There’s a Mancow lurking somewhere beneath the surface. In the early 1890s, a group of young men was annoyed to find that one had brought his girlfriend on their hunting trip up Santiago Creek. While walking past a 60-foot-high sandstone promontory, a bull burst from the brush and chased the couple until they escaped. Looking for a cheeky way to make the point that their favorite hunting spot was no place for women, the men later painted a bull on the outcropping, along with the words, “Beware of the Mancow.” The elements soon wore away most of the graffito, but the word “Mancow” remained visible, making Mancow Rock a well-known landmark. It disappeared under the eastern end of the Santiago Dam when Irvine Lake was created in 1931.
Chris Jepsen is the O.C. Answer Man. Have a question? Send it to cjepsen@socal.rr.com.
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