Legend of the Tunnels

 
 

Sol Sötag was the dig foreman of Tunnel No. 3 running through the Santa Cruz Mountains. The tunnel extends from Wrights Station to the south entrance of what is today known as the Villa, situated along Summit road just east of Highway 17 between Los Gatos and Santa Cruz, California.


Early on the morning of November 18, 1879 Sol was unexpectedly summoned to work. He left a brief note on his desk for his wife and five children, telling them that he loved them and would arrive home later that evening.


Sol would never return.


At 11:50 p.m. on November 18, 1879, at 2,700 feet from the tunnel entrance, a coal oil leak caused a terrible explosion that rocked the mountain. Thirty Chinese laborers lost their lives in a series of three explosions lasting over a span of thirty minutes.


Sol survived the initial blast. As he searched the darkness for safety, he noticed the explosion had opened a passageway to a hidden cavern. The cavern was used by ancient Ohlone indians for sacrificial rituals, known only to the Chalactac tribe that lived near Loma Prieta Creek. Once Sol entered the cavern he was forever trapped by Ohlone spirits.


Sol was tormented. He so desperately wanted to see his wife and children again, but could never escape.


Legend has it that Sol was presented with a magical “Seeing Book” by a mystical winged creature named Luna. Legend was unclear, but it is suspected that Fae Loma Prieta, guardian of Maison du Lac, felt great sympathy for Sol and dispatched Luna to present Sol with his Seeing Book.


The Seeing Book allowed Sol to not only follow the lives of his children, but also the lives of the families of the Loma Prieta region.


To this day Sol and Luna live within the caverns and tunnels of the Santa Cruz Mountains. Sol uses the Seeing Book to capture the moments of the mountain life he could never live.