One of the greatest excitements known in the Tahoe region occurred when the first notice of the discovery of the Comstock lode in Virginia City appeared in the Nevada City Journal, July 1, 1859.  Immediately the whole country was aroused, fully one-third of all the male population setting forth for the mines.  This was also one of the great urgents in the building of a railway which soon ultimated in the Central Pacific.

There are several mineral springs of note on the Forest, chief of which are Deer Park Springs, Glen Alpine Springs and Brockway’s.

The most northern grove of Big Trees, Sequoia Gigantea, in existence, is found in the Tahoe Forest, on the Forest Hill Divide, near the southern boundary of Placer County, on a tributary of the Middle Fork of the American River.  There are six of these trees as well as several which have fallen.

Dotted over the Reserve are cabins of the rangers.  These men live a most interesting, and sometimes adventurous and daring life.  Primarily their days and nights are largely those of solitude, and it is interesting to throw a little light upon the way they spend their time.

Necessarily their chief thought and care is that of protecting the Forest from fire.  To accomplish this end fire-brakes—­wide passages, trails, or roads—­are cut through the trees and brush, so that it is possible to halt a fire when it reaches one of the constant patrols and watches that are maintained.  Lookout stations are placed on elevated points.  In the fall of 1911 a Lookout Tower was erected on Banner Mountain, four miles southeast of Nevada City, in which a watchman with a revolving telescope is on duty day and night.  This mountain is at 3900 feet elevation and affords an unobstructed view of about one-third of the whole area of the Tahoe Forest.

[Illustration:  Outlet of Lake Tahoe, Truckee River]

[Illustration:  Flock of Sheep Being Driven from the Tahoe National Forest]

[Illustration:  Island Park, Lake Tahoe]

By a system of maps, sights and signals the location of fires can be determined with reasonable accuracy, and the telephone enables warnings to be sent to all concerned.

Telephone lines bisect the Reserve in several directions, and fire-fighting appliances are cached in accessible places ready for immediate use.  When a Forest officer is notified of the approximate location of a fire he goes immediately with what help he thinks he needs.  If he finds that the fire is larger than he can handle with the available force at his command, he notifies the Supervisor, who secures men from the most practical point and dispatches them to the fire as soon as possible, by automobile or train.