The following appeared in: Foley's Yosemite Souvenier & Guide 1915

NOTE:

"The 1907 Foley's Yosemite Souvenir & Guide" also included is very simular to this "1915 Foley's Yosemite Souvenir & Guide" - it was an early version.

MERCED TO EL PORTAL The Canyon Route to Yosemite         From Merced, where close connections are made with both the Southern Pacific and the Santa Fe railroads, to the terminus at El Portal, the "Gateway," 85 miles to the east, in the canyon of the Merced, there is a panoramic succession of varied points of interest that will add ever so much to your visit to that famous place. El Portal is 14 miles from the Sentinel Hotel. A Scenic Monopoly        Were the canyon of the Merced, whose great walls. now echo and re-echo, the whistles of the locomotives, of the least possible interest, this fact should not deter you for one moment from making this trip for above and beyond the many interesting points of the canyon, looms up that which was the incentive to build the Yosemite Valley Railroad, the place you had in your mind when I. you bought your ticket - the wonderful, imperial, gorgeous Yosemite Valley, the one place upon earth with a scenic monopoly that harms no one, but is enjoyed by all who seek its shrine. And so when you have added to the trip all the wonders, and beauties and grandeur of the Merced Canyon, you have before you one of the greatest trips of your life. And like many of the thousands who have come before you and endured the necessary hardships of the long stage trips, you will come again and your visits will be more numerous. For it is a fact that at least 75 per cent of Yosemite's visitors leave the valley full of a desire to again re-visit it. They are its best advertisers. A Trip of Anticipation        The visitor, en route to Yosemite, will find that one of the most pleasing effects of the canyon route will be anticipation, the unexpected. You cannot get rid of these pleasant phases of the canyon, nor should you try to. They dovetail in and are as much a part of the trip as is El Capitan a part of the Yosemite itself. They are with you at every turn of the winding river, at every old, abandoned mining camp of the other days, at the new life now in the canyon.        As you pass from one interesting point to another, and they come quite often, though the train is limited to about 20 miles per hour, you wonder just what is coming next. Up ahead in the mist or Alpine glow of the Sierra canyon, looms up a great mountain peak. and you are wondering how the train is going to get by it. Now it is heading for a rocky bluff in front, and you instinctively look for the tunnel. It is not there. At the right moment comes the turn of the grade, and new points and Bridge Over Merced River Below Bagby On, Line Yosemite Valley R. R. vistas and more wonders of the canyon are opened up ahead. And these pleasant expectations, sensations and disappointments (if the latter may so be used) are duplicated many, many times before El Portal is reached.         In surveying this route the engineers wisely hugged closely to the river hanks, the track being but a few feet above high water. In fact, much of the rock of the grade was shot into the river, in many cases forming part of the roadbed. And so for nearly 60 miles the railroad track and the Merced River run side by side, this being one of the most pleasing features of the trip. Old Forgotten Mining Camps        As your train carries you from point to point you little realize that you are going through one of the great mining districts of the 50's. a famous part of the "Southern Mines," of the long ago. Of the many. many mining camps that once filled the canyon with a life and a history that can never again he duplicated, there now remain lint an old chimney, or a broken wall to again recall the once busy places of these now almost forgotten camps. And even the old chimneys and the broken walls have disappeared from many of them, and their places have been blotted off the face of the canyon forever.        Such is the life of a. mining camp.        The piles of rocks so carefully "corded up" upon the liars and flats, like so much wood, mutely tell us where once the busy miners "sluiced" away the rich gravel of these "placers." On both sides of the river are to be seen the old, abandoned water ditches, and here and there are the old trails over which the light-hearted men of the other days tramped to or from their camps. And here are many caved-in tunnels, and they come quite often as the canyon deepens, which mutely tell of blasted hopes or fondest realizations. And there are many old mills. and dams. and mines once abandoned now preparing to be worked again with modern methods.        First we come to the Exchequer Mine, some miles above Merced Falls. This is a low-grade mine, with ore enough in sight, to run for many years. The canyon is narrow here and the outcroppings of the ledge can be seen upon both sides of the gorge. The ledge is from five to sixty feet wide with an average value of about $9 to the ton. A 50-foot concrete dam is being built here to furnish electric power for the 100-stamp mill to be built here, as well as for other mines in the neighborhood. These immense ore bodies can, it is claimed, be worked at $1 per tom.        There is a station here. In the Depths of the Canyon (At The Broadheads) On Line Y. V. R. R. The Canyon Route At Bagby (Benton Mills)        A few miles further up at Bagby (Benton Mills) is a small mill in operation, the ore being brought down from the mountain side in wagons. It has but five stamps, but it shows you how the ore is crushed to a powder, and the gold separated therefrom. Here, too, is a small power plant, the Pelton wheels being turned by the water from the 35-foot dam here, the "juice" being carried up to Mt. Bullion and Mariposa, a dozen or more miles away, to run other mills and light the towns.         In the olden days this place was known as the Benton Mills, and. sometimes as "Hell's Hollow." It was a part of the old Fremont Grant, once owned by Gen. Fremont, the "Pathfinder," and he named these mills in honor of his wife, Jesse Benton Fremont. In the early days there was a hundred stamp mill here and another dam further up stream. The ore was brought down from the mines above on a tramway.         'Tis a pity that the pretty name has been changed, for around the old Benton Mills and Dam have clustered much of the romance and history of the early days of this State and the West. It should be restored. The pioneers and Native Sons of this county and State should try and have the historic name restored. It is not yet too late, for its modern name is yet scarcely ten years of age, while its historic and rightful name dates almost from the discovery of gold in this State. It Was Lonely Then        "In Hell's Hollow, three miles below Pine Tree, stands the ruins of an old mill. The framework of what was once a great flume leads up a half a mile to some jutting timbers, all that remains of the once splendid Benton Mills Dam. On the cliffs above the mill stands the old boarding house, still in fair condition. It is a lonely place six miles from any human habitation, separated from the world by mountain walls. On a tiny raft in the river is a chance for amusement." wrote a college girl in 1895.         "Now boats replace the raft, a locomotive's whistle awakens echoes in Hell's Hollow, and soon the long trains filled with sightseers will rush through the canyon," wrote the same young lady at a more recent date.         There is a hotel here now and a railroad station, and the great dam backs the water up to Solomon's Gulch, two miles further up. Out of the latter there was taken about two million dollars in gold dust, hence the name.         A short distance above here the granite walls come down to meet the waters of the dam. It is about a half mile around this crescent-shaped bit of roadbed. This was one of the hardest pieces of work upon the line. The walls are so steep here that the men had to be let down from far above by ropes to survey and blast out the grade. It looks quite tame now. Mill of the Mt. King Mine On Line of Y. V. R. R. - The Canyon Route At the Broadheads         Six miles further up we cross the great steel bridge over North Fork and view for a moment the wild and rugged Yosemite-like gorge before us, the Broadheads. Here is real grandeur upon a Yosemite scale, though the valley is yet 30 miles off to the east.         Upon the opposite side of the gorge, hundreds of feet above the river, is a great overhanging rock, an almost exact counterpart of the famous Overhanging Rock of Glacier Point. Yosemite. Did Nature in the long ages of the past, when the canyon was young and the Yosemite in process of making, chisel out this rock here to remind the returning Yosemite visitors of these late times, of that other rock at Glacier Point? Be that as it may the duplicate is here.         Here, too, are flinty, upright rocks age-worn and beautifully colored, that may well he called the Sentinel of the Canyon the guardians of its mysteries, whose heights are reflected in the shadowy depths of the river below for a great natural dam is here (to he used shortly for a big electric plant) and the waters have been stilled for some distance up stream. But resent this they do, and how they roar, how they rush by, impatient at being thus stopped after their thrilling descent over the ramparts of Yosemite.        Interesting is the canyon here. The Mt. King Mine        In a few moments our train is at the Mt. King Mine, the track being but a few feet from the 14-stamp mill. Water-power is used here. If the train stops here a few moments be sure and get off and take a look at a real quartz mill at work. To be sure it is only a small mill, but later on a great mill is going up at this point, for this is one of the newly-discovered mines of these parts, and one of the richest.         For fifty years prospectors passed to and fro over the trail, across the ledge, far up the mountain side, its wealth unknown to them, though in plain sight, for the sides of the mountain is covered with rich float rock, too conspicuous, they thought, to be good, and so they passed it by. But it remained for two prospectors. F. X. Egenhoff and Geo. Merritt, to discover the mine on August 4, 1897. They sold it to the present company, supposed to be Standard Oil people. A balance gravity tramway brings the ore down from the mine l250 feet above.         It is one of the most valuable properties of the "Omparisa Gold Mining Co." At El Portal the "Gateway"         It is about 20 miles from the Mt. King Mine to the terminus at El Portal, the "Gateway," and there is not an uninteresting mile between these points.         El Portal is 1800 feet above sea, and about a mile west of the Yosemite National Park.         Here, too, is the headquarters of the Yosemite Transportation Co., of which Mr. J. P. Kelly is superintendent. This line can easily carry 500 visitors each way daily. The Auto Stages.        Automobile stages have displaced the horse-drawn coaches on the El Portal Yosemite road. These coaches are designed especially for this work, combined for comfort and sightseeing. The road has been widened and otherwise improved, until it is now one of the best boulevards in the West. It will be sprinkled, too. This road has cost about $20,000 per mile to set it into its present condition.         We regret the passing of the old-time stages and their picturesque and interesting at times, drivers. But the modern traveler is in a hurry, and he does not like the rocks and dust associated with the good old staging days, and so they must go. Besides, the pull from El Portal to the Yosemite, rising about 2,200 feet in 14 miles, was a very severe one on man's greatest friend, the horse. And so we must rejoice that this part of his hard life is a thing of the past.         It took the horse-drawn stages about four hours to make this trip. Now the auto stages will make it in one and one-half hours each way. Each machine can make from two to four round trips per day. The passenger cars will carry from 10 to 22 passengers, and the freight trucks will carry three tons. The passenger autos are Whites and Pierce Arrows, while the freight trucks are Packards.         Between El Portal and the Cascade Fall a five mile wagon road has been completed, the work being done by the railroad company. It connects at the latter place with the Coulterville-Yosemite road. It is interesting to here note that the first and the last Yosemite roads meet here the Coulterville being the first to invade its wonders and this boulevard the last.         To an ordinary person it looked impossible to build a wagon road here, but is was done in a very short period of time, at a total cost of about $12,000 per mile. The work was commenced in the early part of February, 1907, and teams were going over it on the 29th of April of that year.         There are great bowlders here as large as two-story buildings that had to be blasted out to make room for the grade, and between two of them, above the zigzags, a real tunnel has been blasted, through which the coaches will go. And across the tops of these two great rocks is another one still larger. And on all sides are the forest trees that vie with their kind upon the great walls above. The walls here rise up 2,000 or more feet, and at places the view, of its kind, is not excelled even by the Yosemite.         From the Cascades up to the Bridal Veil Meadows, where the first general view of the Yosemite is had, there is a subdued calm, a sense of the restful, in strong contrast to the wild and thrilling scenery along the boulevard. Nature has thus arranged it, and it could not be better. But here we are at the Bridal Veil Meadows where we get our first general view of Yosemite. Off to the right, a half mile away, is the beautiful, ever-changing fall of the Bridal Veil, known to the simple Indians as Pohono, the Spirit of the Evil Wind. To the left, a mile or more away, rises that great shaft of granite, El Capitan, and its counterpart is not elsewhere upon earth. Its proud crest rises 3,300 feet above the river, and the side now presented to us is said to lean toward us 60 or more feet. In the distance and to the right we catch a glimpse of "Watch tower of the Yosemite," the Sentinel, while 8 miles or more to the east we see Cloud's Rest, now bright and glistening. But we must not tarry too long here, for it is but the introduction. Within an hour we are at the end of our journey, and amid the roaring of the falls of the valley and the gentle ripping of the Merced, we will pass our first night amid wonders the like of which are not found elsewhere upon earth. The Equipment Is Good        The Yosemite Valley Railroad's first rails were laid at Merced on the morning of September 27, 1905, and on Thursday, April 25, 1907, the last rails were laid at El Portal, the terminus, 14 miles west of the Yosemite Village. 0. W. Lehmer is General Manager, and C. H. Wright agent at Merced, the latter being the general headquarters of the company. The company is represented at El Portal by B. K. Young, who is a good agent, pleasant and courteous. The Road Tunnel Under the Bowlders Scene on El Portal - Cascade Road        The officers of the company are Frank G. Drum, president; Harry L. Tevis, Wm. H. Crocker, Henry T. Scott, all of San Francisco, directors.         Commencing about the first of April of each season Southern Pacific and Santa Fe sleepers are run, leaving San Francisco in the evening, arriving at El Portal in time for breakfast, and then on to the valley, arriving there about noon. The sleepers leave El Portal in the evening at 8:30, arriving in the bay cities the following morning. The regular daily passenger, vestibuled train, with observation car, leaves Merced at 2:40 p. m., arriving at El Portal at 6:15. It returns next morning, and the passengers go on to the Valley, arriving about midday.         When the airship comes there will then be an easier way of getting here. EL PORTAL NOTES         The El Portal Hotel, just completed and furnished, is destined to become one of the great tourist hotels of the coast. The location is ideal for a summer and winter hotel, in a climate unexcelled. The altitude is only 2000 feet above sea. Here is grandeur, here is the forest near by, and Fishing is good in Crane Creek as well as in the Merced. There are 130 guests' rooms, steam heated and electric lighted, with smoking room, guests' room, etc. Nearly $100,000 has been invested here by the Yosemite Terminal Company.         Note: Mr. F. A. Cline is now manager of this hotel.         Across the river from El Portal is the great incline tramway of the Yosemite Lumber Co. This is about 8,000 feet long, and at points on its ascent it is about 80 per cent grade. It is double-tracked. Great engines at top haul up the empty cars and let down the loaded ones. The logging road runs off into the great forests from top of incline. The logs are shipped in train loads to Merced Falls, where the great mills of the company are located. At least 100,000 feet per day will be shipped during season of operation May to October. Up the Valley From Bridal Veil Meadows (Valley View) First View of Yosemite on Canyon Route Please note: Bowlder is a variation of boulder and not a typo!

An Automobile Passing Through the Dead Giant The Big Tree Auto Stage Line AUTO stages of this line leave El Portal every morning for these wonderful groves arriving in the Yosemite early in the Afternoon. They will leave Yosemite either in the morning or afternoon, according to circumstances. Mr. E. R. Penfield is General Passenger Agent here and he will give you fuller particulars. The Big Giant Trees and Sierran Forests Invite You. It will cost you only $7.50 and less than a day of your too short time.