and unashamed. The result
seemed a triumph. Half a million dollars was realized, but it was a
violation of decency that sounded the knell of the institution, and it
was later absorbed by the plodding Mechanics' Institute, which had
always been most judiciously managed. Its investments in real estate
that it used have made it wealthy.

A gala day of 1870 was the spectacular removal of Blossom Rock. The
early-day navigation was imperiled by a small rock northwest of Angel
Island, covered at low tide by but five feet of water. It was called
Blossom, from having caused the loss of an English ship of that name.
The Government closed a bargain with Engineer Von Schmidt, who three
years before had excavated from the solid rock at Hunter's Point a dry
dock that had gained wide renown. Von Schmidt guaranteed twenty-four
feet of water at a cost of seventy-five thousand dollars, no payment to
be made unless he succeeded. He built a cofferdam, sunk a shaft, planted
twenty-three tons of powder in the tunnels he ran, and on May 25th,
after notice duly served, which sent the bulk of the population to
view-commanding hills, he pushed an electric button that fired the mine,
throwing water and debris one hundred and fifty feet in the air. Blossom
Rock was no more, deep water was secured, and Von Schmidt cashed his
check.

On my trip from Humboldt County to San Francisco in 1861 I made the
acquaintance of Andrew S. Hallidie, an English engineer who had
constructed a wire bridge over the Klamath River. In 1872 he came to my
printing office to order a prospectus announcing the formation of a
small company to construct a new type of street-car, to be propelled by
wire cable running in a conduit in the street and reached by a grip
through a slot. It was suggested by the suffering of horses striving to
haul cars up our steep hills and it utilized methods successfully used
in transporting ores from the mines. On August 2, 1873, the first
cable-car made a successful trial trip of seven blocks over Clay Street
hill, from Kearny to Leavenworth. Later it was extended four blocks to
the west. From this beginning the cable-roads spread over most of the
city and around the world. With the development of the electric trolley
they were largely displaced except on steep grades, where they still
perform an important function. Mr. Hallidie was a public-spirited
citizen and an influential regent of the University of California.

In 1874 there was forced