the, largely inaccurate reports in the contemporary newspapers. The Donner Party was one of the life-long interests of McGlashan. Many of the emigrants who crossed the continent went through unbelievable hardships, but none of them could match the privations of the Donner Party. For this reason, it was a long time desire of McGlashan that a monument should be erected in their memory. In 1898, he achieved that a resolution to sponsor such a monument was adopted by the Native Sons of the Golden West (NSGW). In 1901, a Monument Committee, with Dr. C. Chapman as chairman was appointed and authorized to raise $5000 from the Parlors of the NSGW. In addition, McGlashan offered to have his book reprinted and sold for the benefit of the Monument project. He also prepared 5000 small vials, each containing a fragment of the last log of the Murphy cabin, to be sold as souvenirs. An appeal to the Parlors of the NSGW brought many suggestions, but little money. It seems that, at this time, the controversy whether the monument would be dedicated to the Donner Party (as McGlashan wished) or to all Pioneers (as the NSGW wished) was started. This duality runs like a red thread through the history of the monument. Already in 1893 the site of the Breen cabin was deeded by J. Maizen to McGlashan and this was to be the location of the monument. On May 11, 1910, ground was broken for the foundation of the monument with a simple ceremony. The foundation, provided with a corner stone, was dedicated on June 10 of the game year with a simple ceremony. It was now time to select a sculptor for the statue itself and a foundry to cast it. A well known sculptor, Douglas Tilden, was invited to submit a design. His concept was grandiose, but apparently not tothe liking of anybody because it emphasized the suffering of the members of the Donner Party rather than the courage and determination of the pioneers. Thereafter, a group of three sculptors was invited to submit a design (Tilden declined to compete) and from these, the statue as we see it now, designed by J. McQuarrie, was selected. The artist offered to do his work for a low fee and the de Rome Foundry in San Francisco offered to do its part at cost. In the meantime, money had been coming in from various sources, enabling the work to be completed. In the spring of 1918, twenty years after the first plans were made, the monument was ready. On the foundation rose a pedestal, 22.5 feet high (the height of the snow in 1846!) which was surmounted by McQuarrie’s statue. It was dedicated on June 6, 1918, on the occasion of the Forty First Grand Parlor of the NSGW, which was held in Truckee. Unfortunately, the wording of the bronze plaque, located on the east side of the monument, caused a controversy between Chapman and McGlashan, both of whom had worked so hard towards the realisation of the monument; a rift which apparently never was healed. Mrs. Foley’s book does not state whether all funds, needed to pay the participants in the work, were ever collected. It appears that the Monument Committee remained in existence, witness the fact that Dr. Chapman was relieved of his chairmanship in 1923; it seems to me an ungrateful act. This, Doris Foley’s last book, is available free from the Searls Library (214 Church Street, Nevada City) as a token of appreciation to those who contribute five dollars (or more!) for the maintenance of the library. vdP William L. Kahr], Water and Power, the Conflict over Los Angeles’ Water Supply in Owens Valley. Berkeley, Los Angeles and London; University of California Press; 1982. Land and water have, more than gold, contributed to the shaping of California. And, since (agricultural) land is not of much use without (irrigation) water, it may be stated that water is the most important natural resource of California. But the demands for water are not by irrigation alone, the cities, in many cases built at the wrong place, demand water in large quantities also. Consequently, California has seen many large water projects executed: Imperial Valley, the Owens Valley project of Los Angeles, the Hetch Hetchy project of San Francisco, the State Water Project. And serveral of these projects were highly controversial. Among such projects, the Owens Valley project has an especially bad name. Before I read Mr. Kahri’s book, I felt that I was fairly well informed about this project and my reaction to the deeds of Los Angeles was positively negative. After reading Mr. Kahrl’s book, I realized that I actually did not know much about the events. It appears that the real story is much more complicated than the story as usually presented. More factors enter into it and the personalities and motivations of the actors in the drama are more complicated than generally portrayed. Like previous authors, Mr. Kahr] has based his story on public documents. He writes: “..I have chosen to construct the work entirely from published documents and other materials available to the general public, anchoring the narrative in sources the reader can consult to trace the line of my argument on any point with which he or she may disagree.” However, the amount of documentation which supports his narrative is many times greater than what was used by his predecessors and therefore we may look at his work as the definitive history of the Owens Valley conflict. The author is strictly objective and attempts not to take sides. However, reading his book did not change my opinion on the behavior of Los Angeles. The story is too complicated to even summarise it. Therefore, we will here focus on only one aspect, the role of President Theodore Roosevelt. In 1906, the City of Los Angeles already held options on a considerable amount of land in Owens Valley in order to secure the riparian rights. However, the (Federal) Reclamation Service was considering an irrigation project in the valley and had placed a_ considerable amount of public land in reserve, withdrawing if from settlement. In order to make the aqueduct pay, the City of Los Angeles wanted to withdraw water, not only for use in the city, but also to irrigate the, at the time arid, San Fernando Valley. In order to achieve this, the city needed the reserved public lands and also the right of way over Federal land for the aqueduct itself. The Reclamation Service was well aware of the fact that cancelling its irrigation project would mean the destruction of Owens Valley. A panel of three of their engineers had stated so in no uncertain terms and a special investigator, O’Fallon, sent out by the Secretary of the Interior, Hitchcock, 31

FROM THE LITERATURE Doris Foley, The Searls Historical Library. Sierra Heritage; Vol. 2; Nr. 1; pp. 8-10; Summer 1982. A brief history of Niles, Fred and Carroll Searls, three generations of lawyers in Nevada City. After having served as a law office for almost a century, the Searls law office was presented to the Nevada County Historical Society to be converted into a research library for the Society. A brief description of the research sources of the Searls Library is included. Also included isa brief biography of Doris Foley by Ed Tyson. Nona McGlashan, Donner Party Remembrance. Sierra Heritage; Vol. 2; Nr. 1; pp. 12-13; Summer 1982. Discusses the acquisition of four paintings by Robert Lebron for the Emigrant Trail Museum at Donner Lake. The paintings illustrate the Donner tragedy. Ultmately there will be a series of fifteen paintings. Also announces that, of the vials which contained a piece of wood from the door sill of the Murphy cabin, which were sold in order to help finance the Donner Monument, a number of left overs have been recovered. They are sold at the Museum to help finance the reconstruction of the Murphy cabin. Michael Claytor and David Beesley, The Basque and their Tree Carvings. Sierra Heritage; Vol. 2; Nr. 1; pp. 18-21; Summer 1982. In the October 1979 issue of the Bulletin of the Nevada County Historical Society, the authors presented an article on this subject. During the almost three years which have passed since this publication, the authors have discovered more information on the Basque sheep herders and their “graffiti” on the aspen trees. The illustrations in this article are new. Even for those who remember the earlier article, this one is well worth reading. BOOK REVIEWS Doris Foley Larsen, The Pioneer (Donner) Monument, the Origin of a Statue. Nevada City; Searls Historical Library; 1982. A booklet about the history of amonument is certainly unusual, but perhaps, so is this history. The story really starts when, in 1879, after many years of research, G.F. McGlashan wrote the first history of the tragedy of the Donner Party, which came to grief in the deep snow near present day Truckee in the winter of 1846/47. Although widely known, the main sources of the ‘history of the Donner Party, prior to 1879, were the, largely inaccurate reports in the contemporary newspapers. The Donner Party was one of the life-long interests of McGlashan. Many of the emigrants who crossed the continent went through unbelievable hardships, but none of them could match the privations of the Donner Party. For this reason, it was a long time desire of McGlashan that a monument should be erected in their memory. In 1898, he achieved that a resolution to sponsor such a monument was adopted by the Native Sons of the Golden West (NSGW). In 1901, a Monument Committee, with Dr. C. Chapman as chairman was appointed and authorized to raise $5000 from the Parlors of the NSGW. In addition, McGlashan offered to have his book reprinted and sold for the benefit of the Monument project. He also prepared 5000 small vials, each containing a fragment of the last log of the Murphy cabin, to be sold as souvenirs. An appeal to the Parlors of the NSGW brought many suggestions, but little money. It seems that, at this time, the controversy whether the monument would be dedicated to the Donner Party (as McGlashan wished) or to all Pioneers (as the NSGW wished) was started. This duality runs like a red thread through the history of the monument. Already in 1893 the site of the Breen cabin was deeded by J. Maizen to McGlashan and this was to be the location of the monument. On May 11, 1910, ground was broken for the foundation of the monument with a simple ceremony. The foundation, provided with a corner stone, was dedicated on June 10 of the game year with a simple ceremony. It was now time to select a sculptor for the statue itself and a foundry to cast it. A well known sculptor, Douglas Tilden, was invited to submit a design. His concept was grandiose, but apparently not tothe liking of anybody because it emphasized the suffering of the members of the Donner Party rather than the courage and determination of the pioneers. Thereafter, a group of three sculptors was invited to submit a design (Tilden declined to compete) and from these, the statue as we see it now, designed by J. McQuarrie, was selected. The artist offered to do his work for a low fee and the de Rome Foundry in San Francisco

offered to do its part at cost. In the meantime, money had been coming in from various sources, enabling the work to be completed. In the spring of 1918, twenty years after the first plans were made, the monument was ready. On the foundation rose a pedestal, 22.5 feet high (the height of the snow in 1846!) which was surmounted by McQuarrie’s statue. It was dedicated on June 6, 1918, on the occasion of the Forty First Grand Parlor of the NSGW, which was held in Truckee. Unfortunately, the wording of the bronze plaque, located on the east side of the monument, caused a controversy between Chapman and McGlashan, both of whom had worked so hard towards the realisation of the monument; a rift which apparently never was healed. Mrs. Foley’s book does not state whether all funds, needed to pay the participants in the work, were ever collected. It appears that the Monument Committee remained in existence, witness the fact that Dr. Chapman was relieved of his chairmanship in 1923; it seems to me an ungrateful act. This, Doris Foley’s last book, is available free from the Searls Library (214 Church Street, Nevada City) as a token of appreciation to those who contribute five dollars (or more!) for the maintenance of the library. vdP William L. Kahr], Water and Power, the Conflict over Los Angeles’ Water Supply in Owens Valley. Berkeley, Los Angeles and London; University of California Press; 1982. Land and water have, more than gold, contributed to the shaping of California. And, since (agricultural) land is not of much use without (irrigation) water, it may be stated that water is the most important natural resource of California. But the demands for water are not by irrigation alone, the cities, in many cases built at the wrong place, demand water in large quantities also. Consequently, California has seen many large water projects executed: Imperial Valley, the Owens Valley project of Los Angeles, the Hetch Hetchy project of San Francisco, the State Water Project. And serveral of these projects were highly controversial. Among such projects, the Owens Valley project has an especially bad name. Before I read Mr. Kahri’s book, I felt that I was fairly well informed about this project and my reaction to the deeds of Los Angeles was positively negative. After reading Mr. Kahrl’s book, I realized that I actually did not know much about the events. It appears that the real story is much more complicated than the story as usually presented. More factors enter into it and the personalities and motivations of the actors in the drama are more complicated than generally portrayed. Like previous authors, Mr. Kahr] has based his story on public documents. He writes: “...I have chosen to construct the work entirely from published documents and other materials available to the general public, anchoring the narrative in sources the reader can consult to trace the line of my argument on any point with which he or she may disagree.” However, the amount of documentation which supports his narrative is many times greater than what was used by his predecessors and therefore we may look at his work as the definitive history of the Owens Valley conflict. The author is strictly objective and attempts not to take sides. However, reading his book did not change my opinion on the behavior of Los Angeles. The story is too complicated to even summarise it. Therefore, we will here focus on only one aspect, the role of President Theodore Roosevelt. In 1906, the City of Los Angeles already held options on a considerable amount of land in Owens Valley in order to secure the riparian rights. However, the (Federal) Reclamation Service was considering an irrigation project in the valley and had placed a_ considerable amount of public land in reserve, withdrawing if from settlement. In order to make the aqueduct pay, the City of Los Angeles wanted to withdraw water, not only for use in the city, but also to irrigate the, at the time arid, San Fernando Valley. In order to achieve this, the city needed the reserved public lands and also the right of way over Federal land for the aqueduct itself. The Reclamation Service was well aware of the fact that cancelling its irrigation project would mean the destruction of Owens Valley. A panel of three of their engineers had stated so in no uncertain terms and a special investigator, O’Fallon, sent out by the Secretary of the Interior, Hitchcock, 31