The Pacific tourist:

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Clipper Ravine is then found on the left-hand
side.
This tunnel was made in 1873, to straighten
the road, and the ends are built of solid ma sonry.
Across Clipper Gap Ravine, the stage road
from Auburn to Georgetown may be seen wind ing up the mountain side.
About half-way between New England Mills
and Clipper Gap, there is a side track and day
telegraph station, called Applegates, for the run ning of trains and a point for shipping lime; but
passenger trains run, without stopping, from
Colfax 11 1-3 miles, to
Clipper Gap,-182 miles from San Fran cisco. The few buildings have a store and a
hotel among them. It was the terminus of the
road for three or four months, and then a lively
place.
Hare and mountain quail abound in these foot
hills. The latter roost, not on the ground, but
in trees, never utter the "Bob White," so familiar to sportsmen, and fly swifter than the east ern quail.
Auburn,-175 miles from San Francisco, is
a day telegraph station, 6.6 miles from Clipper
Gap, with an elevation of 1,360 feet.
From Auburn Station a daily stage runs 22
miles to Forest Hill on arrival of the train from
the east, fare $4.00, and to Michigan Bluffs, 30
miles, fare $6.00, and another runs daily, except
Sunday, to Greenwood, 16 miles, fare $2.50, and
Georgetown, 21 miles, fare $3.00, Pilot'Hill, 11
miles, fare $1.50, Colma, 21 miles, fare $2.50, and
Placerville, 32 miles, fare $4.00. Alabaster Cave
on the route of the latter, six miles from
Auburn, is an opening in a limestone formation,
and the seat of the kilns in which the best lime
of California is made. What little beauty the
cave once possessed has been invaded and it has
now no attraction for the tourist.
The town of Auburn proper is situated below
the station. It has a population of 1,000, two
churches, good schools, fine orc har ds, and is the
county-seat of Placer County. It is one of the
oldest towns in the State. It has three hotels,
one of which is the Railroad House. Many of
its buildings are constructed of brick or stone,
and grapes are extensively grown in the vicinity,
and with great success. The Placer Herald is a
weekly Democratic paper, and the Argus, a
weekly Republican paper.
From the point where the locomotive stands,
the Sacramento River can be seen-on the left, as
also from other points as the train continues
westward.' Soon after leaving the station, the
railroad crosses Dutch Ravine, at the head of
which is Bloomer Cut, where the train passes
through an interesting conglomerate, showing a
well-exposed strata of boulders, sand and coarse
gravel. The trestle work at Newcastle Gap
Bridge is 528 feet long and 60 feet high.
of Truckee are compelled to attend court in this
city. It is in the same mining region as Grass
Valley, and was for many years the largest town
in the mining regions. From an area of six
miles, not less than $75,000,000 have been taken,
and $2,000,000 are now produced annually. Slight
snows fall in the winter. The route of the narrow gauge railroad lies through the valley of the
Bear River, over which one looks in descending
the Sierras. At the crossing of Bear River,
where it joins the Elkhorn, there is some fine
scenery, and although in the distance of 22 1-2
miles there are 16 stopping places, there are no
towns or villages except at the termini and at
Grass Valley. San Juan North, Comptonville,
and Downievile, Sierraville, Lake City, Bloomfield, Moore's Flat and Eureka South, and
Marysville are all connected with Grass Valley
or Nevada by stage.
In passing along near Colfax, and in all the
foot hills, the manzanita is seen, but the bushes
are smaller here than in many other parts of
California. It is a queer shrub, and like the
madrona tree does not shed its leaf, but sheds its
bark. Its small, red berry ripens in the fall and
is gathered and eaten by the Indians. Crooked
canes made from its wood are much esteemed.
The bark is very delicate until varnished and
dried, and great care should be taken in transporting them when first cut.
The foot hills are partly covered with chaparral, a low evergreen oak, which, in early days,
afforded hiding places for Mexican robbers, and
now accommodates, with cheap lodgings, many a
"road agent" when supplied by a raid on Wells,
Fargo & Co's treasure boxes or the coin and
watches of stage-passengers. White blossoms
load the air with fragrance in April and May.
On the right, the valley of the Sacramento is
coming faster into sight, and the Coast Range
growing more distinct. The next station, 5.1
miles west of Colfax, is
New -England Mills,-at the west end of a
plateauwhere there is no grade for three miles.
Lumbering in the vicinity has declined, and the
trains do not stop. The roadway continues on
the south side of the divide between the Bear
and American rivers, but this has so widened
that the cars seem to be winding around among
small hills far away from either river.
Water taken from Bear River, near Colfax, is
quite near the railroad, on the right, for a number of miles, and will be seen crossing over at
Clipper Gap.
Below New England Mills there is an opening
called George's Gap, named from an early resident, George Giesendorfer, and farther west is
Star House Gap, called from an old hotel; then
signs of farming are again seen in Bahney's
Ranche, at the foot of Bahney's Hill, and Wild-,
Cat Ranche farther west. where Wild-Cat Summit is crossed by a tunnel 693 feet long, and
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