The Pacific tourist:

218 eccentric tar-Captain Dick-who prepared the island for his own mausoleum, in which he in tended to place himself on the approach of death, but his drowned body became food for the fishes, and the lonely cross marked an empty tomb. This charming bay is owned by Ben Holladay, Jr. His summer residence is surrounded by a grove of willows and a stream fed by eternal snows, pouring down in three successive lofty waterfalls, which rival in grace and beauty some of the smaller in Yo semi te, keeps the g rassy sward always green, and plays in a f ounta in before t he door. T he s urrounding hills are so stee p that they can bclbe limb ed only wit h great difficulty. Just o pposit e nd, n the isand, on the north side, there is t he mark of an ava lanche of s Taow, th at carried th e tall pines before it like s h rubs, and has left the mountain side c omple tely bare. Rubicon Point and Bay, and ohSugar Pine Point a r e next passed, going north on the way to McKinney's, ten miles from Emerald Bay. At McKinney's, there is no large house, but 13 cotta ges and pleasant sur roundings. The road to Tahoe City, gives this the advantage of a pleasant drive. Board may be had at $20 a week. Continuing north, the steamer passes Blackwood Creek, where some towering rocks are seen whose height is scarcely comprehended, because the trees and mountains beyond are on so great a scale. Small as they seem, they are two hundred and fifty feet high, and the trees at their base not less than 200 feet. Ward',s Bay lies north of the Creek, and Bawker's Peak, a sharp, high point, is back in the mountains. Tahoe City-is eight miles from McKinney's, and one of the loveliest spots on the lake. It is at the source of the Truckee River, the only outlet of the lake, and has the " Grand Central," the largest hotel on the Sierras, with accommodations for 160 guests, and kept by those excellent hosts, Bayley & Moody. This is the most convenient point of access for tourists from California. The road to Truckee is down the beautiful canon of the Truckee River, through a noble forest of pines, invigorating and delightful at every step. Sail and row-boats of all kinds may be had at this point, and also carriages; but the prices should be agreed upon beforehand. No boats are kept for the use of the hotel. Board at the Grand Central may be had, varying from $3.00 to $4.00 per day, according to rooms. The view of the lake from Tahoe City is not excelled, and equalled only at Yank's and the Hot Springs. The hotel and other accommodations are superior to all others on the lake. Besides the Grand Central, there is the Tahoe House, kept by Captain Pomin. Tourists who desire to spend only one day ini visiting the lake, take stage s at this point to Truckee, 12 mile s do wn the river. Trout.-At Tahoe City there is a trout estab lishment of much interest; and an othe r, on a larger scale, on the river half way to Truckee Station. The water is admit t ed to a ser ies of po nds, each p ond be ing a ppr opriate d to t rout of a diff eren t size. The e ggs are taken during April, May and June, whe n a the fish as cend the river and the creeks, to spawn. T he e ggs are stripped from the female and impregnated by stripping the male fish into the sa me vessel in which the eggs are contain ed, and then pla ce d on in clined shelves or tables where abo ut h alf an inch of wate r runs g ently, but steadily over them. The temperature of the water affects the time of ha tch ing, and the desire is to have the wate r a s cold as possible at the expen se o f t im e to produce the hardier fish. One trout contain s abou t 7,000 spawn. Twenty-five cents is charg ed for admrnis sion to the fishery, and the privilege of fishing in the pond s granted for twenty-five or fifty cents a fish, ac cording to the size. The fishning i n the lake is done by tro lling. Spoon-hooks are sometimes used, but early in the season it is necessary to have some shining de vice to attract attention besides a minnow on the hook.he ke fisheries have been quite successful in hatching fish, but not profitable. At first nearly all died; now nealy a all are raised. The young fish are nourished for several day s after birth by a portion of the egg from which they are hatched remaining a ttached to them t ill it is a bsorbed, and th en are fed on mashed fish, the yolks of eggs and liver, and the large trout are fed on suckers and white fish caught in the lakes with seines. Of cou rs e no trout are caught in s ei ne s, for this is convtrary to law. After they have grown to weigh several pounds, they will increase at the rate of a pound a year. The quantity caught in a year can not be estimated. Many are never sent to market, and they are caught in both the lake and the river as well as in Donner Lake. From the Truckee River alone, 170,000 pounds were caught last season, half of which were shipped to Virginia City. In the lake there are at least four kinds, two of which are most commonly known. These are the silver trout and the black trout. The silver trout are most highly esteemed, are always taken in deep water, and attain a size of thirty-two pounds. The silver trout of Donner Lake grow from eight to ten pounds, and those in the river are not so large. The black trout run up the creeks sooner in the spring than the silver, but the latter can pass over greater obstacles than the former. The white fish found in the lake are quite unlike those of the Great North American Lakes. While the tourist who merely crosses the lake from Glenbrook to Tahoe or vice versa, or who I TNE pacipic reverse.

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Title
The Pacific tourist:
Author
Williams, Henry T.
Canvas
Page 218
Publication
New York,: H. T. Williams,
1876.
Subject terms
West (U.S.) -- Description and travel
Central Pacific Railroad Company.
Union Pacific Railroad Company.

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"The Pacific tourist:." In the digital collection Making of America Books. https://name.umdl.umich.edu/afk1140.0001.001. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed June 14, 2025.
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