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General Edward Fitzgerald Beale

From a Woodcut

Edward Fitzgerald
Beale

A Pioneer in the Path of Empire
1822-1903

Stephen Bonsai

With 17 Illustrations

G. P. Putnam's Sons

New York and London
Imicfeerbocfcer press

1912

BY
TRUXTUN BEALE

Ube -Knickerbocker press, Ikew J2orfc

INTRODUCTORY NOTE

EDWARD FITZGERALD BEALE, whose
life is outlined in the following pages, was
a remarkable man of a type we shall never
see in America again. A grandson of the gallant
Truxtun, Beale was born in the Navy and his early
life was passed at sea. However, he fought with
the army at San Pasqual and when night fell upon
that indecisive battlefield, with Kit Carson and
an anonymous Indian, by a daring journey through
a hostile country, he brought to Commodore
Stockton in San Diego, the news of General
Kearny's desperate situation.

Beale brought the first gold East, and was truly,
in those stirring days, what his friend and fellow-
traveller Bayard Taylor called him, "a pioneer in
the path of empire." Resigning from the Navy,
Beale explored the desert trails and the mountain
passes which led overland to the Pacific, and later
he surveyed the routes and built the wagon roads
over which the mighty migration passed to people
the new world beyond the Rockies.

As Superintendent of the Indians, a thankless
office which he filled for three years, Beale initiated
a policy of honest dealing with the nation's wards

240757

iv Introductory Note

which would have been even more successful than
it was had cordial unfaltering support always been
forthcoming from Washington.

Beale was, rare combination! both pioneer and
empire builder. He was also a man of catholic
interests. He was beloved by Carson and by
Benton, a scout and a senator, and was esteemed
by men as widely apart as his life-long friend Gen
eral Grant and the Emperor Francis Joseph, at
whose court Beale represented all that was best in
his native land.

As a boy the writer worshipped the great Indian
fighter "Who won California" and held it against
innumerable Mexican lancers, and who had
brought home the gold in the Patent Office we used
to gaze at with wide-open eyes on Saturday after
noons; but, for whatever intimate touches the
following pages may reveal the reader is indebted,
as is the writer, to Rear- Admiral John H. Upshur
and to Rear-Admiral David B. Harmony, Beale's
distinguished shipmates, to Hon. Truxtun Beale,
a son of the pioneer and of California, and to the
late Mr. Harris Heap who wrote the narrative of
Beale's journey across the plains in 1853.

STEPHEN BONSAL.
BEDFORD, N. Y., January 6, 1912.

CONTENTS

CHAPTER I — EARLY DAYS

Birth and Parentage — Born in the Navy — A Fistic Encounter
and its Consequences — A Jacksonian Midshipman at Four
teen — On the Schoolship Independence — Passed Midshipman
and Ordered to the Congress 44 as Acting Master — Secret
Mission for Commodore Stockton — Tradition of the Service
— British Designs on California ......

CHAPTER II — THE WAR WITH MEXICO

Secretary Bancroft's Instructions to Commodore Stockton upon
Taking Command of the Pacific Squadron — The Situation in
California — The Army of the West at Fort Leavenworth —
General Wool — Kearny at Santa Fe — The Meeting with Kit
Carson — Kearny Pushes on to California — Battle of San Pas-
qual — Beale Commands the Guns — Mexicans in Overwhelm
ing Force — Kearny in Straits — Beale and Carson Undertake
Desperate Journey Bringing Nows to Stockton — The Relief
Column — Benton's Speech in the Senate — His Tribute to
Beale— Beale's First Visit to San Francisco Bay in the Fall of
1846— His Letter to Fremont

.CHAPTER III — WITH CARSON ON THE GIL A

Beale the Hero of San Pasqual — Commodore Stockton's Des
patches and the Praise of his Brother Officers— Beale and
Carson Set Out across the Plains to Carry the News to Wash
ington — General Sherman's Picture of Carson — Adventures
on the Gila — Dogged by Indians for Eight Hundred Miles on
the Central Plains — "Them's Arrers" — Lions in St. Louis
and Washington — A Short Holiday — Back across the Plains
Again — Incredible Hardships in the Gila Country — Beale Dis-

vi Contents

PAGE

covers or Divines the Santa Fe Trail — The Rev. Colton as Al
calde of Monterey — The Milch Cow " Eschews " to the Court
— Sutter's Mill-Race and the Golden Sands — Conditions of
Life in El Dorado — The Rev. Colton's Complaint and Prayer
ful Hope — Beale as a Caricaturist — The Alleged Resentment
of Catesby Jones — Story of Gold in California — Competition
between the Army and Navy to Get the News East —
Beale's Views on the Gold Question ..... 25

CHAPTER IV — BEALE BRINGS FIRST GOLD EAST

Beale's Daring Journey across Mexico with the First Gold —
Gente de Camino — Mexico City and Minister Clifford — Fate
of Beale's Guide — Senators Foote and Benton Hear the Won
derful Story — William Carey Jones's Account of Journey in
National Intelligencer — Beale Introduced to the United States
Senate — Wise " Stay-at-Homes " Show Incredulity — Beale
Walks down Wall Street with Mr. Aspinwall — P. T. Barnum
Wants to Exhibit the Gold— But Half the Treasure is Fash
ioned into an Engagement Ring — Courting at Chester —
Ammen's Letter to the Young Argonaut — On the Trail
Again — Letter from Big Timber — Beale's Description of his
Route across the Continent — Along the Thirty-fifth Parallel —
Old Trail Develops into Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Rail
road — Chronological Table of Beale's Early Travels — Mar
riage with Miss Edwards — Arctic Expedition Proposed —
Letters from Captain Lynch and Commodore Maury —
Bayard Taylor Dedicates his Book on California to Beale —
Beale Resigns from the Service — He Retrieves the Business
Ventures of Commodore Stockton and Mr. Aspinwall . . 42

CHAPTER V — FIRST STEPS IN OUR INDIAN POLICY

Lieutenant Beale Appointed by President Fillmore General Super
intendent of Indian Affairs for California and Nevada — Con
gress Appropriates Two Hundred and Fifty Thousand Dollars
to Carry into Effect Beale's Plans— Indian Tribes to be Col
onized and Protected on Reservations — Beale's Journey from
the Valley of the Mississippi to California along the Central
Route as Described by Himself and Mr. Heap — Westport,
Kansas, and the "Stirrup Cup-" — Fort Atkinson and Pike's
Peak and the Huerfano River — Plains of the Arkansas and
Fort Massachusetts ....... .64

Contents vii

CHAPTER VI — ACROSS THE PLAINS IN '53

From Coochatope Pass to Grand River — A Taste of Mountain
Sheep — The Great Divide — Murderous Work of Utah In
dians — Arrival at the Uncompagre River — The Swollen Fork
of the Colorado— Raft Built and Abandoned— The Slough of
Despond — Building a Canoe — Forlorn Plight of Pack Mules
— Shipwreck and Inventory of Losses — Expedition Separated
by River but United by Common Misfortunes — Gallant Swim
mers — Beale Decides to Send to Taos in New Mexico to
Replenish his Supplies — Mr. Heap's Journey to the Settle
ments — A Miserable Night — "Peg-Leg" and the Venerable
Utah — The Lonely Squaw — Arrival at Taos — Mr. Leroux and
Supplies . . . . . . . . .84

CHAPTER VII — BEALE'S SEPARATE JOURNAL

Hunting Prowess of the Delaware — Indians Appear in Camp —
Banquet of Venison and Boiled Corn — The Beautiful Valley
of the Savoya — The Indians Race their Horses — A Taste of
Rough Riding — The Return of Mr. Heap . . . .112

CHAPTER VIII — ON THE VERGE OF HOSTILITIES

Shaking Hands with Utahs — Picturesque Encampment on the Big
Uncompagre — Lieutenant Beale and the "Capitanos" — A
Stiff Demand for Presents — A Pair of Game-cocks — Crossing
the Fallen River — Indians in Paint and Feathers — Beale's
Ultimatum — The Delaware's Long Memory — Grand River
Canyon — The Crossing — The Indians Attempt a Stampede —
The Mormons near the Vegas of Santa Clara — Paragoona —
Brigham Young — Why the Mormons Settled at Parawan —
Little Salt Lake — Strict Vigilance over Strangers — Colonel
Smith — The Practice of Polygamy — Views on the System of
"Spiritual Wives" . 122

CHAPTER IX — THE DESERT JOURNEY

The Mormon Wagon Trail — Joy of the Pah-Utahs — Famous
Horse Thieves — The Traffic in Children — Rio de la Virgen—
The First Jornada — Muddy Creek and the Spring of Gaetan —
Pah-Utah Billingsgate — The End of a Mormon Explorer —
The Second Jornada — Twenty Hours without Water — The

viii Contents

PACK

Oasis of Tio Meso — The Mohaveh River — The Valley of the
Santa Ana — San Bernardino Mountain — The Settlements and
Los Angeles — Benton's Letters and Congratulations . . 147

CHAPTER X — INDIAN AFFAIRS

State of the Indians in the Pacific Coast Territories — Indians Held
to Peonage by the Whites — Fifteen Thousand Die of Starva
tion — Spaniards and Mexicans as Slave Drivers — Beale's Plan
of Protected Reservations for the Nation's Wards — Mr.
Sebastian Supports the Plan in the Senate, and Secures the
Desired Appropriation — Beale's Indian Policy Endorsed by
the Military and Civil Officials in California — General
Hitchcock's Letter — Opposition of Indian Agents — Mas
sacres in Shasta and Scott Valley — General Rising of the
Indians Feared — Beale Commissioned Brigadier -General —
As Peace Plenipotentiary Brings the Warlike Tribes to
Terms — Beale's Defence of the Modocs . . . .174

CHAPTER XI — THE FORGOTTEN CAMEL CORPS

Transportation Problems of the Fifties — To Provision Army
Posts in Southwest, Beale Suggests Camel Trains to the War
Department — Enthusiastic Reception of the Novel Idea by
Secretary Jefferson Davis — David Dixon Porter Sent to Tunis
and Syria to Secure the Camels — Camel Corps in the Scinde
Campaign — Beale's Report to the War Department of his
Camel Journey from San Antonio to El Paso — San Francisco
Papers Enthusiastic over the New Beast of Burden — Davis
Resigns from the War Department and the Camels are Neg
lected — Beale Herds the Survivors on his Ranch — A Camel
Tandem — Value of Beale's Journals to Future Historians of
the Southwestern and Pacific States . . . . .198

CHAPTER XII — THE WAGON ROAD SURVEY FROM FORT
DEFIANCE TO CALIFORNIA

Contents ix

to the Colorado — First Sight of the Sierra Nevada — Winter at
Fort Tejon — The Return Journeys-First Steamer on the
Colorado — Last Entry in the Journal — "We Have Tested the
Value of the Camel, Marked a New Road to the Pacific and
Travelled Four Thousand Miles" 211

CHAPTER XIII — THE JOURNEY ALONG THE 35™ PARALLEL

Beale's Official Report — Railway Surveys from Fort Smith, Ar
kansas, to the Colorado — Choteau's and the Valley of the
Canadian — The Rio del Norte at Albuquerque — Advantages
of this Route for Wagon or Railroads — Extracts from Beale's
Journal — Inscription Rock — Breakfast of Wild Cat — A Visit
to Zuni— Advice to the Chief — "A Merrie Jest of Ye White
Man and Ye Indian " — Indian Rumors and a Treaty of Peace
— Civil War and the Close of the Wagon Road Period —
"Wanderer" Writes about it from Gum Springs to the Phila
delphia Press — The Pacific Railroad as a Government Project
— Santa Fe Traders — Praise of Beale as Pioneer and Road
Builder .......... 230

CHAPTER XIV — GENERAL BEALE AS SURVEYOR-GENERAL

Lincoln Appoints Beale Surveyor-General of California and
Nevada — Plans of the Secessionists — Beale Persuades Lincoln
not to Enforce the Draft in California — Weathering the Crisis
— Beale's Letter to the President Volunteering for Service in
the Field — His Views on the Cause and Probable Conse
quences of Civil War Published by the Philadelphia Press —
"The Fate of the Commons of the World Depends Upon the
Issue of the Struggle" — Beale's Letter to Secretary Chase
Favoring Acquisition of Lower California by United States
— Chase's Reply — Letters from the Mexican General Vega —
Beale's Sympathies With the Liberal Though Fugitive Govern
ment across the Border — Grant and Beale Contrive to Send
Muskets to Juarez — President Diaz's Recognition in after
Years of Beale's Assistance in this the Hour of Need . . 256

CHAPTER XV— LIFE ON THE TEJON RANCHO

Beale Resigns as Surveyor-General and Retires to Tejon — Pur
chases more Land from Absentee Landlords — Description of
the Bakersfield Country when Kern County Was a Wilder-

x Contents

PAGE

ness — The Spring, the Fig-trees and the Live Oaks — A Rodeo
— Robber Bands — Nearest Justice 150 Miles Away! — Sale of
Sheep in San Francisco — Mexicans Who Panned for Gold
Before the Forty-niners — Lincoln and Beale Anecdotes —
"Monarch of all he Surveys" — Charles Nordhoff's Visit to
Tejon — Description of Life there — His Praise of what Gen
eral Beale Had Accomplished — Kit Carson's Ride by Joaquin
Miller— Beale Falls Foul of the Poet— Sad Scenes on the
Rancho . . . .- . . . . . . 272

CHAPTER XVI — LAST YEARS

General Beale Purchases the Decatur House — Its Distinguished
Occupants and Ghost Story — Beale's Political Activity — His
Untiring Efforts to Help the Negro — Appointed by Grant
Minister to Austria — Newspaper Comment in California — A
Bill of Sale from Slavery Days — Awkward Diplomatic Sit
uation — The Emperor and Count Andrassy — Friendship of
Grant and Beale — Their Correspondence Published — Arthur
Fails to Appoint Beale Secretary of the Navy — Grant's Re
sentment — Beale Ends the Grant-Blaine Feud — Last Days
— Beale's Death — Scenes in Washington and on the Tejon
Rancho .......... 291

INDEX . . . . . . . . . . . 307

ILLUSTRATIONS

PACK

GENERAL EDWARD FITZGERALD BEALE . Frontispiece

From a Woodcut

COMMODORE ROBERT F. STOCKTON ... 8

From an Engraving by H. B. Hall
After a Painting on Ivory by Newton in 1840

THE CITY AND HARBOR OF Rio DE JANEIRO . , 10

From a Lithograph

THE HARBOR OF VALPARAISO .... 20

From a Lithograph

THE CITY OF LIMA ...... 30

From a Lithograph

THE HARBOR OF SAN FRANCISCO IN NOVEMBER, 1849 38

From a Lithograph of 1850

MAZATLAN 42

From a Lithograph of 1850

THE VOLCANO DIGGINGS 60

From a Lithograph of 1850

GENERAL B BALE'S FIRST CAMP IN THE SANGRE DE

CRISTO MOUNTAINS ... 76

From a Lithograph

GRAND RIVER, BELOW THE JUNCTION OF THE UNCOM-

PAGRE 80

From a Lithograph
xi

xii Illustrations

THE LOWER BAR, MOKELUMNE RIVER ... 86

From a Lithograph of 1850

THE METHOD OF CROSSING LACUNA CREEK . . 90

From a Lithograph

A VIEW ON GRAND RIVER IN 1852 . . . .128

From a Lithograph

SAN FRANCISCO IN 1846 200

From a Lithograph

SACRAMENTO CITY, FROM THE SOUTH, IN 1849 . .214

From a Lithograph

PORTSMOUTH SQUARE, SAN FRANCISCO . . . 240

From a Lithograph in 1 850

KIT CARSON STATUE 270

Frederick MacMonnies, Sculptor

A VIEW OF MONTEREY 278

From a Lithograph of 1850

KIT CARSON'S GUN 288

Edward Fitzgerald Beale

EDWARD FITZGERALD BEALE

CHAPTER I
EARLY DAYS

Beale's Birth and Parentage — Born in the Navy — A Fistic
Encounter and its Consequences — A Jacksonian Mid
shipman at Fourteen — On the Schoolship Independ
ence — Passed Midshipman and Ordered to the Congress
44 as Acting Master — Secret Mission for Commodore
Stockton — Tradition of the Service — British Designs
on California.

EDWARD FITZGERALD BEALE was born
on his father's estate in the District of
Columbia on February 4, 1822. He was
the son of Paymaster George Beale1 who served
with distinction under McDonough in the Battle
of Lake Champlain and of Emily the youngest
daughter of Commodore Truxtun of the Constel
lation. As the son and the grandson of distin
guished naval officers, young Beale had what was
regarded in the old Navy as a prescriptive right
to enter the service and this was also his wish from
earliest years. With the advent of Jackson and

1 See note on next page.

,2. Edward Fitzgerald Beale

with Democracy installed in power as never before
since the foundation of the Government, the pre
scriptive rights of the old naval families were, how
ever, being brushed aside and the claims and hopes
of young "Ned" Beale might also have been over
looked but for a fortunate and characteristic inci
dent which I shall relate as it is recorded in the
family archives.

The boys at the Capital, where the Beales
spent their winters at this time, were much given
to politics, and their ranks were divided by alleg
iance to antagonistic statesmen.

Fortunately for himself, our hero at this moment
was a stalwart Jacksonian. There were many
adherents of Adams at the Capital and after hot
disputes it was agreed to have all political differ
ences settled by the ancient test of battle.

"Ned" Beale was chosen by the Jacksonians,
while the Adamites were represented by a boy
named Evans, who has since become a distin
guished citizen of Indiana. A day or two later,
the fistic encounter took place under a long white

NAVY DEPARTMENT,

Feb. 10, 1820.
SIR:

In compliance with a resolution of Congress, I am directed by the
President to present to you a silver medal as a testimony of the high
sense entertained by Congress of your gallantry, good conduct, and
services in the decisive and splendid victory gained on Lake Cham plain
on the nth of September, 1814, over a British squadron of superior
force.

Yours most respectfully,

SMITH THOMPSON, Secretary of the Navy.
To GEORGE BEALE, Esq., Paymaster U. S. Navy.

Early Days 3

arch which at that time marked the southern
entrance to the grounds of the White House.
While the battle raged and the enthusiastic spec
tators shouted encouragement to their respective
champions, a tall figure appeared on the scene,
scattered the boys, and seizing Beale by the collar
asked him what he was fighting for. He replied
that he was fighting for Jackson and that his
opponent, the Adams boy, had expressed a poor
opinion of the President's politics and personality.

"I am Jackson," said the newcomer. "I never
forget the men or boys who are willing to fight for
me, but of course I do not wish them to do it all
the time. Now put on your coats/'

Several years now elapsed which Beale spent
at Georgetown College, but when he reached his
fourteenth year, the desire to enter the Navy
became overwhelming. One afternoon he called
at the White House with his mother to see General
Jackson and put in an application for a midship
man's warrant. Mrs. Beale told her story, insisting
upon the fact that her boy was the son and the
grandson of men who had served their country
and had been wounded in battle.

Jackson listened with courtesy and with interest,
but seemed somewhat uncertain as to how he
should act upon the request. Suddenly the boy
interrupted his mother and said, " Mother, let me
speak to General Jackson in my own behalf."
He then approached the General, in a moment
reminding him of the fight and the promise he

4 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

had made, at least by implication, to serve him
should the opportunity present. Without a
word, General Jackson tore off the back of a
letter lying near him (this was before the days
of envelopes) and wrote to the Secretary of the
Navy, "Give this boy an immediate warrant,"
and handed it over to Mrs. Beale. A few hours
later, Ned Beale's name was on the Navy list
and soon he was on his way to the receiving ship
at Philadelphia, which then served as a Naval
School.

The Widow Beale now returned with her trium
phant boy to Chester, Pa., when suddenly the
problem presented itself, in what guise should the
youngster make his first appearance at the Naval
School? She called in her kinsmen, the Porters
and the Farraguts, who both were neighbors at
Greenbank on the Delaware, and at their sugges
tion Aunt Polly was called in. Aunt Polly was
well known in Chester as an impoverished gentle
woman who had seen better days. She did needle
work, and it was thought that with care and by the
advice of several of the young officers of the family,
who were at home on leave, she could bring
together something resembling a uniform, and
indeed a most wonderful coat was produced, which
was fitted out with the buttons of the great Truxtun,
large metal buttons about five times as large as
those which were ordinarily worn in this day. In
this guise, three days later, Beale presented him
self on board the receiving ship. His future mess-

Early Days 5

mates made great fun of the wonderful coat.
Many fights ensued, and as a result, the treasured
heirlooms, the buttons which Truxtun had worn,
it is said, on the occasion of his famous battle
when in command of the Constellation, disap
peared. The essential had been achieved, how
ever, and "Ned" Beale had fought his way into
the Navy.

Beale's career on the schoolship Independence
was creditable and gave promise of his later per
formance. Before he was sixteen, he had twice
risked his life in saving from drowning the lives of
others ; he was regarded as pugnacious by his class
mates and by his teachers but not excessively so
for a midshipman who owed his appointment to
the personal selection of Andrew Jackson. Beale
made a cruise to the West Indies on the Porpoise
and another to the Mediterranean on the Ohio.
Returning to the Naval School in Philadelphia he
faced his examinations bravely, was commended
for seamanship and his ability to write good lucid
English, and then received his commission as
Passed Midshipman.

In August, 1845, Beale was ordered to the frig
ate Congress 44 fitting out in Norfolk, Virginia,
for the Pacific Coast. He was commissioned
Acting Master, a grade since abolished, and now the
boyish days were over, and the serious business
of life began.

We now approach an episode in Beale's life
which is certainly somewhat unsatisfactory to the

6 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

historian. Few youngsters have been entrusted
with secret missions, still fewer have proved so
reticent as to carry the secret to their grave, yet
this was the case with our young Acting Master.
Little is known of the episode beyond the
general tradition in the service, of which I shall
speak later, and for this I am indebted to Rear-
Admiral Harmony and Rear- Admiral Upshur,
Beale's shipmates, who happily survive. We must
also do what we can with the information which the
Reverend Walter Colton, the Chaplain of the Con
gress, supplied in his book descriptive of this cruise,
which was published in New York in 1850 under
the title of Deck and Port. One month out from
Hampton Roads he makes this entry in his log:

We discovered this morning a brig on our weather bow,
standing down for us, and we hove to with our main topsail
to the mast. She ran up Danish colors and in an hour
hove to at a cable's length under our lee-quarter. We
lowered a boat and boarded her. She proved to be the
brig Maria, forty days out from Rio Grande in Brazil, and
bound for Antwerp. The Captain wished to correct his
reckoning, and well he might, for he was seven days out of
his longitude. Mr. Beale, our second Master, took passage
in her for the United States with despatches. It was
arranged between him and the Captain of the brig that he
should be put on board the first vessel that they might fall
in with bound for an American port, and that if they fell in
with none, that he should be landed at Dover, England.

As a matter of fact, the Maria sailed for many
weeks through an empty ocean, and without meet-

Early Days 7

ing a sail. Young Beale was finally landed some
where on the English coast. He went directly to
London, and after a few weeks stay there proceeded
to the United States. After twenty-four hours in
Washington, he set out to rejoin his ship, which he
finally overtook in Callao harbor in Peru on the
8th of May.

Neither the Beale papers nor the records of the
Navy Department shed any light whatsoever upon
the purpose of Beale's mission, or the purport of the
despatches which he carried. It is merely stated
that he arrived with information from Commodore
Stockton who commanded the Congress and was
.going out to the Pacific Coast to take command
of all the naval forces there. Stockton's orders
were to do all within his power to prepare for what
the inevitable conflict with Mexico meant.

Beale never enlightened his family as to the
details of this mission. He merely answered
proudly when repeatedly questioned, "I was a
bearer of secret despatches. Commodore Stockton
never removed the seal of secrecy from my lips."

The tradition in the service is that while still in
the West Indies Commodore Stockton secured
information in regard to the movements of a
British squadron which he deemed of the greatest
importance and detached Beale to carry the news
to Washington. It must be borne in mind that at
the time in many circles our British cousins were
credited with a design to anticipate the course of
our manifest destiny and to acquire California them-

8 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

selves. When Stockton reached the Pacific Coast
in the summer of 1845 with the return instructions
which Beale brought him, covering the contingency
of British intervention, Admiral Seymour was
there with a large and powerful fleet. However,
Seymour behaved in a very friendly manner,
observed a waiting attitude, and never by word
or action betrayed the fact that American annex
ation of the coveted territory was not agreeable to
his Government.

Commodore Robert F. Stockton

From an Engraving by H. B. Hall
After a painting on ivory by Newton, in 1840

CHAPTER II
THE WAR WITH MEXICO

Secretary Bancroft's Instructions to Commodore Stockton
upon Taking Command of the Pacific Squadron —
The Situation in California — The Army of the West
at Fort Leavenworth — General Wool — Kearny at
Santa Fe — The Meeting with Kit Carson — Kearny
Pushes on to California — Battle of San Pasqual —
Beale Commands the Guns — Mexicans in Over
whelming Force — Kearny in Straits — Beale and
Carson Undertake Desperate Journey Bringing News
to Stockton— The Relief Column— Benton's Speech
in the Senate — His Tribute to Beale — Beale's First
Visit to San Francisco Bay in the Fall of 1846 — His
Letter to Fremont.

THE purpose of the Administration at this
juncture and the situation in Mexico is well
described in the instructions of Hon. George
Bancroft, the historian, then Secretary of the Navy,
to Commodore Stockton when this distinguished
officer was on the point of sailing from Norfolk, Va.,
on the Congress to take command of the Pacific
Squadron.

It is the earnest desire of the President [writes Mr.
Bancroft] to pursue the policy of peace, and he is anxious

io Edward Fitzgerald Beale

that you and every part of your Squadron should be
assiduously careful to avoid any act which could be con
strued into an act of aggression. Should Mexico, however,
be resolutely bent on hostilities you will be mindful to
protect the persons and the interests of citizens of the
United States, and should you ascertain beyond a doubt
that the Mexican Government has declared war against us,
you will employ the force under your command to the best
advantage.

The Mexican ports on the Pacific are said to be open and
defenceless. If you ascertain with certainty that Mexico
has declared war against the United States you will at once
blockade or occupy such ports as your force may admit.

When Stockton reached the California coast,
however, the situation was somewhat different.
By June, 1846, war had been declared, and after
driving the Mexicans at Palo Alto and Resaca de
la Palma, General Taylor lay at Matamoras await
ing definite instructions from Washington which
were slow in coming.

In the meantime, a small force, somewhat pom
pously styled the Army of the West, assembled at
Fort Leavenworth. It was commanded by Colonel
Kearny who was instructed as soon as his prepa
rations were made to march into New Mexico,
capture Santa Fe, and then proceed to California.
The Army of the Centre, a much larger force under
command of General Wool, had assembled at
San Antonio, and was making ready to march into
Chihuahua.

Kearny, apparently oppressed by the fear that
the war would be over before he had fairly placed

o a

2 I

y_, O

o -5

The War with Mexico n

his men in the field, left Leaven worth without
awaiting the arrival of one thousand men that the
State of Missouri had been called upon to furnish
him. Kearny entered New Mexico, and meeting
with little or no resistance, reached Santa Fe on the
1 8th of August. After raising the flag over this
ancient Spanish stronghold, he issued a proclama
tion absolving all the inhabitants of New Mexico
from their allegiance to Mexico, and declaring the
country an integral portion of the United States.
Leaving word for the Missouri volunteers to join
General Wool on his expedition into Chihuahua,
Kearny now pushed on toward California, his
force of regulars being reduced to three hundred
dragoons. When eleven days out from Santa Fe,
Kearny met Kit Carson, the famous scout, who
with an escort of sixteen men was on his way to
Washington with despatches. In these despatches
Commodore Stockton and Colonel Fremont an
nounced the conquest of California by the forces
under their command, and the institution of a form
of civil government throughout the conquered ter
ritory. This information was correct in every sense
of the word, but as Kearny's force was soon to ex
perience, the Californians, that is the Mexicans of
California, encouraged by the sight of the slender
force which the United States then had on the
Pacific Coast, revolted and took up arms. Igno
rant of the reception that was awaiting him,
Kearny sent back East several squadrons, and
taking Carson for his guide pushed on with the

12 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

remainder to the Colorado River which he crossed,
and marching northward reached the rancho of
Agua Caliente on December 2d.

Kearny had made Carson turn back with him,
and had sent another scout on to Washington with
the despatches because he desired the services of
the best guide. It was not a wise step thus to
interfere with the plans of his brother officers, and
indeed Commodore Stockton was his superior.
From this incident, in itself most trivial, dates
the jealousy and the discord which fills the history
of the United States for several years with that
unseemly wrangling that is known under the name
of the Stockton-Fremont-Kearny controversy.
In the court-martial which Fremont demanded as
a result of Kearny 's criticisms, Lieutenant Beale
was summoned as a witness. His testimony was
most favorable to Fremont, and not helpful to
Kearny's reputation. Here his connection with
the unhappy affair ended, and there will be no
further reference to the controversy in this narra
tive.

From Agua Caliente, Colonel Kearny sent a
letter to Commodore Stockton at San Diego
announcing his approach, and three days later,
when Kearny was but forty miles distant from
the American naval base, he was met by a small
force of volunteers under Captain Gillespie, and
a score of bluejackets and a field-piece under Mid
shipman Beale. Though in anything but a secure
position himself, Stockton had generously des-

The War with Mexico 13

patched this small force to apprise Kearny of the
changed conditions, to warn him of the general
revolt of the Californians, and to assist him upon
his now perilous march to the coast. The insur
gent Californians were at this time encamped at
San Bernardo and Stockton contemplated attack
ing them when reinforced, or when Kearny was
out of his dangerous position.

The next news came through a Mr. Stokes, an,
English pioneer of California, who rode into San
Diego and announced that Kearny had attacked
the Californians and been worsted. Upon cross-
examination Stokes admitted to the anxious com
modore that the battle was no concern of his, and
that he had left the field while the result was in some
doubt because he was convinced that his position as
spectator was becoming dangerous. Great uncer
tainty and anxiety prevailed now at the naval base
in San Diego harbor. It was heightened by the
arrival of Alexis Godey, the famous scout, who had
come through from San Pasqual, where the battle
was fought, with a letter from Captain Turner upon
whom the command had devolved when Kearny
was wounded. Turner stated that eighteen men
of the small force had been killed, and that there
were many wounded. " General Kearny is
among the wounded, but it is hoped not dan
gerously. Captains Monroe and Johnson, ist
Dragoons, are killed, and Lieut. Hammond, ist
Dragoons, is dangerously wounded. " In conclu
sion, Turner asked that a considerable force be

14 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

despatched to meet him on the road to San Diego,
via Soledad and San Bernardo.

Commodore Stockton was impressed by the
gravity of this news and it led him to believe that
the Calif ornian- Mexicans were in much greater
strength than had hitherto been reported. Godey
came in with Turner's letter on December 7th,
and Stockton was pushing preparations to march
with his whole force, when on the afternoon of the
9th an Indian who was known as a body-servant
of Beale's came into the lines and reported that as
a result of the battle Kearny's force was in des
perate straits. The Indian had hardly completed
his story when Beale appeared with a more circum
stantial and intelligent report. " Kearny has been
defeated," he said, "and his whole force is besieged
on a small hill of rocks, or mesa, so completely
surrounded by the enemy that it seems impossible
for them to escape, or to long maintain their posi
tion." Beale also reported that the Calif ornians
were commanded by Don Andres Pico, the brother
of the Governor, who had proven himself to be a
very capable and energetic officer, and that
Kearny's men, when he started out on his mission
to obtain relief, had been reduced for some days
to eating mule flesh, and had been without water
for sixty hours.

That was a busy night in San Diego. Beale
was taken to the hospital where for days he was
near death. While the young sailor was raving
in the hospital, three hundred marines and blue-

The War with Mexico 15

jackets, sent by Stockton, pushed on through the
dark night, and at dawn on the morning of the
eleventh they reached their beleaguered country
men. The enemy, baffled of their prey, disap
peared with the mists of the morning. The march
to the sea was resumed, and that night the little
band of dragoons, that had looked down the very
jaws of death, entered San Diego in safety.

Benton's speech before the Senate describing
the battle of San Pasqual and the resulting contro
versy between Stockton, Kearny, and Fremont,
which practically disorganized the American Army
and Navy for months to come, lasted I believe for
four days and would I know fill several volumes of
this size. Those were spacious days in the Senate.
However, I cannot refrain from quoting the follow
ing paragraphs from the speech of the second day.
They deal very intimately with our young hero
and as The Missouri Tribune stated to the open
Senate, the information concerning Beale's heroism
had been secured by him from Kit Carson who was
at the time a guest in Benton's house.

The four days* siege of the hill was the period of interest
ing events, which it was the duty of the General to have
told, and which he suppressed to keep up his assumed
character of victor. [Said Ben ton] First, there was the
capture of the generous and daring Godey, with his two
companions, in full view of Kearny's camp, after his
adventurous run to San Diego, forty miles, to get aid for
Kearny, and rapid return with the tidings that it was
coming — tidings which he could not deliver because he was
captured in view of Kearny by his besiegers. This fact had

1 6 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

to be suppressed, or the illusive cry of victory was at an
end. It was suppressed — doubly suppressed — not noticed
in the official report, and not confessed on interrogation
before the court-martial. Then there was the chivalry of
Don Andres Pico, worthy of Castilian blood, in his conduct
to his enemies. He treated the captured men with the
utmost kindness — Godey as a brother, because he knew his
renown, and honored heroism in his person. He inquired
for the killed, and especially for Gillespie, whom he person
ally knew, and whom he had reported among the dead,
Godey told him that he was not dead, but badly lanced,
and that his servant in San Diego had made up some
supplies for him, which he had brought — sugar, coffee, tea,
fresh linen. Pico put the supplies under a flag, and sent
them to Gillespie, with an invitation to come to his camp,
and receive better treatment than he could get on the dry
rocks of San Bernardo; which he did, and was treated like a
brother, returning when he pleased. The same flag carried
a proposition to exchange prisoners. Kearny was alarmed
at it, and saw nothing in it, or in the noble conduct to
Gillespie, but a trick and a lure to perfidy. He was afraid
to meet the flag. None of those for whom he reserved the
honors of his report to the Government would venture to go.
There was a lad present — one of those sent out by Stockton,
a midshipman, the son of a widow in sight of this Capitol,
the grandson of Truxtun, and no degenerate scion of that
illustrious stock: his name, Beale.

This lad volunteered to go and hear the propositions of
exchange. Great was the alarm at his departure. A six-
barrelled revolver, in addition to the sword, perfectly
charged and capped, was stowed under his coat. Thus
equipped, and well-mounted, he set out, protected by a flag
and followed by anxious eyes and palpitating hearts. The
little river San Bernardo was crossed at a plunging gallop,
without a drink, though rabid for water both the horse and
his rider, the rider having a policy which the horse could not

The War with Mexico 17

comprehend. Approaching a picket-guard, a young alfarez
(ensign) came out to inquire for what purpose. The
mission was made known, for Beale spoke Spanish; and
while a sergeant was sent to the General's tent to inform
him of the flag, a soldier was despatched to the river for
water. "Hand it to the gentleman," was the Castilian
command. Beale put the cup to his lips, wet them, in
token of acknowledging a civility, and passed it back; as
much as to say, "we have water enough on that hill." The
alfarez smiled ; and, while waiting the arrival of Don Andres,
a courteous dialogue went on. "How do you like the
country?" inquired the alfarez. "Delighted with it,"
responded Beale. "You occupy a good position to take a
wide view." "Very good: can see all round." "I don't
think your horses find the grass refreshing on the hill."
"Not very refreshing, but strong." There was, in fact, no
grass on the hill, nor any shrub but the one called wire-
wood, from the close approximation of its twigs to that
attenuated preparation of iron which is used for making
knitting-needles, card- teeth, fishing-hooks, and such small
notions; and upon which wood, down to its roots, the
famished horses gleaned until compassionate humanity cut
the halters, and permitted them to dash to the river, and
its grassy bands, and become the steeds of the foe.

By this time three horsemen were seen riding up, as all
Californians ride, at the rate the famous Gilpin rode when
he made the last mile to Islington. Arriving within a
certain distance, they halted, as only Californians and
Mamelukes can halt : the horse, at a pull of the bridle and
lever bit, thrown back upon his haunches, fixed in his
tracks, and motionless as the equestrian statue of Peter the
Great. One of the three advanced on foot, unbuckling his
sword and flinging it twenty feet to the right. The alfarez
had departed. Seeing the action of the gentleman, Beale
did the same — unbuckled his sword and flung it twenty
feet to his right. The swords were then forty feet apart.

1 8 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

But the revolver ! there it stuck under his coat — unmistak
able symptom of distrust or perfidy — sign of intended or
apprehended assassination, and outlawed by every code of
honor from the field of parley. A stolen sheep on his back
would have been a jewelled star on his breast compared to
the fixed fact of that assassin revolver under his midship
man's coat. Confusion filled his bosom; and for a moment
honor and shame contended for the mastery. To try and
hide it, or pull it out, expose it, and fling it away, was the
question; but with the grandson of Truxtun it was a brief
question. High honor prevailed. The clean thing was
done. Abstracted from its close concealment, the odious
tool was bared to the light, and vehemently dashed far
away — the generous Californian affecting not to have seen
it. Then breathed the boy easier and deeper.

The business of the parley was soon arranged. Pico
had three Americans, Kearny had but one Californian,
sole fruit of the victory of San Pasqual. Pico offered to
exchange man for man. Having but one man, Beale was
anxious to redeem Godey, but would not name him, only
described him. Pico smiled. "That is Godey," said
he. "You can't have him; but he will be treated well.
Describe another." Beale, supposing he was to be
refused again, and so reduced to the one which he least
wanted, described Burgess, a brave man, but the least
intelligent of the three. Pico smiled again. "You shall
have him," was the ready reply. "Send our man, and he
shall redeem Burgess." It was done, and the exchange
effected.

The results of the astuteness of Pico, in giving up the
least intelligent of his prisoners, was soon visible, and
lamentably so, in the American camp. Burgess could tell
nothing about the mission to Stockton — nothing about his
response in answer to Godey's mission — nothing about
help; for he was only one of the escort for the personal
safety of Godey, in his dangerous mission, traversing eighty

The War with Mexico 19

miles (going and coming) of insurgent country, filled with a
hostile population, and rode over by fleet cavalry, flushed
with victory. The secret of the mission asking for aid was
confined to Godey — not to be committed to others, for
fear of multiplying the chances of its getting to the knowl
edge of the enemy.

Burgess could tell nothing. Then it was that black
despair fell upon the American camp. Without provisions,
without power to move, besieged by conquerors, without
the hope of relief — a surrender at discretion, or death in a
vain effort to escape, were the only alternatives. In this
mournful dilemma, American spirit rose to the level of the
occasion. Men and officers, one and all, the unhappy
wounded with the rest, demanded to be led forth. Then
the mournful preparations were made. All the baggage
was burnt — everything that could encumber the march.
The helpless part of the wounded were put on ambulances.
At one o'clock the devoted column began to move — Pico,
on the watch, observing the movement. In a moment his
lancers were in the saddle, mounted on their fleet, docile,
daring, and educated . horses, such as the Mameluke
never rode. He was then in front, in the open and beauti
ful valley through which the road lay down the river to
San Diego. Suddenly the lancers defiled to the right —
came round into the rear of the hill — halted and formed at
six hundred yards distance ; as much as to say, " We open the
road to you; take it." Then Kearny halted his column,
and consulted his officers, and others — Carson knows who.

The question was, to go or not? The solution seemed to
depend upon the possibility of getting relief from Stockton ;
if there was a chance for that relief, wait for it; if not, go
forward. Stockton was thirty-five miles distant, and noth
ing heard from him; for Burgess, as I have said, could tell
nothing. To send another express to Stockton seemed
hopeless, the distance and dangers were so great. Besides,
who would venture to go, seeing the fate of Godey and

20 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

knowing the state of the country? It was a moment to find
a hero; and one presented himself. It was the lad Beale.
It was then one o'clock; the column fell back into camp;
early dark was fixed for the departure of the daring messen
ger; and he was asked whom he would have for his compan
ion. "Carson and my Indian servant," was the reply.
The General answered that he could not spare Carson —
that general who swore before the court-martial that he had
never seen the man before or since who brought him Fre
mont's letter of the I7th of January — that man being
Carson! He could not spare him. He wanted a coun
sellor, as well as a guide and a hero. Then said Beale, "No
other can help me; and I will go with the Indian servant."
General Kearny then said Carson might go. Carson has
since told me that Beale volunteered first.

The brief preparations for the forlorn hope — les enfans
perdus; los hijos perdidos — were soon made; and brief they
were. A rifle each, a blanket, a revolver, a sharp knife,
and no food; there was none in the camp. General Kearny
invited Beale to come and sup with him. It was not the
supper of Antony and Cleopatra; for when the camp
starves, no general has a larder. It was meagre enough.
The General asked Beale what provisions he had to travel
on; the answer was, nothing. The General called his ser
vant to inquire what his tent afforded; a handful of flour
was the answer. The General ordered it to be baked into
a loaf and given to Beale. When the loaf was brought, the
servant said that was the last, not of bread only, but of
everything; that he had nothing left for the General's
breakfast. Beale directed the servant to carry back the
loaf, saying he would provide for himself. He did provide
for himself; and how? By going to the smouldering fire
where the baggage had been burnt in the morning, and
scraping from the ashes and embers the half-burnt peas
and grains of corn which the conflagration had spared,
filling his pockets with the unwonted food. Carson

The War with Mexico 21

and the faithful Indian provided for themselves some
mule-beef.

The darkness of the night fell upon the camp, and the
moment arrived for descending from the hill and clearing
the open valley, two miles to the nearest cover. It was a
perilous descent; for at the approach of night it was the
custom of Pico to draw a double chain of sentinels around
the hill, and to patrol the valley with mounted lancers —
precautions more vigilantly enforced since he learnt from
the captured men that Carson was on the hill. "Be on the
alert," he said to his men, "Carson is there"; and applying
to Kearny's command one of the figurative expressions so
common in the Spanish language — se escapara el lobo: the
wolf will escape the hunters if you do not watch him close.

The descent was perilous and painful, all done by crawl
ing; for the upright figure of a man could not be exhibited
where the horizon was watched for all that appeared above
it. Shoes were pulled off to avoid cracking a stick or
making a sound, which the ear of the listener pressed upon
the ground could catch, and the naked feet exposed to the
prickly pear. They passed between sentinels, waiting and
watching their time to move an inch. They heard them
whisper, and smelt the smoke of the cigarito. At one time,
Beale thought it was all over with them. Pressing Carson's
thigh to get his attention, and putting his mouth upon his
ear, he whispered into it, "We are gone; let us jump up and
fight it out." Carson said, "No, I have been in worse
places before, and Providence saved me." His religious
reliance encouraged the sinking hopes of Beale. The hill
cleared, two miles of prairie in the open valley, all covered
with prickly pears, remained to be crawled over, for no one
could stand upright without detection where the mounted
vidette observed every object that rose above the level
plain.

Clear of the valley and gaining the first woods, they
travelled all night without shoes, having lost them in the

22 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

dark. Rocks, stones, pebbles, prickly pears, there of
exuberant growth, were their carpet. At daylight they
took a gorge of a mountain, and laid by, for movement by
day was impossible to them; the whole country was on the
alert, animated to the highest by the success over Kearny,
and all on the search for fugitives. At nightfall the expedi
tion was resumed, and within twelve miles of San Diego the
three adventurers separated, each to take his chance of
getting in, and thus multiply chances for getting relief to
Kearny; for San Diego also was surrounded and invested,
and Stockton had not a horse (having sent all to Kearny) to
scour the country a furlong in front of his infantry pickets.
The Indian got in first, Beale next, Carson third, all in a
state of utter exhaustion, and Beale only getting into the
town by the help of the men who carried him, and with
injuries from which he has not yet recovered.

When the Mexican rising took place under Flores
and Pico, or to be quite frank about it when the
Californians attempted to wrest their country
from the hands of the invaders, Fremont with his
small force was encamped in the Valley of the
Sacramento. He was apparently endeavoring,
with but slight success, to induce the emigrants
to take part in Stockton's expedition against
Old Mexico. The Mexican uprising, as it was
called, cancelled all previously held plans and
Fremont was ordered to come forthwith to San
Francisco "with" as Fremont writes in his
Memoirs:

all the men and saddles I could obtain. To bring my
command to San Francisco [continues Fremont], Commo
dore Stockton had sent a fleet of boats in charge of Mid-

The War with Mexico 23

shipman Edward Beale whom I had met in Monterey in
July. At our meeting now commenced intervals of agree
able companionship on interesting occasions that resulted in
a family friendship which has continued for forty years.

Gen. Beale at the date to which I refer was a real midship
man of the old type, happy and spilling over with uncon
trolled good spirits as mostly midshipmen are used to be
when away from the restraints of the ship. . . . The delta
of the San Joaquin and Sacramento Rivers and the bay and
its sloughs at that time were not familiar to sea-going men,
or indeed to men of any kind. Of his navigation through
the Tulares in search of me I will let Beale speak for him
self.

"I remember the lovely spring-like morning/'1 writes
Gen. Beale, "I think it was autumn but it ought to have
been spring because I was so happy when I was ordered to
command a squadron of boats (what is the Presidency to
that at 19 or 20!) and go to find Fremont. . . . Wide and
beautiful before us was the splendid and lonely bay. We
looked curiously at Red Rock, passed La Isla de las Yeguas
and met the furious tide of Garquinez Straits, my remem
brance is it steered us and we camped for the night.

"The next day we looked over the vast ocean of tules and
toward where the Sacramento and the San Joaquin come to
gether in the great middle mere of that wonderful delta.
There was everything curious to us that sunset, Monte
Diavolo with double peaks, a long white line very distant
which told of the Sierra Nevada and the bewitching contour
of the nearer coast range and the quiet and lovely valleys
lying close aboard. . . . We pulled in and next day we dis
covered a man on horseback whereupon we prepared to
give him a broadside, as we were some distance from camp,
and were already owners in fancy of a horse and saddle,
when to our intense disgust he spoke in English and proved

1 This letter was written by Gen. Beale at Gen. Fremont's request
when the latter was preparing his Memoirs, about 1872.

24 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

to be Jake Snyder of Fremont's battalion. Then I had
found my Holy Grail and went with him to Sonoma or
some such place. We went like the Knight Hospitalers,
two on one horse, I holding on to the taffrail when at a
gallop.

"The town was all ablaze, old Ide was there and Cosgrove,
and Snyder and Hensley and Bidwell and Gibson and a lot
of others. Very soon, mayhap it was the next day, we all
went to the boats and soon set sail for the bay again.
Major Fremont being naturally in the fastest boat with me,
we outsailed the fleet and at nightfall hauled up on an
island. . . . Howsomever we got away and reached the old
frigate Congress . . . and all this happened in the fall of
'46 and a few unimportant matters have happened since but
hardly worth recording."

CHAPTER III
WITH CARSON ON THE GILA

Beale the Hero of San Pasqual — Commodore Stockton's
Despatches and the Praise of his Brother Officers —
Beale and Carson Set Out across the Plains) to Carry
the News to Washington — Gen. Sherman's Picture
of Carson — Adventures on the Gila — Dogged by
Indians for Eight Hundred Miles on the Central
Plains — "Them 's Arrers" — Lions in St. Louis and
Washington — A Short Holiday — Back across the
Plains Again — Incredible Hardships in the Gila Coun
try — Beale Discovers or Divines the Santa Fe Trail—
The Rev. Colton as Alcalde of Monterey — The Milch
Cow " Eschews " to the Court— Sutter's Mill-race and
the Golden Sands — Conditions of Life in El Do
rado — The Rev. Colton's Complaint and Prayerful
Hope — Beale as a Caricaturist — The Alleged Resent
ment of Catesby Jones — Story of Gold in California —
Competition between the Army and Navy to Get the
News East— Beale's Views on the Gold Question.

U. S. FRIGATE "CONGRESS,"
HARBOR OF SAN DIEGO,

Feb. 9, 1847.
SIR:

I have selected you to be the bearer of the accompanying
despatches to the Navy Department in consequence of
your heroic conduct in volunteering to leave Gen. Kearny's

26 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

camp (then surrounded by the enemy) to go to the Garrison
of San Diego for assistance and because of the perils and
hardships you underwent during that dangerous journey,
to procure aid for your suffering fellow soldiers.

You will proceed without delay with Mr. Carson's party
by the most expeditious route overland.

On your arrival at Washington you will immediately
deliver the despatches to the Hon. Secretary of the Navy
and receive his instructions for your future government.

Faithfully,

Your obt. servt.

R. F. STOCKTON.
To Actg. Lt. E. F. BEALE.

That Beale' s services were as highly esteemed
by his brother officers and shipmates as they were
by the commodore, a happy state of affairs which
does not always exist in the service, was shown by
the following letter and the incident so creditable
to all concerned which it describes.

SAN DIEGO, Dec. 21, 1846.
DEAR BEALE:

We your friends and brother officers have ordered from
England a pair of epaulettes and sword to be presented to
you by the hands of Lieut. Tilghman, in testimony of our
admiration of your gallant conduct in the bold and hazard
ous enterprise of leaving Gen. Kearny's encampment,
after the battles of San Pasqual and San Bernardino of the
6th of December, 1846, for the purpose of bringing informa
tion to the garrison of San Diego and obtaining relief for the
suffering troops. Your bravery in the field of action and
cool determination in the service above spoken of merits
our warmest applause and we congratulate you upon the
opportunity of distinction which you so handsomely
improved. Hoping that the President of the United States

With Carson on the Gila 27

will not overlook your merit and that you may speedily
wear the epaulettes and sword as the mark of your legiti
mate rank, we remain, yours faithfully,

W. W. Revere, Lt., Sam Mosbey, Surgeon,

W. B. Renshaw, Lt., R. Lloyd Tilghman, Lt.,

Ben. F. B. Hunter, Lt., Jno. Guest, Lt.,

W. B. Harrison, Master, J. Zeilan, Capt.,
C. Eversfield, Surgeon, H. B. Watson,

Jas. H. Watmough, P. M., George Minor, Lt.,
Wm. Speeden, P. M., J. H. Thompson, Lt.,

C. D. Maxwell, Surgeon, A. A. Henderson, Inc. 9,

F. J. Stenson, Master, G. W. Harrison, Lt.,

G. Missrova, Lt., Edwd. Higgins, Lt.

Carson, who acted as Beale's guide in this jour
ney across the plains in the winter of 1846-7 with
Stockton's despatches, is said to have been a grand
son of Daniel Boone and came to his pioneering
prowess and woodcraft by right of heredity. He
was a son of the plains but at the same time had
none of the physical characteristics of the frontiers
man. General W. T. Sherman who saw Carson in
1848 in the company of Beale describes the cele
brated scout as follows :

He was a small, stoop-shouldered man with reddish
hair, freckled face, soft blue eyes and nothing to indicate
extraordinary courage or daring. He spoke but little and
answered questions in monosyllables. He spent some days
in Monterey during which time we extracted some items
of his personal history.

In all his journeys Carson was so cautious that
not a few, strangers to the quality of his courage,

28 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

deemed him timid. Not a tree, a rock, a bush, or
any other place where an Indian might hide escaped
his notice. His eye was ever scanning the horizon
for the hazy smoke that might indicate an Indian
fire, or the flight of crows which generally hovered
over a spot where Indians had recently encamped,
and the ground he was always scrutinizing in
search of the pressure of the horse's unshod foot or
of the Indian's moccasin. For this expedition
with Lieutenant Beale to Washington, Commodore
Stockton gave the young scout a free hand, and
ten picked marksmen were enrolled. The expe
dition took an extremely southern route and after
journeying four hundred miles they reached the
Gila, a tributary of the Lower Colorado. Here
Carson's lynx eyes brought to light evidence of the
fact that a band of hostile Indians, though always
keeping out of sight, were dogging his path and
eagerly watching for an opportunity to take him by
surprise. The route led over a vast prairie where
there were no natural defences. When he con
sidered that the psychological moment had come,
from indications that were anything but enlight
ening to his companions, Carson met Indian
strategy with the trapper's ruse. Carson and
Beale and the other riflemen cooked their supper
rather early in the evening, and wrapped in their
blankets threw themselves on the grass, apparently
to sleep, but as soon as it was dark the men were
ordered to rise and to march forward for something
more than a mile, again to picket their animals and

With Carson on the Gila 29

to arrange their pack saddles so that they might
serve as a protection from the arrows of the Indians.
At midnight the yell of the savage was heard and a
shower of arrows fell around but wide of the mark.
The attacking party had not ascertained with
accuracy the changed position of the travellers.
They dared not approach near enough to see, for
in that case they knew the fate that awaited them
from the unerring aim of Kit and his companions.
After many random shots and many unearthly
yells the discomfited savages fled before the ap
proach of dawn. And this was the last serious
attempt made by the "horse Indians" to prevent the
bearers of despatches from crossing their territory.

East of the Colorado River and in the Central
desert there was no respite from other escorting
Indians. Beale and Carson were only accom
panied by ten men and they were doggedly followed
for eight hundred miles by a large band who day
or night were hardly ever out of sight; however,
after one or two costly attempts to charge the
wide-awake plainsmen, the Indians contented
themselves with repeated but always unsuccessful
attempts to stampede their horses and mules.

Carson had seen Beale stand to his guns with a
handful of bluejackets while the Mexican lancers,
in what should have been overpowering numbers,
charged his battery again and again. He had
been his comrade in the desperate journey through
a hostile country from San Pasqual to San Diego,
but it was a little incident of this trip that the

30 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

scout loved to relate as more fully giving the
measure of Beale 's bravery :

Things whirring like birds on the flight wuz flying over
us as I wuz trying to sleep by the campfire [said Carson],
and Ned was sleepin or leastwise he wuz snorin. Then
suddenly he sits up and says, "What's that Don Kit? " and
I says, " Them 's arrers " and they wuz and could you believe
it before I could hold him down Ned was wrapping his
buffalo robe about him and standing in the fire kicking out
the embers. " Now/' sez he, as them arrers came whizzin
along like a raft of geese going South before er North wind.
"Now," sez he, " Don Kit, they won't be able to get our
directions any more and you know they don't dare rush us " ;
then he tumbled down on the ground and went on with his
sleepin.

Carson and Beale were of course great cards to
the curious when they arrived in St. Louis and
later at the Capital. They were reluctant lions,
and Carson was most uncomfortable in the pres
ence of the crowds of citizens who waited upon
him to see him "plain" and to shake his sinewy
hand for one ecstatic moment. But Carson would
never allow himself to be rushed, as he called it, in
the house. "I allays see folks out in the road, "
he would explain as he sidled out into the street to
meet the citizens who were always awaiting his ap
pearance in front of the Benton house in St. Louis
and later outside of Mrs. Beale 's in Washington.
Carson could never sleep indoors and when Mrs.
Beale, the mother of his young companion, arranged
a simple couch for him on her veranda the family

With Carson on the Gila 31

chronicle states that "Kit shed tears of gratitude
and joy/'

Beale and Carson were made much of wherever
they went. They were lodged at Senator Benton's
and met the most distinguished men of the day.
Beale was allowed a few days in which to visit
Chester, where the young girl who became his wife
resided, and President Polk, much to his dismay,
appointed Carson, the dashing scout, a lieutenant
in the United States Rifles. However, these idle
days were soon over, and both men were soon on
their way back to the new world, the Pacific world,
they were doing so much to open to the crowded
East. '

1 WASHINGTON CITY, Aug., 1847.
To the HON. MR. MASON, Sec. of Navy.
SIR:

Passed Midshipman Edward Beale, now ill at Philadelphia, has
written to me to desire the Department to charge him with despatches
for the North Pacific. I do so with pleasure, being well informed by all
who have returned from California of his most meritorious conduct there,
especially in the signal act of volunteering with Mr. Carson and his
Indian servant to make his way through the Californian forces and
amidst incredible dangers and sufferings to go to Commodore Stockton
for relief to Gen. Kearny, and also in volunteering to parley with Hon.
Andres Pico for an exchange of prisoners and the handsome manner in
which he executed it, and for his manly daring in crossing the continent
last spring amid great suffering and with heroic courage and constancy.

Having a high opinion of the young man for honor, courage, truth,
modesty, enterprise and perseverance I should be happy to see him
noticed and countenanced by the Department.

Yours respectfully,

THOMAS H. BENTON.

To HON. THOMAS H. BENTON,

Aug. 27, 1847.

The Department appreciates Mr. Beale's meritorious services and will
give him orders to return when his health is sufficiently re-established to

32 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

The Mobile Register gives the following authen
tic account of Beale's adventures on the return
journey to California.

Lieut. Beale was sent early in November last, as a bearer
of despatches from our Government to the United States
officers in California and upon the Pacific. He was entrusted
with communications to Col. Washington at Santa Fe, Col.
Mason in California and Gen. Lane in Oregon and was
required to pass through the extensive regions beyond the
Mississippi to reach his destination. He left Fort Leaven-
worth on the Missouri the 2Oth of November with a com
mand of seventeen mounted men, all raw recruits and a few
adventurers. After a tedious and fatiguing journey they
reached Bent's fort and learned that Col. Fremont and his
party had passed about ten days before. In crossing the
Taos or Raton mountains they encountered all the severi
ties of winter in these difficult and gigantic passes covered
with the snows of an unusually cold and inclement season.
Many of their mules perished from the rigors of the weather
and march, and a number of the men were frostbitten and
disabled for further service. Upon arriving at Santa Fe,
which he reached on the 25th of December, Lieut. Beale
gave permission to such of his men as were unwilling to pro
ceed to return, and seven did so. He was unwilling to be
accompanied in the dangers and trials before him by any
upon whom he could not rely with implicit confidence. To
supply the deficiency Col. Mason allowed him to enlist
eight additional men who were desirous of engaging in the
expedition.

With this force Lieut. Beale started from Santa Fe on the

undertake the journey. A bearer of despatches is not required now
but officers of Mr. Beale's character are much wanted. An opportunity
will occur for him about the first of October.

Respectfully,

J. G. MASON.

With Carson on the Gila 33

nth of January and was soon destined to encounter the
most trying difficulties. The Sierra de los Miembres, a
vast range of lofty mountains, was enveloped in snowstorms
and the route was most hazardous and oppressive. So
intense was the cold that several mules were frozen to
death at night even under tents and covered with blankets.
Here the fortitude of a number of men failed them and a
sergeant and six men, privates, deserted. Of these as well
as of the seven who had previously left no subsequent
information has been received. They no doubt perished
under the violence of the weather or were assassinated by
the Indians who infest these regions.

Lieut. Beale now pressed on with indomitable resolution
through indescribable difficulties to the head- waters of the
river Gila. Passing to the southern side he followed the
trail which winds in a zig-zag manner along the precipitous
sides of the lofty mountains which prevail in this region.
This section of the country has been falsely said to furnish
opportunities for a good road or roads to California. From
Lieut. Beale 's description it is a continuance of the most
rugged and inaccessible mountains, with vast gorges and
peaks and declivities covered perpetually with snow, and
presenting barriers to be passed only with incredible exer
tions. No track for a wagon or any wheel vehicle can ever
be made along this route. The men could only press on
along the ascents by the aid of their hands as well as their
feet and even the tenacious mountain mules were often
precipitated from the declivities and rolling down the slopes
were crushed to pieces with every bone broken and even
their saddles so damaged they could not be used again.

This route crosses the head-waters of the Gila frequently,
so as to avoid the barriers which constantly jut upon and
overhang the streams. That river in this portion of its
extent is not susceptible of even canoe navigation. Its
currents are of arrowy swiftness, shooting over rocky and '
irregular falls with short serpentine windings through

34 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

narrow and dangerous canyons that produce whirlpools and
cascades which would engulf any water craft entrusted to
their control.

After this rough experience Lieutenant Beale cast
about him for a more favorable route to the Pacific
from the Missouri settlements. In his next journey
westward he hit upon the Santa Fe trail which soon
became the principal avenue of communication be
tween the two sections of the country. Years later,
in 1 880, the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad
was built along Beale's route and the company very
gracefully requested General Beale to become the
engineer-in-chief , if only in a consulting or honorary
capacity, of the great trans-continental line which
he had first explored and later opened to the passage
of prairie "schooners, " an honor which on account
of other engagements General Beale was compelled
to decline.

There are many amusing stories told of the early
days of American control in California and in
many of these the Reverend Walter Colton who
came out as chaplain on the Congress figures. There
was one in particular that in after years General
Beale delighted to relate. His old ship-mate, who
wrote a volume entitled Three Years in California,
did not think the incident of sufficient importance
to set down in his somewhat ponderous chronicles of
these interesting times.

When Commodore Stockton instituted civil
government over the territory so recently wrested

With Carson on the Gila 35

from the Mexicans, the Reverend Colton was
appointed alcalde of Monterey, where his duties
were both administrative and judicial. Gambling
was then the besetting sin of the Mexican Calif or-
nian, as it soon became that of the American
invader. There was also a dearth of milch cows
in the community, which was all the more severely
felt because in those days condensed milk and the
other substitutes were unknown.

One day two gamblers were brought before
the clerical alcalde as was also a magnificent fresh
cow. They were charged with having gambled
over it and the ownership of the animal was dis
puted. The Reverend Colton considered the
story as set forth by the interested parties with
great interest and then submitted the following
decree.

' ' You, sir, lost the cow, consequently it does not belong to
you." Then turning to the other man, he said, "You, sir,
have won it — you have won it by gambling, but this is a
form of transfer that the Court does not recognize. In my
opinion, therefore, the animal eschews to the Court. "

The coveted cow was henceforth attached to the
Court and the decision of the alcalde greatly
admired by all save the bereaved former owner.
The milk punches which the Court was now
enabled to serve from time to time, and indeed
always when the ex-chaplain's former messmates
called upon him, became famous throughout the
land, and were very generally regarded as an

36 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

important auxiliary to the speedy Americaniza
tion of the conquered territory.

In the last days of the year 1847 the Swiss
pioneer Sutter began to build a sawmill and to
deepen his mill-race. To do this the earth was
loosened during the day and the waters of the
river turned in at night to wash out the dirt.
Marshall saw the glittering sand one day in the
following January. A determined attempt to
keep the discovery secret was made, but without
much success. In March the discovery was men
tioned in the California papers and a few days
later the precious dust in small quantities was
being sold in some of the port towns. Then
scenes were enacted which will doubtless never
be seen again. Ships were abandoned in the
harbors and churches closed. San Francisco was
deserted and the flight up the Sacramento River
toward the gold fields began. Even the army
posts were reduced by desertion to corporal's
guards and our naval vessels in Monterey harbor
were kept off the land and without communication
with the shore. Commodore Jones reported:

"Even men having balances due them of over one
thousand dollars have deserted. Nothing, sir, can ex
ceed the deplorable state of things in all upper California
at this time and of the maddening effect of the gold mania.
I am sorry to say that in this squadron some of the
officers are a little tainted and have manifested restlessness
under moderate restrictions. For the present, and I fear
for years to come, [the Commodore continues] it will be

With Carson on the Gila 37

impossible for the United States to maintain any naval or
military establishments in California, as at present no hope
of reward or fear of punishment is sufficient to make binding
any contract between man and man upon the soil of Califor
nia. To send troops out here would be needless as they
would immediately desert."

Paymaster Rich, U. S. N., writing to the Depart
ment from Monterey at the same time says:

" The pay of Governors and Judges, etc., as allowed in the
United States will hardly compare with that paid to sales
men and clerks here."

During the six months of Beale's absence from
California the United States had instituted civil gov
ernment, and changed — almost incredible — con
ditions presented themselves on every side. The
Reverend Walter Colton, chaplain of the frigate
Congress, a shipmate of Beale, the first alcalde of
Monterey after the American conquest, describes
in his volume already referred to one phase of the
remarkable situation in the following sentences:

Her emigrants are rushing from every continent and isle,
they crest every mountain, they cover every sea; they
sweep in like a cloud from the Pacific, they roll down like a
torrent from the slopes of the Sierra Nevada. They crowd
to her bosom to gather gold, their hammers and drills, their
mattocks and spades divert the deep stream and are echoed
from a thousand caverned hills, the level plain, the soaring
cliff and wombed mountain give up their glowing treasures.

But the gifts of nature here are not confined to her
sparkling sands and veined rocks, they extend to the produc-

38 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

tive forces of her soil, they lie along her water courses,
through her verdant valleys and wave in her golden grain,
they reel in her vintage, they blush in her fruits, while her
soft zephyrs as they float the landscape scatter perfume from
their odorous wings.

But with all these gifts disease is here with i'-s pale
victims and sorrow with its willow woven shrine. There is
no land less relieved by the smiles and soothing cares of
women. If Eden with its ambrosial fruits and guiltless
joys was still sad the voice of woman mingled with its
melodies, California with all her treasured hills and streams
must be cheerful till she feels the presence of the same
enchantress. It is woman alone that can make a home for
the human heart . . . where her footsteps light the freshest
flowers spring! where her voice swells the softest echoes
wake! Her smiles garland the domestic hearth, her sym
pathy melts through the deepest folds of grief. Her love
clothes the earth with light. ... Of all these sources of
solace and hope multitudes in California are now bereft;
but the ties of kindred, the quick-winged ship and the
steed of flame on his iron-paved track will soon secure them
these priceless gifts.

Beale, a few weeks before the discovery of gold,
had been detached from the flagship Ohio and
given disagreeable duty on shore. This was the
first setback the rising young officer had received
upon his upward course and while there is no trace
of it upon Beale's official record he is supposed,
according to the service tradition, to have incurred
the commodore's displeasure in this wise. Jones,
though in command of a large fleet, loved nothing
better than to sail a small boat unless it was to tell
of the important part he had taken in the Battle

in o
<S ^

With Carson on the Gila 39

of New Orleans, where he commanded a flotilla of
small boats which helped to delay the British
advance until Jackson was ready to receive it with
sharpshooters behind cotton bales. Some of the
younger officers knew the story by heart and very-
much disliked sailing with the commodore on these
little excursions where it would seem that from the
force of suggestion he could not help telling his
1813 war story. The youngsters were nimble and
would get out of the commodore's way when it
was evident he was about to embark upon one of
these, for him at least, pleasure trips and in conse
quence the fleet surgeon, an elderly man, generally
became his companion and, it is said, acquitted
himself in the task with considerable diplomacy.

Beale had a happy or unhappy knack of cari
cature and he drew a cartoon which represented
the commodore sailing his boat and holding forth
to the fleet surgeon upon certain incidents of the
New Orleans campaign which had not been dwelt
upon in most histories. As the commodore talked
the obsequious surgeon could be seen sluicing him
up and down with a grease pot such as sailors use
on the rigging. The commodore never saw the
cartoon which convulsed the fleet but he heard of
it and Beale was detached. Some of the officers
saw in Beale' s subsequent selection to carry des
patches and the news of gold across Mexico
a further evidence of the commodore's hostility.
If it was, and all this rests upon the flimsiest tra
dition, Jones's hostility was more useful to Beale

4-O Edward Fitzgerald Beale

than even Benton's friendship. It gave the mid
shipman a chance to distinguish himself which he
was not slow to seize.

There is no official record or reference in the
family archives of how Beale secured the golden
nuggets and the glittering sands which he carried
East to initiate a movement which changed the
course of history. He did not secure it first hand
from the diggings, as his first visit there was some
months later. In the Navy the tradition was that
Beale secured the treasure from one of the earliest
visitors to the mill-race in exchange for one hun
dred grains of quinine which Beale was too old a
traveller ever to be without. Certain it is only
that at this time in Monterey and San Francisco
quinine was quoted higher than gold, grain for
grain.

Of recent years the discovery of gold in Cali-
1 fornia can boast its own literature and not a few
controversies. There evidently was keen rivalry
between the officers of the Army and the officers
of the Navy as to which branch of the service
should have the honor of carrying the epoch-
making news to Washington. Beale left La Paz
a month before Lieutenant Loeser of the engineers
and reached the Capital two months before his
army rival, thanks to his daring short cut across
Mexico.

As was to be expected of an army man afloat,
Lieutenant Loeser had many misadventures.
Owing apparently to adverse winds the skipper of

With Carson on the Gila 41

the schooner upon which he embarked could not or
would not land him at Panama but carried him on
to the port of Payta at the mouth of the Guayaquil
River in Peru and from there the young engineer
made haste to retrace his steps and cross the
Isthmus, but in the meantime the gold-bearing
midshipman had reached the Capital. Commodore
Jones had found no authority in the regulations
to purchase a specimen of the gold, and the nugget
and the sands which Beale carried were his own
private property and venture. Col. Mason, how
ever, commanding the army in California at the
time, apparently at the suggestion of his aid, Lieut.
W. T. Sherman, purchased three thousand dollars
worth of the gold and turned it over to Loeser for
conveyance to the Secretary of War. This gold
was officially examined at the mint and the report
upon it published by the Government set at rest all
doubt as to the value of the discovery which was
at first hotly disputed.

Beale at this time as well as in later life
always maintained that while the discovery in
Sutter's mill-race was the most important and per
haps the first gold discovered in paying quantities,
the presence of gold in California had been well
known to the Mexicans for twenty years before.
He was also inclined to think that the attempt of
the Russians to settle and colonize on our Pacific
Coast, coming down from Alaska for this purpose,
was inspired by rumors of the presence of gold.

CHAPTER IV
BEALE BRINGS FIRST GOLD EAST

Scale's Daring Journey across Mexico with the First
Gold — Gente de Camino — Mexico City and Minister
Clifford— Fate of Beale's Guide— Senators Foote and
Benton Hear the Wonderful Story — William Carey
Jones's Account of Journey in National Intelligencer —
Beale Introduced to the United States Senate— Wise
"Stay-at-Homes" Show Incredulity— Beale Walks
down Wall Street with Mr. Aspinwall — P. T. Barnum
Wants to Exhibit the Gold— But Half the Treasure is
Fashioned into an Engagement Ring — Courting at
Chester — Ammen's Letter to the Young Argonaut — On
the Trail Again — Letter from Big Timber — Beale's
Description of His Route across the Continent — Along
the Thirty-fifth Parallel— Old Trail Develops into
Atchison, Topeka and Santa F£ Railroad — Chronologi
cal Table of Beale's Early Travels — Marriage with Miss
Edwards — Arctic Expedition Proposed — Letters from
Captain Lynch and Commodore Maury — Bayard Taylor
Dedicates His Book on California to Beale — Beale Re
signs from the Service — He Retrieves the Business
Ventures of Commodore Stockton and Mr. Aspinwall.

BEALE left the port of La Paz near the foot
of the peninsula of California on the first of
August, and on the fifth arrived at Mazat-

lan on the west coast of Mexico. There he took

o
^ -S

M £X
OS ^3

? &

s ^§
s ^

(XH

Beale Brings First Gold East 43

passage in a small Mexican goleta, which after a
stormy voyage of five days made the harbor of
San Bias. From San Bias he proposed to travel
overland, southeast a thousand miles by way of
Guadalajara and Mexico City to Vera Cruz; and
from here, on August I3th, he started accompanied
only by a guide in spite of the earnest dissuasions of
the Governor of San Bias and of every one else who
heard of his project.

Beale dressed himself for his journey in a som
brero, a red flannel shirt, leather breeches and boots.
He carried four six-barrelled revolvers, and a knife.
Being very much sunburned and speaking Spanish
well his chances of being taken for a Mexican by
casual observers were fairly good.

The rainy season was just setting in and the bad
roads becoming daily worse, but the real dangers of
the trip lay in the bands of ladrones who infested
all the highways of Mexico, and whose numbers had
been hugely strengthened by the recent disbanding
of Paredes's army. By the time Beale arrived at
Tepic he had been held up once by three gente de
camino, who however had made off when con
fronted with great resolution and the four American
revolvers, and he had become so thoroughly
convinced of the uncertainties and perils of his
undertaking that he assumed the responsibility of
opening his despatches and making copies of them,
which copies he enclosed with a note to the Ameri
can Minister at Mexico City, and put in the mail.
Then he immediately pushed on, travelling night

44 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

and day and taking no rest but by throwing himself
on the ground at each post while the saddles were
being changed to fresh horses.

Once, before arriving at Guadalajara a banda,
coming out of the woods just at nightfall, chased
him for several hours, but he finally outrode them,
though not before the foremost of them had shot
at him a number of times with their carbines. At
the next post after this adventure he heard of a
party of eleven travellers just ahead of him, but
before he could come up with them they were
attacked by a large party of ladrones and mur
dered to a man. Beale found their blood still
staining the muddy ground.

After leaving Guadalajara the rainy season set
in in full force. Furious storm succeeded furious
storm, the water courses swelled into raging tor
rents which could only be crossed by swimming.
The roads were blocked by uprooted trees and
avalanches of stones and mud, and at night Beale
found his way chiefly by the almost incessant
flashes of the lightning. When on the eighth
day he arrived at Mexico City he was literally
cased in mud, and dried himself for the first time
since leaving San Bias. Mr. Clifford, our Minister
in Mexico, * wishing also to send despatches, Beale

1 Among the Beale papers is a weather-stained parchment bearing
these credentials.

To All Whom it May Concern. I the undersigned Minister of the
United States residing in the City of Mexico do hereby certify that
Edward F. Beale is a bearer of despatches from this Legation entitled
to all the privileges and immunities to which agents are entitled.

Beale Brings First Gold East 45

was detained three days while they were prepar
ing, but he made up for the delay by covering
the ninety leagues between Mexico City and Vera
Cruz in the extraordinary time of sixty hours,
in spite of being held up once more by ladrones
from whom he only escaped by the speed of his
horse and the reckless daring with which he rode
him down an almost precipitous mountainside.

At Vera Cruz he slept under a roof for the
first time since leaving Mazatlan, with the excep
tion of his two nights of enforced stay at the Capi
tal. The mind of his unfortunate guide had been
unhinged by the dangers and fatigues of the jour
ney, and the city authorities were obliged to send
.him back under guard in the diligence.

Four days after his arrival Beale left Vera Cruz
in the sloop-of-war Germantown, which after a
tedious passage put him ashore at Mobile. x

With his wonderful news of the El Dorado on the
shores of the Pacific and his nugget and golden
sands to prove that his was not a mere sailor's yarn,
Beale received ovations wherever he went. Towns

Given under my hand and the seal of the Legation at the City of
Mexico this 2ist day of August 1848.

NATHAN CLIFFORD.

Attest:

WM. WALSH, Secretary of Legation.

1 Such wonderful and Munchausen-like exploits were attributed to
Beale by the press of the cities and towns through which he passed on
the way to the Capital that shortly after his arrival in Washington the
young argonaut authorized his friend, a well-known journalist of
the day, William Carey Jones, to publish a sober and restrained account
of his feat in the National Intelligencer. It is from this article that
the account given above is condensed.

46 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

and even hamlets gave the passing traveller ban
quets while the infamous thirst for the yellow
metal began to make itself felt in the most austere
bosoms. From Mobile the returning argonaut
travelled North partly by stage and for some
days at least in the company of Senator Foote of
Mississippi, who drank in greedily all the tales
from the Pacific which were unfolded and who
upon their arrival in Washington insisted upon
sharing with Bent on the honor of introducing the
bearer of such momentous news to the Senate of
the United States.

Of course there were unbelievers, and special
messengers were sent to California by sea and by
land to secure specimens of the alleged gold through
official channels, to be subjected to the usual tests at
the mint. In Washington there were also eviden
ces of incredulity, though Beale 's good faith in the
matter was never attacked. "It glitters, it looks
like gold but is n't," was the verdict of the wise
stay-at-homes.

However, when Beale came to New York and
walked down Wall Street leaning on Mr. Aspin wall's
arm, the gold-hungry thousands followed them,
broke into the exchange, and were not to be denied
until the golden nugget was produced and the
golden sands allowed to sift through their hands,
an operation by which it is said the sands did not
seem to increase or multiply. P. T. Barnum, then
fast rising to the zenith of fame in the showman's
world, sent Beale the following letter which was

Beale Brings First Gold East 47

followed up by messages and even with threats that
he would come himself to secure the great prize.

BARNUM'S MUSEUM,

PHILADELPHIA.
LIEUT. BEALE,
DEAR SIR:

Mr. Harding of the Enquirer has just informed me that
you have in your possession an 8 Ib. lump of California gold.
As I am always anxious to procure novelties for public grat
ification I write this to say that I should be glad to purchase
the lump at its valuation if you will dispose of it and if not
that I should like to procure it for exhibition for a few weeks.
A line in reply will much oblige,

Your obedient servant,

P. T. BARNUM.

. Feeling that he was no longer in his element, the
young naval officer showed he possessed that part
of valor which is discretion and which he had never
before been suspected of possessing. Suddenly
Beale disappeared from the popular excitement and
turmoil and the gold also disappeared from circula
tion among the curious. Half of his trophy, like the
loyal servant of the people that he was, Beale placed
on view in the Patent Office in Washington, and
the rest, by far the heavier and better half it is said,
he was having fashioned into an engagement ring
for the young lady who had consented to be his wife,
with whom he was walking in the shades and nooks
of " Green Bank," the Porters' estate at Chester,
while all the world was wondering what had become
of the youngster who had tired so quickly of being
the man of the hour.

48 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

It was down in Chester also that Beale received
the following letter from his friend and classmate
Daniel Ammen, afterwards a distinguished ad
miral for whom his affection only increased with
the passing years. The letter told Beale what a
fine fellow they thought him, indeed knew him to
be, in the service, and what without the slightest
doubt interested him the most in his frame of
mind, that "our class are all marrying."

STEAMER " BIBB,"

NANTUCKET ISLAND.
DEAR NED:

I saw with a great deal of pleasure that you had arrived
again at the eastern part of "the land of the free and the
home of the brave" and hope you will be content for a short
time at least.

Now, old fellow, come down to Nantucket and pass a
short time catching fish and walking about on the shore of
the great sea. I am tired of this damn monotonous life and
want to hear of your last trip in order to believe it. This fall
I shall assuredly go to sea and when I start it shall be for
three cruises on end.

I see you published in all the papers and as you are justly
a lion I want you to come on and shake your tail at these
people. After I saw of Fremont's hard time I was afraid
that you would be unfortunate and was the more delighted
to see your arrival in the East with some of the gold we read
of.

I got a letter from Catesby Jones dated the loth April
but I have not written him yet, indeed I think I shall write
him, when I do, to the East Indies.

Our class are all marrying. " Brick-Top " is engaged to a
very pretty little girl from Providence I think. I have not
heard of Billy Muse making anybody happy yet.

Beale Brings First Gold East 49

We have the great naturalist, Agassiz, on board and as I
spoke of your shooting a Capiniche, or sea hog or sea bear
or some other animal whose name I don't know, the old
fellow became highly excited and hoped you would lend
him if not give him a skull if you have one. He wishes also
to know whether they live in salt water, or brackish or fresh.
If you will be good enough to send a skull to Professor
Agassiz, Boston, by Adams Express, the old fellow will bear
you in grateful remembrance during the remainder of his
natural life.

Are you going soon to California or in what direction do
you think of branching out? Will you come down to Nan-
tucket before you travel? Davis, Rodgers and myself will
be delighted to see you.

Be good enough to give my kindest regards to your
mother's family as well as remember me affectionately to
any old friends who may be drifting about where you are

and believe me,

Truly your friend,

AMMEN.
ED. F. BEALE, Esq., U. S. Navy.

Write to me at Nantucket. Don't forget the sea bear or
hog or Capiniche. Raymond Rodgers sends his kindest
regards.

Beale's vacations were always matters of days
rather than of weeks. Soon he was proceeding
overland to the Pacific and from the Raton
mountains writes the following joyous letter to the
brother of his future wife.

CAMP AT BIG TIMBER,

Dec. ad, '48.
MY DEAR HARRY:

I have stopped awhile to get a few buffalo robes to
send your mother and which I hope will reach Chester with
this letter. I find here three Americans trading with the

50 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

Indians. They have built a couple of miserable huts, but
appear in spite of the cheerless and wretched appearance of
everything around them to be making a very excellent busi
ness. There are thousands of Indians here but most of
them friendly tribes, and those who are not disposed to be so
are kept in awe by those who have met here to trade. I
have had a most unpleasant journey so far, and the men I
have with me are so utterly worthless that I anticipate many
difficulties; not a day passes that I do not punish two or
three. I have had two affairs with the Indians, one of
which began so seriously that for a while I held my breath,
but turned out in the end a trifle, in the other I came so very
near losing my hair that I am not positive to this moment
that my scalp sticks to the top of my head. In the last I
behaved so entirely to my own satisfaction that I have half
a mind to tell you about it and what I did, but you might
accuse me of boasting too much and I am not very anxious
to blow my own trumpet.

The weather here is most cruelly, bitterly cold, it is snow
ing and freezing. You may form some idea of the severity
of it when I tell you that a trader who passed some sixty
miles to the southward of me lost in one snowstorm ninety
mules frozen to death in a single night. I counted in one
day myself, seventy-two animals dead and dying, belonging
to a large company returning to the United States. In this
weather we have sometimes at night after travelling all
day to cross the river filled with floating masses of drift-
ice to get wood, and bring it over again to camp, and this
where the river is from three to five or six hundred yards in
width. I mean no disparagement to your manhood, Harry,
but I do not really think you could stand what I am doing,
nor could I endure it but that I am constantly buoyed up by
the hope of returning to you all once more.

I get from the traders here most discouraging accounts of
the Raton Mountains, which I am just now about to cross.
It is said they are impassable but I have passed impassable

Beale Brings First Gold East 51

places before. They tell me also to tie my hair on before
starting, as every party ahead of me has been attacked and
defeated by the Apaches. The troops even have been
whipped and driven off by them — regular soldiers that were
sent against them. A party of eighteen men were attacked
a short time since and several whom I knew very well, killed.

If you can let my mother know that you have heard from
me do so. I have not time to write to her. Say that I am
doing well and happy and above all things don't drop a
word about Indians. My best of warmest love to your
sister, to whom I shall write from Santa Fe. Tell her I am
very happy, happy because I am always thinking of her and
my return.

I write in great haste and a snowstorm is no place for
letter writing. Love to those who love me.

God bless you. Ever yours,

NED.

The following is Beale's description of his trans
continental route, which soon after his first crossing
began to play a great r61e in the development of the
Southwest and the Pacific Coast, as indeed it does
to-day, though now stone ballasted and iron railed.

Our route was along the 35th parallel of latitude and our
furthest variation did not exceed fifty-five miles. From
our point of departure in New Mexico to the Colorado
River, the easternmost boundary of Mexico, the distance
travelled did not exceed 470 miles and there was everywhere
an abundance of wood, water, and grass.

The chain of the Rocky Mountains was passed but the
elevation was so unimportant that the exploring caravan of
men, camels, horses and mules was not conscious of the fact.
The route was explored in mid-summer and retra veiled in
the very dead of winter yet neither impediments of drought
nor snows were met with either way.

52 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

In February, 1 880, the first train over the Atchi-
son Railroad arrived at Santa Fe and the old trail,
so long known as Beale's "track," was closed, to
interstate commerce at least, forever.

Among the Beale papers is a chronological table
of these early years of active restless travel which
in later life General Beale wrote out at the request
of his son. It is condensed and skeletonized to
a degree, and, characteristically, all references to
battles fought and honors won are omitted.

Few men's lives reveal such a period of prolonged
activity as is here disclosed, and one can only regret
that the diaries and the route journals, which even
at this early date young Beale was accustomed to
keep, were in part lost through the vicissitudes of
the journeys which they describe, or only survive
entombed in government archives.

The paper runs:

Lieutenant Edward F. Beale left the United States on
board the Congress in October, 1845, and twenty days
after was transferred to a vessel bound to England as
bearer of despatches for the United States, and he reached
the United States between the I7th and the 2Oth of March,
1846. Left for Callao, Peru, with despatches about April
ist, 1846, and reached Callao in about six weeks by the
Panama route. Sailed from Callao to California via Sand
wich Islands in the Congress, and arrived at San Francisco
about July 2Oth, 1846. Served on shore with the army
until the conquest of the country was completed, which was
in February, 1847, when he was sent home with despatches
by Commodore Stockton by overland route.

Arrived in Washington about last of May, 1847, and was

Beale Brings First Gold East 53

sent back immediately across the plains with despatches,
was taken sick and thus found upon the plains, and was
carried back insensible to St. Louis. In the fall of 1847,
he returned to the Pacific via Panama with despatches for
Commodore Jones at Callao, and sailed from Callao to
Mazatlan on board the Ohio and served on shore at Mazat-
lan in command of a company until we heard of peace about
August, 1848, when he was sent through Mexico, disguised
as a Spaniard via Vera Cruz to Washington with despatches
and arrived at Washington during September, 1848.

About the I4th of October, 1848, received despatches
from Secretary Marcey for Santa Fe and California, and
arrived at Santa F£ December 25th, 1848, on foot and
nearly naked. Continued journey and arrived at San
Francisco about April loth, 1849. Left San Francisco with
despatches for Washington April I3th, 1849, and arrived at
Washington about June lyth, 1849.

Left Washington with despatches for California overland
for Commodore Jones, June 27th, 1849, and arrived at San
Francisco about August I7th. Returned almost immedi
ately with despatches and arrived at Washington during
December, 1849.

Well might Carson, who was a traveller and
despatch bearer himself, have been aghast, as he
frankly confessed that he was, at the activity of
his young navy friend, born and grown to manhood
in the effete East.

Here concludes the adventurous period of the
pioneer and the day of the resolute Forty-niner
begins.

Miss Mary Edwards, who now became the help
mate as well as wife of Beale, accompanied him to
California where in San Francisco their son Trux-

54 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

tun was born. Miss Edwards came of an old
Delaware County family and of Quaker stock,
her ancestors having accompanied Penn from
England on his venture in the New World in the
year 1682. Her father, Samuel Edwards, was only
thirty-three years of age when elected to Congress
and he represented Delaware County in the lower
house for many years. In later life Mr. Edwards's
health was far from robust but he practised suc
cessfully at the bar and served as Chief Burgess
and Collector of Customs at Chester, Pa. In his
obituary the Philadelphia Press wrote with truth:
" During the administrations of Jackson and Van
Buren, George G. and Samuel L. Leiper, Samuel
Edwards and James Buchanan were the powers
behind the throne. "

The Arctic expedition to which the following let
ters refer was planned in 1850. Captain Lynch,
U. S. Navy, was to have been in command and he
was, as this correspondence shows, most anxious
to obtain the services of Beale as his first lieuten
ant. Mr. Henry Grinnell, the wealthy New York
merchant who afterwards financed the Dr. Kane
expedition, appeared in the matter as principal
financial backer. While Beale was preparing him
self for adventurous activity in this new sphere
there came from the Arctic contradictory news in
regard to the fate of Franklin, and there were
further delays on account of Captain Lynch's
health which had become impaired by his travels
in Asia Minor and the Holy Land. When a few

Beale Brings First Gold East 55

months later, through Maury, Mr. Grinnell offered
the chief command to Beale, he had already made
an arrangement with Commodore Stockton to
return to California in charge of the latter's
business interests there which he did not feel that
he was at liberty to break.

There are at this time references in the Beale
papers to an expedition to explore the Gulf of
Darien with the idea of ascertaining the exact loca
tion of the water-way across the Isthmus, which,
curiously enough, despite the innumerable scien
tific surveys which have been made, the San
Bias Indians to this day maintain exists, at least
in the rainy season. Beale was asked to head
this expedition and accepted. The necessary
funds, however, were not forthcoming and the
matter hung fire for many years. Ultimately the
desired survey was carried out by a naval expe
dition under the auspices of the Government with
but meagre results. Mention of these two widely
divergent expeditions is made, two from among
many others, to show how Beale's daring and
adventurous spirit had captivated public opinion
and how generally recognized both in and out of the
service was his ability to command and to undertake
desperate hazards. It was at this moment, when
the popularity of the "Hero of San Pasqual" was
at its height, when he was the idol of the Southwest
and the new world that was coming into being on
the Pacific Coast, that Beale, in recognition of his
family responsibilities, had the courage to resign,

56 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

there being no enemies of his country in sight,
and go into a business which must have seemed
humdrum to his adventurous spirit. But Beale
always recognized the call of duty and the adven
tures had not all been of his seeking, they came by
the way. The offer of service in the Arctic was
made in the following terms:

DEAR SIR:

Although personally a stranger to you, the subject of
this letter will, I trust, be its ample apology.

When I first volunteered to go in quest of Sir Jno. Frank
lin and his companions, it was my purpose, if my application
was successful, to have asked you to accompany me, for
although you are recently married, I have not done your
partner the injustice to class her among weak and frivolous
wives, but rather, regarded her as one who would cheer you
in an undertaking which would enhance your reputation
and embellish ( ?) your name.

The long interval that was supinely suffered to elapse
had nearly taken all hope, when a recent letter from the
Rev'd Mr. Scoresby, written at the instance of Lady Frank
lin, has reinvigorated me. In that letter, I am told that
Lady F. and her friends place little reliance on the expedi
tion now being equipped by the Admiralty, and which is to
pursue the route by Behring's Straits. Their greatest hope
is in us and the eastern route. If that lady carries her
intention into effect and comes to this country, I have little
doubt that an expedition will be authorized. I use the
term authorized, because Congress may not feel justified in
appropriating money, especially for such an object, while
its sanction or that of the Executive would be necessary to a
military organization, without which, I presume, no officer
of respectability would undertake it.

Should it be undertaken and I be appointed to lead it,

Beale Brings First Gold East 57

will you embark with me? Do not answer with precipita
tion, for I know that you will never withdraw a pledge, and
I only wish to receive one after full deliberation.

If you decide to cast your lot with me, in the above event,
I would, of course, stipulate that you should be second in
command.

My reasons for applying to you are twofold — first physi
cal, for my own constitution is a weak, while yours, from all I
can learn, is a vigorous and hardy one, and secondly, you
have the moral qualities, unshrinking courage and in
domitable perseverance which are indispensable for such an
undertaking.

It would be my aim to pass through Wellington Channel
and make our winter quarters on the north shore of Mel
ville Island. If in our route thither we were unsuccessful
in our search, I would during the winter despatch parties
to the north to reach the pole if possible, the other to the
west towards Behring's Straits — the members of each party
to be surmounted on skates, with light boats fixed on
metallic sleigh runners. If neither of those parties should
discover the English ships or their crews, there would be no
longer doubt of their having perished. When the summer
opened, therefore, I would feel justified in making a bold
push with the ship for Behring's Straits, through which if
I could only succeed in carrying the Am. flags I could die
content. Even at the worst it is a noble cause to die in :
but you have endearing attachments to the world, and I
would not have you thoughtlessly link your fate with one
so desolate as myself.

Please answer this at your leisure and let no editor of a
paper see or hear anything of it.

Uncertain of your direction, I will send this to the
department to be forwarded to you.

With great respect,
Your obt. serv't,

W. F. LYNCH, U. S. N.

Baltimore, Jan'y n, 1850.

58 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

Lieut. E. F. BEALE, U. S. Navy.

WASHINGTON OBSERVATORY,

Feb. 28th.

DEAR SIR:

I am requested to sound you as to a private expedition
after Sir John Franklin. If you will come up I will tell you
all I know and all that I am authorized to say to you on this
subject. In the meantime I am enjoined to regard the
matter as a great secret which you are to help me to keep.

Yours truly,

M. F. MAURY.

I also reproduce one of the many letters which
Beale received from Bayard Taylor at this time:

"TRIBUNE" OFFICE, NEW YORK,

March 26th, 1850.
MY DEAR BEALE:

What has become of you? That you are somewhere in
the country I know and I send this note to Chester hoping
it may reach you. I was in Washington two weeks ago but
you were not there. I should have stopped a few hours at
Chester had I not happened to be in the midnight train.
Let me hear from you and don't attempt to go to California
without passing through here. Stoddard tells me he has
not seen you so I judge you have not been here yet. Are
you going to California and when if so? or are you to be
sent into the unknown Central Region? Let me know I
pray you for I am anxious to hear from you and more
anxious to see you.

I had an odd, exciting, adventurous ride of it through
Mexico and should like to compare notes with you.

I am working day and night on my book1 and expect to
get it through the press in two weeks, will you allow me to
dedicate it to you? As the best friend and comrade I had

1 Eldorado or Adventures in the Path of Empire, by Bayard Taylor.
George P. Putnam, New York; Richard Bentley, London, 1850.

Beale Brings First Gold East 59

on the trip it is properly owing to you. I shall try and
make the volumes such as you will be satisfied with.

Pray give my best regards to Mrs. Beale and believe me
ever,

Most faithfully yours,

BAYARD TAYLOR.

It is interesting to note that from the moment
of his first visit to California, Beale saw in his
mind's eye the great city that was to grow up at the
Golden Gate, and command the commerce of the
Pacific. He had that instinct of prophecy, which
is called "luck," in an eminent degree. On his
return East, he often spoke to his mother and to his
friends of the many opportunities that presented
themselves for acquiring fortune in California;
but for the most part his words fell upon deaf ears.
Indeed, Mrs. Beale was very anxious at what she
considered her son's inclination toward wildcat
speculation. Though the daughter and the widow
of naval officers, Mrs. Beale was in affluent cir
cumstances for those days, and she absolutely
refused to follow her son's advice to purchase either
for herself or for her children any of the large
Mexican land grants, which were going begging
at any price. In answer to her son's suggestions,
Mrs. Beale said, quite emphatically, "What, buy
land out in that wilderness ? Never ! ' '

The consequence of Mrs. Beale's conservative
views regarding Western investments was that her
foresighted son had to wait some years before lay
ing the foundation of his fortune, but, as he always

Beale Brings First Gold East 61

which his enthusiasm had led him and Aspinwall
had come to a point where he evidently doubted
the wisdom of throwing good money after bad, and
shortly after Beale reached California on his mis
sion of salvage all money supplies were cut off and
willy-nilly the Stockton- Aspinwall enterprise had to
become a going concern or go into bankruptcy.

In this crisis Beale gave a foretaste of the remark
able business ability which distinguished him in
after-life. He made a hurried trip to the mines and
the haciendas in which his backers had invested
with such haste. In the mines there was promise of
wealth in the future and in the haciendas there was
also the assurance of comfortable returns in later
years, but for the present there was no money in
sight and he knew nothing more could be ex
pected from the East, at least not for many months
to come. In his journey Beale had personal
experience of the difficulty of obtaining transpor
tation and of its costliness when once obtained,
and like a flash the business inspiration came : the
mines could wait and even the haciendas vegetate,
gold-seekers thronged every trail and people were
willing to pay any price to get to the river of
Golden Sands. In a few days Beale had converted
the great mining and real estate enterprise into
a transportation concern, the mining experts were
turned into the leaders of mule trains, book
keepers were learning how to drive, and Beale was
king of all the transportation on the roads that led
from Sacramento and Marysville to the American

62 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

Fork and the lands adjoining Sutter's ranch and
mill, then the centre of the first mining region.

Beale knew of course that this stream of passen
gers who were willing to pay any price for accommo
dations would not flow on forever. He worked
the makeshift, however, for what it was worth and
at the end of nine months, when they were expecting
anything but favorable news, he reported to his
principals in the East that profits slightly exceeding
one hundred thousand dollars were awaiting their
orders. Rear- Admiral Harmony, U. S. N., retired,
one of Beale 's few surviving shipmates to whom the
writer of this narrative is indebted for many per
sonal notes and intimate touches which could not
otherwise have been obtained, relates that he rode
on the Marysville stage with a pass from Ned Beale
when a ticket would have cost him three months'
pay, and that he witnessed a test which he did not
expect even Beale's popularity to survive. The
company was charging one dollar a pound to trans
port freight from Sacramento to the diggings and
yet Ned Beale remained the most universally
beloved man in the country.

Before he went East the following year, to
re-enter the Government service, though nothing
was farther from his thoughts than so doing until
he reached Washington, Beale had accumulated
thirteen thousand dollars as his agreed percentage
of the profits. With this money he made the
intelligent investments which in ten years brought
him to affluence and even to great wealth. He had

Beale Brings First Gold East 63

also earned and received a blessing from his old
commander, Stockton, a fine sailor, but who was
somewhat out of his element in business or
politics.

CHAPTER V
FIRST STEPS IN OUR INDIAN POLICY

Lieut. Beale Appointed by President Fillmore General
Superintendent of Indian Affairs for California and
Nevada — Congress Appropriates Two Hundred and
Fifty Thousand Dollars to Carry into Effect Beale's
Plans — Indian Tribes to be Colonized and Protected
on Reservations — Beale's Journey from the Valley
of the Mississippi to California along the Central
Route as Described by Himself and Mr. Heap
— Westport, Kansas, and the "Stirrup Cup" —
Fort Atkinson and Pike's Peak and the Huer-
fano River — Plains of the Arkansas and Fort
Massachusetts.

ON Nov. nth, 1852, Lieutenant Beale, who
was in Washington1 at the time, was ap
pointed by President Fillmore General Su
perintendent of Indian Affairs for California and

1 There was some slight opposition to the appointment of Beale as
Superintendent of Indian Affairs. Beale was opposed more as a Fre
mont man than for anything he had done himself. While the nomina
tion was before the Senate and still waiting confirmation, Fremont
wrote a letter giving the most explicit denial to the charge that he,
Fremont, had profited out of army contracts upon which he had passed
in his official capacity. He further stated that Beale had never been
connected with him "in any business transactions whatsoever," and
the nomination was immediately confirmed.

Our Indian Policies 65

Nevada.1 Lieutenant Beale's views on all ques
tions relating to the welfare of the Indians were
well known ; they had in fact indicated the appoint
ment which was duly confirmed by the Senate.

At the time fears, which subsequent events
showed were anything but idle, were freely ex^
pressed that the growing friction between emigrants
and settlers in California and the Indians would
soon develop into a savage warfare all along
the new and almost wholly unprotected frontier.
Fillmore and Benton, the first of our statesmen to
have an eye on the Pacific world, were convinced
that Beale well understood the critical situation
and was the one man available who could cope
with it successfully. In consequence Beale re
ceived the appointment under which he was clothed
with powers which were afterwards described in
the Senate, and most correctly described, as being
" vice-regal in breadth and scope and finality. "

On the third day of March, 1853, Congress, not
to be behindhand, passed a law appropriating
$250,000 for the purpose of carrying into effect the

1 The thought is suggested by the following almost illegible note among
the Beale papers that while our Presidents are as hard worked as were
their predecessors they most certainly do not begin business at such an
early hour as President Fillmore would seem to have done. The note
reads :

"The president will meet you and myself at the White House on
Tuesday morning at half -past seven o'clock.

"R. W. — .

" LIEUT. BEALE. March 2yth, 1853."

Unfortunately the last letter or rather initial of the friend who
summoned Beale to this early morning conference with the President is
hopelessly illegible.
5

66 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

plan which Lieutenant Beale had proposed for
the better protection, subsistence, and coloniz
ation of the Indian tribes within his superin-
tendency.

The President having given his approval to this
plan, Lieutenant Beale was instructed to proceed
forthwith by the shortest route to his superinten-
dency, and to select lands most suitable for Indian
reservations. He was also directed, in connection
with this plan, to examine the Territories of New
Mexico and Utah, where their frontiers and those
of California lie contiguous, and to ascertain
whether lands existed there to which the California
Indians might, with advantage, be removed.

The route selected by Lieutenant Beale was, in
conformity with his instructions, the shortest and
most direct to California, and it also enabled him
to examine, with the least delay, the localities to
which it was believed that the Indians of California
might be removed with advantage to themselves,
should suitable lands for the purpose be found.

While Lieutenant Beale was collecting his party
and arranging the transportation problems which
the adventurous journey imposed, he was joined
in the undertaking by his kinsman, Mr. Gwinn
Harris Heap, who was also desirous of proceeding
to California. Together they determined to com
bine with the hazards of an overland journey, a
preliminary survey of a route for the railway which
even at this early day was in contemplation, from
the Valley of the Mississippi to California, which

Our Indian Policies 67

quaintly enough Mr. Heap always refers to in his
journal as "our Pacific possessions.'* z

We left Washington on the 2Oth of April, and
arrived at St. Louis the 2d, Kanzas the 5th, and
Westport the 6th of May.

Westport is a thriving place, situated four miles
from Kanzas ; and emigrants from Missouri to Cali
fornia and Oregon make either this place or Inde
pendence their starting-point. At both towns all
necessary supplies can be obtained at reasonable
rates, and their merchants and mechanics, being
constantly required to supply the wants of travel
lers on the plains, keep on hand such articles as are
best adapted for an overland journey. Kanzas, a
newer place, is also thriving, and a fine river landing.
Our party was composed of twelve persons, viz:

E. F. BEALE, Superintendent of Indian
Affairs in California.

G. HARRIS HEAP.

ELISHA RIGGS, of Washington.

WILLIAM RIGGS "

WILLIAM ROGERS "

HENRY YOUNG.

J. WAGNER.

J. COSGROVE.

'In 1854, the account of this journey, taken from the journals of
Lieutenant Beale and of Mr. Heap, was published in Philadelphia by
Lippincott and in London by Triibner. These journals are of course
largely drawn upon in the following chapters for a description of what
the pioneers called the Central Route to the Pacific and for many of
the interesting adventures which befell them on the way.

68 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

RICHARD BROWN (a Delaware Indian).
GREGORIO MADRID (a Mexican).
JESUS GARCIA (a Mexican).
GEORGE SIMMS (colored man).

May 15. All our arrangements being com
pleted, we started from Westport at 3 P.M. A
party of ladies and gentlemen accompanied us a
few miles into the prairie, and drank a " stirrup
cup" of champagne to the success of our journey.
The weather was bright and clear, and, after a
pleasant ride of twelve miles over prairies enam
elled with flowers, we encamped at thirty minutes
after six P.M. on Indian Creek, a tributary of the
Kanzas, fringed with a thick growth of cotton-
woods and willows. Day's march, 12 miles.

May 1 8. We had a severe thunder arid rain
storm, which lasted all night ; the wind blew strong
from the southward, and the lightning was inces
sant and vivid. One of those balls of fire which
sometimes descend to the earth during violent
thunderstorms, fell and exploded in our midst.
The mules, already terrified by the constant peals
of thunder, became frantic with fear; and when
this vivid light was seen, accompanied with a report
like the crack of a rifle, neither picket-pins nor
hobbles could hold them; they rushed through the
camp, overturning everything in their course —
their ropes and halters lashing right and left, and
increasing their panic. They were stopped by an
elbow of the creek, where they were found a few

Our Indian Policies 69

minutes after, huddled together, and quivering
with fear. It was fortunate for us that they did
not take to the open prairie, as we would have had
much difficulty in recovering them. This was our
first experience in a stampede, and to prevent a
recurrence of such accidents we after this placed
the animals in the centre, and, dividing our party
into twos and threes, slept in a circle around them.
By using such precautions we were never subjected
to this annoyance again, except once, after entering
the country of the Utahs.

A ride of twenty-five miles brought us to a hollow,
where, finding good water, we encamped. Resting
but a short time we continued our journey and in
ten miles, over a rich rolling country, arrived at
Council Grove, where our train was waiting for us.

Council Grove is situated in a rich grassy bottom,
well watered and heavily timbered. It is a settle
ment of about twenty frame and log houses, and
scattered up and down the stream are several
Indian villages. At a short distance from the
road is a large and substantially built Methodist
mission-house constructed of limestone, which is
found here in inexhaustible quantities. This stone
is excellent as a building material and lies in strata
of from six inches to three feet in thickness ; lintels
and arches are made of it as it is extracted from the
quarries, which extend for fifteen miles up the
stream. Day's march, 32 miles; total distance,
122 miles.

Since our departure from Westport we had seen

70 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

many graves on each side of the road, and some of
the camping-places had the appearance of village
graveyards. The cholera raged on the plains a
few years ago, occasioning a fearful mortality,
and these mounds remain to attest its ravages.
Through carelessness or haste, they were often too
shallow to protect their contents from the wolves,
and it frequently happened that he who in the
morning was hastening forward in health and
spirits towards the golden bourne, was ere night
a mangled corpse, his bones scattered by the savage
hunger of the wolf, over the plain.

May 20. Resumed our march at noon, and
travelled over a flat uninteresting country with
little water. This day saw antelope for the first
time. Met Major Rucker, and Lieutenants Heath
and Robinson on their way from New Mexico to
Fort Leaven worth. They informed us that at a
short distance in advance of us were large bands of
buffalo. Encamped, as the sun was setting, on a
brook called Turkey Creek, where we found an
abundant supply of water, but no wood. We
here overtook Mr. Antoine Leroux, on his way to
Taos, and considered ourselves fortunate in se
curing the services of so experienced a guide. He
did not join us at once, as he was desirous of seeing
his train safely over one or two bad places in
advance of us, but promised to overtake us in a
day or two. Day's march, 35 miles; distance from
Westport, 1 89 miles.

May 21. We were all on the lookout for buffa-

Our Indian Policies 71

loes. It was five days since we had left Westport,
and as yet our eyes had not been gladdened by the
sight of even one. Hoping to fall in with them
more readily by diverging from the beaten track,
I left the party soon after sunrise, and turning to
the left, went a few miles in the direction of the
Arkansas. After a ride of two hours, I observed
afar off many dark objects which resembled trees
skirting the horizon, but, after a closer scrutiny,
their change of position convinced me that they
were buffaloes. I slowly approached them, and,
in order to obtain a nearer view without giving
them the alarm, dismounted, and, urging my
horse forward, concealed myself behind him. I
thus got within a hundred yards of the herd.
Bands of antelope and prairie wolves were in
termingled with the buffaloes, who had come
down to a rivulet to drink. Of the latter
some were fighting, others wallowing, drinking,
or browsing. I was just congratulating myself
upon my ruse in getting so near to them, this being
my first sight of these noble animals, when my
horse, suddenly raising his head, uttered such a
sonorous neigh as put the whole troop to flight.
Away they galloped, one band after another taking
the alarm, until the whole herd, numbering several
thousand, was in motion, and finally disappearing
in clouds of dust. Despairing of getting such
another opportunity for a shot, I reluctantly
turned my horse's head in the direction where I
supposed the rest of the party to be. A few hours'

72 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

ride brought me back to them. They too had
fallen in with buffaloes, and, in their eagerness to
secure the first prize, each man had taken two or
three shots at a straggling old bull, an exile from
the herd; he fell, pierced with twenty -three balls.
He was, however, too old and tough to be eaten,
and was left for his friends, the coyotes.

Buffaloes now became such an ordinary occur
rence that the novelty soon wore off, and we had
more humps, tongues, and marrow-bones than
the greatest gourmand could have desired.

May 22. We had already overtaken and passed
several large wagon and cattle trains from Texas
and Arkansas, mostly bound to California. With
them were many women and children; and it
was pleasant to stroll into their camps in the
evening and witness the perfect air of comfort and
being-at-home that they presented. Their wagons
drawn up in a circle, gave them at least an appear
ance of security; and within the inclosure the men
either reclined around the campfires, or were busy
in repairing their harness or cleaning their arms.
The females milked the cows and prepared the
supper; and we often enjoyed the hot cakes and
fresh milk of which they invited us to partake.
Tender infants in their cradles were seen under the
shelter of the wagons, thus early inured to hard
travel. Carpets and rocking chairs were drawn
out, and what would perhaps shock some of our
fine ladies, fresh-looking girls, whose rosy lips were
certainly never intended to be defiled by the

Our Indian Policies 73

vile weed, sat around the fire, smoking the old-
fashioned corn-cob pipe.

May 23. We were again on the road at sunrise,
and travelled thirty-one miles to the Pawnee Fork
of the Arkansas. The sun was excessively hot, but
towards noon its heat was tempered by a pleasant
breeze from the northwest; crossed many gullies,
which carry water only after heavy rains. We
passed, on the right of the road, a remarkable butte,
or spur of the hills, projecting into the plain, and
presenting a broad surface of smooth rock, thickly
inscribed with names. This landmark is known
as "The Pawnee Rock. "

May 25. We were glad to saddle up at sunrise,
and in five miles reached Fort Atkinson, where
Major Johnson, the officer in command, gave us a
cordial reception. Several large bands of Indians,
of the Cheyenne and Arapahoe tribes, were con
gregated around the fort, awaiting the arrival of
Major Fitzpatrick, Indian Agent, whom they daily
expected. As it continued to rain without inter
mission all day, we concluded to pass the night in
the fort, where Major Johnson had provided com
fortable accommodations for us. Orders had just
been received to remove this post to Pawnee Fork
of the Arkansas, one hundred miles nearer the
settlements. It will there be of very little service,
for it is already too near to the frontiers.

The timber at Pawnee Fork being mostly cotton-
woods, it is not suitable for building purposes;
though at Fort Atkinson there is none whatever

74 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

nearer than fifteen miles; and it was with some
difficulty that we obtained a few small logs for our
men, who were encamped at a short distance, under
tents borrowed from the fort. All the houses are
in a dilapidated condition ; a few are built of adobe
(sun-dried bricks) but the greater part are con
structed of sods. Emigrants frequently stop here
to settle their difficulties with Indians, and with
each other, Major Johnson administering justice
in a prompt and impartial manner. A few days
before our arrival, a quarrel having occurred be
tween a party of emigrants and some Cheyenne
Indians, which ended in blows, Major Johnson,
upon investigation, finding that an American was
the aggressor, immediately ordered him back to the
States. Mr. Leroux being still too ill to continue
the journey, remained here under the care of the
surgeon of the post; and Mr. W. Riggs, desiring
to return to the States, took leave of us at this
point. Day's travel, 5 miles; whole distance, 361
miles.

May 26. Although it still continued to rain, we
left Fort Atkinson at noon, and travelled up the
left bank of the Arkansas. The trail from Inde
pendence to Santa Fe crosses the Arkansas ten
miles above Fort Atkinson; and there is another
crossing five miles higher up.

May 29. At sunrise, recrossed the river to its
left bank, grass still coarse and rank. The water
of the Arkansas is very similar in color and taste to
that of the Missouri. As we coasted up the left

Our Indian Policies 75

bank the grass became coarser and scantier.
Passed a singular slaty mound on the right of the
road, resembling a pyramid in ruins. Encamped
at noon near a slough of the river. There was no
wood near enough for use; but the general resource
in such cases on the plains was scattered in abun
dance around us. The sun was very hot, but at
times tempered by a light breeze from the north
westward. A wagon and cattle train of emigrants
encamped near us. In the afternoon, we ascended
the river eight miles, and encamped near the stream
in coarse, wiry grass, as in fact it has been for
several days past. The country a few miles from
the river has scanty grass and dry arid soil. In
the evening, we had a large company of emigrants
on each side of us. Day's travel, 36 miles; whole
distance, 483 miles.

June 2. Left the Timpas at early dawn, and
discerned at a distance of fifteen miles several
high buttes, bearing due west, in a line with the
southern end of the Sierra Mojada; towards these
we now directed our course. The country was
gradually rolling towards the buttes, and covered
with abundant bunch grass; the prickly pear, or
cactus, which grows in clusters close to the ground,
was at times very distressing to our mules; their
constant efforts to avoid treading on this annoying
plant gave them an uneasy, jerking gait, very har
assing to their riders during a long day's march. :

Upon reaching the summit of the buttes, a mag
nificent and extensive panorama was opened to

76 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

our view. The horizon was bounded on the north
by Pike's Peak, northwest and west by the Sierra
Mojada, Sangre de Cristo Mountains, and Spanish
Peaks; to the south and east extended the prairie,
lost in the hazy distance. On the gently undulat
ing plains, reaching to the foot of the mountains,
could be traced the courses of the Arkansas and
Sage Creek by their lines of timber. The Apispah,
an affluent of the Arkansas, issuing from the Sierra
Mojada, was concealed from sight by a range of
intervening buttes, while the object of our search,
the Huerfano, flowed at our feet, distant about
three miles, its course easy to be distinguished
from the point where it issued from the mountains
to its junction with the Arkansas, except at short
intervals, where it passed through canyons in the
plain. Pike's Peak, whose head was capped with
eternal snows, was a prominent object in the land
scape, soaring high above all neighboring summits.
Descending the buttes to the Huerfano, we
encamped on it about five miles above its mouth.
A bold and rapid stream, its waters were turbid,
but sweet and cool; the river-bottom was broad,
and thickly wooded with willows and cottonwoods
interlaced with the wild rose and grape-vine, and
carpeted with soft grass — a sylvan paradise. This
stream was about twenty-five yards in breadth,
and five feet deep close to the bank. Bands of
antelope and deer dotted the plain, one of which
served us for supper, brought down by the unerring
rifle of Dick, the Delaware.

•Ml

Our Indian Policies 77

June 4. I rode ahead of camp, to Huerfano
Butte, a remarkable mound, bearing north from
the southernmost Spanish Peak, and about fifty
yards from the right bank of the river; its appear
ance was that of a huge artificial mound of stones,
covered half-way up from its base with a dense
growth of bushes. It is probably of volcanic origin
and there are many indications in this region of the
action of internal fires.

Our ride to-day was full of interest, for we weie
now approaching the Sangre de Cristo Pass, in the
Sangre de Cristo Mountains. We had been travel
ling for eighteen days, over an uninterrupted plain,
until its monotony had become extremely weari
some. The mountain scenery, which we entered
soon after raising camp this morning, was of the
most picturesque description. We crossed the
Huerfano seven miles above the butte; at this
point it issues from a canyon one hundred and fifty
yards in length; above it the valley, watered by
the Huerfano, forms a beautiful plain of small
extent, surrounded by lofty and well-wooded
mountains; numerous rills trickle down their sides,
irrigate the plain, and join their waters to those
of the Huerfano, which are here clear and cold. We
did not enter this valley, but left the Huerfano after
crossing it, and followed up the bed of one of its
tributaries, the Cuchada, a small brook rising near
the summit of the Sangre de Cristo Pass.

This small valley of the Huerfano contains about
six hundred acres, and forms a most ravishing pic-

78 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

ture; it would be a good place for recruiting cattle
after their weary march across the plains, as they
would be perfectly secure and sheltered, and the
pasturage is excellent. This, however, is the case
all through these mountains, for waving grass,
gemmed with flowers of every hue, covers them
to their summits, except in the region of snow.
The Cuchada led us up a succession of valleys of
an easy grade. We were now travelling on an
Indian trail; for the wagon trail, which I believe
was made by Roubindeau's wagons, deviated to
the right, and went through the pass named after
him. This pass is so low that we perceived through
it a range of sand hills of moderate height, in San
Luis Valley; to have gone through it, however,
would have occasioned us the loss of a day in
reaching Fort Massachusetts, though it is the
shortest and most direct route to the Coochatope;
and Mr. Beale's views constrained him to take the
most direct route to Fort Massachusetts, where
he expected to obtain a guide through the unex
plored country between New Mexico and Utah,
and also to procure some mules. We were there
fore very reluctantly compelled to forego the
examination of Roubindeau's Pass.

Encamped at noon at the foot of a remarkable
rock, watered at its base by the Cuchada ; it resem
bled the ruined front of a Gothic church. En
camped for the night six miles farther up the valley,
and near the summit of the Sangre de Cristo Pass.
An excellent wagon road might be made over these

Our Indian Policies 79

mountains, by the Sangre de Cristo Pass, and a
still better one through Roubindeau's.

The grass around our encampment was really
magnificent; it was in a large mountain meadow,
watered by numerous springs and girt in by dark
pines. Through an opening in the mountains, to
the eastward, we could see the sunny plains of the
Arkansas and Huerfano, with its remarkable butte,
whilst around us heavy clouds were collecting,
giving warning of a storm and wet night. We
made ourselves shelters and beds of pine boughs.
The Delaware had killed a fat antelope, which
furnished us a hearty supper; and we sat around
our fire until a late hour, well pleased with having
accomplished in such good time and without acci
dent the first stage of our journey, for we expected
to reach Fort Massachusetts at an early hour next
day. Day's march, 26 miles; total distance, 668
miles.

June 5. After crossing Indian Creek, we halted
a few minutes to make our toilets previous to our
arrival at Fort Massachusetts, and, although our
hunter had just ridden into camp with a haunch
of fat venison behind his saddle, and our appetites,
which were at all times excellent, had been sharp
ened by a long mountain ride without breakfast,
we were too impatient to reach the fort to lose
time in camping. We arrived there late in the
afternoon, and received a warm and hospitable
welcome from Major Blake, the officer in command,
and from Lieutenants Jackson and Johnson, and

8o Edward Fitzgerald Beale

Dr. Magruder. An incipient rainstorm made us feel
sensible that we were still in the vicinity of the
Sierra Mojada (or Wet Mountains), which well
merit the name, for rain fell every day that we
were in or near them; on the highest peaks in the
form of snow, and lower down in hazy moisture,
alternating with drenching showers.

This humidity gives great fertility to this region,
and the country bordering on the sides of these
mountains, as well as the valleys within their
recesses, are unequalled in loveliness and richness
of vegetation. To the settler, they offer every
inducement; and I have no doubt that in a few
years this tract of country will vie with California
or Australia in the number of immigrants it will
invite to it. It is by far the most beautiful as well
as the most fertile portion of New Mexico, and a
remarkably level country unites it with the western
frontier of the Atlantic States. As soon as this is
thrown open to settlement, a continuous line of
farms will be established, by which the agricultural
and mineral wealth of this region will be developed.
Communication will then be more rapid, and
instead of the mail being, as it is now, thirty days
in reaching Fort Massachusetts, it will be carried
through in eight or ten.

Messrs. Beale, Riggs, Rogers, and myself quar
tered at the fort ; the men encamped two miles below
on Utah Creek, in a beautiful grove of cottonwoods.
A tent was sent to them, and with fresh bread and
meat they were soon -rendered perfectly comfort-

hfi

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O.

O &

§ I

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*- 2

Our Indian Policies 81

able. There was excellent pasturage around their
encampment, on which the mules soon forgot the
hard marches they had made since leaving West-
port. Day's travel, 25 miles; total distance from
Westport to Fort Massachusetts, 693 miles.

June 14. As it was found impossible to obtain
here the men and animals that we required, and
that it would be necessary to go to Taos, and per
haps to Santa Fe, for this purpose, Mr. Beale and
Major Blake left for the former place on the morn
ing after our arrival at the fort. Taos is about
eighty, and Santa Fe about one hundred and forty
miles to the southward.

The cavalry at Fort Massachusetts numbered
seventy-five men, of whom forty -five were mounted.
Though their horses were excellently groomed,
and stabled, and kept in high condition on corn, at
six dollars a bushel, they would break down on a
march in pursuit of Indians mounted on horses
fed on grass, and accustomed to gallop at half
speed up or down the steepest hills. Corn-fed
animals lose their strength when they are put on
grass, and do not soon get accustomed to the
change of diet. Of this fact the officers at the
fort were perfectly sensible, and regretted that
they were not better prepared for any sudden
emergency.

Lieutenant Beale returned from the southern
country late in the afternoon of this day, and
brought with him a guide, and a Mexican arriero
(muleteer) ; they were cousins, and both named

82 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

Felipe Archilete. Jesus Garcia was discharged
here, and Patrick Dolan, a soldier who had served
out his time, hired in his place. Our party now
numbered fourteen.

The guide, Felipe Archilete, or " Peg-leg," for
it was by this sobriquet that he was commonly
known to Americans, deserves particular mention.
He had spent the greater part of his life trading
and trapping in the Indian country, and his accu
rate knowledge of the region between the Arkansas
and Sevier River in Utah Territory, as well as his
acquaintance with the Utah tongue, promised to
render him of great service to us in the absence of
Mr. Leroux. A few years ago, in a skirmish with
the Utahs, he was wounded in the left ankle with
a rifle ball, which completely crippled his foot, and
compelled him to use at times a wooden leg, which
he carried suspended to his waist. Notwithstand
ing his lameness, he was one of the most active
men of the party, and was always the foremost in
times of difficulty and danger.

During Lieutenant Beale 's absence, I replen
ished our provisions from the sutler's store, and
had a small supply of biscuit baked; a bullock,
which I had purchased from the quartermaster,
was cut up and jerked by the Delaware, and the
mules were reshod, and a supply of spare shoes
and nails obtained. They were completely rested,
and in even better condition than when we started
from Westport; after a general overhauling of the
camp equipage by the men, everything was put in

Our Indian Policies 83

order for resuming our journey, as soon as Lieu
tenant Beale should return.

June 15. Bidding adieu to our kind friends at
the fort, we resumed our journey at noon, and
travelled down Utah Creek south-southwest, until it
debouched in the valley of San Luis, when we
altered our course to west by north. In six miles
from Fort Massachusetts, we crossed the trail of
Roubindeau's wagons from the upper Arkansas
settlements; they entered through Roubindeau's
Pass in the Sierra Mojada. After crossing it, our
route led us over a level plain covered with arte-
misia, cacti, and patches of the nutritious grama.
A ride of twenty-five miles brought us at dark to a
slough of the Rio del Norte, where we encamped.
Day's march, 25 miles; total distance from West-
port, 718 miles.

June 1 8. On resuming our march in the
afternoon, we ascended the small valley, as it
shortened the distance a couple of miles, and
re-entered that of the Sahwatch. After a ride of
eight miles we crossed Sahwatch Creek, its waters
reaching to our saddles, and encamped as the sun
was setting, at the entrance ot the celebrated
Coochatope Pass.

CHAPTER VI
ACROSS THE PLAINS IN '53

From Coochatope Pass to Grand River — A Taste of Moun
tain Sheep — The Great Divide — Murderous Work of
Utah Indians — Arrival at the Uncompagre River —
The Swollen Fork of the Colorado — Raft Built and
Abandoned — The Slough of Despond — Building a
Canoe — Forlorn Plight of Pack Mules — Shipwreck and
Inventory of Losses — Expedition Separated by River
but United by Common Misfortunes — Gallant Swim
mers — Beale Decides to Send to Taos in New Mexico
to Replenish his Supplies — Mr. Heap's Journey to the
Settlements — A Miserable Night — "Peg-leg" and the
Venerable Utah — The Lonely Squaw — Arrival at Taos
— Mr. Leroux and Supplies.

COOCHATOPE PASS is a wonderful gap, or,
more properly speaking, a natural gate,
as its name denotes, in the Utah language.
On each side, mountains rise in abrupt and rocky
precipices, the one on the eastern side being the
highest. We climbed up the one on the left, which
is but a confused mass of rocks, but in their crevi
ces were many beautiful and sweet-scented flow
ers. The bottom of the pass was level and at right
angles with Sah watch Valley; and we had thus far

Across the Plains in '53 85

reached twenty-five miles into the mountains,
from San Luis Valley, without any apparent change
of level. Singular as it may appear, it is neverthe
less a fact that, notwithstanding the distance that
we had penetrated into these mountains, had it
not been for the course of the waters it would have
been difficult to have determined whether we were
ascending or descending.

A stream issues from Coochatope Pass and joins
the Sah watch; it is called Coochumpah by the
Utahs, and Rio de los Cibolos by the Mexicans;
both names have the same signification — River of
Buffaloes. Coochatope signifies, in the Utah lan
guage, Buffalo Gate, and the Mexicans have the
same name for it, El Puerto de los Cibolos. The
pass and creek are so called from the large herds of
these animals which entered Sahwatch and San
Luis Valleys through this pass, from the Three
Parks and Upper Arkansas, before they were des
troyed, or the direction of their migration changed,
by the constant warfare carried on against them by
Indians and New Mexicans. A few still remain in
the mountains and are described as very wild and
savage. We saw a great number of elk-horns
scattered through these valleys; and, from the
comparatively fresh traces of buffaloes, it was
evident that many had visited the pass quite
recently.

Our Delaware, in commemoration of our arrival
at this point, killed a mountain sheep, and soon a
dozen sticks were around the fire, on which were

86 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

roasting pieces of this far-famed meat; but this was
a bad specimen, being both old and tough. Day's
travel, 22 miles ; total distance, 808 miles.

We resumed our journey at 5:30 A.M. and,
having travelled two miles, reached the forks of the
Coochumpah, taking the west fork up the valley,
which here commenced to ascend at an easy grade.
The mountainsides were clothed with fine timber,
among which were pines, firs, and aspens, and the
valley with the most luxuriant grass and clover,
this being the first clover we had seen. Around
us were scattered numerous elk-horns and buffalo
skulls. Eight miles brought us to a remarkable
cliff, about one hundred feet in height, which
beetled over the trail on our left ; nine miles from
the "Gate," we saw the last water flowing east to
the Atlantic; in five minutes we were on the cul
minating point of the pass, and in ten more crossed
the first stream flowing west to the Pacific. It
was almost as if we were standing with one foot in
waters which found their way to the Gulf of
Mexico and the other in those losing themselves in
the Gulf of California.

In our eagerness to explore this pass to its
western outlet, Lieutenant Beale and I rode far
ahead of the remainder of the party. The scenery
was grand and beautiful beyond description.
Lofty mountains, their summits covered with
eternal snows, lifted their heads to the clouds,
whilst in our immediate vicinity were softly
rounded hills clothed with grass, flowers, and rich

»-c

Across the Plains in '53 87

meadows, through which numerous rills trickled
to join their waters to Coochatope Creek.

At noon we encamped on this stream, where it
had already swollen to a considerable size. It is
a tributary of Grand River, east fork of the Great
Colorado. Near camp was a lofty and steep hill,
which I ascended to obtain a better view of the
country; one of its principal features was the
Coochatope Mountain to the southeast, high,
round, and dark with pines.

June 20. The usual cry of "catch up" set the
camp in motion at 5:45 A.M. We travelled
twenty-two miles over a rolling country, more
hilly than our route of the previous day, and
encamped on a rivulet at noon. Our course was
south by west. The hillsides and mountains were
still covered with a thick growth of pines and
aspens; wild flowers adorned the murmuring
streams, and beautified the waving grass. Every
few hundred yards we came to one of these purling
brooks, the haunt of the timid deer, who bounded
away at our approach. To the westward, the
Eagle Range (La Sierra del Aguila) towered high
above the surrounding mountains, its summits
capped with snow, some patches of which we
passed near our trail. Lieutenant Beale shot a spe
cies of grouse, larger than a prairie hen, and caught
one of her young. At 5:30 P.M., five miles from
our noon camp, we crossed the two forks of the
Jaroso (Willow) Creek, a strong stream running
into Grand River, not laid down on any map. At

88 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

7 P.M. we rested for the night in a valley watered
by a small shallow brook, very marshy, and
swarming with mosquitoes. Our general course
this day was southwest. Numbers of deer and
antelopes were seen ; indeed, these sheltered valleys
seem expressly intended as coverts for these gentle
animals.

About a mile before reaching the Jaroso, we
crossed a valley where a party of Americans were
cruelly murdered by the Utahs, in the spring of
this year. Five Americans and a few Mexicans
were driving sheep to California by this route, and,
from some cause which I did not ascertain, a dis
agreement arose between them and a band of
Utahs, who were still here in their winter-quarters.
The latter forbade their passing through their
country, and placing a row of elk-horns across the
valley, threatened them with instant death if they
crossed that line. The whites, deeming this a vain
threat, attempted to force their way through, were
attacked, and all killed. The elk-horns were still
in the position in which the Indians had placed
them. Our guide, Felipe, had an account of this
affair from Utahs who had been actors in the affray.
At this point the trail from the Del Norte through
the Carnero Pass joins that through the Coocha-
tope. Traders from Abiquiu come by it into these
mountains to barter for peltries with the Utahs.
Day's travel, 34 miles; total, 876 miles.

June 21. Raised camp at 4:45 A.M. and trav
elled five miles west by south, crossing a steep

Across the Plains in '53 89

and rocky hill covered with pines, and in five miles
entered a small valley watered by the Rio de la
Laguna (Lake Creek).

It became a question with us, how our packs were
to be transported over the Laguna without getting
them wet or lost, and we at first attempted to make
a bridge by felling a tall pine across the stream,
but it fell partly into the water, and the current
carried it away, tearing it into pieces. This plan
having failed another was adopted, suggested by
what Mr. Beale had seen in his travels in Panama,
and the mode of crossing the plunging torrents
of the Andes, which was entirely successful.

Mr. Rogers selected a point where the stream
was for some distance free from rocks, and suc
ceeded, after a severe struggle, in swimming across;
and one of the men mounting a stray Indian pony,
which we found quietly grazing in the valley,
dashed in after him, and also effected a landing on
the opposite side. To them a light line was thrown,
and having thus established a communication with
the other side, a larger rope was drawn over by
them, and tied firmly to a rock near the water's
edge. The end of the rope on our side was made
fast to the top of a pine tree, a backstay preventing
it from bending to the weight of the loads sent
over. An iron hook was now passed over the rope,
and by means of a sling our packs were suspended
to it. The hook slid freely from the top of the
tree down to the rock ; and when the load was taken
off, we drew the hook and sling back to our side by

90 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

a string made fast to it. The last load sent over
was our wearing apparel, and just after parting
with it, a violent hailstorm broke over us, making
us glad to seek shelter from its fury under rocks and
trees. Most of the day was thus consumed and
it was not until 5 P.M. that we mounted our mules
and swam them across. The water was icy cold,
and some of the animals had a narrow escape from
drowning. We, however, saddled up immediately,
and proceeding four miles from the creek,
encamped for the night in a small hollow. On
leaving the Rio de la Laguna, the road ascended a
high steep hill. The country travelled over this
day was abundantly grassed, the hills timbered
with firs, pines, and aspens, and the streams shaded
with willows. Day's travel, 9 miles; total, 885
miles.

June 23. At an early hour in the morning,
Lieut. Beale, Felipe Archilete, the Delaware, and
I, taking the lead, arrived at the River Uncom-
pagre at 11:10 A.M. We travelled about twelve
miles parallel with this river, and found it every
where a broad rapid stream, entirely too rapid
and swift to ford with safety; we therefore con
tinued down its right bank until we reached Grand
River.

We had been prepared to find Grand River
swollen, for its tributaries which we had crossed
were all at their highest stage of water; but
we had not anticipated so mighty a stream. It
flowed with a loud and angry current, its amber-

The Method of Crossing Laguna Creek

From a Lithograph

Across the Plains in '53 91

colored waters roaring sullenly past, laden with
the wrecks of trees uprooted by their fury. Sounds
like the booming of distant artillery, occasioned by
the caving in of its clay and sand banks, con
stantly smote our ears. This fork of the Colorado
rises in the Middle Park, and gathers all its head
waters in that enclosure, and is described by Fre
mont, who crossed it there, as being a large river,
one hundred and thirty yards wide where it breaks
through its mountain rim and flows southwest.
Between that point and where we approached
it numerous streams contribute their waters to
increase its volume, and where we now stood,
anxiously gazing at its flood, it had spread to a
.breadth of over two hundred and fifty yards.

As it was evident that this river was nowhere ford-
able it was determined to commence at once the
construction of a raft. A place where dead wood
was found in abundance was selected for encamp
ment, and to reach it it was necessary to cross a
broad slough, where the mules sank to their bellies
in the mud; the packs were carried over on our
heads. This brought us to an island of loose,
rotten soil, covered with greasewood and some
coarse grass. We had no shelter from the sun,
which was intensely hot, and the mosquitoes and
gadflies were perfectly terrific.

From this point, the Pareamoot Mountains were
in full view; they ranged from the north, and
terminated in an abrupt declivity on the west
ern side of Grand River, opposite the mouth of

92 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

the Uncompagre. They were described to me as
abounding in game, and well timbered; on their
plateaus, are fine lakes filled with excellent fish,
rich meadows, abundant streams, every natural
attraction, in fact, to induce settlement.

Our guide, Felipe, had spent three years in them,
trapping and hunting, and said that there is no
richer country on the continent. Those moun
tains are not laid down on any map. Day's travel,
28 miles; total distance, 951 miles.

June 24. Whilst most of the party were busily
occupied in collecting and cutting logs, construct
ing the raft, and transporting the packs, saddles,
etc., to the point of embarkation, which had to be
done in deep mud, and under a scorching sun,
others explored the banks of the river, to ascertain
whether a place could be found where the caval
cade could be crossed over. The river was exam
ined several miles above our encampment, but its
banks on our side were everywhere so marshy as
to prevent the approach of the mules to the water's
edge. At the encampment the ground was firmer
but we feared to drive them into the river at this
point, as it was here not only very rapid and broad,
but its opposite banks, as far down as we could
see, were marshy and covered with a thick jungle,
from which our mules, after the exhaustion of
swimming across so swift a current, would have
been unable to extricate themselves.

Towards noon the raft was completed, but we
were far from feeling confident about crossing at

Across the Plains in '53 93

this point. Archilete, who was well acquainted
with all the fords and crossing-places, stated that
perhaps a better point might be found a few miles
below the mouth of the Uncompagre, which flowed
into Grand River a short distance below us. As it
was evident that it would be risking the entire
loss of our animals and packs to attempt to cross
them here, it was determined to abandon the raft
and to move camp farther down without delay.
Everything was again transported to the main
shore across the slough. The animals had much
difficulty in crossing this place, even without loads ;
with them, they sank hopelessly into the mud, from
which it was very difficult to drag them out.
. A more dirty, begrimed, and forlorn-looking
party was never seen; we were covered with mud
to our waists; wherever the mosquitoes and gad
flies could reach our skin they improved the oppor
tunity most industriously, and most of the men
were covered with blisters and welts. All cheer
fully took a share in this labor, but a volley of
execrations was poured on this quagmire, which
was appropriately christened the "Slough of
Despond."

Having transported everything to dry land and
got the animals through the mud, we once more
packed them and resumed our journey down the
left bank of Grand River until we came to the
Uncompagre, a short distance above its mouth.

The largest animals were here selected to carry
the packs across, their feet barely touching the

94 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

bottom, whilst the strength of the current drove
the water over their backs. Some of the men,
mounted on horses, led the pack mules, and pre
vented their being carried down the stream where
the water was deeper. One mule, with a valuable
pack, having gone in of her own accord, was carried
away, lost her foothold and sank, the weight of the
pack being too great to allow her to swim; she was
swept down the stream with great rapidity, rolling
over helplessly until entirely lost to our sight by
a bend of the river. Some of the party swam
across, and one, benumbed by the coldness of the
water, and exhausted by struggling against the
stream, would have been drowned had he not
been providentially seized just as his strength had
entirely failed him.

We encamped a few miles below the Uncompagre
on the left bank of Grand River, upon a bluff from
which we had a fine view of its course, and of the
Pareamoot Mountains opposite. Our tormentors,
the mosquitoes, did not fail to welcome us with
a loud buzz, whilst the drone of the gadfly, which
might with truth be termed the jurla-mj emails of
the plains, gave notice that he was about, thirsting
for our blood. Wherever he inserted his proboscis,
the sensation was like that of a redhot darning
needle thrust into the flesh, and was followed by a
stream of blood. The mules and horses suffered
terribly by these flies.

Our provisions, by losses in the river and damage
by water, were fast diminishing, and it was deemed

Across the Plains in '53 95

prudent at this time to put ourselves on a limited
allowance, for it was uncertain how long we might
be detained in crossing this river, the Avonkaria,
and Upper Colorado.

The pack lost with the mule drowned in the
Uncompagre contained many articles of importance
to us, besides all our pinole (parched cornmeal),
and some of the men lost all their clothing.

It was late when we got to camp, and after a
day of toil, exposure, and annoyance, nothing more
could be done than to select a tree out of which
to make a canoe, and the place to launch it, for all
idea of crossing on a raft was abandoned. A few
miles below the encampment the river was shut in
by a canyon, towards which it drove with great
swiftness; a raft carried into it would have been
torn to pieces in a moment, without a chance for
the men on it to save their lives. Day's travel,
5 miles; total, 956 miles.

June 25. At early dawn most of the party com
menced working on the canoe ; their only tools were
two dull axes and two hatchets. A large cotton-
wood tree was felled for this purpose, and it was
hoped to have the canoe finished the next day.
The wood, being green and full of sap, was hard to
cut, and so heavy that chips of it sank when
thrown into the water.

The river still maintained the same level, and the
bottom land was overflowed and marshy. The
high lands on which we were encamped were
composed of a loose, rotten soil, producing no

96 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

vegetation except stunted sage-bushes. The only
game we had seen for two days was an occasional
sage-rabbit, so called from its flesh having a strong
flavor of the wild sage (artemisia), on which it
feeds. The sun was very hot and mosquitoes
tormenting; we removed our camp to the bluffs
in the hope of avoiding them, but with little success.

At this point, the general course of the river
was parallel with the Pareamoot Mountains, from
northeast to southwest. The latter appeared to
rise in terraces, upon which much timber could
be seen.

The work on the canoe was continued steadily
all day, though some of the party entertained
grave doubts about crossing in it; besides, the two
rivers beyond Grand River were said to be larger
and their current swifter than this. Archilete
stated that he had never seen the river so high,
and that it was owing to the unusual quantity
of snow which had fallen in the mountains during
last winter. The wind rose at ten o'clock and
blew with violence until sunset, which relieved us
in a measure from the torment of mosquitoes, but
they returned in fresh swarms as soon as it lulled.

June 26. The canoe was completed at noon,
and a fire was kindled in and around to dry it.
At 4 P.M. the first load went over with the Dela
ware and Archilete. Everything had to be carried
to the water's edge through a thick jungle, knee-
deep in mud, and under a broiling sun.

They reached the opposite side safely, although

Across the Plains in '53 97

the current carried them some distance down the
stream. The canoe was found to be very heavy
and easy to upset. Archilete, Juan Lente, and
myself went with the second load, reached the other
side, and, after unloading, dragged the canoe some
distance up stream to enable Archilete, who was
to take it back, to make a landing at the point
where the packs were deposited. Two more of the
men crossed with the next load, and Archilete
returned in the canoe to the left bank for the night.

We were now four persons on the right bank of
the stream with the prospect of getting the rest of
the party and packs across at an early hour the
next day. We retired to some dry land about half
a mile from the river, and carried to it the few
things that had been brought over. Just before
dark, Dick, the Delaware, made his appearance
in camp, dripping wet, and reported that he had
just swam across with some of the mules; that
after getting all into the water most of them had
turned back, while three mules and one horse,
having reached the right bank, had sunk into the
mud, from which he had been unable to relieve
them. We immediately went down to the water's
edge with ropes, and with great difficulty got the
horse out of his bed of mud, but found it impossible
to extricate the mules. We were compelled to
leave the poor animals in their forlorn situation
until the morning, when we hoped to get them on
dry land.

June 27. Rose at dawn, and our first business

98 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

was to get the mules out of their dangerous pre
dicament, by cutting bushes and spreading them
around the mired animals, thus rendering the
ground sufficiently firm to support their weight.

At an early hour, a signal was made to us from
the other side that the canoe was about starting
to cross. We therefore went down to the river
side to receive its load. In a few minutes she made
her appearance, driving rapidly down the stream.
She was heavily loaded, barely four inches of her
gunwale being above the water's edge. Felipe
Archilete, a strong and active fellow, was paddling,
whilst George Simms was crouched in the bow of
the boat. They were unable to reach the point
where previous landings had been effected, and
were soon shut from our sight by trees and tangled
bushes, growing close to the water. In a few
seconds we heard the most alarming cries for help,
and upon rushing to the spot from which these
cries proceeded, found Archilete and George just
emerging from the water, nearly exhausted with
their struggles.

It appears that upon approaching the bank and
grasping some small limbs of trees overhanging
the water, the latter broke, whereupon one of the
men, becoming alarmed, attempted to jump from
the boat to the shore, causing it immediately to
upset. They were both thrown into the stream,
which here ran with a strong current, and it was
with difficulty that they reached the shore. I
immediately called to one of the men, who was

Across the Plains in '53 99

standing near the horse, to gallop down the river's
edge, and by swimming him into the middle of the
stream to endeavor to reach the canoe should it
make its appearance. But it was never seen again,
nor did we recover any of the articles with which
it was loaded. We lost by this accident seven
rifles, nearly all our ammunition, pistols, saddles,
cornmeal, coffee, sugar, blankets, etc.

With broken axes and dull hatchets it would have
been difficult if not impossible to have constructed
another canoe; and, besides, the men were too
much discouraged by this loss to undertake
the labor with the spirit necessary to carry it
through.

Our party was equally divided; we were seven
on each side. Some of the gentlemen on the left
bank were now anxious to return to New Mexico
to proceed to California by some other route; but
Lieut. Beale would not listen for a moment to such
a proposition. He hailed me at eight o'clock, and
told me that as soon as he could construct a raft,
and get the few remaining things and the animals
over, we would push on for the Mormon settle
ments near the Vegas de Santa Clara. Expedition
was necessary, for we had provisions for only four
or five days.

The Delaware swam back to Mr. Beale's side
to assist him to construct a raft or canoe. He was
a splendid swimmer, and went through the water
like an otter. They immediately commenced the
construction of another canoe, but both axes being

ioo Edward Fitzgerald Beale

broken, they soon had to relinquish the task as
hopeless.

An inventory was made of the provisions, and
it was found that we had twenty-five pounds of
biscuit, mostly in dust, twenty-five pounds of dried
venison, and ten pounds of bacon. Although this
was but slender provision for fourteen hungry
men, we had no fear of starvation, or even of
suffering, as long as we had the mules. I also
discovered in an old bag a small supply of powder
and lead, and some chocolate and tobacco. A
canister of meat -biscuit, upon which we had
depended in case of an emergency of this sort, had
unfortunately gone down with the canoe.

At an early hour in the morning, we saw flying
from a tree on the left bank the preconcerted signal
to "come down for a talk.'* To reach the river,
we had to wade for half a mile through a deep
marsh, into which we sank to our knees, and the
air was thick with mosquitoes.

Lieut. Beale informed me that it had been
decided to return to Taos for supplies, and inquired
whether we could get back to the left bank. As
two of the men on my side stated that they could
not swim, it was decided to make a raft, and, if
possible, to save the articles we had with us.
Before this was determined upon, however, Lieut.
Beale ordered Archilete to swim over to his side,
which the latter did at once, taking his timber leg
under his arm; and in the afternoon they made
another ineffectual attempt to get the animals

Across the Plains in '53 101

across. There was but one point where, it was
possible to drive them into the river, and here they
crowded in on each other until those underneath
were near drowning. Lieut. Beale and one -of the
men, who were riding, went into the river to lead
the band across. The mules fell on them from
the bank, which was at this place about three feet
high, and for a moment they were in imminent
danger of being crushed. An old horse alone
struck boldly over, but none of the other animals
followed his example. They all got out on the
same side, and could not be again driven into the
water.

Lieut. Beale now desired me to make arrange
ments for returning to his side of the river, and
while preparing the animals to move down to our
camping-ground, I thought I heard a faint shout,
and at the same time perceiving two dark objects
moving in the water, some distance up the stream,
I suspected that they were men from the opposite
shore endeavoring to reach land on our side.
The current was carrying them swiftly on towards
a high bank overhanging the stream, where, with
out help, to have effected a landing would have
been impossible.

Hastily seizing a rope, and calling to the men to
follow, I ran to the top of the cliff. In fact, they
were our two best swimmers, Dick and Felipe,
who were scarcely able to keep their hold until
ropes could be let down to them. We drew them
up half perished, and it required a good fire and

102 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

something stimulating to restore circulation to
their limbs, benumbed by the icy coldness of the
water. "Although we had no sugar, some coffee,
that the Delaware had brought, tied in a hand
kerchief on his head, cheered the men, and we
passed a good night, happy in any rest after such a
day of toil.

June 29. At an early hour in the morning, I
commenced throwing into the river everything that
we could possibly dispense with, such as clothing,
etc. I allowed each man to select sufficient clothes
from the general stock to make up one suit, and
it was singular how soon their wants increased.
Some of the Mexicans, who heretofore had been
satisfied with one shirt and a pair of pants, now
arrayed themselves in as many breeches, drawers,
shirts, and stockings as they could force themselves
into. I cached, under a thick bush, a few
Indian goods that we had brought with us as
presents.

The three mules and two horses were passed
over to the left shore without much difficulty by
pushing them into the water from a bank, whence
the eddy immediately carried them into the middle
of the stream. They got out safely on the other
side, and we at once commenced constructing the
raft.

It was completed at i P.M. and, although it was
twelve feet in length by eight in breadth, the
weight of seven men, with the saddles, arms, and

Across the Plains in '53 103

provisions we had saved, caused it to sink eighteen
inches under water. It drifted rapidly down the
stream, the men whooping and yelling until one
struck up the old song of "O Susannah!" when the
rest sang the chorus. In this style, we fell upwards
of two miles down the river, propelling ourselves
with rough paddles. Mr. Beale and others of the
party stood on a hill on the opposite side cheering
and waving their hats. Having approached within
ten yards of the left bank, our tritons, Dick and
Archilete, sprang into the water, with ropes in their
teeth, and reaching the shore soon dragged the
raft to the bank, upon which the remainder of the
crew landed.

At four P.M. on this eventful afternoon some of
the party, Mr. Heap in command, started on the
back trail; those whose saddles went down in the
canoe were mounted on blankets instead. Mr.
Heap was instructed to go to the settlements and
return as speedily as possible but so provided as to
prevent a second failure in attempting to cross the
river.

Wagner, Young, Dick Brown, the Delaware, and
Felipe Archilete, Jr., remained with Lieut. Beale
who encamped on the Namaquasitch a few miles
back from the greater stream. Archilete, Sr., the
nimble cripple, went with Mr. Heap as guide. He
was also accompanied by those volunteer members
of the expedition who after their narrow escape
from drowning preferred taking the longer route

104 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

to California via Fort Loraine and the Great Salt
Lake. Mr. Heap's Journal continues:

July 2. I passed a miserable night; it was cold
and frosty, with a piercing north wind. My
saddle-blanket was the only covering I had, and it
was worn so thin and threadbare that it imparted
scarcely any warmth. We saddled up and started
at sunrise, directing our course nearly due east.
The trail led over a mountain covered with thick
pine forests, interspersed with rich meadows, and
watered by numerous clear rills, until we reached
a portion of the range where a hurricane or whirl
wind had, some years ago, uprooted and strewed in
every direction a forest of tall pine trees. Through
this tangled mass we forced our way with difficulty,
but finally got through and commenced a gradual
descent on the eastern side of the range.

Peg-leg and myself were riding at a distance in
advance of the rest of the party, when, upon cross
ing the summit of a hill, we suddenly found our
selves in the midst of a large flock of tame goats,
behind which was a band of fifty mounted Utahs
to whom they belonged. The Indians immediately
gathered around us and overwhelmed us with
questions; but were civil, and seemed light-hearted
and merry. Most of the men had good rifles,
and their horses were all in fine condition. My
first thought upon meeting these Indians was the
possibility of replenishing our exhausted larder with
dried meat, and Peg-leg no sooner informed them

Across the Plains in '53 105

that we had been on short commons for several
days than they dismounted, unpacked their ani
mals, and from their store presented me with a
plentiful supply of dried buffalo, deer, and ante
lope flesh.

Men, women, and children crowded around
my mule, each handing me a parcel of meat;
and, although it was apparent that they expected
nothing in return, I gave them as good a supply of
tobacco, powder, lead, and percussion caps as I
could spare ; but nothing delighted them so much as
a box of lucifer matches; for, having shown them
that by a simple friction they might produce a
blaze, their joy was great, and each member of the
band was eager to perform the feat of kindling a
fire.

A garrulous old Indian, who wore, by way of
distinction, a "Genin". hat, sorely battered and
bruised, and which had become the property of
this venerable Utah by one of those reverses of
fortune to which hats are so liable, addressed us a
harangue accompanied by many gestures. Peg-leg
translated his meaning to me, which was to the
effect that they had been unsuccessful in the
buffalo hunt, on which they depended in a great
measure for their subsistence; that they had been
many months in the buffalo country, but the
treacherous Cheyennes and Arapahoes had driven
them off, and had killed some of their young men.
He added, that of dried antelope and deer meat
they had a plenty, and that we were welcome to as

io6 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

much as we needed. This unexpected generosity
made me regret that it was out of my power to
make them a suitable return, and I explained to
them that our losses in Grand River had deprived
us of the means of making them presents. He
replied that what I had already given was quite
sufficient.

Our party had by this time overtaken us, but
fearing that the "amicable relations so happily
existing'* might be disturbed, I desired them not
to stop, retaining only a pack animal to load with
the meat which I had obtained.

With these Indians were many squaws and
children. The former rode astride of the packs,
and the boys, some of whom were not more than
five years of age, were mounted on spirited horses,
which they managed with much dexterity and
grace, and were armed with small bows and arrows,
two of which they held with the bow in their left
hand ready for service. The chiefs invited us to
encamp with them, that they might treat us with
goat's milk and have a "talk"; but I considered it
most prudent to separate from them before any
cause of disagreement should arise to mar the good
understanding that existed between us; besides,
it was too early in the day for us to stop. I told
them that, in the direction in which they were
going, they would meet some of our friends whom
we had left for a short time, and that on our return
we would bring them tobacco and other presents.
They promised to treat our friends well, and, after

Across the Plains in '53 107

a general shaking of hands, we parted mutually
pleased with each other.

We encamped at noon on a fork of Sahwatch
Creek, running to the eastward through a broad
grassy valley, and after a rest of two hours resumed
our journey. We had not proceeded far when we
noticed at a short distance to our right a singular-
looking object, which appeared to be rolling rather
than walking over the ground. On approaching
it, it proved to be a decrepit Utah squaw, bending
under the weight of two packs of buffalo robes, one
of which she bore on her shoulders, whilst the other
was suspended in front. She was much terrified
when we galloped towards her, and although she
made a feeble attempt to fly, her shaking limbs bent
under her, and she sank to the ground paralyzed
with fear. We, however, reassured her, and got her
to explain to us the cause of her being in this lonely
region by herself. Archilete being interpreter,
she told us that, three moons previous, a party of
her people going to hunt buffaloes had left her and
another old woman in the mountains, as neither
had horses, and they were unable to keep up with
the band on foot. She said that they had sub
sisted on meat left them by their tribe, and ended
by telling us that she had just buried her com
panion, who had died the previous night, and that
she was now on her way to the summer rendezvous
of her people, carrying her own and her com
panion's pack. We informed her that she would
probably overtake a band of Utahs that night or

io8 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

the next day, and placed her on their trail. She
seemed glad to receive this news, and still more so
when we turned our mules' heads to leave her,
though we had shown her all possible kindness—
so hard is it in them to believe in the sincerity of
white people.

The trail led over low hills and down a succession
of beautiful slopes, running mostly in a southerly
direction, until we entered a narrow winding
valley two and a half miles in length by one
hundred to two hundred yards in breadth. It
was shut in on each side by perpendicular walls
of rock rising from fifty to seventy-five feet
above the level of the valley, whose surface was
flat and carpeted with tender grass. A stream
of clear water meandered through its centre,
and the grade was so slight that the stream,
overflowing its banks in many places, moistened
the whole surface.

As we descended this beautiful and singular
valley, we occasionally passed others of a similar
character opening into it. It ends in Sah watch
Valley, which we entered about an hour before
sunset.

We had here the choice of two routes: the first
was down Sahwatch Valley to its outlet near the
head of the valley of San Luis, which would have
taken us over the same ground that we had tra
versed in coming in from Fort Massachusetts; the
second crossed Sahwatch Valley here, passed over
a shorter and as good a route, and entered San Luis

Across the Plains in '53 109

Valley near where the Garita leaves the mountains.
We selected the last route.

Coochatope Pass enters Sahwatch Valley a mile
below Carnero Pass. Crossing Sahwatch Valley,
here half a mile broad, we travelled up a narrow
valley for a short distance into the hills and
encamped at dark. Day's travel, 47 miles; dis
tance from Grand River, 138 miles.

July 3. During the early part of the night the
mosquitoes swarmed around us, but it soon became
cold, which drove them away. We were delayed
some time after sunrise in consequence of most
of the mules having gone astray; they were not
recovered until near seven o'clock, when we re
sumed our journey. Our course was generally east,
down a succession of valleys, whose surface was
level and moist, with hills rising abruptly on either
side. We saw a great abundance of game, but
killed nothing but a grouse. These mountains
teem with antelope, deer, and mountain sheep.

July 6. To secure an early start, and to prevent
our animals from trespassing upon the cultivated
fields, none of which are inclosed, a man was
engaged to watch them whilst at pasture during
the night; but my horse having been allowed to
escape, it was not until after sunrise that I could
procure another. A ride of twenty-two miles
brought us to the Colorado (Red River), our road
taking us across three small streams (Las Ladillas)

no Edward Fitzgerald Beale

on the borders of which were extensive sheep
ranches. The Colorado is formed by the junction
of two abundant streams, which issue from deep
canyons in lofty and abruptly rising mountains.
The valley of the Colorado is about three miles in
length by one in breadth, and the Colorado River,
having passed it, flows through a deep channel in
the plain, and unites its waters to those of the Del
Norte. The valley presents a beautiful view, and
being abundantly irrigated by means of acequias
(canals) every acre of it is under cultivation. The
village of the Colorado consists of one hundred
adobe houses built to form a quadrangle, with
their doors and windows presenting upon the
square inside.

Mr. Charles Otterby, a Missourian, long domi
ciled in New Mexico, invited me to his house and
procured me a fresh horse, as the one I had ridden
from the Costilla (a distance of twenty-two miles)
in two hours and a half had broken down. I left
Colorado at noon and, travelling twelve miles
across a mountain, over a rough and stony road,
I reached the Rio Hondo (Deep Creek) which is so
called from its channel being sunk in many places
far below the level of the plain ; for the stream itself
is neither deep nor broad. I here engaged a young
American, Thomas Otterby, to go with us to Cali
fornia, he having a reputation almost equal to Kit
Carson's for bravery, dexterity with his rifle, and
skill in mountain life. I also purchased a mule to
replace my unshod and sore-footed horse, and rode

Across the Plains in '53 in

to Taos, nine miles beyond, across a level plain,
arriving there at 3 P.M.

Mr. St. Vrain, for whom I had a letter, being
absent from Taos, I was hospitably received by
his lady. I immediately called on Mr. Leroux,
who had a few days previously returned from Fort
Atkinson in improved health. Making known to
him the accident which had befallen us at Grand
River, and stating our wants, I obtained, with his
assistance, the supplies we needed. Raw hides
were procured and sewed together, to be used as
boats for crossing rivers. Corn was parched to
make pinole (parched and pounded cornmeal,
sweetened), coffee roasted, etc.

San Fernando de Taos is situated in the centre of
a broad plain, watered by two or three small brooks
whose waters are entirely absorbed in the irriga
tion of the lands around the town. It presents,
both within and without, a poor appearance; its
low, earth-colored houses, scattered irregularly
about, look dingy and squalid, though within many
of them are comfortable; and they are all well
adapted to the climate. The town is surrounded
with uninclosed fields, very fertile when irrigated,
and the Taos wheat, originally obtained from the
wild wheat growing spontaneously on the Santa
Clara and the Rio de la Virgen, has obtained a wide
reputation.

CHAPTER VII
BEALE'S SEPARATE JOURNAL

Hunting Prowess of the Delaware — Indians Appear in Camp
—Banquet of Venison and Boiled Corn — The Beautiful
Valley of the Savoya — The Indians Race their Horses
—A Taste of Rough Riding— The Return of Mr. Heap.

July i. Remained in camp to await the return
of Heap, with provisions, etc. Remained with me
the Delaware, Dick Brown, Felipe Archilete, Jr.,
Harry Young, and Wagner. Nothing to eat in
camp ; sent the Delaware out to hunt, and we com
menced a house. About nine, Dick returned with
a buck, finished the house; sick with dysentery.
We find the venison good, it being the first meat or
food of any kind, except cornmeal and water, we
have had for a week.

July 2. Weather pleasant; mosquitoes abund
ant, but not troublesome; washed the two dirty
shirts which composed my wardrobe. No signs of
Indians, and begin to hope we shall not be troubled
with them. Nevertheless keep the fright medicine
at hand, and the guns ready. Grass abundant
and good, animals thriving; the Delaware killed
an elk, dried some meat ; still sick.

112

Beale's Separate Journal 113

July 3. Employed the day in drying the meat
killed yesterday. Weather very hot; but for the
sunshine one would suppose it to be snowing, the
air being filled with light fleeces like snow-flakes
from the cottonwood. The creek is falling, but
slowly. Time drags very heavily ; three days gone,
however, and nine remain ; twelve days being the
time allotted to go and return from Taos.

July 4. Celebrated the day by eating our last
two cups of pinole; felt highly excited by it.
Henceforth we go it on tobacco and dried meat.
The Delaware killed a doe, tolerably fat; dried the
meat; still sick; bathed in creek; found the water
excessively cold, but felt much refreshed and better
after the bath, besides having killed an hour by it —
a very important item.

July 5. To-day we killed only a rabbit. The
day has been somewhat cool, though the evening
is dry and sultry, and the mosquitoes much more
troublesome than usual. Took a bath, which
seems to give relief from my malady, which, thank
God, is no worse. We hope that our men have
reached Taos this evening.

July 6. To-day has been cloudy, with rain in
the mountains all around us, though but a few
scattering drops have reached the valley. We
all complain this evening of great weakness
and entire lack of energy, with dizziness in the
head, and do not know from what cause it
proceeds. The bath in the creek has not had
its usual invigorating effect; mosquitoes very

ii4 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

troublesome; made a little soup in a tin box and
found it tolerable.

July 7. For the last two days we have killed
nothing. This evening we had quite a shower of
rain; started to take a long walk, but broke down
very soon, being too weak to go far. I find my
sickness worse to-day, but it is the least of my
anxieties. Would to God I had none other ! Took
the usual evening bath in the creek, which has
slightly fallen during the day, and the water not
quite so cold, which encourages me to hope that
the supply of snow in the mountains is nearly
exhausted.

July 8. This morning our anxieties from Indians
have commenced. At ten o'clock three of them
rode into camp, and shortly afterwards some dozen
more.

July 9. Yesterday, after the Indians arrived,
I gave them what little tobacco we could spare and
some of our small stock of dried elk meat. After
eating and smoking for a while they insisted on my
accompanying them to their camp, which was
some ten miles off. I explained to them as well as
I could who I was.

Knowing that it is best always to act boldly
with Indians, as if you felt no fear whatever, I
armed myself and started with them. Our road
for a mile or two led over a barren plain, thickly
covered with greasewood, but we soon struck the
base of the mountain, where the firm rich mountain
grass swept our saddle-girths as we cantered over

Beale's Separate Journal 115

it. We crossed a considerable mountain covered
with timber and grass, and near the summit of
which was quite a cluster of small, but very clear
and apparently deep lakes. They were not more
than an acre or two in size, and some not even that,
but surrounded by luxuriant grass, and perched
away up on the mountain, with fine timber quite
near them. It was the most beautiful scenery in
the world ; it formed quite a hunter's paradise, for
deer and elk bounded off from us as we approached
and then stood within rifle-shot, looking back in
astonishment.

A few hours' ride brought us to the Indian camp ;
and I wish I could here describe the beauty of
the charming valley in which they lived. It was
small, probably not more than five miles wide by
fifteen long, but surrounded on all sides by the
boldest mountains, covered to their summits with
alternate patches of timber and grass, giving it the
appearance of having been regularly laid off in
small farms. Through the centre a fine bold
stream, probably three feet deep by forty wide,
watered the meadow land, and gave the last touch
which the valley required to make it the most beau
tiful I had ever seen. Hundreds of horses and
goats were feeding on the meadows and hillsides,
and the Indian lodges, with the women and children
standing in front of them to look at the approaching
stranger, strongly reminded me of the old patri
archal times, when flocks and herds made the
wealth and happiness of the people, and a tent was

n6 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

as good as a palace. I was conducted to the lodge
of the chief, an old and infirm man, who welcomed
me kindly, and told me his young men had told
him I had given of my small store to them, and to
" sit in peace."

I brought out my pipe, filled it, and we smoked
together. In about fifteen minutes a squaw
brought in two large wooden platters, containing
some very fat deer meat and some boiled corn, to
which I did ample justice. After this followed a
dish which one must have been two weeks without
bread to have appreciated as I did. Never at the
tables of the wealthiest in Washington did I find
a dish which appeared to me so perfectly without
a parallel. It was some cornmeal boiled in goat's
milk, with a little elk fat. I think I certainly ate
near half a peck of this delicious atole, and then
stopped, not because I had enough, but because I
had scraped the dish dry with my fingers, and licked
them as long as the smallest particle remained,
which is " manners " among Indians, and also
among Arabs. Eat all they give you, or get some
body to do it for you, is to honor the hospitality
you receive. To leave any is a slight. I needed
not the rule to make me eat all.

After this we smoked again, and when about to
start I found a large bag of dried meat and a peck
of corn put up for me to take to my people.

Bidding a friendly good-bye to my hosts, and
dividing among them about a pound of tobacco
and two handkerchiefs, and giving the old chief

Beale's Separate Journal 117

the battered remains of a small leaden picayune
looking-glass, I mounted my mule to return. The
sun was just setting when I started, and before
reaching the summit of the mountain it was quite
dark. As there was no road, and the creek very
dark in the bottoms, I had a most toilsome time of
it. At one creek, which I reached after very great
difficulty in getting through the thick and almost
impenetrable undergrowth, it was so dark that I
could see nothing; but, trusting to luck, I jumped
my mule off the bank and brought up in water
nearly covering my saddle. Getting in was bad
enough, but coming out was worse; for, finding the
banks high on the other side, I was obliged to follow
down the stream for half a mile or more, not know
ing when I should be swimming, until I succeeded
with great difficulty in getting out through the
tangled brushwood on the opposite side. I arrived
at camp late at night, and found my men very
anxiously awaiting my return, having almost con
cluded to give me up, and to think I had lost my
"hair." A little rain.

July 1 1 . To-day I raised camp and went over
to the valley of the Savoya, near my Indian neigh
bors. The more I see of this valley the more I am
delighted with it. I cannot say how it may be in
winter, but at this time it is certainly the most
beautiful valley, and the richest in grass, wood, soil,
and water, I have ever seen. The Delaware
brought into camp last evening a small deer,
alive, which he had caught in the mountains.

n8 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

It was a beautiful creature, but it escaped in the
night.

July 12. Went out this morning with the
Indians to hunt. They lent me a fine horse; but
God forbid that I should ever hunt with such
Indians again! I thought I had seen something of
rough riding before; but all my experience faded
before that of the feats of to-day. Some places
which we ascended and descended it seemed to me
that even a wildcat could hardly have passed over;
and yet their active and thoroughly well-trained
horses took them as part of the sport, and never
made a misstep or blunder during the entire day.
We killed three antelopes and a young deer.

Yesterday an Indian, while sitting at our camp,
broke the mainspring of his rifle lock. His distress
was beyond anything within the power of descrip
tion. To him it was everything. The "corn,
wine, and oil" of his family depended on it, and he
sat for an hour looking upon the wreck of his for
tune in perfect despair. He appeared so much
cast down by it that at last I went into our lodge
and brought my rifle, which I gave him to replace
the broken one. At first he could not realize it,
but as the truth gradually broke upon him, his joy
became so great that he could scarce control him
self ; and when he returned that night he was the
happiest man I have seen for many a day.

These Indians are all well armed and mounted,
and the very best shots and hunters. Our revol
vers seem, however, to be a never failing source of

Beale's Separate Journal 1 19

astonishment to them, and they are never tired of
examining them. Yesterday, I allowed them to fire
two of ours at a mark, at thirty paces. They shot
admirably well, putting all the shots within a space
of the small mark (size of a half dollar) and hitting
it several times. A rainy day.

July 13. To-day has been showery, and the
evening still cloudy, and promising more rain
during the night. Our eyes are now turned con
stantly to the opposite side of the valley, down
which the road winds by which we expect our
companions from Taos.

These days have been the most weary and
anxious of my whole life. Sometimes I am almost
crazy with thinking constantly on one subject and
the probably disastrous result which this delay
may have on my business in California.

God knows I have done all for the best, and with
the best intentions. A great many Indians came
into the valley this evening. Ten lodges in all,
which, with the fifteen already here, and more on
the road, make up a pretty large band. Dick
killed an antelope. Last two nights have slept in
wet blankets, and expect the same to-night. Last
night it rained all night. The Spanish boy has
been quite ill for two days past.

July 14. This morning I explored the mountain
lying to the north of our camp, forming a pictur
esque portion of our front view. After ascending
the mountain and reaching the summit, I found it
a vast plateau of rolling prairie land, covered with

120 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

the most beautiful grass, and heavily timbered.
At some places the growth of timber would be so
dense as to render riding through it impossible
without great difficulty; while at others it would
break into beautiful open glades, leaving spaces of
a hundred acres or more of open prairie, with
groups of trees, looking precisely as if some wealthy
planter had amused himself by planting them
expressly to beautify his grounds.

Springs were abundant, and small streams in
tersected the whole plateau. In fact, it was an
immense natural park, already stocked with deer
and elk, and only requiring a fence to make it an
estate for a king. Directly opposite, to the south,
is another mountain, in every respect similar, and
our valley, more beautiful to me than either, lies
between them. In the evening took a long ride on
the trail to meet our long-expected companions.
I did not meet them, and returned disappointed,
worried, and more anxious than ever.

July 15. This has been a great day for our
Indian neighbors. Two different bands of the
same tribe have met, and a great contest is going
on to prove which has the best horses. They have
been at it since the morning, and many a buckskin
has changed hands. The horses are all handsome,
and run remarkably well. We have had more than
fifty races; a surfeit of them, if such a thing as a
surfeit of horse-racing is possible.

July 1 6. Here at last. This morning I saddled
my mule to go and hunt up our expected com-

Beale's Separate Journal 121

panions. I had not gone far before I met about
fifty Indians, from whom I could learn nothing of
them, and was beginning to despair, when I met a
loose mule, and as I knew it was not one of the
Indians' I concluded it must belong to some of our
companions. Going on a mile or two farther, I
met Felipe, who told me that Heap and the others
were just behind. I immediately returned to
camp to get dinner ready for them, so that we
might go on this evening to the Uncompagre.
Here terminates the most unpleasant sixteen days
of my life; but for this beautiful country, to look
at and explore, I think I should have gone crazy.
The time seemed endless to me, but my zealous
comrades had not unnecessarily lengthened it, for
they had averaged 45 miles a day during the double
journey (going and coming) and that through the
whole mass of mountains which lie between the
Upper Del Norte and the Grand River Fork of
the great Colorado (Red River) of the Gulf of
California.

CHAPTER VIII
ON THE VERGE OF HOSTILITIES

Shaking Hands with Utahs — Picturesque Encampment on
the Big Uncompagre — Lieutenant Beale and the
"Capitanos" — A Stiff Demand for Presents — A Pair
of Game-cocks — Crossing the Fallen River — Indians
in Paint and Feathers — Beale's Ultimatum — The Dela
ware's Long Memory — Grand River Canyon — The
Crossing — The Indians Attempt a Stampede — The
Mormons near the Vegas of Santa Clara — Paragoona —
Brigham Young — Why the Mormons Settled at
Parawan — Little Salt Lake — Strict Vigilance over
Strangers — Colonel Smith — The Practice of Polygamy
— Views on the System of "Spiritual Wives. "

SHORTLY after Mr. Heap returned to camp
with the much needed supplies Lieut. Beale
despatched Wagner and Gallengo to Grand
River with the bull-hides, directing them to make
a boat should they fail to find a ford. Mr. Heap's
Journal continues :

July 17. We were now again united, and freed
from the anxiety for each other's safety which had
been weighing on us since the day of our separation.
We resumed our journey at sunrise, with the hope
of soon overcoming all difficulties. Although the

122

On the Verge of Hostilities 123

sun rose in a cloudless sky, yet before noon the
rain commenced falling in heavy showers. Lieut.
Beale and myself, having much to relate to each
other, rode several miles ahead of the men. We
descended to the plain at the foot of the Sah-
watch Mountains by the same trail over which we
had already twice travelled, and which was now
familiar to us.

On approaching the Uncompagre we travelled
parallel with its course towards Grand River,
keeping on the trail of the two men sent ahead the
day before with the hides to construct the boat.
At noon, we noticed two recumbent figures on a
distant butte, with horses standing near them;
when we had approached within a mile they sprang
to their saddles and galloped towards us at full
speed. They were Utah Indians, on a scout, and
evinced no fear of us, but approaching, frankly
offered us their hands. We conversed with them
partly by signs and partly by means of the few
Utah words which we had picked up, and their
scanty knowledge of Spanish, which extended only
to the names of a few objects and animals. They
told us that large numbers of their tribe were
encamped a few miles below, on the Uncompagre,
and, bidding them farewell, we went on to meet our
train.

Soon after parting with them, we saw on the
hillsides and river bottom a vast number of gayly-
colored lodges, and numerous bands of Indians
arriving from the northward. Upon approaching,

124 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

we were received by a number of the oldest men,
who invited us to ascend a low but steep hill
where most of the chiefs were seated. From this
point we had a view of an animated and interesting
scene. On every side fresh bands of Indians were
pouring in, and the women were kept busy in erect
ing their lodges in the bottom near the Uncom-
pagre, as well as on the higher land nearer to us.
Horses harnessed to lodge poles, on which were
packed the various property of the Indians and in
many cases their children, were arriving, and large
bands of loose horses and mules were being driven
to the riverside to drink or to pasture. Squaws were
going to the stream for water, whilst others were
returning with their osier jars filled, and poised on
their heads. Some of the young men were gallop
ing around on their high-mettled horses, and others,
stretched lazily on the grass, were patiently wait
ing until their better halves had completed the
construction of their lodges, and announced that
the evening meal was prepared. All the males,
from the old man to the stripling of four years,
were armed with bows and arrows, and most of
the men had serviceable rifles. We almost fancied
that we had before us a predatory tribe of Scythians
or Numidians, so similar are these Indians in their
dress, accoutrements, and habits, to what we have
learned of those people.

An old chief, who, we were told, was one of their
great men, addressed us a discourse, which very
soon went beyond the limits of our knowledge of

On the Verge of Hostilities 125

the Utah tongue, but we listened to it with the
appearance of not only understanding the sub
ject, but also of being highly interested. Our
men, with Felipe Archilete, the guide and inter
preter, were many miles in the rear, and we waited
until their arrival, for Lieut. Beale wished to take
advantage of this opportunity to have a conver
sation with these chiefs, two of whom were the
highest in the nation.

When Felipe came up, Lieut. Beale and the
"capitanos," as they styled themselves, engaged in
a long "talk." Lieut. Beale told them that many
Americans would be soon passing through their
country on their way to the Mormon settlements
and California, with wagons and herds, and that,
if they treated the whites well, either by aiding
them when in difficulty, guiding them through the
mountains, and across the rivers, or by furnishing
them with food when they needed it, they would
always be amply rewarded. They appeared much
gratified to hear this and by way, no doubt, of test
ing whether his practice coincided with his preach
ing, intimated that they would be well pleased to
receive, then, some of the presents of which he
spoke; remarking, that as we had passed through
their country, used their pasturage, lived among
their people, and had even been fed by them, it
was but proper that some small return should be
made for so many favors. This was an argument
which Lieut. Beale had not foreseen, but having
no presents to give them, he explained how it was ;

126 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

that, having lost everything we possessed in Grand
River, it was out of his power to gratify them.
This explanation did not appear at all satisfactory,
nor did they seem altogether to credit him. They
were very covetous of our rifles, but we could not,
of course, part with them. The old chief became
taciturn and sulky, and glanced towards us occa
sionally with a malignant expression.

We took no notice of his ill-temper, but lit our
pipes and passed them around. Tn the meanwhile,
our men had, in accordance with Mr. Beale' s
directions, proceeded to Grand River, where they
were to seek for Wagner and Gallengo, and encamp
with them. Felipe, whose quick and restless eye
was always on the watch, dropped us a hint, in a
few words, that it was becoming unsafe to remain
longer in the midst of these savages, for he had
noticed symptoms of very unfriendly feelings.

We were seated in a semicircle on the brow of a
steep hill, and a large crowd had collected around
us. Rising without exhibiting any haste, we
adjusted our saddles, relit our pipes, and shaking
hands with the chiefs who were nearest to us,
mounted and rode slowly down the hill, followed
by a large number of Utahs, who, upon our rising
to leave them, had sprung to their saddles. The
older men remained seated and our escort consisted
almost entirely of young warriors. They galloped
around us in every direction; occasionally, a squad
of four or five would charge upon us at full speed,
reining up suddenly, barely avoiding riding over us

On the Verge of Hostilities 127

and our mules. They did this to try our mettle,
but as we took little notice of them, and affected
perfect unconcern, they finally desisted from their
dangerous sport. At one time the conduct of
a young chief, the son of El Capitan Grande,
was near occasioning serious consequences. He
charged upon Felipe with a savage yell, every
feature apparently distorted with rage; his horse
struck Felipe's mule, and very nearly threw them
both to the ground. The Indian, then seizing
Felipe's rifle, endeavored to wrench it from his
hands, but the latter held firmly to his gun, telling
us at the same time not to interfere. We and the
Indians formed a circle around them, as they sat
in their saddles, each holding on to the gun, whose
muzzle was pointed full at the Indian's breast.
He uttered many imprecations and urged his fol
lowers to lend him their assistance. They looked
at us inquiringly, and we cocked our rifles; the
hint was sufficient — they declined to interfere.
For some minutes the Utah and Felipe remained
motionless, glaring at each other like two game
cocks, each watching with flashing eyes for an
opportunity to assail his rival. Seeing that to
trifle longer would be folly, Felipe, who held the
butt-end of the rifle, deliberately placed his thumb
on the hammer and raising it slowly, gave warning
to the young chief, by two ominous clicks, that
his life was in danger. For a moment longer
the Utah eyed Felipe, and then, with an indescrib
able grunt, pushed the rifle from him, and lashing

128 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

his horse furiously, rode away from us at full speed.
Felipe gave us a sly wink, and uttered the highly
original ejaculation — " Carajo."

July 1 8. We saddled up at early dawn, swam
our mules across the Uncompagre, and rejoined
our men. They informed us that Juan Cordova
had deserted the day before, and returned to Lieut.
Beale's encampment on the Savoya in company
with the two Indians we had met in the morning,
and who were going that way.

We found camp filled with Indians who, how
ever, behaved in a friendly manner, and had even
supplied the men with a bucketful of goat's milk.
No time was lost in preparing to ford Grand River
and some Indians went ahead to show us the way.
On reaching the stream we found that it had fallen
about six feet, and under the guidance of the
Indians had no difficulty in getting over. The
water reached nearly to the mules' backs, but
the packs had been secured so high as to prevent
their getting wet.

The Indians followed us across in large numbers,
and at times tried our patience to the utmost.
They numbered about two hundred and fifty
warriors, and were all mounted on fine horses,
and well armed with bows and arrows, having laid
aside their rifles, which Felipe considered a sign
that their designs were unfriendly, as they never
carry them when they intend to fight on horseback.
Their appearance, as they whirled around us at
full speed, clothed in bright colors, and occasionally

On the Verge of Hostilities 129

charging upon us with a loud yell, made a striking
contrast with that of our party, mounted as we
were upon mules, in the half-naked condition in
which we had crossed the river (for it was dan
gerous to stop for a moment to dress). They
enjoyed many laughs at our expense, taunting us,
and comparing us, from our bearded appearance,
to goats, and calling us beggarly cowards and
women. Most of these compliments were lost to
us at the time, but Felipe afterwards explained
them.

The old chief, the same who had given us such
a surly reception on the preceding day, and his
son, who had made a trial of strength with Felipe
for his rifle, soon joined us, and behaved with much
insolence, demanding presents in an imperious
manner, and even endeavored to wrench our guns
from our hands, threatening to "wipe us out" if
we refused to comply with their wishes. They
frequently harangued the young men, and abused
us violently for traversing their country, using
their grass and timber without making them any
acknowledgment for the obligation. The latter
listened in silence, but most of them remained calm
and unmoved, and evinced no disposition to molest
us. The chiefs then changed their tactics and
endeavored to provoke us to commence hostilities.
Lieut. Beale calmly explained to them that, having
lost everything in the river, he was unable to make
them such presents as he would have desired, and
added (addressing himself to the chiefs) that he

130 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

clearly saw that they were vile-hearted men; for,
after treating us as brothers and friends, they were
now endeavoring to make bad blood between us
and their people. He ended by telling them that
we had a few articles which he would have dis
tributed among them, had they not behaved in so
unfriendly a manner; but that now, the only terms
upon which they could obtain them was by giving
a horse in exchange. Mr. Beale's motive for not
giving them presents was our inability to satisfy
the whole party, for all we possessed was a piece
of cloth, a calico shirt, and some brass wire, and
these articles, valueless as they were, if given to a
few, would have excited the jealousy and ill-will
of the less fortunate, and thus made them our
enemies. The Indians, however, declined giving
a horse in exchange for what we offered, saying
that it would not be a fair bargain. Mr. Beale
then said: "If you want to trade, we will trade; if
you want to fight, we will fight*'; requesting those
who were not inclined to hostilities to stand aside,
as we had no wish to injure our friends.

The chiefs, finding themselves in the minority
as regarded fighting, finally consented to give us a
mare for our goods; and after the trade was made
we parted, much relieved at getting rid of such
ugly customers.

The Utahs had been in company with us for
several hours and had often separated our party.
During all this time our rifles were held ready for
use, not knowing at what moment the conflict

On the Verge of Hostilities 131

might commence. Had we come to blows, there is
no doubt that we should have been instantly over
whelmed. The Delaware had kept constantly
aloof from the party, never allowing an Indian to
get behind him; and although he silently, but
sullenly, resisted the attempts that were made to
snatch his rifle from his grasp, he never for a
moment removed his eyes from the old chief, but
glared at him with a ferocity so peculiar that it was
evident that feelings even stronger than any that
could arise from his present proceedings prompted
the Delaware's ire against the rascally Utah. Dick
subsequently told us that, when he was a boy, he
had fallen into the hands of this same old chief,
who had been urgent to put him to death. Dick
had nursed his revenge with an Indian's constancy,
and, upon the first blow, intended to send a rifle-
ball through his skull.

Several times Felipe warned us to be on our
guard, as the attack was about to commence, and
Lieut. Beale directed all to dismount upon the
first unequivocal act of hostility, to stand each
man behind his mule, and to take deliberate aim
before firing.

Travelling down Grand River, at some distance
from its right bank, we came to where it flowed
through a canyon. The ground on either side of
the river was much broken by ravines. The coun
try, about a mile from the river, was barren and
level, producing nothing but wild sage and prickly
pear. After a harassing day we encamped on a

132 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

rapid, clear, and cool brook, with good pasturage
on its banks, called in the Utah language, the
Cerenoquinti; it issues from the Pareamoot Moun
tains and flows into Grand River. Day's travel,
25 miles ; whole distance from Westport, computed
from June 23, 976 miles.

July 20. Commenced crossing at an early hour.
The boat answered admirably; it was buoyant,
easily managed, and safe. Before sunset most of
the train had crossed, and the Delaware had suc
ceeded in swimming the mules over, by following
in their wake, and heading off those that tried to
turn back. It took us longer than we had antici
pated to get our effects across, as it was necessary
at each trip to tow the boat some distance up the
right bank, in order to make our encampment on
the left, without drifting below it. The current
was very rapid, and the work of towing the boat up
through the bushes which overhung the stream
very laborious. Some of the Mexicans and a few
of their packs were carried in safety to the left
bank. It rained heavily during the afternoon
and we passed a wet night under blankets. The
camp was crowded with Indians, who were anxious
to trade, but were not troublesome. As some of
them passed the night with us, we allowed our
animals to run with theirs.

Henry Young was at one time in a very pre
carious position, from which he was relieved with
difficulty. One of the mules had stubbornly re
sisted every effort to get her over, and had finally

On the Verge of Hostilities 133

made a landing under a high precipice on the left
shore, from which it was impossible to dislodge
her without going into the water and swimming
to the spot. This was attempted by Young, and
as the current here swept down with tremendous
velocity, he was on the point of drowning, when
fortunately he seized a rock, upon which he landed.
It was now dark, the rain falling fast, and to have
passed the night in this situation was certain de
struction, for he was under a precipice, and in front
of him roared the Avonkarea. No one knew that
he had gone into the water, and we were not aware
of his distress until he had attracted our attention
by his shouts and a flash of lightning revealed him
to us. The boat was got down to him after more
than an hour's work, and he was finally brought
into camp nearly frozen.

July 21. The remainder of the packs and men
crossed in the morning, and the day was consumed
in sending the rest of the Mexicans and their lug
gage to the opposite side. They were also assisted
in crossing over their animals. These men re
ported that they had been badly treated by the
Mormons at the Vegas de Santa Clara, and that
two of their number had been put in jail. They
warned us to be on our guard, when we arrived
in Utah Territory, as they (the Mormons) had
threatened to shoot or imprison all Americans
passing through their country. Notwithstanding
their plausible story, the Mexicans only impressed
us with the belief that, having misbehaved, they

134 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

had received the chastisement they deserved, for
it was well known to us that the Mormons strictly
prohibited the practice of the natives of New
Mexico of bartering firearms and ammunition
with the Indians for their children.

The hides were removed from the frame of the
boat and reserved for future use, and having got
our animals together we resumed our march at
7 P.M.

July 24. The men passed a refreshing night,
perfectly free from the mosquitoes, which had been
a source of such serious annoyance since leaving
the settlements in New Mexico. Started at 5 A.M.
and, travelling thirty-five miles, encamped on
Green River Fork of the Great Colorado at i P.M.

The country we traversed was stony and broken
by dry watercourses. On every side, and princi
pally to the north and northeast, extended ranges
of rugged hills, bare of vegetation, and seamed with
ravines. On their summits were rocks of fantastic
shapes, resembling pyramids, obelisks, churches,
and towers, and having all the appearance of a
vast city in the distance. The only vegetation was
a scanty growth of stunted wild sage and cacti,
except at a point known as the Hole in the Rock,
where there were willows and other plants denoting
the vicinity of water, but we found none on our
route. The sun was exceedingly hot, and we, as
well as our mules, were glad to reach the river,
where we could relieve our thirst. Saw four ante
lopes near Green River, to which the Delaware

On the Verge of Hostilities 135

immediately gave chase, but was unable to get
within gunshot.

Green River was broader and deeper than either
Grand River or the Avonkarea, but its current
was neither so rapid nor so turbulent. The scen
ery on its banks was grand and solemn, and we had
an excellent view of it from our camping-place on a
high bluff.

The frame of the boat was commenced at once.
Some Indians made their appearance on the op
posite shore, and one of them swam over to our
side, assisted by a log, on which he occasionally
rested. Day's travel, 35 miles; total distance,
1105 miles.

July 25. At an early hour the men resumed
their work on the boat ; the hides were found to be
rotten and full of holes, as we had neglected to dry
them after crossing the Avonkarea; but by dint of
patching with pieces of India-rubber blankets and
sheepskins, and smearing the seams with a mixture
of tallow, flour, soap, and pulverized charcoal, the
boat was made sufficiently tight, that, with con
stant bailing, all the men and packs were carried
over in four trips. I went with the first load to
guard our packs, as Indians were on the left bank
watching our proceedings.

Lieut. Beale made great exertions to hurry the
train over this river. He went across at every trip,
jumping into the river where it was shallow, and
taking the boat in tow until he was beyond his
depth. He was thus for many hours in the water,

136 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

encouraging the men by his example. We had
now an excellent party; the men were daring and
adroit; they exhibited no fear when we were so
hard-pressed by the Utahs, and when exposure or
toil was required of them, not one flinched from his
duty. Some appeared almost to rejoice whenever
there was a difficulty to overcome, and we never
heard the Delaware's wild shout and laugh without
suspecting that either he or his mule had got into
some predicament, either by sliding down a bank,
or getting into the morass, or becoming entangled
in a jungle. He never asked for help, and re
jected all assistance, relying on himself in every
emergency.

At sunset, the crossing of the Green River was
effected, and we gladly gave the boat to the
Indians, who ripped it to pieces to make moccasin
soles of the hides. We proceeded a mile up the
stream, and encamped in the midst of luxuriant
grass. A band of twenty-five mounted Utahs
accompanied us and passed the night in our camp ;
we gave them food, and they seemed quite
friendly. Their accounts of the Mormons corrob
orated what the Indians and Mexicans on the
Avonkarea had told us. Day's travel, i mile;
whole distance, 1 106 miles.

July 28. Travelled twenty miles south by west,
and halted at noon on the Rio del Moro (Castle
Creek, so called on account of buttes near it
resembling fortifications) . In ten miles from the
San Rafael, crossed a broad brook of clear and cool

On the Verge of Hostilities 137

water, running into Green River. Between the
streams vegetation was scanty and stunted, and
the soil clayey, dry, and barren; to the westward
were steep hills, beyond which could be seen the
green and wooded slopes of the Sahwatch range.

Noticed fresh tracks of animals going north,
evidently those of cattle stolen by Indians from
the Mormons.

Our noon camp was near the point where Moro
Creek issued from the mountains. The clayey soil
of which they are composed had been washed by
rains into the strangest shapes. At times, long
lines of battlements presented themselves; at
others, immense Gothic cathedrals, with all their
quaint pinnacles and turrets, which reminded us
of the ruined castles and churches that we had
seen in our travels in the old world. The different
colors of the clay added to the singularity of the
scenery, and strengthened the resemblance.

July 29. We encamped for the night, on the
Salado, in a broad and level valley. Throughout
the mountains the pasturage reminded us of that
in the Sahwatch range, although in the valley it
was less luxuriant.

Soon after guard was set for the night, an
attempt was made by Indians to stampede our
animals. The watchfulness of the man on guard,
however, defeated their purpose; he fired, but
missed them. One of the mules was slightly
wounded by an arrow. Day's travel, 30 miles;
whole distance, 1222 miles.

138 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

August 2. We were now approaching another
stage in our journey which we were impatient to
reach. The Mormon settlements near Las Vegas
de Santa Clara were at a short distance, and we
made an early start in the hope of reaching them
before dark. We descended the mountains in a
westerly direction through an abundantly watered
valley, everywhere covered with grass. I found
wild rye growing in great abundance, the seed quite
large and full.

At dusk, on the previous day, we had discovered
a party of mounted Indians examining us from a
neighboring ridge, and were on the lookout for
them all the morning. Soon after sunrise a few
Pah-Utahs, the first of that tribe which we had
seen, came running down a hillside to meet us, and
accosting us in a friendly manner, asked whether
we were Mormons or ' ' Swaps ' ' (Americans) . They
informed us that a Mormon village was not far off,
and Mr. Beale and I, riding in advance of our
party, in a few hours arrived at the town of Para-
goona, in Little Salt Lake Valley, near Las Vegas
de vSanta Clara.

Paragoona is situated in the valley of the Little
Salt Lake and lies near the foot of the mountains
which form its eastern boundary, at four miles
from the lake. It contains about thirty houses,
which, although built of adobes, present a neat and
comfortable appearance. The adobes are small
and well pressed, and are made of a pink-colored
clay. The houses are built to form a quadrangle,

On the Verge of Hostilities 139

the spaces between them being protected by a
strong stockade of pine pickets. Outside of the
village is an area of fifty acres inclosed within a
single fence, and cultivated in common by the
inhabitants. It is called The Field and a stream
from the Sah watch Mountains irrigates it, after
supplying the town with water.

The Mormons have found iron ore in the
mountains, where they have established several
smelting furnaces; they stated that it was of
an excellent quality, and that the mines were
inexhaustible.

vShortly before our arrival in the Territory, hos
tilities had broken out between Walkah, a Utah
chief, and the Mormons, and we found them in a
state of great alarm and excitement in consequence
of some of his recent acts.

We did not remain long at Paragoona; for soon
after our arrival the inhabitants, in obedience to a
mandate from Governor Brigham Young, com
menced removing to the town of Parawan, four
miles to the southward, as he considered it unsafe,
with the smallness of their number, for them to
remain at Paragoona. It was to us a strange sight
to witness the alacrity with which these people
obeyed an order which compelled them to destroy
in an instant the fruits of two years' labor; and
no time was lost in commencing the work of
destruction. Their houses were demolished, the
doors, windows, and all portable woodwork being
reserved for future dwellings; and wagons were

140 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

soon on the road to Parawan, loaded with their
furniture and other property.

We left Paragoona in the afternoon, and rode
to Parawan over an excellent wagon-road, made
and kept in repair, and bridged in many places, by
the Mormons. We passed, at a mile on our left, a
large grist and sawmill worked by water power.

This ride to Parawan formed a strange contrast
to our late journeying through the wilderness.
At all the cross-roads were finger-posts, and mile
stones measured the distances.

Parawan is situated at the base of the moun
tains, and contains about one hundred houses,
built in a square and facing inwards. In their
rear, and outside of the town, are vegetable gar
dens, each dwelling having a lot running back about
one hundred yards. By an excellent system of
irrigation, water is brought to the front and rear of
each house, and through the centre and outside
boundary of each garden lot. The houses are
ornamented in front with small flower-gardens,
which are fenced off from the square, and shaded
with trees. The Field covers about four hundred
acres, and was in a high state of cultivation, the
wheat and corn being as fine as any that we had
seen in the States ; the people took a laudable pride
in showing us what they had accomplished in so
short a time, and against so many obstacles. Day's
travel, 32 miles; whole distance, 1345 miles.

August 3. Most of the day was spent in having
the animals shod, and in getting extra shoes made

On the Verge of Hostilities 141

to replace those which might be lost in crossing the
desert region between the Vegas de Santa Clara
and Mohaveh River. An American blacksmith
assisted by a couple of Pah-Utah youths did this
work, and we were surprised to see what skilful
workmen these Indians made. Most of the Mor
mon families have one or more Pah-Utah children,
whom they had bought from their parents; they
were treated with kindness, and even tenderness;
were taught to call their protectors "father" and
" mother" and instructed in the rudiments of
education. The Mormon rulers encourage a sys
tem which ameliorates the condition of these chil
dren by removing them from the influence of their
savage parents, but their laws forbid their being
taken out of the Territory. The children are not
interdicted from intercourse with their people,
who are allowed freely to enter the town; but the
latter evince very little interest in their offspring,
for having sold them to the whites, they no longer
consider them their kith or kin.

The water of Little Salt Lake is as briny, we
were told, as that of Great Salt Lake, and we
noticed that its shores were covered with saline
incrustations for a mile or more from the water's
edge; but the Mormons stated that the salt was
of little value, being impregnated with saleratus
and other alkaline matter, which rendered it unfit
for use. They obtain their supplies of this article
from mines of rock-salt in the mountains.

The excitement occasioned by the threats of

142 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

Walkah, the Utah chief, continued to increase dur
ing the day we spent at Parawan. Families
flocked in from Paragoona, and other small settle
ments and farms, bringing with them their mova
bles, and their flocks and herds. Parties of
mounted men, well armed, patrolled the country;
expresses came in from different quarters, bringing
accounts of attacks by the Indians, on small parties
and unprotected farms and houses. During our
stay, Walkah sent in a polite message to Colonel
G. A. Smith, who had military command of the
district, and governed it by martial law, telling
him that, "The Mormons were d — d fools for
abandoning their houses and towns, for he did not
intend to molest them there, as it was his intention
to confine his depredations to their cattle, and that
he advised them to return and mind their crops, for,
if they neglected them, they would starve, and be
obliged to leave the country, which was not what
he desired, for then there would be no cattle for
him to take." He ended by declaring war for
four years. This message did not tend to allay
the fears of the Mormons, who, in this district,
were mostly foreigners, and stood in great awe of
Indians.

The Utah chieftain who occasioned all this panic
and excitement is a man of great subtlety and
indomitable energy. He is not a Utah by birth,
but has acquired such an extraordinary ascendency
over that tribe by his daring exploits, that all the
restless spirits and ambitious young warriors in it

On the Verge of Hostilities 143

have joined his standard. Having an unlimited
supply of fine horses, and being inured to every
fatigue and privation, he keeps the territories of
New Mexico and Utah, the provinces of Chihuahua
and Sonora, and the southern portion of California
in constant alarm. His movements are so rapid,
and his plans so skilfully and so secretly laid, that
he has never once failed in any enterprise and has
scarcely disappeared from one district before he is
heard of in another. He frequently divides his
men into two or more bands, which making their
appearance at different points at the same time,
each headed, it is given out, by the dreaded Walkah
in person, has given him, with the ignorant Mexi
cans, the attribute of ubiquity. The principal
object of his forays is to drive off horses and cattle,
but more particularly the first; and among the
Utahs we noticed horses with brands familiar to
us in New Mexico and California.

He has adopted the name of Walker (corrupted
to Walkah) on account of the close intimacy and
friendship which in former days united him to Joe
Walker, an old mountaineer, and the same who
discovered Walker's Pass in the Sierra Nevada.

This chief had a brother as valiant and crafty
as himself to whom he was greatly attached. Both
speaking Spanish and broken English they were
enabled to maintain intercourse with the whites
without the aid of an interpreter. This brother
the Mormons thought they had killed, for, having
repelled a night attack on a mill, which was led by

144 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

him, on the next morning they found a rifle and
a hatchet which they recognized as his, and also
traces of blood and tracks of men apparently carry
ing a heavy body. Although rejoicing at the death
of one of their most implacable enemies, the Mor
mons dreaded the wrath of the great chieftain,
which they felt would not be appeased until he
had avenged his brother's blood in their own. The
Mormons were surprised at our having passed in
safety through Walkah's territory, and they did
not know to what they were to attribute our escape
from destruction. They told us that the cattle
tracks which we had seen a few days previous were
those of a portion of a large drove lifted by Walkah,
and that the mounted men we had noticed in the
mountains in the evening of August ist were scouts
sent out by him to watch our movements. They
endeavored to dissuade us from prosecuting our
journey, for they stated that it was unsafe to travel
even between their towns without an escort of
from twenty-five to thirty men.

The Mormons had published a reward of fifteen
thousand dollars for Walkah's head, but it was a
serious question among them who should "bell
the cat."

We procured at Parawan a small supply of flour
and some beef, which we buccanee'd.

The kind reception that we received from the
inhabitants of these settlements, during our short
sojourn among them, strongly contrasted with
what we had been led to anticipate from the reports

On the Verge of Hostilities 145

of the Mexicans and Indians whom we had met on
the road. On our arrival, Colonel G. A. Smith
sent an officer to inquire who we were, our business,
destination, etc., at the same time apologizing for
the inquiries, by stating that the disturbed con
dition of the country rendered it necessary to
exercise a strict vigilance over all strangers, par
ticularly over those who came from the direction
of their enemy's territory.

Mr. Beale's replies being, of course, satisfactory,
we were treated as friends, and received every mark
of cordiality. We spent the evening of our arrival
in Parawan at the house of Col. Smith, who was in
command of this portion of the territory, and was
organizing a military force for its protection. He
related to us the origin of these southern settle
ments, the many difficulties and hardships that
they had to contend with, and gave us much inter
esting information concerning the geography of the
surrounding country. He also stated that fur
naces for smelting iron ore were already in opera
tion in the vicinity of Paragoona and Parawan,
and that the metal, which was obtained in sufficient
quantity to supply any demand, was also of an
excellent quality; and that veins of coal had been
found near Cedar City, on Coal Creek, eighteen
miles south of Parawan, one of which was fifteen
feet in thickness, and apparently inexhaustible.
A large force of English miners were employed in1
working these mines, and pronounced the coal to
be equal to the best English coal. I saw it used in

146 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

the forges; it is bituminous and burns with a
bright flame.

As regards the odious practice of polygamy
which these people have engrafted on their religion,
it is not to be supposed that we could learn much
about it during our short stay, and its existence
would even have been unobserved by us, had not
a " saint " voluntarily informed us that he was
"one of those Mormons who believed in a plural
ity of wives/' and added, "for my part I have
six, and this is one of them," pointing to a female
who was present. Taking this subject for his text,
he delivered a discourse highly eulogistic of the
institution of marriage, as seen from the Mormon
point of view. He spoke of the antiquity of
polygamy, its advantages, the evils it prevents,
quoting the example of the patriarchs, and of
eastern nations, and backing his argument with
statistics of the relative number of males and
females born, obtained no doubt from the same
source as the Book of Mormon. This discourse
did not increase our respect for the tenets he ad
vocated, but we deemed it useless to engage in
a controversy with one who made use of such
sophistry. From what he said, I inferred that a
large number of Mormons do not entirely approve
of the "spiritual wife" system, and judging from
some of the households, it was evident that the
weaker vessel has in many instances here, as else
where, the control of the menage.

CHAPTER IX
THE DESERT JOURNEY

The Mormon Wagon Trail — Joy of the Pah-Utahs —
Famous Horse Thieves— The Traffic in Children— Rio
de la Virgen — The first Jornada — Muddy Creek and
the Spring of Gaetan— Pah-Utah Billingsgate — The
End of a Mormon Explorer — The Second Jornada—
Twenty Hours without Water — The Oasis of Tio Meso
— The Mohaveh River — The Valley of the Santa Ana —
San Bernardino Mountain — The Settlements and Los
Angeles — Benton's Letters and Congratulations.

WE left Parawan at dusk, having sent most
of the party in advance with directions
to await our arrival at the nearest of
those rich meadows known as Las Vegas de Santa
Clara, about eighteen miles distant.

August 4. We now travelled on the Mormon
wagon-trail leading to San Bernardino, in the south
of California. We had heard of another route
leading west to Owen's River, thence through a
pass in the Sierra Nevada, which leads into the
Tulare Valley near the head of the Four Creeks;
but unfortunately we were unable to take this
route, for we could neither obtain a guide nor even

147

148 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

information on the subject; moreover, it would
have been departing from his plan, of examining
the country on the Mohaveh, for the purpose of
locating Indians there, for Lieut. Beale to have
altered his course. The route by Owen's River
shortens the distance nearly two hundred miles,
cutting off the large elbow to the southwest, and
according to the accounts we had received it con
ducts over a tolerably level, well- watered, and
grassy country.

August 6. The Santa Clara at our encampment
was a slender rill; but a few miles lower down its
volume was considerably increased by the accession
of several streams.

We were now approaching the desert, and we this
day travelled only ten miles, to allow our animals
to recruit by rest and food. The road followed
down the stream, and although level, was much
overgrown with bushes.

After travelling a few miles, we met a small party
of Pah-Utah Indians, who evinced great joy at
seeing us, accosting us without fear. On approach
ing their village, a collection of miserable bush huts,
we were met by an aged Indian, apparently their
chief, holding in his hand a pipe the stem of which
was a reed and the bowl a piece of tin. With much
gravity, he bade us welcome to his village, and
after blowing three wreaths of smoke toward the
sun, he offered us their symbol of friendship, with
which we imitated his example. As soon as we
had dismounted, a venerable squaw, laboring under

The Desert Journey 149

great excitement, rushed towards Lieut. Beale,
and seizing his hands, forced into them a couple
of green tunias (prickly pears) which she invited
him to eat, a ceremony, I have no doubt, having
a meaning as mystical as the first. And having
thus entered into bonds to keep the peace and
complied with all the exigencies of etiquette, we
were considered the guests of the nation.

Among these Indians we witnessed one of the
benefits which they have derived from their inter
course with the Mormons, who take every oppor
tunity to ameliorate the condition of this wretched
tribe. Near their village was a large and well-
irrigated field, cultivated with care, and planted
with corn, pumpkins, squashes, and melons.

The Pah-Utah Indians are the greatest horse
thieves on the continent. Rarely attempting the
bold coups-de-main of the Utahs, they dog travel
lers during their march and follow on their trail
like jackals, cutting off any stragglers whom they
can surprise and overpower, and pick up such
animals as stray from the band or lag behind from
fatigue. At night, lurking around the camp, and
concealing themselves behind rocks and bushes,
they communicate with each other by imitating
the sounds of birds and animals. They never
ride, but use as food the horses and mules that they
steal, and, if within arrow-shot of one of these
animals, a poisoned shaft secures him as their
prize. Their arms are bows and arrows tipped
with obsidian, and lances sometimes pointed with

150 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

iron, which they obtain from the wrecks of wagons
found along the road; they also used a pronged
stick to drag lizards from their holes.

The Indians being apprehensive that our animals
might trespass on their field, which was without
inclosure, we permitted them to drive the band
several miles up the stream, where we had noticed
an abundance of white clover; and, whilst thus
confiding in them, we had security for their honesty
by several Indians passing the night in our camp,
where they lay near the fire, coiled up like dogs;
besides which their women and children, and entire
crops, on which they depended for their subsistence
during the approaching winter, were also in our
power.

In the afternoon we visited their huts, which
presented a squalid scene of dirt and wretchedness.
When the women saw us approaching they con
cealed their children, fearing that we might wish
to carry them off. Noticing that something moved
under a large wicker basket, one of us examined
its contents, which were found to be a little naked
fellow, his teeth chattering with fear.

Yearly expeditions are fitted out in New Mexico
to trade with the Pah-Utahs for their children,
and recourse is often had to foul means to force
their parents to part with them. So common is it
to make a raid for this purpose, that it is considered
as no more objectionable than to go on a buffalo or
a mustang hunt. One of our men, Jose Gallengo,
who was an old hand at this species of man-hunting,

The Desert Journey 151

related to us, with evident gusto, numerous anec
dotes on this subject; and as we approached the
village, he rode up to Lieut. Beale, and eagerly pro
posed to him that we should "charge on it like
h-1, kill the mans and maybe catch some of the
little boys and gals.11

Camp was all day crowded with men and squaws ;
the former had reduced their costume to first
principles, and even the latter were attired in a
style of the most primitive simplicity. They spoke
with great volubility and vehemence, using many
gesticulations, regardless of the common usage of
other Indians, of speaking but one at a time. It
appeared as though they thought aloud, and were
not addressing any one in particular. Our ragged
and forlorn appearance, unshaven chins, and sun-
scarred visages excited great merriment, and they
used no ceremony in pointing and laughing at us.
Day's travel, 10 miles; whole distance, 1439 miles.

August 7. The Indians drove our animals into
camp before dawn, and we were on the road at
sunrise, travelling down the Santa Clara. In ten
miles the road diverged to the right from the creek,
and for eight miles passed through a region of
rugged and arid hills and canyons, when it issued
upon an inclined plane leading to the Rio de la
Virgen. Although generally level, it was a rough
road for wagons, and with the exception of one good
spring, four miles from the Santa Clara, we saw no
water until we encamped on the Virgen. A scanty
growth of cactus, Agave americana, grease wood,

152 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

and small cedars, was the only vegetation after
leaving the creek. A Pah-Utah handed me some
ears of wheat, the grains of which I preserved, and
he stated that it grows spontaneously near the
Santa Clara. It is from this stock that the New
Mexicans have obtained the seed which they call
Payute wheat, and the Mormons, Taos wheat.
It has been much improved by cultivation, and is
considered the best in New Mexico and Utah. A
party of Indians accompanied us for twelve miles,
begging for tabac, and we noticed several smokes
during the day, and fires after dark, made by the
natives on the Virgen, to warn the country of our
approach. We set double guard at night, and the
mules evinced by their restlessness and uneasiness
the vicinity of Pah-Utahs. Day's travel, 35 miles ;
whole distance, 1474 miles.

August 8. The Rio de la Virgen is a turbid and
shallow stream, about twelve yards in breadth.
It flows with a rapid current over a sandy bed, and
as we descended it, the growth of cottonwood gave
place to mesquit trees and willows. The mesquit
tree bears in some localities an abundance of sweet
pods, on which mules feed greedily, and they are
a good substitute for corn, being almost as nutri
tious. We crossed scanty patches of wiry salt
grass, which affords but little nourishment.

The river bottom was hemmed in by bluffs,
beyond which, on the right, was an extensive plain
much cut up by gullies, and on the left a range of
dark mountains, which in many places came down

The Desert Journey 153

to the river's edge. The road which followed down
the bottom was at times through deep sand, as
was mostly the case since leaving the Vegas de
Santa Clara. The scenery was gloomy and for
bidding, and gave indication that we were ap
proaching a wild and desolate region. We noticed
during the day many fresh Indian tracks, and at
times caught glimpses of dark forms gliding
through the bushes on either side. Day's march,
29 miles; whole distance, 1503 miles.

August 9. By keeping a watchful guard, our
animals were saved from the Pah-Utahs, who
hovered around us all night.

We rode down the Virgen ten miles farther,
when we left it to cross the hot and sterile plain,
eight miles broad, extending between the Virgen
and the Rio Atascoso (Muddy Creek). It was
thickly covered with sharp flints, and bore a scanty
growth of stunted mesquit bushes, which on the
dry plains bear few pods ; for a couple of miles from
each stream the country was much broken by
ravines.

Rio Atascoso is a narrow stream, but in many
places quite deep; its water is clear, and it derives
its name from the slimy and miry nature of its
banks and bed. Day's march, 18 miles; whole
distance, 1521 miles.

August 10. We again had Indians around us
all night, making their usual signals, but by keeping
a strict double guard they were prevented from
stealing or wounding our animals. Soon after

154 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

sunrise, a party of Pah-Utahs showed their heads
from behind some rocks near camp, and shouted
to us; finding that we did not attempt to molest
them, they cautiously exposed more of their per
sons, and finally dropped among us by twos and
threes, until they numbered fifteen. They pro
fessed entire innocence of being concerned in the
proceedings of the previous night, laying them all to
the charge of other Pah-Utahs and expressed for
us the warmest attachment.

At this time a strange figure, entirely divested of
clothing, suddenly made his appearance on the
summit of a rock thirty yards from us ; his face was
covered with a thick coating of crimson paint; a
slender bone, eight inches in length, was thrust
through the septum of his nose, and in his left
hand he carried a bow and a bunch of arrows.
This worthy addressed us a long speech, intro
ducing himself as the great chief of all the Pah-
Utahs (which was false, as they recognize no chief),
intimating that the monotonous existence which
he had hitherto been leading had become irksome
to him, that he wished to travel and see the white
man's world, and that, if we consented to admit
him into our company, he would endeavor to
"make himself generally useful." He ended by
offering to give himself away to any one who would
accept of him. Although any accession to our
number was not at all desirable, to have refused his
request would have nipped in the bud the aspira
tions of this ambitious youth. Lieut. Beale there-

The Desert Journey 155

fore allowed him to join our party, handed him a
pair of old buckskin pants and a woollen shirt,
which he at once donned, feeling very proud but
very uncomfortable.

The first Jornada (long distance between water)
across the desert commences at the Muddy; and
to avoid the heat, which at this season is very
oppressive during the day, we did not resume our
journey until afternoon. The road led us for six
miles up a broad and sandy ravine, issuing from
which we entered upon an extensive and undulating
plain, whose sandy and stony soil produced no
vegetation except artemisia. We travelled all
night, during which a hot wind blew from the
southward.

August 1 1 . Dawn found us still on the Jornada,
between Muddy Creek and the Ojo del Gaetan
(Spring of Gaetan), or Vega Quintana as this
meadow is sometimes called, which we reached at
8 A.M. without loss of an animal. Thus far we had
lost three mules; one was drowned in the Uncom-
pagre, another was left on the Virgen, and the third
at the Muddy. Both of the latter were animals
that we had obtained on the journey, and being
unshod, became "tender-footed" and were unable
to keep up with the train.

The Vega Quintana is a meadow of several
thousand acres in extent, watered through its
centre by two deep but narrow streams of clear and
icy cold water. It is shaded in many places with
mesquit trees, willows, and vines covered with

156 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

clusters of small but sweet grapes. Two Pah-
Utahs, who were gathering mesquit beans, fled in
alarm at our approach, and we saw numerous
coveys of the California partridge. This oasis
deserves the name of The Diamond of the Desert,
so beautiful and bright does it appear in the centre
of the dreary waste that surrounds it. Dusty and
weary as we were, after our long and toilsome ride,
a bath in the brook was a luxury in which we
indulged more than once during the day that we
spent here. Day's march, 45 miles ; whole distance,
1566 miles.

August 13. Wearied with watching all night,
we resumed our journey at dawn. Indians were
around us as usual, and any signs of their vicinity,
which would have escaped our notice, were pointed
out to us by "Pite" as we had christened our new
follower. We had scarcely started, before a
torrent of yells and abuse were poured upon us from
every side. No one could be perceived, but every
rock and bush apparently concealed an Indian.
"Pite" was not slow in replying to them, and for
a moment they were silent with astonishment at
receiving in such pure vernacular a reply to their
insults. Soon, however, the war of words was
renewed with fresh fury, and had we understood
them, we should doubtless have enjoyed a very
choice specimen of Pah-Utah billingsgate. "Pite"
prudently kept close among us; brave as he was
with his tongue, he entertained fear of falling
into the hands of his fellow countrymen, for

The Desert Journey 157

they would soon have brought his travels to a
close.

Our road led us through a canyon or chasm which
we had entered the previous day; it followed the
bed of the stream, and was much obstructed by
heavy sand and scattered rocks. We passed two
singular caves, one of which presented a close
resemblance to the Cyclopean order of architecture,
with the principle of the arch and keystone ad
mirably preserved. The other forcibly reminded us
of the fagade of an old Catholic church, such as is
often seen in Italy.

After travelling ten miles through rocky ravines,
with bald and furrowed mountains on either side,
we ascended a ridge which brought in view an
extensive and barren plain, bounded on all sides by
lofty mountains. To the westward we perceived
a range which extended from north to south, and
which appeared to have frequent breaks in it.

In the afternoon, we arrived at the Aqua Escar-
bada, where we expected to have to dig for water;
but the ground had been so deeply excavated that
a running spring had been reached.

Shortly before reaching this place, we found on
the roadside the remains of an American, with
the mark of a rifle-ball in his skull. From papers
which were scattered around, we ascertained that
he was a Mormon on an exploring expedition, and
his buckskin garments not having been wet by
rain, proved that he had been killed this season.
Day's travel, 25 miles; total, 1608 miles.

158 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

August 14. A rapid descent down a sinuous
ravine, from two to three miles in length, brought
us to the sink in the plain, where is found the Ojo
de Archilete (Archilete's Spring) at some distance
from which are many small willows, but in its
immediate vicinity there is a total absence of shade ;
the water is clear and cool, but slightly brackish.
A cruel tragedy, heroically avenged by Kit Carson
and Alexander Godey, and recorded by Fremont,
occurred here in 1844, and has rendered this spot
memorable; we found near the spring the skull of
an Indian, killed perhaps in that affray. Day's
travel, 22 miles; whole distance, 1630 miles.

August 15. A ride of five miles brought us to
the Amargosa (Bitter Creek), a ravine containing
v a scanty supply of warm, fetid, and nauseating
water, in a succession of holes. We encamped at
the foot of a rock on its eastern side, where a
slender brackish spring barely supplied our wants.
The valley, or broad ravine, through which the
Amargosa, during the rainy season, is for a few
miles a running stream, winds with a general course
from southeast to northwest, and is hemmed in dy
steep, black and rocky hills.

The second Jornada across the desert commences
at the Amargosa, and ends at the Agua del Tio
Meso (The Spring of Uncle Meso). It is fifty
miles in length, and we anticipated much toil and
suffering in crossing it. We endeavored to guard
against the loss of our mules from hunger, by
laying in a small supply of green reeds and mesquit

The Desert Journey 159

beans, the only forage, except salt grass, that could
be obtained here; and, not expecting to find water
the whole distance, all our canteens were filled.

We commenced this dreary journey at 2 P.M.
The heat was intense and, instead of diminishing
as the sun descended, it became more oppressive.
For twelve miles the road was over deep sand, into
which the mules sank above their fetlocks.

In fifteen miles, we diverged to the left across a
spur of rocky hills, the road leading through a
ravine, where, much to our surprise, we discovered
the remains of houses, rastres (Mexican quartz
crushers) and all the appliances of gold mining.
These we subsequently ascertained were the Salt
Spring Gold Mines, where a fortune had been
sunk by men who were sufficiently deluded or
sanguine to abandon the rich mines of California,
travel across one hundred and fifty miles of desert,
and live upwards of twelve months in a spot so
desolate and forlorn that there is actually not
sufficient vegetation to keep a goat from starvation.
We here found two springs, one sulphurous and
nauseating, the other brackish. The canteens
were replenished, but it was impossible to water
the mules.

August 1 6. The heat increased as we advanced
into the desert, and most of the party had divested
themselves of the greater part of their clothing.
The guns, which we carried across the pummels
of our saddles, were hot to the touch; and to add to
our annoyance and suffering the wind, laden with

160 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

an impalpable sand, blew fiercely from the south
ward, feeling as if it issued from the mouth of a
furnace, and obliterating in many places all traces
of the road. The mules, already jaded by travel
ling across the sandy plain, went slowly along,
their heads dropping to the ground. The pale
moon, occasionally overshadowed by clouds, threw
a ghastly light over the desert, and skeletons of
animals glistening in her beams, strewed the way,
adding horror to the scene.

Shortly before dawn we entered some hills to
the westward where the heat was less intense.
Three of the mules were unable to go farther, and
their saddles and packs were placed on other ani
mals, and men left with them, together with some
reeds and beans and a small supply of water. We
were now all on foot, our animals having barely
sufficient strength to carry their saddles. At day
light we began to scatter and those who could go
in advance did so, for our thirst was beginning to be
intolerable. It was not until 10 A.M., after twenty
hours of continuous march, completely prostrated
with heat, toil, hunger and thirst, that we reached
the Agua del Tio Meso.

This camping -ground (which is called on the
maps Agua del Tomaso) has two small pools fed by
tiny springs. The water in the pools we found
barely drinkable; the grass was scanty and salt;
but when mules are starving, they are not particu
lar in their choice of food.

The men who had been left with the mules joined

The Desert Journey 161

us late in the afternoon; they had suffered much,
but brought in all the animals. Poor "Pite" was
the last one in; his thirst was dreadful, and
when he reached the spring he threw himself on
the ground and drank to repletion.

This spring is named after an old Mexican called
Meso, who was styled Tio, or uncle, on account of
his age. He discovered it when he and his party
were nearly perishing with thirst. Their happy
deliverance was celebrated by a great feast.
He washed and dressed himself and rambled about
the place singing until he fell dead, killed by a
stroke of apoplexy. Two peons, abandoned on
the desert by their master, reached this spring after
their party had left for the Mohaveh. Unable to
proceed farther, they both died of starvation, and
the next travellers who encamped here found their
skeletons locked in each other's embrace, as if they
had expired in the act of devouring one another.

These painful associations, together with the
utterly desolate appearance of all around, cast a
gloom over our spirits ; and we could not raise them,
as old Tio Meso did, by a feast ; for all we had that
day was a couple of spoonfuls of boiled pinole.
The road across the Jornada is good, with the
exception of the first twelve miles, where it is
sandy. The only vegetation that I noticed was
artemisia, on the plains, and mesquit and dry
greasewood among the hills. Day's march, 55
miles; whole distance, 1685 miles.

August 17. The Agua del Tio Meso is an oasis;

1 62 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

for, although a wretched spot, it is the only resting-
place in the desert between the Amargosa and the
River Mohaveh. We were glad to leave it at 4 A.M.
Two of the mules soon showed signs of failing, and
remained on the road in charge of one of the Mexi
cans. We rested for a few minutes at 10 A.M. to
breakfast, having filled our canteens at Tio Meso's
spring. The Delaware had killed a rabbit, the
first of any game that we had seen for a long time ;
but we left it on the road, with some water, for the
Mexican, as we feared that he might be delayed
until late.

The desert retained its level and monotonous
character until we reached Mohaveh River, at
7 P.M., our animals almost perishing from hunger
and thirst.

The sandy soil through which the Mohaveh
flows absorbs nearly all its water, and where we
struck it it was no longer a running stream. Grass,
however, was everywhere abundant, together with
a thick growth of willows, reeds, and mesquit
bushes, interlaced with grape-vines; and in some
places there were beautiful groves of cottonwoods.

All our troubles as regarded a scarcity of water
and grass were now at an end, and from this point
our journey was over a level country, offering no
impediment whatever to a good road as far as the
settlements in California. Except on the edge of
the river, however, the land was barren and unpro
ductive, offering no point fit for settlement.

Lieut. Beale and myself had intended on reach-

The Desert Journey 163

ing the Mohaveh to have gone in advance of our
people; but we could not leave them in their
starving condition. It was also our intention to
have selected two or three of the men to accompany
us across the desert between the Mohaveh and
Walker's Pass, in the Sierra Nevada; but we found
that of all our animals there were not five that could
travel over twenty miles a day, and, as the inter
vening country was entirely destitute of water and
grass, we were compelled reluctantly to relinquish
this prospect.

The Mexican left with the mules arrived at n
P.M., having remained faithfully by them until he
brought them in. We thus crossed this desert
without abandoning a single animal, which is, I
believe, almost unprecedented. Day's travel, 30
miles ; whole distance, 1715 miles.

August 19. The road was through heavy sand,
and often left the river at a distance of two miles.
We encamped at noon near a large and deep pond
of very cool and clear water, alive with fish, prin
cipally mullets, some of which were large. We had
just finished our allowance of pinole, when the
Delaware rode into camp with a splendid antelope
lashed behind his saddle, and reported that he
had shot another, which was immediately sent for.
As the question of starvation was now set at rest,
it was determined that Mr. Beale and myself and
two of the men should proceed as rapidly as our
mules could travel, whilst the remainder of the
party were to follow us by easy stages to the settle-

164 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

ments. Day's travel, 19 miles; whole distance,
1742 miles.

August 20. Where we crossed the Mohaveh it
was a rapid stream, twenty -five yards in breadth
and one foot in depth, but its water was too warm
to be drinkable. Passed several fine meadows near
the river, and saw bands of antelopes, also hares
and partridges. After a rest of seven hours we
resumed our journey, the road leading up to an
extensive plain, thickly covered with cedars and
pines, intermingled with palmyra cactus and
aloes. It forks about ten miles from the river.
The left-hand fork, which we took, follows the old
Spanish trail, whilst the other, which had been
recently opened by the Mormons, makes a bend
to avoid a rough portion of country. They both
join again in the Cajon Pass. We travelled until
ii P.M., when we rested under the cedars on the
plain, where we found dry bunch-grass, but no
water. Day's travel, 40 miles; whole distance,
1783 miles.

August 21. For the last time the cry of " catch
up" was heard, and we saddled our mules before
dawn, impatient to reach our journey's end. On
approaching the mountains which extended
between us and the valley of Los Angeles, the
country presented a more broken appearance.
After travelling six miles, we commenced descend
ing the Pacific slope, and soon after reached the
head waters of the Santa Ana, a creek rising to
the eastward of the mountains, and which finds its

The Desert Journey 165

way through the Cajon Pass to the Pacific Ocean,
south of San Pedro.

We entered this pass, and the most magnificent
scenery presented itself to our eyes. Around us
were lofty mountains, their summits clothed with
pines, while around their bases grew chimsal, man-
sanita, dwarf oaks, and aloes. In the valley were
numerous clusters of sycamore, which attains here
a large size, and is one of the most beautiful trees in
the country. The ground was covered with innu
merable tracks of grizzly bears, and the Delaware
kept a keen lookout for the rough-coated gentry.
During our journey, he had killed at least one
specimen of each species of game to be found in the
region which we had traversed, and he was anxious
to have an encounter with the largest and fiercest
of them all, the mighty grizzly of California; but
he was disappointed ; although our men, in coming
through this pass a few days later, had a desperate
fight with a bear, which they finally overcame.

We issued from the mountains at noon, when
the beautiful valley of San Bernardino, with its
stupendous mountain, broke upon our view.
Never did so beautiful a sight gladden the eyes
of weary travellers, and having been in the saddle
since dawn, we turned our jaded mules into a rich
meadow, where the grass reached to their knees,
and we rested under the shade of a grove of
sycamores.

Leaving the valley of San Bernardino behind
us, we directed our course northwest in the direc-

i66 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

tion of Los Angeles. We travelled steadily until
nightfall without perceiving any signs of habita
tions, though our hopes were constantly kept alive
by fresh tracks of men and cattle. Finally at nine
o'clock when we were on the point of dismounting,
our weary beasts being scarcely able to lift their
feet, we were saluted by the cheering bark of a
dog and in a few minutes found ourselves in the
centre of a large cluster of buildings, and welcomed
in the most friendly manner to Cocomongo Rancho,
by the Mexican proprietor. Day's travel, 35
miles; whole distance, 1817 miles.

August 22. Our arrival at the Rancho de Coco
mongo will long be a green spot in our memories;
and it was a pleasant sight to us to witness the
satisfaction of our travel-worn mules in passing
from unremitting toil and scanty food to complete
rest and abundant nourishment.

We obtained fresh horses, and a gallop of thirty-
five miles through a rich and settled country
brought us to the city of Los Angeles, where every
kindness and attention was shown to us by
Mr. Wilson, Indian Agent, and his accomplished
lady.

We had been given up for lost, and several parties
had gone in search of us. Some of our friends had
spent six weeks in Walker's Pass, where they ex
pected us to arrive, and had kept up fires by night
and smokes by day on a point visible at a long dis
tance in the desert, to guide us in case we should
have lost our way. Day's march, 35 miles; total

The Desert Journey 167

distance from Westport, Missouri, to Los Angeles,
California, 1852 miles.

The remainder of our party arrived two days
later, and thus, without serious accident to any of
the men, and with the loss of only three of the mules,
we accomplished the distance from Westport to
Los Angeles in exactly one hundred days. Some
of the party, however, had travelled seven hundred
and fifteen miles more, in going to Taos from Grand
River and in returning.

As the following letter indicates, the arrival of
the expedition was warmly welcomed by Colonel,
afterwards Gen. E. A. Hitchcock, U. S. A., who was
in command of the Pacific Division. Gen. Hitch
cock was a warm and loyal supporter of Beale
throughout his Indian wars in the field as well as
in the forum.

HEADQUARTERS PACIFIC DIVISION,

SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 5th, 1853.
DEAR SIR:

The Morning Herald has just announced the anxiously
looked for news of your safe arrival in California once more.
I sincerely congratulate you on the success of your adven
turous trip and shall be most happy to hear from yourself
some account of your extraordinary journey. The news,
among other immediate results, lighted up the countenance
of Mr. Edwards1 who appeared to relish his office this
morning — which I am sure he has not done for many weeks
past. He told me a few moments since, that he intended

1 Mrs. Beale's brother and a companion of Gen. Beale in many of
his journeys.

i68 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

going out to meet you, and I have thought it a good oppor
tunity to say a word of our public duties. Let me say, at
once, that the sanction required from me, as Com'g. this
Division, as a prerequisite to your locating an Indian farm
or reservation, has in view, as I regard it, only this, that the
place selected by you may be within reach of such military
appliances as the plan contemplates, and it is only to this
extent that I shall give any opinion.

I shall not undertake to control your judgment in the
slightest manner in what properly belongs to you as Super
intendent of Indian Affairs. But as some measures of a
military character were contemplated, looking to accessibil
ity and defence, it was doubtless thought proper that the
Military Commander of the Division should have a voice
on this point. Otherwise the Superintendent would vir
tually have the troops under his control, by selecting the
site and compelling the troops to occupy it. I mention this
view in order to express the opinion that the Executive
could have had no intention of superseding you in your
proper duties. In view of this I desire to say that I con
sider it entirely within your own province to see that the
law is complied with in respect to settlers and indeed in all
other matters, and when you shall have satisfied yourself
as to the best location I will indicate my opinions as to the
practicability of defence. In order to come to an under
standing in regard to my part of it I will thank you to take
an opportunity of seeing Capt. Jordan, at Fort Miller, who
has recently traversed much of the Tulane country, and by
explaining your wishes to him I shall obtain a report from
him upon which to act myself; such a course being pointed
out by my instructions from the Sec'y of War.

It gives me the greatest pleasure to feel that you and
myself will not seriously differ in opinion either as to the
general object to be accomplished or the best means of
attaining it. I will venture to suggest that you would do
well so to make your calculations as not only not to exceed

The Desert Journey 169

your means but to have something left for contingencies.
For this purpose I would make as close an estimate of the
probable expenses of a farm as possible, and if necessary, to
keep within the provided means, I would commence with
only one farm. I would on no account begin with the
Indians on a scale beyond my ability to carry it through the
year and would hold the power of going beyond my promises
rather than falling short of them.

We shall look for you soon and no one will be more happy
to meet you than

Yours very sincerely,

E. A. HITCHCOCK,

Col. U. S. Army.
ED. F. BEALE, Esq.,
Supt. of Ind. Affairs,

California.
Fort Miller.

During this adventurous period and indeed
throughout his life Senator Benton was a con
stant correspondent of Beale's. In the following
letters written at this time a very charming side
of the Missouri Tribune's character is revealed and
the interest with which Beale's exploration of the
Central Plain was followed in the East and at the
seat of government in Washington is made very
plain.

Benton's praise of the young explorer is all the
more generous when it is recalled that it was a
sore disappointment to him at the moment, and a
rank injustice for all time, that the command of
one of the trans-continental expeditions sent out
by the Administration had not been given to his
son-in-law, Col. Fremont.

170 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

WASHINGTON CITY, Oct. 3, '53.

To EDWARD BEALE, Esq.

DEAR SIR :

Col. Fremont had to turn back for some illness after
leaving the frontier to get medical assistance at St. Louis;
but his party went on (ten good Delawares among them) to
proceed until they entered the Buffalo range, and then to
remain in a hunting encampment until he overtook them.
He writes from St. Louis in good spirits and perfect confi
dence of making a complete survey. He desired me to
send this message to you, which I do in his own words :

"Please request of Mr. Beale to put his best animals at
my rancho, or at any other convenient place, where they
may recruit, and exchange them for mine when I reach
California. It is my intention to turn back immediately
and make the return voyage with great rapidity. I had on
my place, when I left California, upwards of twenty horses
and mules. These animals, and the proposed exchange
with Beale, would enable me to accomplish my purpose;
but the animals ought to be all looked to and well cared for
in the meanwhile."

This is what he requests of you, and which you will no
doubt take pleasure in doing as far as you can. I had
wished to apply to the Secretary for leave for you to return
with Fremont, but we have not yet heard of your arrival
in the country, and therefore, cannot ask that favor at
present. Our last advices from you are the letters from
Mr. Heap at Taos, and which gave us the gratifying news
of your having found good passes, good country, water,
etc., altho' balked at the Grand River Fork of the Great
Colorado.

We have Santa Fe mails to the first of September, which
was six weeks after Heap returned from Taos, and hearing
nothing more of you on this side of the mountains, conclude
that you have gone through. I enclose a slip which gives
an account of Riggs and Rodgers. The former has stopped

The Desert Journey 171

in New York, and I think must be pretty well cured of
gout.

Let Mr. Heap know that I have a letter from his father
as late as the i8th of August, when they were all well — as we
are here.

Yours sincerely,

THOMAS H. BENTON.

WASHINGTON CITY, Nov. 2, '53.

DEAR EDWARD:

Your letter of the 29th Sep. giving a brief account of the
Canada de las Uvas, and referring to a previous one, came
safe to hand, but not so the one to which it refers, and which
has not yet reached me. I am glad you explored that Pass.
It adds to our choice of routes, but we wish to find one north
of Walker's, and as near as possible in the straight line of
travel, so as to cut off the elbow to the S. W. after leaving
the Vegas de Santa Clara. I am looking for the Journal
kept of your expedition, and will have it published in the
National Intelligencer, whence it will go all over the U. S.

Your expedition has been filling the U. S. during all the
summer, and has fixed the character of the central route.
The Government expeditions seem to be forgotten. Fre
mont resumed his expedition on the I5th ult. from St. Louis,
taking a physician with him.

I am sincerely glad that Hammond has been able to dispel
the cloud of suspicion that had gathered against him.
Somebody acted foully and villainously toward you, and
time may show who it was. . . .

Your friend,

THOMAS H. BENTON.

Dec. 3, '53.
DEAR EDWARD:

You have gained a great deal of credit by your expedition,
and established yourself with the country — the more so

172 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

from the massacre of GunnisonV party by the same tribe
that was so hospitable to you.

The Nat. Int. spreads it and it will be printed in pamph
let, with a map, which will bring you a heap de Vargent,
beaucoup de V argent. Will also try and get Congress to
reimburse your expenses.

I think you should make a special report on the Indian
department debts in California — reporting every one to the
Government, that you can find out, with the justice, or
injustice of each.

This is due to bonafide claimants as well as to the govern
ment, that the good may be paid and a check had upon the
bad. In your report give this as a special reason, in addi
tion to general duty, for making it.

In that report you can well place the cattle which Fre
mont actually delivered to N. Y. agents.
Affectionately,

THOMAS H. BENTON,

Senator from Missouri.

Benton was never weary of praising Beale and
pointing out the immense importance and value
of his explorations to the country in general and in
particular to his beloved St. Louis. Upon the
return East, Benton met them and at a banquet
which the city gave made the following remarks,
which, necessarily very much condensed, I take
from a St. Louis paper of the following day.
"There before you, Gentlemen," said the Senator,
"sit the heads of this remarkable party (pointing

1 Referring to the fate of the exploring and surveying expedition
under the command of Col. John M. Gunnison, U. S. A., Gunnison
with seven of his men was murdered by a band of Mormons and
Indians near Sevier Lake, Utah, on October 26, 1853.

The Desert Journey 173

to Beale and Heap), they are young in years but
old in experience and well tried in all the hardships
and dangers of distant travel. The Superintend
ent, Mr. Beale, has made at least a dozen voyages
by land or water to California, has been the com
rade of Fremont, Carson and other mountain men
. . . and yet he is only twenty-eight, an age
when the period of heroic life is still ahead."
Benton then enumerated the supplies which
the explorers took with them; it is not a long
list and yet too long to be reproduced here.
However, Benton adding up the total, says the
whole outfit cost only eighty-six dollars and thirty
cents and then preaches a sermon upon the
economy shown.

"This is the list of supplies all told and a blanket
apiece and no tents. Some rifles to keep off the
Indians and to bring down game . . . And this is
the outfit for a fifty days' wilderness jaunt of young
men who at home wear fine linen and fare sump
tuously every day. Gentlemen, this is certainly sug
gestive of many conclusions such as that they are
not a government party, do not equip at public
expense, did not graduate at West Point and do not
intend to break down under the transportation of
what is called, in the vernacular of the West, 'belly-
timber/ "

CHAPTER X
INDIAN AFFAIRS

State of the Indians in the Pacific Coast Territories —
Indians Held to Peonage by the Whites — Fifteen
Thousand Die of Starvation — Spaniards and Mexicans
as Slave Drivers — Beale's Plan of Protected Reserva
tions for the Nation's Wards — Mr. Sebastian Supports
the Plan in the Senate, and Secures the Desired Appro
priation — Beale's Indian Policy Endorsed by the
Military and Civil Officials in California — General
Hitchcock's Letter — Opposition of Indian Agents —
Massacres in Shasta and Scott Valley — General Rising
of the Indians Feared — Beale Commissioned Briga
dier-General — As Peace Plenipotentiary Brings the
Warlike Tribes to Terms— Beale's Defence of the
Modocs.

ONCE arrived upon the Pacific Coast, Gen.
Beale addressed himself with character
istic energy to the tremendous problem
which anything like fair treatment for the Indians
imposed. He held a census of his wards and found
that the Indians numbered about seventy thou
sand "though they are," as he wrote to Washing
ton, " melting away every day before the pressure of
the white population and owing to the harassing

174

Indian Affairs 175

operation of circumstances over which we have
no control/'

General Beale further wrote that he was con
vinced that more than fifteen thousand Indians had
perished from starvation during the previous sea
son. He further describes at considerable length
in his official correspondence many cases of peonage
in which whole families and even villages of
Indians had been involved and as a result were
living in a state of servitude. Fortunately for the
reputation of American citizenship he adds, "these
slave drivers and those who were holding the
pueblos in bondage are almost without exception
Spaniards or Mexicans.'*

It was apparent to General Beale that the system
or rather want of system which he found in force
would lead soon to an Indian war, or, if not would
in a very few years end in the disappearance of his
wards. A section and a very noisy section of the
frontier population was in favor of exterminating
the unfortunate savages who had large possessions
but not the wit to defend them, and it required a
man of General Beale's sturdy courage to oppose the
plans for getting rid of the unfortunate race which
were now showered upon him. What took place
is perhaps best described in one of the speeches
with which Senator Sebastian,1 who had seen the
General at work in the field, supported his policy.

1 William King Sebastian, born in Tennessee. U. S. Senator from
Arkansas, 1853-61. During this time he was Chairman of the Senate
Committee on Indian Affairs.

176 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

I will not go on into further details [said the Senator] ;
that conditions are bad enough in all conscience will not
be disputed I suppose. The moment Gen. Beale became
satisfied that if the present order of things were permitted
to long continue the results would be disastrous, he tried
on a limited scale the plan which I now propose should be
generally adopted. He congregated around about him
upon a small reservation a number of Indians without inter
fering in the rights of property or occupancy of any citizen
of California. Over one thousand of this simple tribe of
Indians who are mild in their character, not wild like the
Comanches or other tribes east of the Sierra Nevada, have
flocked around him as their only protector from the misery
by which they are surrounded and from the cruel persecu
tion by which they are pursued. Gen. Beale finds these
simple people anxious for work and easily adapting them
selves to the changed condition of their affairs. Indeed
such has been the extended success of the experiment which
he undertook on his own responsibility that hundreds of
other Indians are absolutely importuning him to place them
under his immediate protection and allow them to work and
to live.

There can be no doubt about the success of the experi
ment upon the scale it has been tried, all observers agree in
this favorable verdict, and so encouraged, all the Superin
tendent of the Indians asks is to be allowed a sufficient
amount of money to extend the same system all over
California. In this way it is believed that the entire Indian
population can be congregated into small districts of coun
try which will not interfere with any existing white settle
ments and which can be protected from incursions. It is
supposed that two hundred and fifty thousand dollars will
suffice to carry out the plan. If the system is worth any
thing, and I think it will be successful once it is put into
operation, it will be self -sustaining.

Not only have we reason to expect this but I am assured

Indian Affairs 177

by General Beale and we all know he is a practical man that
not only will the system prove self-sustaining but it will
prove a useful auxiliary in reducing the expenses of the
regular army Quartermaster's Department in that country.
I have not entered into details because we have I am sure
implicit confidence in the Superintendent and propose to
let him carry out the details of his own plan in his own way.

The following letter from Beale was also read to
the Senate by Mr. Sebastian and helped greatly to
carry the day for a more civilized treatment of the
Indians. The letter was addressed to the Secretary
of the Interior and reads :

I have the honor to inform you that in obedience to your
instructions dated Dec. 8th, 1852, I went over to the
San Pablo Rancho in Contra Costa county to investigate
the matter of alleged cruel treatment of Indians there. I
found seventy-eight on the rancho and twelve back of
Martinez and most of them were sick and without clothes
or any food but the fruit of the buck-eye. Up to the time
of my coming eighteen had died of starvation at one camp,
how many at the others I could not find out. These
Indians were brought into this country from some place
near Clear Lake by Calif ornians named Ramond Briones,
Ramon Mes, etc., who have for some time made a business
of catching Indians and of disposing of them in various
ways. And 1 have been informed that many Indians have
been murdered in these expeditions.

These present Indians are the survivors of a band who
were worked all last summer and fall and as the winter set
in, when broken down by hunger and labor and without
food or clothes they were turned adrift to shift for them
selves as best they could. Your timely interference in
behalf of these unfortunate people has saved the lives of

178 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

most of them, for the Indians could not have lived through
such weather as we have had without any food, clothing or
shelter.

I distributed all the well among families around who are
to feed, clothe and protect them until your further orders.
I have made provision for the sick to be fed and cared for.
I am happy to inform you, to show the good character of
these Indians that even when starving and surrounded with
horses and cattle I heard no complaint of their stealing.
These people could easily be made to support themselves
and their condition changed for the better. The grand
jury of the county has found bills against the Calif ornians
above mentioned and I presume their trial will come on next
term.

On several other occasions in February, 1853,
Mr. Sebastian, Chairman of the Committee on In
dian Affairs, addressed the Senate on the question
of a fairer treatment of the Indians which General
Beale had so courageously raised, much too coura
geously indeed to please many of his friends who
had been longer in political circles and had lost the
moral courage which characterized the sailor who
had left his ship to become a pilot of the plains.
In his speeches Mr. Sebastian read many extracts
from General Beale's reports and warmly sup
ported the plans which the General submitted for
adoption by the Government. The most notable of
these speeches was delivered before a full and as yet
unconvinced Senate on March 2nd, with the most
happy result. Indeed it may be said without the
slightest exaggeration that General Beale's humane
work and Senator Sebastian's eloquent words laid

Indian Affairs 179

the foundation of a protective policy toward the
Indians more in consonance with the demands of
civilization than any that had been previously fol
lowed, and it was certainly not the fault of these
pioneers who carried their principles with them
across the Colorado that the policy which they
instituted did not immediately bear fruit. Some
of Senator Sebastian's statements in the course of
the prolonged debate are not without interest or
timeliness to-day. He said :

The Amendment (which was but a paraphrase of Gen.
Beale's recommendations given elsewhere) is approved I
believe by the unanimous consent and earnest conviction
of the Committee on Indian Affairs that some legislation
of this kind is absolutely necessary to correct the state of
affairs now prevailing in California which no one can wish to
see continued. I beg that Senators will be startled neither
at the amount asked for or at the almost unlimited power
which it is found necessary to confer on the Superintendent
for the Indians. We have often been called upon to legis
late for California on account of the state of things prevail
ing there and it was but natural for us to be called upon to
make large appropriations.

We attempted to extend the whole system of the Indian
administration of that country by means of a superintendent
and Indian agents. Now the first result of the agents going
into the country was a return to the regime of the Nineteen
Treaties which on account of their condemnation by an
unquestionable public sentiment which reached even this
body was laid upon the table without a dissenting voice.
These treaties provided for large reservations and pledged
this government to the payment of a large sum of money,
a policy which did not meet the approbation of the delegates

i8o Edward Fitzgerald Beale

from California. The next step which Congress took was
to confide the entire subject of the Indian policy of that
country to a resident Superintendent of Indian Affairs who
is clothed with almost viceregal authority and who was
made Indian Commissioner for California. I remember
with what satisfaction the nomination of Gen. Beale to fill
that office, a gallant officer and a gentleman eminently
qualified for it, was received in this body.

Now Gen. Beale has, after a complete investigation of the
subject, made a report which for comprehensiveness of
plan, for clearness of conception and above all for its prac
tical adaptation to the institutions of the country I think
stands unequalled by other documents of this kind.

What, Sir, may I ask is the necessity of the case? We
find California in the possession of a large number of Indian
tribes occupying the whole surface of the country. They
have been in fact independent although in form dependent
upon the mild paternal sway of Spanish rule. Our emi
grants went there and went with a kind of feeling which
contented itself with nothing less than the possession of the
whole country; the consequences have been an unvaried
monotonous history of wars, murders, predatory incursions,
starvation and great distress among the Indians ever
since. The plan resorted to by the treaty making power
has been unequal to the object in view and now it is recom
mended by Gen. Beale to collect the tribes together upon
small military reservations which because they are military
can be removed according to the exigencies of the case.
They can be placed here or removed there. It will entitle
the Indians to protection against the whites which is more
needed than protection against the Indians and I am satis
fied that nothing less than this will be acceptable to the
people of California. There is a necessity to which we
must accommodate ourselves in legislating for that country.
There is a condition of things there which we must endeavor
to remedy and the best method seems clearly to be found

Indian Affairs 181

in Gen. Beale's plan. He would as you have been informed,
congregate the Indians upon small military and agricultural
reservations, sufficiently large to enable them to maintain
life upon and then insist that all comers respect their rights.

Mr. Sebastian then proposed the following
amendment to the bill regulating Indian affairs,
then before the Senate. It was read a third time
and carried unanimously. It embodied General
Beale's plan and gave him all the power and the
facilities he then thought he would require to put
an end to the shocking conditions in which he
found the Indians living when he was called upon
to take charge of their destinies. The amendment
unanimously adopted read :

That the President of the United States be and is hereby
authorized to make five military reservations from the
public domain in the state of California or in the territories
of Utah and New Mexico bordering on said state for Indian
purposes. Provided that such reservations shall not contain
more than twenty-five thousand acres each and provided
further that such reservations shall not be made on any
lands inhabited by citizens of California and the sum of
two hundred and fifty thousand dollars is hereby appro
priated out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise
appropriated to defray the expense of subsisting the Indians
in California and removing them to said reservation for
protection.

General Beale's Indian policy, as it developed,
was warmly indorsed in letters from the Governor
and the Lieutenant-Governor of California which
they addressed to the President of the United States

1 82 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

from Vallejo, California, in February, 1853. An
even more valuable ally than Hon. John Bigler the
Governor, developed in the person of General
Hitchcock, who was continually addressing the
Secretary of War in support of Beale's policy.
Writing in November, 1852, General Hitchcock
says:

I deem it necessary for such use as the Hon. Secretary of
War may think proper to express an opinion carefully
formed in favor of the plan proposed recently by Gen.
Beale, the Superintendent of Indians in this division for
adjusting and placing on a permanent basis our relations
with the Indians of this country. ... It appears to me
that the choice of the Government lies necessarily between
accepting Gen. Beale's plan or in giving the Indians over
to rapid extermination or expulsion from the state. The
objection to the plan is the apparently new policy of assum
ing direct control over the Indian lands and providing for
the Indians, giving them the alternative of accepting such
arrangements as the Government may make or of being
treated or maltreated at the pleasure of the white settlers.

In answer to this it should be considered that these
Indians have never been recognized by the Spanish or
Mexican governments as having independent rights in the
county and therefore as far as they are concerned the pro
posed policy would introduce no decided change. In regard
to the settlers it is not to be denied that there is serious
difficulty but the real question is whether they shall in an
unregulated manner determine our intercourse with the
Indians, inducing expensive wars with other evils or whether
the Government shall establish some limits and rules for
this intercourse.

By the plan proposed a small portion of land is to be set
apart within which there is to be a military post and some

Indian Affairs 183

provision made for the subsistence of the Indians to be
supplied as far as possible from their labor. Within this
reserve the Indians are to be protected but not beyond it.
This reserve would naturally be selected near the moun
tains, leaving the latter for the range of the Indians
extending into the interior without limit.

The system might be commenced with one or two posts
at first where most needed as on the head- waters of the San
Joaquin Valley at the base of the Sierra Nevada and at some
point on the upper waters of the Sacramento, and the sys
tem could be extended as the requirements of the country
and experience might indicate the necessity for it.

The present course tends to exasperate a large body of
Indians, a remnant of which in a very few years will be
driven beyond the Sierra Nevada carrying with them a
leaven of bitterness among extensive tribes with which we
have as yet no intercourse. They would also carry with them
some knowledge of firearms and an instructed spirit of war
hitherto unknown on this coast and the result would not
fail to be the most savage and desperate warfare for an
indefinite period, making a pacific transit over the continent
next to impossible for a great many years.

It is a mistake, in my judgment, to suppose that the
Indians on this coast except perhaps a few digger bands
differ materially from those found by the pilgrims at Ply
mouth from whose descendants there sprang up in time a
Philip and a Tecumseh. It is by no means certain that the
seeds of dreadful massacres and barbarities are not already
sown. ... It is of manifest importance that there should
be harmony of action between the Superintendent of Indian
Affairs and the military commander on this coast and, if I
am to be retained on duty here I beg to express the wish
that Mr. Beale may be continued in the superintendence of
Indian affairs. He has a more extensive acquaintance with
the Indians than any other man in the country and brings
to the performance of his duties an earnest zeal, a humane

184 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

spirit, an untiring perseverance and an honest inde
pendence.

Agent McKee, in writing to the Secretary of the
Interior a report which Mr. Beale endorsed, was
particularly severe in his criticism of some mem
bers, indeed even of a small class of the border popu
lation. He says:

In the meantime I design appealing to the Governor
of the State to order a rigid scrutiny into the facts of
these outrages and to take such measures as may be
proper to bring the offenders to justice. In all the frontier
settlements there are many men from Missouri, Oregon,
Texas, etc., who value the life of an Indian just as they do
that of a coyote or a wolf and embrace every opportunity to
shoot them down. I despair of seeing the peace of these
settlements fully established until the laws of the state are
enforced and some terrible examples made, or until the
government of the United States sends the military com
mandant of this division the men and the means to estab
lish several small military posts to protect the Indian from
these attacks.

The most flagrant case of ruthless killing re
ported by General Beale is the massacre of Trinity
River. Rewrites:

This river falling into the Pacific from the high rugged
country some distance north of San Francisco is noted as
the best in the country for salmon fish which constitutes
almost the whole subsistence of the Indians. The whites
took the whole river and crowded the Indians into the ster
ile mountains and when .they came back for fish they were
usually shot. If the Indians took cattle or were suspected

Indian Affairs 185

of taking cattle they were pursued and punished and their
villages sometimes attacked. In the spring of last year
some Indians were charged with taking cattle, a party went
against their village, surrounded it at night, attacked at
daybreak, killed the whole, chiefly consisting of women
and children, the men being absent, except one woman and
child who were taken prisoners. They carried home a
bag full of scalps, believed to be about 130 and all with
out loss to themselves, which proves the character of the
operation.

There are of course, adds General Beale, many
right thinking, considerate men in this country who
deplore this savage spirit on the part of some of the
settlers; but living so far from the county seats
and with their own lives and property at risk they
are afraid to speak out as they otherwise would.

In concluding his official report General Beale
made the following recommendations. Unhappily
not all of these measures were approved.

ist. For the immediate subsistence and support of the
Indians the sum of half a million dollars.

2d. For their permanent support and protection mili
tary reserves where a few soldiers can be stationed and
where they will support themselves by labor.

3d. That all the officers employed in California in
the Indian service shall reside on these reserves or among
the Indians. I myself have an abode between the Mari-
posas and the San Joaquin about three hundred miles
from San Francisco.

4th. That the Indian agencies shall be abolished and
six sub-agents be appointed at about fifteen hundred

1 86 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

dollars each to reside with the Indians and assist them
in cultivation as well as discharging other duties.

Washington, Feb. 25, 1853.

While doing the best he could for the Indians
and for the dignity and well-being of the State of
California, General Beale had been absolutely
ruthless in his campaign against corruption and
inefficiency among the Indian agents and the con
tractors in their service. With an eye single to the
public service and the interests of his wards, Gen
eral Beale had dismissed the venal officials without
thought of personal or political considerations, and
many agents were also removed from their lucrative
posts pending investigation of their conduct.

At first, and again at the end of Beale 's ser
vice, he was heartily supported by the adminis
tration at home and by the officials of the Interior
Department ; however, there was a time, an inter
regnum, when the men whom Beale had discharged
for the good of the service, and the malcontents
still in the service who were fearful that their short
comings might any day attract the attention of
their eagle-eyed chief, had the audacity to conspire
against their superintendent. The administration
was not particularly friendly at this juncture with
the friends1 of General Beale.

1 WASHINGTON, April 2d, 1854.
DEAR EDWARD:

I received your letter from Panama and think it well that Mrs. Beale
join you — you have not much favor to expect frere, and only fear gets
you justice. But be of good heart, they cannot remove you, on account

Indian Affairs 187

California, the scene of his administration, and
the Calif ornians, who could testify as to its value,
were far away, while the chorus of dismissed and
discredited Indian officials were assembled in
Washington and were unhappily sustained by
political backing of practical value.

The moment, however, Beale's enemies were
forced into making definite charges, their over
throw and confusion were near. I have noticed this
trivial and as it would seem unavoidable incident
in the life of any man who sets his face sternly
against the temptation of corrupting influences,
because of its delicious denouement. While General
Beale was under fire his friends waited, but formed
themselves into a court of honor, when the charges
fell to the ground and Beale's vilifiers were routed
and disgraced. Later the members of the court
of honor published in the Washington papers, ac
cording to the custom then prevailing, the following
statement of what had occurred. It was well
received and the incident closed.

THE END OF A SLANDER. — The newspapers of Saturday
last published a telegraphic despatch, giving an account of
a personal encounter the day previous between Lieut.
Beale, and one , a Commissioner of Indian affairs, at one

of the hold you have on the public mind. Your expedition and success
in colonizing the Indians does the business for you. Write full accounts
of your operations with the Indians, have them published — and they

secure you. is a low fellow and naturally hates a man like you.

But I have him on the anvil and will hammer him.

Your old friend,

THOMAS H. BENTON.

1 88 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

of the hotels at Washington. The causes which led to the
affair, as we have gathered them from those cognizant of all
the circumstances, were these.

It is well known that Lieutenant Beale, owing to his
intimate acquaintance with the habits of the Indians and
their mode of life was appointed by Mr. Fillmore, Super
intendent of Indian Affairs in California. He held the
office until after the election of the present President, and
by the faithful discharge of his duties gave entire satisfac
tion to the Government. He was subsequently reappointed
to the situation he then held by President Pierce at the
earnest solicitation of those who knew his ability to manage
the Indians in that part of our country.

About a year since the administration deemed it neces
sary for political purposes to appoint a mere politician, to
the place held by Lieut. Beale, and as some pretext for his
removal seemed to be called for, it was given out in Wash
ington, and then sent all over the country, that he was a
defaulter to the Government in a large amount. This false
charge reached him in California, and he at once left his
post, returned to his home with his vouchers and submitted
them to the proper officers for examination and settlement.

After a delay of some eight months — during all of which
time he was present to answer any objections which might
be made to his disbursements — the accounting officers of the
Treasury Department finally passed his accounts, which
were afterwards taken up by the Secretary of the Treasury
in person, and he was allowed every claim he had made in
expending some three hundred and sixty thousand dollars
of the public money — not a cent of which had adhered to
his hands.

Further than this, the officers who had charge of his
accounts informed the Superintendent that his vouchers
were examined with more than the usual scrutiny, owing to

the reports which had been given out by as to the

delinquency, and they congratulated him on the entire

Indian Affairs 189

satisfaction which their correctness had given them. This
was a triumphant vindication from the charges which had
been made by a bad man against the probity and honor of a
faithful and efficient officer.

The article charging Mr. Beale with being a defaulter to
the Government appeared originally in The Evening Star
at Washington. After his accounts, which had passed the
searching examination before alluded to, were admitted
to be correct, a number of his personal friends called upon
the editor of the Star, and were frankly informed that the

information had been furnished by , and that he, ,

had himself written the article charging Lieut. Beale with the
defalcation! Mortified that he should thus be stabbed in
the back by a functionary of the Government, at whose
hands he had a right to expect justice, Mr. Beale embraced
an opportunity which offered at the hotel where he so
journed, and properly punished the vilifier and slanderer,
by slapping his face with his open hand in public — and this
is the extent of the "outrage" perpetrated by the Lieutenant.
If an assault can be justified in any case then was this

public castigation right and proper. attempted to

ruin the reputation of an honest man in his absence. His
accusation went abroad, and was believed by those who
did not know the facts; and now the vindication of the
charges, extorted from his accuser, and his public punish
ment will go together — the antidote to the poison.

Do what he could, and Beale was certainly
tireless in his activity, and despite the fact that his
humane policy was warmly supported by all the
best people in the country, official and unofficial,
General Beale soon recognized that with the slender
means at his command he could not secure for his
wards the protection to which they were entitled
and which had indeed been promised in solemn

Edward Fitzgerald Beale

treaty. Beale sums up the situation in a letter to
Washington written at this time.

The condition of many of the Indian tribes is truly
deplorable, they are driven from their hunting and fishing
grounds and are in danger of starving. Many of them are
made to work without compensation and massacres are
taking place all the time. Only fifteen miles from San
Francisco the Indians are often enslaved and made to work
without pay and when the work season is over they are
turned out to starve.

Naturally the Indians, persecuted and starving
as they were, endeavored to help themselves and
naturally enough at last in true Indian fashion;
white emigrants and colonists were massacred in
Shasta and in Scott Valley and what was more
alarming, the news came of a general rising of the
Indians at Visalia and of their apparent prepara
tions to wage a war of extermination against the
whites throughout the country.

At this juncture, and it was certainly a case of
better late than never, the California authorities
bethought them of General Beale and of the extra
ordinary powerful personal influence he exercised
over the Indians who had so long been his wards
and who ever found in him a generous protector.
He was placed in charge of the situation and was
soon able to conjure the dangers and smooth out
the difficulties with which it fairly bristled. The
measures which General Beale adopted and which
proved so efficient in the circumstances are de-

Indian Affairs 191

scribed with characteristic modesty in the follow
ing report to the Governor. To-day, with the
Indians gone and populous cities rising on their
happy hunting grounds, the most remarkable
feature of the campaign that followed is the fact
that United States officials and even United States
troops acted throughout in perfect subordination to
General Beale who in this instance held his com
mission from the State of California. This happy
and most unusual co-operation was due in part at
least to the great good-will of Gen. John E. Wool,
U. S. A., who at this time most fortunately was in
command of the Department of the Pacific. Gen
eral Wool was a warm personal friend of Beale and
a sturdy supporter of his Indian policy and as
several personal letters written by him to Beale1
in later years attest, he recognized that at this
critical moment in the history of the settlements on
the Pacific, General Beale's high reputation for fair
dealing and his deep insight into Indian character
were of more value than several regiments of
dragoons and these, it might be added, were not
immediately available, while General Beale was.

The report of General Beale is dated San Fran
cisco, July 1 2th, 1855, and reads as follows :

Governor: I have the honor to report that in obedience
to instructions received from you I proceeded with all
despatch to the scene of the Indian difficulties. I left San
Francisco on the morning of the 28th of May last, accom-

1 See Beale papers in MS.

192 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

panied by my Aide-de-camp Colonel Edward Byre. At
midnight on the 5th day of June, I encamped on the banks
of the King's River. In conversation with Mr. Campbell,
sub-Indian agent stationed at this point, I learned that in
consequence of the continued excitement of the whites, more
particularly those living in and about the villages of Wood-
ville and Visalia, rumors had reached the Indians that
active hostilities would be at once commenced against them
and they in consequence had fled to the mountains.

I despatched early next morning Mr. Campbell, who
speaks their language, with five bullocks and a message to
them asking them to appoint some spot where I might hold
a council. In the meantime I continued on to Elbow
Creek. Here I found Lieutenant Livingston, Third Artil
lery encamped with some thirty of his men. I also fortu
nately met here Lieut. Allston of the dragoons who were
encamped some ten miles to the south. These gentlemen
corroborated the reports I had received relative to the
violent measures contemplated by the whites. I then
visited Visalia and Woodville and after consulting with
several prominent citizens I deemed it best to call a general
meeting of the people in the afternoon. It was very fully
attended and those present seemed to think that nothing
but a very severe punishment of the Indians would prevent
future molestation of the whites. I fully explained to them
the power that had been confided to me by your Excellency
and urged upon them a more conciliatory spirit. I also
invited several well-known citizens to accompany me to the
proposed council ground. This plan met with their appro
bation and Mr. Campbell, after several days' absence,
returned with the information that the Indians had de
spatched runners in every direction to call in their scattered
bands and that they would meet me in a valley about thirty-
five miles from Elbow Creek.

I ordered Lieut. Allston's command of some forty dra
goons together with Lieut. Livingston's command of thirty

Indian Affairs 193

men to accompany me as escort. Early next morning we
took up our line of march ; the weather was excessively hot
and Lieut. Livingston's men being on foot suffered exceed
ingly from the heat and thirst and it was nearly midnight
before they reached camp. The next morning I held council,
some sixty or seventy Indians being present. The following
tribes were represented by chiefs or captains: Monoes,
Chokimauves, En Tennysich, Coilla, Yacolle, Talumne, Palu
Paloushiss, Wirkachoumnies, Openochies, Tache Noo-tune-
too and Chooeminees. Mr. O. K. Smith from Woodville and
Dr. George from Visalia represented the citizens; Messrs.
Campbell and Jennings, sub-Indian agents were also present.

Through Gregorio, my Indian interpreter, a very intelli
gent man who accompanied Gen. Fremont to the Atlantic
States and back and speaks English very well, I told them
the object of my visit was if possible to make peace; that it
was idle for them to attempt to cope with the whites in war
fare, that unless they would unconditionally promise to go
where I deemed it best for them to live I had come prepared
to inflict summary and severe chastisement upon them.
They seemed very anxious for peace and after talking to
them for about two hours I dismissed them to reflect well
upon what I had said. Later in the afternoon I sent for
them again and told them that all their people living upon
the waters of the King River must go at once to the
Reservation on King River, and that all their people living
to the south of this stream must go to the Tocole Valley
and to this they joyfully assented.

I then distributed among them as presents the articles
listed in the paper marked A accompanying my report.
Finding now that a very large tribe living on and about
Tule Lake were not represented, I despatched Indian run
ners that night to them with a message that unless they
met me in five days from that time in the Tocole valley for
the purpose of making a treaty I should deem them to be
at war and treat them accordingly.
13

194 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

The next morning, the loth instant I broke up the camp
and returned to Elbow Creek. On the morning of the I4th
I went to the Couilla valley, some ten miles beyond Wood-
ville with an escort of dragoons. Here over three hundred
Indians were gathered and some forty citizens were also
present. The Olanches, Piquirinals, Coyotes, Wacksaches,
and Couillas were present. They said they were delighted
to meet me and were perfectly willing to do anything I
desired of them. They further agreed, as the others had
that they would preserve peace and remain in their present
camp until the arrival of Col. Henley the Indian agent.
[Here is inserted a list of property destroyed by the Indians
which I omit.]

The peace to be preserved requires first the presence of
the Indian Commissioner and next the presence of about
twenty-five dragoons in the field constantly. I went to
Fort Tejon, and remained there constantly until the arrival
of Col. B. L. Beall commanding the fort, of whom I made a
request in writing that he should send a detachment into
the field at once. He answered that he could not do so
unless he received instructions from Gen. Wool. This
post should be reinforced at once with another company so
that one company could be constantly in the field. There
would never be any trouble with the Indians if this were
done.

I arrived here via San Jose on the night of July loth.
Hoping that my efforts will meet with your approbation,

I have the honor to be
Your Excellency's most obedient servant,

EDWARD F. BEALE,
Brigadier-General,
5th District.

To the end of his life Beale was a generous and
self-sacrificing friend of the Indians and to the
end, as will be seen, the Indians were loyal to their

Indian Affairs 195

protector. It required courage to tell the truth con
cerning the treatment of the Modocs which pro
voked their uprising, especially at a moment when
the whole country was in mourning for the gallant
Canby. It required courage and it meant unpopu
larity, but without hesitation General Beale stepped
into the breach with the following letter, which
was first published in The Republican of Chester,
Pennsylvania, on April 25, 1873. It was widely
copied throughout the country and helped to
steady public opinion with the result that a more
civilized view of the situation was taken by the
Government. It was the last signal service that
Beale was able to render his former wards. He did
it cheerfully, though it cost him many friends in
and out of the army.

General Beale's letter reads:

In the heat of a great popular excitement caused by the
loss of a most useful and exemplary officer, it is very doubt
ful if a fair judgment can be had in relation to the causes
which have produced the event we all deplore. General
Canby had served his country with such efficient zeal in two
great wars, and was possessed of so many of the virtues
which attached him to the community, that the intelligence
of his death was received as a shock by the whole people of
the United States. Perhaps there was not in the entire army
a man whose public and private character stood so high, or
who was more generally and justly beloved, and the manner
of his death has added to the public grief a sentiment of
bitterness toward the Indians which it seems nothing but
their extermination will satisfy. With but few exceptions
the press of the country is eagerly demanding blood for blood.

196 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

Let us pause for a moment before committing ourselves to
a policy more savage and remorseless than that of the Mo-
docs whom we propose to smite hip and thigh. Let us ask
ourselves if we are not reaping what we have sown, and if
the treachery to which the gallant and lamented Canby fell
a victim is not the repetition of a lesson which we ourselves
have taught these apt scholars, the Indians? Are we to
think ourselves blameless when we recall the Chivington
massacre? In that affair the Indians were invited to coun
cil under flags of truce, and the rites of hospitality, sacred
even among the Bedouins of the desert, were violated as
well as all military honor, for these poor wretches, while
eating the sacred bread and salt, were ruthlessly fallen upon
and slaughtered to the last man. The Piegan massacre
was another affair in which we industriously taught the
uncultivated savages the value of our pledges; and if we
are correctly informed the very beginning of the Modoc
war was an attempt while in the act of council to which
they had been invited to make Captain Jack and two others
prisoners. As to the bloody character of Indian warfare,
as far as we can see, it is carried on by us with about the
same zeal. We read of a sergeant in the service of the
United States who in the late attack on the Modocs "took
the scalp of Scar-face Charley who was found wounded in
the lava beds." And if we desire to feel very good and
free from barbarism we have only to read what comes to us
side by side with news from the Modocs of the humane
and civilized treatment we are meting out to our brothers
in Louisiana, who differ from us on political questions; or
recall the massacre and robbery and mutilation of unoffend
ing Chinese, which was committed in broad daylight by
American citizens in California a year or so ago.

The Modoc Indians are fighting for a right to live where
God created them. The whole testimony of their neighbors
when the war against them was first talked about, is to the
effect that they were intelligent and inoffensive; and we

Indian Affairs 197

have exasperated them by insisting on our right, which
they do not see, to remove them to a distant and unknown
country. Having been taught by us a violation of flags of
truce, they have followed our example, and unhappily a
noble victim to our teaching of falsehood and crime is the
result; whereupon there goes out a cry of extermination
throughout the land.

We enter our protest against this course, and we ask for
justice and a calmer consideration by the public, of the
Indian affairs of our country. We cannot restore the good
men who have been killed, by an indiscriminate slaughter
of all the tribe of the Modocs; and it does not become a
Christian people to hunt to death the poor remnant of
those from whom we have already taken the broad acres of
thirty-seven states of this Union.

CHAPTER XI
THE FORGOTTEN CAMEL CORPS

Transportation Problems of the Fifties — To Provision
Army Posts in Southwest, Beale Suggests Camel Train
to the War Department — Enthusiastic Reception of
the Novel Idea by Secretary Jefferson Davis — David
Dixon Porter Sent to Tunis and Syria to Secure the
Camels — Camel Corps in the Scinde Campaign —
Beale's Report to the War Department of his Camel
Journey from San Antonio to El Paso — San Francisco
Papers Enthusiastic over the New Beast of Burden —
Davis Resigns from the War Department and the
Camels are Neglected — Beale Herds the Survivors on
his Ranch — A Camel Tandem — Value of Beale's
Journals to Future Historians of the Southwestern and
Pacific States.

IN 1854 th-e War Department had its hands
quite full in endeavoring to solve the difficult
problem of army transportation to the re
mote 'stations of the newly acquired territory in the
Southwest. This vast region, added to our pos
sessions by the Mexican War and the subsequent
purchase, was chiefly peopled by Indians and Mexi
cans who were held in check with much difficulty
and no little danger by a few scattered army posts.

198

The Forgotten Camel Corps 199

To furnish the desired transportation facilities
all manner of plans and agencies were proposed.
When Beale presented himself at the Department
with his suggestion of a camel corps it was regarded
as quixotic it is true, but at all events as having as
much substance as a relayed line of balloons which
was at this time warmly advocated for the same
purpose.

Beale naturally did not pretend that he had
enjoyed any personal experience with camels as
beasts of burden but he simply overwhelmed the
Department with excerpts and citations from books
of travel in Asia and Africa all going to show the
great usefulness of the "Ship of the Desert/' in des
ert places. In after years General Beale told his son
that the idea came to him once when he was, proba
bly the first white man who ever did so, exploring
Death Valley1 with Kit Carson. He never trav
elled so light but what there was at least one good
book in his pack. On this occasion it chanced to be
Abbe Hue's Travels in China and Tartary. Read
ing this book, Beale was convinced that by the
introduction of camels the great desert of Arizona
could be robbed of half its terrors. Kit Carson

1 It is characteristic of Beale that not a line concerning this adventur
ous trip is to be found in his papers and diaries. The Death Valley
journey was but one of a series of systematic explorations which he
made, whenever opportunity presented and generally in the company of
Carson, for the purpose of examining all the passes from the then bar
ren plains of Arizona into the Eden of California. The moment Beale
had satisfied himself that Death Valley was not the path of empire
which he sought, he drew a line through that route and went on to
the exploration of others which seemed more promising.

2OO Edward Fitzgerald Beale

seems to have remained sceptical but on his return
to Washington Beale was so fortunate as to find
a fellow-enthusiast in the person of Jefferson Davis
who had recently entered the cabinet as Secretary
of War.

Finding such an important person as the Sec
retary of War in a receptive mood, Beale lost
no time in setting about the preliminary step of
" catching the camels/' Mr. Davis and Beale
were successful in infusing the Navy Department
with some of their enthusiasm, the store ship
Supply was soon fitted out for Camel- Land and
Beale induced his friend and kinsman, David
Dixon Porter, who was later to win imperishable
laurels in the Civil War, to apply for the command.

In May, 1855, Porter sailed for Tunis. Neither
he nor any man of his command had ever seen a
camel, outside of a circus, and he wisely decided to
go slowly and experiment at first on a small scale.
In Tunis he purchased two camels and shipped
them for the purpose of studying their habits before
the entire herd was taken in tow or rather on
board. In October the Supply arrived at Constan
tinople and from here Porter visited the Crimea
and saw something of the campaign in progress.
While he went at it with his characteristic thorough
ness, hitherto the camel-mission had appealed to
Porter's well-known sense of humor rather than to
any belief in its utility. In the Crimea, however,
he met several English officers who had served with
General Napier in the Scinde campaign. They

a !

*** tuO

o o

The Forgotten Camel Corps 201

told him of the valuable services which the camel
corps, one thousand men mounted on five hundred
dromedaries had rendered, and Porter immediately
set sail for Alexandria and Smyrna where thirty-
three camels were carefully and prayerfully pur
chased. With this strange deck cargo Porter
arrived off Indianola, Texas, in April, 1856, and
only one of his ungainly passengers had died.
Porter was immediately sent back to Asia Minor
and in the summer of 1856 arrived off the mouth
of the Mississippi with forty-four more very
sea-sick camels.

General Beale, now commanding the first and
last camel corps ever organized on the American
Continent, was from the very first enthusiastic in
his praise of the desert ships. He assured all who
addressed him on the subject, and it should be
remembered that popular interest was almost as
generally excited by this new method of transpor
tation as it is interested in aviation to-day, that the
camel was to be the pack animal of the immediate
future, on the American as well as the African and
Asian deserts. To a friend, General Beale wrote
upon his arrival in El Paso in July, 1857: "When
exactly the right breed is at our disposal and when
one or two Turks or Arabs to the manner born have
been induced to remain long enough to familiarize
our people with the habits of the camels, complete
success will undoubtedly be attained."

Writing from El Paso on July 24, 1857, General
Beale gives the following official account of his ex-

202 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

traordinary journey, which promised to be epoch-
making, to the Hon. J. B. Floyd, Secretary of War.

Sir: I have the honor to report my arrival at this place
with the expedition under my command. Thus far we have
progressed rapidly and without a single day's delay since
leaving San Antonio.

It gives me great pleasure to report the entire success
of the expedition with the camels so far as I have tried it.
Laboring under all the disadvantages arising out of the
fact that we have not one single man who knows anything
whatever of camels or how to pack them, we have never
theless arrived here without an accident and although we
have used the camels every day with heavy packs, have fewer
sore backs and disabled ones by far than would have been
the case travelling with pack mules. On starting I packed
nearly seven hundred pounds on each camel, which I fear
was too heavy a burden for the commencement of so long
a journey, they, however packed it daily until that weight
was reduced by our diurnal use of it as forage for our
mules.

I trust they may stand the remainder of the journey as
well as they have thus far and I see no reason whatever to
doubt it. If they should, the experiment of their usefulness
is demonstrated fully, and it is to be hoped a larger number
will be imported. For Indian scouts with infantry com
panies in countries as badly supplied with water as Texas
and New Mexico, they would prove an invaluable aid though
those we have with us are not the most valuable kind for
burden being all females with three exceptions.

The regular burden camel would make the same journey
we have made and in the same time with twelve hundred
pounds as easily as these with half the weight. I desire to
call your attention particularly to the fact that they live and
keep on food which the mules reject and which grows in the
greatest luxuriance in the most barren of our American

The Forgotten Camel Corps 203

deserts, namely, the greasewood, a small bitter bush, useless
for any purpose I have been able to discover except as being
a valuable food for the camels. Although they eat grass
when staked out to it, if left to themselves they will
instantly leave the best gramma and browse greedily on
bushes of any kind whatever in preference.

I was told by the highest authority on leaving San An
tonio that not one of them would ever see El Paso; that
they would give out on the way. This prediction has not
been verified by fact. The road from here to San Antonio
is certainly the most terribly trying on unshod feet I have
ever seen. This is so true that I have not an unshod
work mule or horse that is not lame. With the camels I
have not to this time a single tender-footed animal. I
attribute this not so much to the spongy natured, gutta
percha-like substance which forms their feet, as to the
singular regularity and perpendicular motion with
which the foot is raised and put down. In horses
and mules there is always more or less of a slip and
shuffle, but the camel lifts his foot clearly and per
pendicularly from the ground, extends the leg and replaces
it squarely and without the least shuffle or motion to
create friction.

They are the most docile, patient and easily managed
creatures in the world and infinitely more easily worked
than mules. From personal observation of the camels I
would rather undertake the management of twenty of
them than of five mules. In fact the camel gives no
trouble whatever. Kneeling down to receive his load it
may be put on without hurry at the convenience of the
master and the process of packing is infinitely easier than
mule packing. These animals remain quietly on their
knees until loaded. Contrast the lassoing, the blinding,
the saddling, the pulling and hauling of ropes, the adjust
ment of the pack on an animal like the mule, flying around
in all directions, to say nothing of a broken limb received

204 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

from one of its numerous kicks, with the patient quiet of
the camel kneeling for its load.

We had them on this journey sometimes for twenty-six
hours without water exposed to a great degree of heat, the
mercury standing at one hundred and four degrees and
when they came to water they seemed to be almost indiffer
ent to it. Not all drank and those that did, not with the
famished eagerness of other animals when deprived of
water for the same length of time.

If the Department intends carrying their importation of
the camels further, after this present experiment has been
more fully tested, and I have reported my success or the
want of it, I would strongly recommend a new saddle to be
prepared for them, to replace the present clumsy contriv
ance, and also that a corps of Mexicans be employed in
herding and using them. The Americans of the class who
seek such employment are totally unfit for it, being for the
most part harsh, cruel and impatient with animals entrusted
to their care. 'The Greeks and Turks who are with us
know no more of camels than any American living in New
York knows of buffalo.

The animal is used in their own country but they know
nothing about it. My only object in employing them at
the high rate they are paid was that they, knowing the
harmless character of the camel, would give confidence to
the others employed in the management of an animal which,
with all its gentleness, has a most ferocious-looking set of
teeth which it displays with a roar rivalling that of the
royal Bengal tiger. The two Turks, Hassan and Suliman,
who really did know all about camels, and who were the
only ones that did that I could discover, refused to accom
pany the expedition, being desirous of returning home to
their own country.

We are getting on rapidly and very pleasantly and I
hope to be in Washington again on Christmas Day,
etc.

The Forgotten Camel Corps 205

There are available few contemporaneous ac
counts of how the first and the last American
camel corps looked to the man in the street or the
scout on the trail. The camels had warm friends
and partisans, the chief of whom was easily General
Beale, and they had bitter and tireless enemies,
many of whom, it was openly charged, were not
wholly disconnected with the incipient mule trust
then growing up in Missouri. On this account
we are all the more grateful for the following
unpartisan though unsigned statement of things
seen which, dated Los Angeles, January 21, 1858,
appeared in several of the San Francisco papers
and was widely copied throughout the country.

Gen. Beale and about fourteen camels stalked into town
last Friday week and gave our streets quite an Oriental
aspect. It looks oddly enough to see, outside of a menag
erie, a herd of huge ungainly awkward but docile animals
move about in our midst with people riding them like
horses and bringing up weird and far-off associations to the
Eastern traveller, whether by book or otherwise, of the
lands of the mosque, crescent or turban, of the pilgrim
mufti and dervish with visions of the great shrines of the
world, Mecca and Jerusalem, and the toiling throngs that
have for centuries wended thither, of the burning sands of
Arabia and Sahara where the desert is boundless as the
ocean and the camel is the ship thereof.

These camels under charge of Gen. Bea^e are all grown
and serviceable and most of them are well broken to the sad
dle and are very gentle. All belong to the one hump species
except one which is a cross between the one and the two
hump species. This fellow is much larger and more power
ful than either sire or dam. He is a grizzly-looking hybrid,

206 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

a camel-mule of colossal proportions. These animals are
admirably adapted to the travel across our continent and
their introduction was a brilliant idea the result of which is
beginning most happily. At first Gen. Beale thought the
animals were going to fail, they appeared likely to give out,
their backs got sore, but he resolved to know whether they
would do or not. He loaded them heavily with provisions,
which they were soon able to carry with ease, and thence
came through to Fort Tejon, living upon bushes, prickly
pears and whatever they could pick up on the route.
They went without water from six to ten days and even
packed it a long distance for the mules, when crossing the
deserts. They were found capable of packing one thousand
pounds weight apiece and of travelling with their load from
thirty to forty miles per day all the while finding their own
feed over an almost barren country. Their drivers say
they will get fat where a jackass would starve to death.
The "mule" as they call the cross between the camel and
the dromedary will pack twenty-two hundred pounds.

The animals are now on their return to the Colorado
River for the purpose of carrying provisions to Gen. Beale
and his military escort who, it is conjectured, will penetrate
from thence as far as possible into the Mormon country.
Afterwards Gen. Beale will return by the new wagon route
that he has lately surveyed to verify it and so on to Wash
ington. He is expected to reach the Capital before the
first of March in order to lay his report before Congress.

When Mr. Davis left the War Department the
camels lost a most influential friend, although Gen
eral Beale remained their most enthusiastic admirer
to the end. As is shown in the foregoing reports,
the camels gave an excellent account of themselves
on even the most trying journeys but the ordinary
teamsters and mule-drivers were afraid of them and

The Forgotten Camel Corps 207

in the end this silent opposition prevailed. Many
camels were allowed to escape from the army posts
where they were herded and not a few died from
neglect. Some of the camels that were allowed to
regain their liberty seem to have increased and mul
tiplied, and for years they wandered over the plains
of Arizona and New Mexico where they were
a terrifying object to man and beast, to all
Indians and whites who had not enjoyed Oriental
experiences.

The remnant of the camels were finally con
demned by an army board as unsuitable for trans
portation and sold under the hammer. General
Beale, loyal to the end, bought them and marched
them off to Tejon where they had free quarters as
long as they lived. One of Truxtun Beale's
earliest experiences, which any boy might envy,
was in driving with his father from Tejon to Los
Angeles, a distance of one hundred miles, in a sulky
behind a tandem team of camels with whom Gen
eral Beale, when necessary, would carry on conver
sation in Syrian which he had with characteristic
energy taught himself for this purpose.

During the years 1854-5 and 1856 General Beale
was fully occupied with the supervision and con
trol of Indian affairs, in California, Nevada, and
at the Capital and it is apparent from his journals
that the battles he was compelled to fight in
Washington were less to his liking than the open
hostility which he had so often met with on the
banks of the Colorado. Beale's road-breaking and

208 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

building operations, never entirely suspended, were
resumed vigorously, thanks to a substantial appro
priation by Congress, early in 1857 and were
continued almost without interruption until the
outbreak of the Civil War, or rather until the inau
guration of President Lincoln by whom Beale was
immediately appointed Surveyor-General of Cali
fornia.

The journey from Fort Defiance to the Colorado
River to survey the proposed routes of the wagon
road was made during the summer of 1857 and the
winter of 1857-8. General Beale's report and log
of land travel was, at the suggestion of the Secretary
of War, ordered printed during the first session of
the 35th Congress and it is entombed in the
national archives of that year as Executive Docu
ment No. 124.

The report upon the wagon road projected from
Fort Smith, Arkansas, to the Colorado and the
narrative of the journey which was undertaken
during the winter of 1858-9 was ordered printed
by the 36th Congress during its first session and
bears the caption Executive Document No. 42.

These interesting Journals did not receive the
close attention or the just appreciation which they
deserved. Beale's services were, it is true, highly
considered and no step relating to the Pacific Coast
was taken or even considered in Washington with
out consulting him, but the details of his adventur
ous travels were little known and Beale was the
last man in the world to push his exploits into

The Forgotten Camel Corps 209

prominence. The roads were built, however, in
great part, and the new commonwealths on the
Pacific were bound to the older States by a physical
tie which the shock of the impending conflict when
it came could not snap. The roads were built and
the Pacific Coast was saved to the Union, but the
details and the thrilling incidents of the great task
so quietly accomplished were little noticed and soon
forgotten.

In a volume of limited scope such as the present,
it is impossible to reproduce many more pages
of General Beale's graphic Journals and I shall
not venture to condense them. I shall, however,
print in full General Beale's covering despatches to
the War Department in which, in a few words, he
tells of the objects and of the results of his journeys,
and I shall also reproduce a few detached entries
from the Journals themselves, sufficient, I hope, to
demonstrate that in the rarely turned and never
reprinted pages of these official reports is to be
found a wealth of picturesque material indispen
sable to the understanding of the Western move
ment and the early days in California. When a
definitive history of the Southwest territory and
the Central Plains, out of which so many States
have been carved, is written, the pages of General
Beale's Journals will be found, I believe, to supply
the indispensable data as well as the glowing pic
tures of the primitive life which Captain John
Smith's Narrative offers to the historian of the Old
Dominion, which the Diary of Bradford makes

210 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

accessible to the modern writer on the Massachu
setts Bay settlements, and which the Journals of
Bonneville, of Lewis, and of Clark reveal to the
historian of those States " where rolls the Oregon."

CHAPTER XII

THE WAGON ROAD SURVEY FROM FORT DEFIANCE
TO CALIFORNIA

General Beale's Report to the Secretary of War — From
Zuni to the Banks of the Little Colorado — Praise of
the Camels, Especially their Swimming — Extracts
from Beale's Journal — Howard's Spring, Famous for
Indian Massacres — Water Shortage — Mount Buchanan
and Mount Benton — Indian Adventure of a Geologist
— Captured Indians Retained as Guides to the Colo
rado — First Sight of the Sierra Nevada — Winter at
Fort Tejon — The Return Journey — First Steamer on
the Colorado — Last Entry in the Journal — "We have
Tested the Value of the Camel, Marked a new Road to
the Pacific, and Travelled Four Thousand Miles. "

GENERAL BEALE'S report to the Secretary
of War on his explorations for a wagon
road from Fort Defiance, in New Mexico,
to the western borders of California, communi
cated to Congress, in answer to a resolution of the
Senate, reads as follows:

COLORADO RIVER, CALIFORNIA, October 18, 1857.

SIR:

I have the honor to report my arrival in California, after
a journey of forty-eight days. It gives me pleasure to

211

212 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

inform you that we have met with the most complete
success in our exploration for a wagon road from Fort
Defiance, New Mexico, to this State.

In a hurried letter of this kind, it is not possible that I
should give you much of the detail of our exploration.
Leaving that for my daily journal to disclose, I shall
endeavor briefly to give you an idea of the character of the
country, as well as the advantages of the road I have
explored.

Leaving Zuni, the point from which the road should
properly start, we found the country easy and rolling and
bearing good grass, with water at convenient intervals,
until our arrival at the banks of the Little Colorado. This
I found a fine stream, the bottom of which is wide and
fertile, filled with excellent grass, and the banks of the
stream itself fringed with a heavy growth of cotton wood.
The whole region through which it runs is of a character
to make it most valuable to the agriculturist and grazier.
After following this stream for several days, and fording it
with our wagons without difficulty, we left it and pursued
our course westward to San Francisco Mountain. The
country at the foot of that mountain (a gradually ascending
plain) although somewhat rocky, in places was covered
with the finest gramma-grass, with timber sufficient for
fuel, and water in abundance.

From this point, twenty miles from the base of the moun
tain, until we commenced the descent of its western slope,
the country is undulating, with frequent extensive level
plateaus, well watered with springs, and is by far the most
beautiful region I ever remember to have seen in any portion
of the world. A vast forest of gigantic pine, intersected
frequently by extensive open glades, sprinkled all over with
mountain meadows and wide savannahs, filled with the
richest grasses, was traversed by our party for many
successive days.

From the western slope to the country dividing the head

The Wagon Road Survey 213

of Bill Williams' fork from the Colorado River, the only
change is in the growth of the timber, cedar of the largest
size, for the most part, taking the place of pine; but the
character of the soil remains unchanged, and is of the same
fertile nature, bearing in all parts the richest gramma-grass.

From the divide of Bill Williams to the Colorado the
country assumes a more barren aspect, and becomes a
desert on the banks of the river, excepting in the bottom
lands, for a few miles in width on either side. Arrived at
the river, I crossed the wagons and people without difficulty.
At the point of our crossing I found it to be about 200
yards wide, a smooth surface as far as the eye could reach
up and down, unobstructed by bars or rocks, flowing at the
rate of three miles an hour, 19 feet in depth in mid-channel,
apparently perfectly navigable for steamers of largest size.
Questioning the Indians closely, I derived from them satis
factory information that it bore the same character the
entire distance from that place to Fort Yuma, some 200
miles below.

You have thus, sir, in a few words, a short account of our
journey on the road we were sent to explore. Of its advan
tages, in detail, I have not time in this letter to speak,
except in general terms. I enumerate them.

It is the shortest from our western frontier by 300 miles,
being nearly directly west. It is the most level: our
wagons only double- teaming once in the entire distance,
and that at a short hill, and over a surface heretofore
unbroken by wheels or trail of any kind. It is well watered :
our greatest distance without water at any time being
twenty miles. It is well timbered, and in many places the
growth is far beyond that of any part of the world I have
ever seen. It is temperate in climate, passing for the most
part over an elevated region. It is salubrious: not one of
our party requiring the slightest medical attendance from
the time of our leaving to our arrival. It is well grassed:
my command never having made a bad grass camp during

214 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

the entire distance until near the Colorado. It crosses the
great desert (which must be crossed by any road to Califor
nia) at its narrowest point. It passes through a country
abounding in game, and but little infested with Indians.

On the entire road, until our arrival at the Mohave vil
lages, we did not see, in all, over a dozen Indians, and those
of a timid and inoffensive character. At the point of the
crossing of the Colorado, grain, vegetables, and breadstuffs
may be obtained in any quantity from the Indians, who
cultivate extensively, though rudely, the fertile bottom
lands of the Colorado. It is passable alike in winter and
summer. These are the advantages which I claim for the
road which we have discovered, marked, and explored,
from New Mexico to this State.

I shall mention, then, only one important fact, that it
leaves to the option of the emigrant the choice of entering
California either at the city of Los Angeles, by the regularly
travelled road, in the most fertile part of the southern
portion of the State, or of turning off from that river, by an
easy road, frequently travelled, and coming into the head
of the great Tulare Valley, and by a good road through
settlements all the way, extending to Stockton, Sacramento,
and the more northern parts of the State.

Our work, although arduous, has been rendered pleasant
by the beautiful character of the country through which we
have passed, and the salubrious nature of the climate; and,
although the double duty of exploring and marking the
road has fallen upon us, we have passed through it without
an accident of any kind whatever.

An important part in all of our operations has been acted
by the camels. Without the aid of this noble and useful
brute, many hardships which we have been spared would
have fallen to our lot; and our admiration for them has
increased day by day, as some new hardship, endured
patiently, more fully developed their entire adaptation and
usefulness in the exploration of the wilderness. At times

The Wagon Road Survey 215

I have thought it impossible they could stand the test to
which they have been put, but they seem to have risen
equal to every trail and to have come off of every explora
tion with as much strength as before starting. Unsupported
by the testimony of every man of my party, I should be
unwilling to state all that I have seen them do. Starting
with a full determination that the experiment should be no
half-way one, I have subjected them to trials which no
other animal could possibly have endured; and yet I have
arrived here not only without the loss of a camel, but they
are admitted by those who saw them in Texas to be in as
good condition to-day as when we left San Antonio.

In all our lateral explorations, they have carried water
sometimes for more than a week for the mules used by the
men, themselves never receiving even a bucketful to one of
them. They have traversed patiently, with heavy packs,
on these explorations, countries covered with sharpest
volcanic rock, and yet their feet, to this hour, have evinced
no symptom of tenderness or injury. With heavy packs,
they have crossed mountains, ascended and descended
precipitous places where an unladen mule found it difficult
to pass, even with the assistance of the rider dismounted,
and carefully picking its way. I think it would be within
bounds to say, that, in these various lateral explorations,
they have traversed nearly double the distance passed over
by our mules and wagons.

Leaving home with all the prejudice invariably attaching
to untried experiments, and with many in our camp opposed
to their use, and looking forward confidently to their
failure, I believe at this time I may speak for every man in
our party, when I say there is not one of them who would
not prefer the most indifferent of our camels to four of our
best mules ; and I look forward, hopefully, to the time when
they will be in general use in all parts of our country.

Reading the accounts of travellers who had used them a
great deal in the East, and who, I presumed, were entirely

2i 6 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

acquainted with their habits and powers, I was rendered
extremely anxious on the subject of their swimming; fore
seeing that, however useful they might be as beasts of
burden in inhabited parts of the country, their usefulness
would be impaired, if not entirely lost, to those who desired
to use them where ferry boats and other such conveniences
did not exist.

The enterprising priest, Father Hue, whose travels have
lately been published, in speaking of his detention at the
Yellow River, in China, because of the impossibility of
crossing the camels, concludes by saying "for this animal
cannot swim " ; hence my great anxiety for the entire success
of this experiment with camels was very much increased
on my arrival at the Colorado River. All my pleasure in
looking upon this noble stream, and all the satisfaction I
derived in the reflection of a successful journey accom
plished, was clouded by this doubt. However, the effort
was to be made, and after having resolved in my own mind
what to do in the event of failure, I determined to test the
truth of the statements which I had seen in relation to that
fact. The first camel brought down to the river's edge
refused to take the water. Anxious, but not discouraged,
I ordered another one to be brought, one of our largest and
finest ; and only those who have felt so much anxiety for the
success of an experiment can imagine my relief on seeing it
take to the water, and swim boldly across the rapidly flowing
river. We then tied them, each one to the saddle of another,
and without the slightest difficulty, in a short time swam
them all to the opposite side in gangs, five in a gang; to my
delight, they not only swam with ease, but with apparently
more strength than horses or mules. One of them, heading
up stream, swam a considerable distance against the
current, and all landed in safety on the other side.

On reaching the settlements of California, I have con
cluded to despatch Lieutenant Thorburn, U. S. Navy,
immediately to Washington with the notes and astronomi-

The Wagon Road Survey 217

cal observations, in order that he may prepare a map of our
route.

In closing this report, I desire to say a word, in conclusion,
of the officer who bears it. His reputation in his own ser
vice would render unnecessary any commendations of mine,
but the department of which you are the head, being
unacquainted with his merits, I desire to make them known
to you. He has evinced on this journey an activity, zeal,
intelligence, and courage, rarely to be found combined in
any one man, and has been to me, not only a most able
assistant, but an agreeable companion throughout the entire
exploration ; and I ask as an especial favor from the depart
ment, if the work is to be continued, that he be not detached
from his present duty.

Very respectfully, your obedient servant,

E. F. BEALE,

Superintendent.
Hon. JOHN B. FLOYD,
Secretary of War,
Washington, D. C.

The following are a few extracts from Beale's
Journal while engaged on the wagon road survey
which is outlined in the above report. The Journal
was also ordered printed by resolution of the
Senate.

July 7, 1857. We started at 4:30 A.M., and trav
elled twelve miles, when we encamped for breakfast.
Our crossing-place was called Cedar Bluffs. The
grass is very fine and water abundant in holes
filled by the late rain. We were passed on the
road this morning by the monthly El Paso mail,
on its way up, by which I received, forwarded by

218 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

some of my friends at San Antonio, a box about
two feet square, for which the moderate charge of
twenty dollars was made! The dangers of this
road, however, justified any price for such matters.
Scarcely a mile of it but has its story of Indian
murder and plunder; in fact, from El Paso to San
Antonio is but one long battle-ground — a surprise
here, robbery of animals there. Every spring and
watering-place has its history or anecdote con
nected with Indian violence and bloodshed. The
country through which we have travelled to-day
is entirely destitute of timber, except the mesquite
bush, which grows almost everywhere in Texas.
The road though rolling is excellent.

July 8. Up at half -past two and off at daybreak
without breakfast. We travelled eleven miles to
Howard's Spring, where we stopped to breakfast
and water the animals. This place seems to have
been famous for Indian surprises. Near it we
passed the graves of seven who had been killed
by the savages, and still nearer, within a hundred
yards or so, the bones of a sergeant, and some two
or three dragoons who were here killed by them.
The bodies had apparently been disinterred by
animals, and the ghastly remains of the poor fel
lows who had perished there were scattered on the
ground. Captain Lee (U. S. Army) gave us the
history of the fight, which occurred some months
ago.

Howard's Spring is a small hole containing ap
parently about a quarter of a barrel of water, but

The Wagon Road Survey 219

is in reality inexhaustible. It is directly under a
bluff of rock in the bed of a dry creek, and to get at
the water it is necessary to descend about eight
feet by rude steps cut in the rock; the water has to
be passed up in buckets, and the animals watered
from them. There is but little grass here, and no
timber but greasewood and mesquite, and not
much of that; a few stunted cedars that grow
around the bluff of the spring are neither large
enough for shade or fuel.

The rain has brought the grass forward wonder
fully, and with it an abundance of beautiful flowers,
so that the prairie for the last few days has been
filled with perfume and richly colored flowers,
which would have been no disgrace to the most
costly hothouse. The whole of the country is
vastly improved by these grateful showers, which
have clothed it everywhere with verdure, and
filled the air with fragrance.

Of large game we have seen but little, but
turkeys and partridges abound in great numbers;
in fact, the whistle of "Bob White " is with us all
the time.

The camels came into camp with us. We find
one great trouble, and the only one, in managing
them is that we know nothing about the method
of packing them, and have it all to learn. In conse
quence of our want of knowledge in this particular,
we have several with sore backs, which, however, I
am glad to observe, heal much more rapidly
than similar abrasures on the backs of horses or

220 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

mules. As soon as we discover one to be getting
sore, it is immediately freed of its burden, and in
a day or two is ready for service again. They
seem almost entirely indifferent to the best grass,
and to prefer any kind of bush to it. To-day we
found another food they seem particularly to relish,
the name of which we do not know. The wild
grape-vine is a great favorite with them, and as
it grows plentifully, they will fare well on it. It
seems that they like most the herbs and boughs of
bitter bushes, which all other animals reject. The
more I see of them the more interested in them I
become, and the more I am convinced of their
usefulness. Their perfect docility and patience
under difficulties render them invaluable, and my
only regret at present is that I have not double the
number.

After remaining a few hours at Howard 's Spring
we resumed our march, and soon regained the
plain. At the crest of the hill, as we came upon
the level land again, we found a new-made grave,
probably another added to the long list of
Indian victims with which the entire trail is
filled.

We encamped without water on the open prairie;
grass good, but no timber whatever.

This evening many of our party have seen
Indians, but for me, "Ah, sinner that I am, I was
not permitted to witness so glorious a sight/'
encourage the young men, however, in the belief
that deer, bushes, etc., which they have mistaken

The Wagon Road Survey 221

for Indians, are all veritable Comanches, as it
makes them watchful on guard at night.

Sept. 1 8. — Camp 17. ... We leave here to-day
at noon to explore this great plain and shall
endeavor to go as nearly west as possible to the
Colorado Grande. I should suppose this plain to
be, at its widest part, from eighty to one hundred
miles in width. To our left, that is to the south
and southwest, a range of mountains seems to
terminate in long cape-like mesas which extend
into the plain we are traversing. Ahead the view
is unbounded, only the blue points of a mountain
appearing far in the distance. The weather is
clear and warm, making the uncertainty of water
ahead rather unpleasant.

The slopes of the mesas on our left seem to be
covered with a heavy growth of pine timber. The
nearest is about ten miles south of us. Leaving
our supper camp at dark we travelled by night,
and the night dark, for ten miles across the country
to the northwest, and so level was the surface that
not a wagon stopped for a moment. Going ahead
with two or three of my party I made fires every
three or four miles, as guides to the wagons, and
such was the level character of the country that
those behind me told me they could frequently see
the flash of my match as I would light it to kindle
the fire. In gathering greasewood bushes for one
of these fires Thorburn picked up in his hand a
rattlesnake, but fortunately the night was so cool
that, I presume, the reptile was torpid with cold,

222 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

so that when the fire blazed up I shot him with
my pistol where Thorburn had dropped him.

Resuming our march at sunrise we travelled
twelve miles, the country assuming a slightly more
rolling character as we advanced. We crossed
many broad and well-beaten Indian trails all going
to the southwest and northeast but none toward
the direction we were travelling. Our guide, how
ever, still retained his confident air and assured me
there was no doubt of our finding water a short
distance beyond.

A half mile further and he came back to tell that
the distant mountain, towards which our course
was directed, was not the one he thought and that
he was completely lost. I ought to have killed
him there but did not.

We were now thirty-two miles from water and
in a country entirely tinknown. Encamping at
once, I despatched the two dromedaries to the
east, while, with a few men on our strongest horses,
I started to the west. On our line we travelled
through some low hills and following an Indian
trail came suddenly upon a most wonderful sight.
This was a chasm in the earth or apparently a
split in the very centre of a range of hills from the
top to the bottom.

Seeing that the Indians had descended I deter
mined to try it, so picking out the least precipitous
part and scrambling down and leading our horses
and zigzagging, we at last reached the bottom.
Indian signs were abundant in the caves on either

The Wagon Road Survey 223

side and a trail led up the middle of the ravine.
From appearances I should judge the Indians
wintered here after gathering the pifion on the
surrounding mountainsides. Finding no water
or the appearance of any we turned our faces
toward home. Arriving at camp I found the
dromedary men had found a river (the little Color -
ado, I presume) about sixteen or twenty miles off
but very rough to approach.

Our animals were now beginning to suffer very
much, having been almost constantly at work for
thirty-six hours without water; and one of the
most painful sights I have ever witnessed was a
group of them standing over a small barrel of
water and trying to drink from the bung-hole,
frantic with distress and eagerness to get at it.
The camels seemed to view this proceeding with
great contempt and kept quietly browsing on the
grass and the bushes. . . . Hitching up the teams
we commenced our retreat at dark and about three
o'clock in the morning it was found necessary to
turn the animals out and drive them to water.

The moment they were released they started
off in a gallop, for well they remembered the last
water we had left and they did not cease galloping
until they reached the creek. I arrived with
Thorburn at seven in the morning, the camels were
sent on in advance and shortly after our arrival
here, although like the rest of us they had been
on the road all night, they were started back with
eight or ten barrels of water for the camp at the

224 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

wagons. Six of the camels are worth half the
mules we have though we have some good ones.
My admiration for the camels increases daily with
my experience of them. The harder the test they
are put to the more fully they seem to justify all
that can be said of them.

October 9. — Camp 25. ... Passing the point,
our doubts were all set at rest most satisfactorily.
The stream turned abruptly to the westward and in
that direction a glorious view broke upon us. For
sixty miles an immense plain extended to the west
only bounded by a distant range of mountains
in that direction, through which we thought we
saw such great depressions as to make a passage
easy. This we trust is the Colorado range.
Directly west is a huge mountain which I called
Mount Buchanan and connected with it another
which I called Mount Bent on. Altogether the
prospect is the finest we have had on the road.

Many Indian signs are presented about our
camp. A few hundred yards below is a rancher ia
deserted, likely, by its people on our approach. It
probably contained some thirty or forty savages.
. . . We came nearly ten miles to-day; six on a
southwesterly course. The fresh Indian signs
induce me to believe water may be found quite
near us in the morning 'but we encamped too late
this evening to look for it.

October 10. — Camp 26. While waiting in camp
for the mules which this morning had been
sent up the creek to water, our geologist came into

The Wagon Road Survey 225

camp much excited to inform us that while en
gaged in cracking stones on the mountainside, three
Indians had crept up to his gun, a short distance
from him, and after taking it had drawn their bows
upon him and he was obliged to beat a rapid retreat
to camp, which was fortunately not over half a
mile from him. I immediately sent my three boys,
May, Ham, and Joe, to look after the thieves and
to bring them to camp. They did not succeed in
finding them though they trailed them to the spot.
Here they found shoe tracks an extraordinary
distance apart, and of large size, coming directly
toward camp; but as our geologist says he walked
on his return these could not have been his, espe
cially as the toe had made deep impressions in the
sand. On returning to camp the boys saw two
Indians quite near who immediately fired their
arrows at them. This was returned by double-
barrelled guns and hearing this at camp, Mr. Thor-
burn and I started at once. A few hundred yards
from camp in the bottom of the valley we saw
the Indians running and the boys hot foot after
them, both parties firing as they ran. We imme
diately joined the chase which proved very good
practice for a while but soon began to tell on the
lungs. In a few minutes the mounted party joined
us. I ordered the men by no means to kill the
Indians but to take them alive. Directly opposite
the camp is a dark red butte very rocky, high, and
steep. Here we fairly ran them to earth near the
top. The first caught was a boy apparently

226 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

fifteen years of age; but where was the other? We
had completely surrounded the conical peak of the
hill and though a minute search had been made we
had not found him. Still I knew he was not over
fifty steps from me so we formed a complete cordon
around the spot where he was last seen. At last
one of the men looking at a greasewood bush not
larger than an ordinary rosewood bush discovered
him close to the root, lying apparently coiled
around it and so completely concealed that even
within six feet of him he could not be seen. He
was dragged out, roped, and carried to camp. Here
he was well fed and both of them clothed from
head to foot. I shall use them as guides to the
Colorado and then either take them on and bring
them back next winter or allow them to return
from the river. . . .

In the morning as soon as it was light enough to
see we were off again. Turning the point which
makes out from the high peak, which I called Frank
Murray's peak, we entered a wide gorge which
seemed to cut the mountain far upward towards
its centre. It was rough with stones, and over
grown in places with willow and rank weeds
through which Indian trails with fresh tracks and
other signs showed their immediate presence. We
found a fine cold spring about three miles from the
entrance to the pass, and pursuing our way soon
came to a short but steep hill at the end of the
gorge which seemed to be the summit of the pass.
Ascending this the river lay below us. We had

The Wagon Road Survey 227

arrived at the end of our long journey, so far
without an accident. Only those who have toiled
so far, with life, reputation, everything staked upon
the result, can imagine the feelings with which I
looked down from the heights of this mountain
upon the cottonwoods and the shining surface of
the river far below us.

At a great distance to the northwest a snow
capped chain of mountains marked the Sierra
Nevada, the mountains of my own State, and my
heart warmed as I thought of the many friends
beyond that distant chain who were looking anx
iously for my arrival and who would share with me
the feelings of gratified pride with which the result
of a successful expedition would be crowned.

The expedition went on to Fort Tejon to rest the
animals and to recruit the courage and the strength
of the men. On January ist, General Beale began
the eastward and homeward journey and on Jan
uary 23d, he reached the Colorado where, this time
at least, a most surprising experience awaited him.
We will describe it in his own words.

"Shortly after leaving camp my clerk, F. E. Ker-
lin, who, with two of my party had been despatched
the day previous in order to have my boat ready
for crossing, was seen returning. Various surmises
were immediately started as to the cause and as
soon as he was within speaking distance he was
questioned eagerly for the news. He gave us a

228 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

joyful surprise by the information that the steamer
General Jesup, Captain Johnson, was at the cross
ing waiting to convey us to the opposite side.
It is difficult to conceive the varied emotions with
which this news was received. Here in a wild
almost unknown country, inhabited by savages,
the great river of the West hitherto declared
unnavigable had for the first time borne upon its
bosom that emblem of civilization, a steamer.
The enterprise of a private citizen had been
rewarded by success for the future, was to lend its
aid in the settlement of our vast western territory.
But alas! for the poor Indians living on its banks
and rich meadow lands. The rapid current which
washes its shores will hardly pass more rapidly
away. The steam whistle of the General Jesup
sounded the death knell of the river race.

" In a few minutes after our arrival the steamer
came alongside the bank and our party was trans
ported at once with all our baggage to the other
side. We then swam the mules over and bidding
Captain Johnson good-bye he was soon steaming
down the river towards Fort Yuma three hundred
and fifty miles below. I confess I felt jealous of
his achievement and it is to be hoped the govern
ment will substantially reward the enterprising
spirit which prompted a citizen at his own risk and
at great hazard to undertake so perilous and uncer
tain an expedition.

"I had brought the camels with me and as they
stood on the bank surrounded by hundreds of

The Wagon Road Survey 229

unclad savages and mixed with these the dragoons
of my escort, and the steamer slowly revolving
her wheels preparatory to a start, it was a curious
and interesting picture.

'The camels I had placed in camp within a few
hundred yards of the summit of the Sierra Nevada
immediately on my arrival, for the sake of testing
their capability of withstanding the cold and to
this date they have lived in two or three feet of
snow, fattening and thriving wonderfully all the
while. Lately in a terrible snowstorm the wagon
carrying provisions to the camp could proceed no
further. The camels were immediately sent to
the rescue and brought the load through snow and
ice to camp, though the six strong mules of the
team were unable to extricate the empty wagons."
A month later General Beale was able to write in
his Journal : ' ' Here my labors end. The main road
to Fort Defiance being intersected at this point by
the road which I have explored and surveyed to
Fort Tejon, California. A year in the wilderness
ended! During this time I have conducted my
party from the Gulf of Mexico to the shores of the
Pacific Ocean, and back again to the eastern ter
minus of the road, through a country for a great
part entirely unknown, and inhabited by hostile
Indians, without the loss of a man. I have tested
the value of the camel, marked a new road to the
Pacific, and travelled four thousand miles without
an accident."

CHAPTER XIII
THE JOURNEY ALONG THE 35TH PARALLEL

Scale's Official Report — Railway Surveys from Fort Smith,
Arkansas, to the Colorado — Choteau's and the Valley
of the Canadian — The Rio del Norte at Albuquerque —
Advantages of this Route for Wagon or Railroads
— Extracts from Beale's Journal — Inscription Rock —
Breakfast of Wild Cat— A Visit to Zuni— Advice to the
Chief— "A Merrie Jest of ye White Man and ye
Indian" — Indian Rumors and a Treaty of Peace-
Civil War and the Close of the Wagon Road Period
— "Wanderer" Writes about It from Gum Springs to
the Philadelphia Press — The Pacific Railroad as a
Government Project — Santa Fe Traders — Praise of
Beale as Pioneer and Road Builder.

GENERAL BEALE'S official report to the
Secretary of War on the results of his next
journey, the survey from Fort Smith,
Arkansas, to the Colorado, reads as follows:

CHESTER, PA., December 15, 1859.
SIR:

I have the honor to transmit herewith the report of my
last expedition from Fort Smith, Arkansas, to the Colorado
River, from which I have lately returned. This expedition,
commencing as it did in the fall of 1858, and being prose
cuted on the open plains of the 35th parallel of latitude

230

The Journey along the 35th Parallel 231

during the entire winter of 1858 and 1859, affords a striking
and gratifying proof of what I have stated heretofore of the
route on which I have been employed, that winter offers no
obstacle on that parallel to the passage of men and wagons,
or travel of any description. During the entire winter my
men were exposed night and day to the open atmosphere,
some of the messes not using for the whole journey their
tents, and others but very rarely. The winter was said to
have been one of uncommon severity, yet, although my
men were exposed on their guards at night, and in their
duties with pick-axe and shovel in cutting down the embank
ments of creeks, and with the axe and saw in making
bridges, during the day, and to the continual discomfort of
a daily march, not one of them had occasion to complain of
the slightest sickness during the journey.

The country over which we passed was one of the most
attractive description. As I have stated to you in a prev
ious letter, a wide and level river bottom is offered as a
general line of travel all the way from the last settlements
of Arkansas to the first settlements of New Mexico, and,
although I did not follow this line exclusively, but frequently
deviated from it to take the divide, I do not remember a
heavy pull between Little River in Arkansas and the
settlements of New Mexico.

Nature has supplied the country over which we passed
most bountifully with the three great requisites for an
overland road — wood, grass, and water. Although I re
mained in New Mexico for nearly two months, it was not
time lost, as I employed myself and a portion of my men
in an exploration to the eastward along the line of the
Conchas River, which afforded the most gratifying results.
On the termination of this exploration, I broke up my
temporary camp in February, and pursued my journey to
the westward.

The broken nature of the country lying immediately
west of Fort Smith, Arkansas, occasioned by the approach

232 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

of the spurs of the mountain ranges, which run for a dis
tance of nearly one hundred and fifty miles beyond the
boundary line of the Indian Territory to the Arkansas and
Canada Rivers, renders the construction of a railroad else
where than along the valleys of the streams a work of no
little difficulty and cost. From Fort Smith two routes have
now been reconnoitred ; one passing along the head waters
of Poteau Creek, San Bois, and the south fork of the Cana
dian, and then crossing to the waters of Boggy River, whence
the line descends to the Canadian valley near the site of old
Fort Arbuckle; the other traversing the country imme
diately south of the rivers, but not touching the valleys, and
crossing the numerous spurs and several elevated ridges
east of the passage of the Canadian at North Fork Town,
beyond which the surface east of Little River is even more
broken than the more eastern portion of the route.

Along either of these lines the maximum grade could not,
except at an immense cost, be reduced below fifty to the
mile, and the tortuous character which would of necessity
attach to a line located upon either route would so increase
its length that, without considering the increase of distance
due to a proper allowance for ascents and descents, it is
questionable, if upon the score of distance alone it would
not be advisable to make the location along the valleys.
The general course of the Canadian is remarkably direct
between its mouth and the iO4th meridian, it never runs
further north than the 35th parallel, and but once passes
below it, and in that instance flows for a distance of about
sixty miles parallel to it, and only a few miles below it. A
line located along the valley of this stream, from its mouth
to the point at which it would leave it near the iO4th merid
ian, would not exceed six hundred and thirty-five miles in
length. There are but few points along the river where any
considerable work would be required. East of North Fork
Town some few bluffs would offer unimportant obstacles,
but west of that point a magnificent valley offers every

The Journey along the 35th Parallel 233

facility for the construction of a first-class road, with very
low grades and easy curvature.

The advantages which attach to a route which offers a
continuous river valley for so long a distance for its location
cannot be too strongly urged; there is every reason to
believe that from Fort Smith to the main divide, between
the waters of the Canadian and those of the Rio de las
Gallinas, an unbroken ascending grade can be had that will
at no point exceed twenty-five feet per mile; the entire
ascent from Fort Smith to this point would be fifty-two
hundred and sixty-five feet, and as there would be no
descents whatever the equated distance would only amount
to seven hundred and eighty-five miles of level road.

From the divide just mentioned to the Rio Grande at
San Felipe the distance would be about ninety-five miles,
over a country which would compel the adoption of grades
of 52.8 feet per mile, though careful examination might
reduce them. Upon this division all the heavy work would
occur, comprising the bridging of the Gallinas, the Pecos,
and Rio Grande, and tunnelling the summits between these
streams ; the equated distance from the Canadian summit to
the Rio Grande would be one hundred and forty-five miles,
making the entire distance (equated) from Fort Smith to
San Felipe, nine hundred and thirty miles. The road from
Fort Smith to San Felipe may be properly divided into three
sections : the first extending from Fort Smith to the eastern
boundary of Texas, the second to the mouth of the Rio de
las Conchas near the iO4th meridian; the third thence to the
Rio Grande.

The valley of the Arkansas is similar to that of western
streams generally, the highlands alternately receding from
and approaching the river — the bottom lands sometimes
stretching out for miles, sometimes disappearing and giving
place to bluffs; except where it is necessary to cut through
these bluffs the work will be very light, the smooth level
character of the bottom land offering every facility for easy

234 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

construction. East of the old trading post known as
Choteau's, the valley of the Canadian is very like that of the
Arkansas, the bluffs, however, occur less frequently and
the liability to overflow seems to be lessened. Going west
the tributaries to the main streams diminish in number and
size, and if a line be located upon the south bank of the
river there would be but two bridges of any size needed.
West of Choteau's, the valley of the Canadian is very wide,
rising very gently and with an almost inappreciable slope
from the stream toward the high land.

The river itself is small and never apparently leaves its
banks; long, straight stretches are of frequent occurrence;
tangents of from ten to thirty miles in length can be easily
laid along the valley ; the soil is a light sandy loam that can
be easily handled and will form a firm compact roadbed;
the dryness of the climate will expose embankments to but
little loss from washing ; the fertility of the soil that charac
terizes the entire valley of the Canadian ; wild grape-vines
grow in the greatest profusion, not only in the bottoms, but
on the first plateau; there is but little doubt of the perfect
adaptability of this country to the production of wine ; the
high lands that bound the river are covered at all seasons
with a dense growth of nutritious grasses that will serve for
the pasturage of countless herds; the country throughout
this section is well wooded for the most part; as far as
Choteau's, oak, hickory, cedar, etc., of large size abound;
beyond, black oak, hackberry and cottonwood are found, in
sufficient quantities to serve for railroad purposes and the
wants of settlers, besides, the Washita Valley, and those of
its tributaries will furnish a large amount of similar wood,
with a mean transportation not exceeding twenty miles.

The Canadian supplies a large quantity of water fit for
all purposes, while nearly every little arroyo that approaches
it from the hills on either side is well furnished with ever-
flowing springs. The second division of the road follows
the valley of the Canadian exclusively to the mouth of the

The Journey along the 35th Parallel 235

Conchas — the character of the country is similar to that
near the Antelope Hills; about the iO4th meridian the
valley narrows, but soon opens again, and for fifty miles east
of the Conchas offers to the eye a magnificent expanse of
bottom land that cannot fail to please both agriculturist and
engineer. A good supply of timber is found along this
division, water is abundant, and the character of the works
precisely similar to that of the western portion of the first
section. At the Angosturas, a short distance east of the
Conchas, there is an admirable site for a bridge across the
Canadian, should the north side of the river be chosen for
this road. About this point the Canadian is a clear, free-
flowing stream, passing over a beautiful gravel bed, and
running between banks of from ten to twenty feet in height ;
large groves of cottonwood and hackberry occur at frequent
intervals.

Up the valley of the Conchas, a tributary of the Canadian,
there will be no trouble in finding a favorable line. The
valley is large, free from ridges, rising very regularly, and
smooth in its surface; the approach to the divide between
it and the Gallinas is very gentle, not requiring a grade of
more than twenty-five feet. At the summit a short tunnel
will be needed. The site, however, is most favorable, and
the material a soft sandstone, easily pierced. The descent
to the Gallinas will be regular and easy, at the rate of thirty
feet per mile; a bridge can be easily thrown across this
stream with a span of one hundred feet ; the approaches on
either side will need but little embankment.

Beyond the Gallinas, the country is rolling, and it will be
necessary to form a summit near the Chupainas ; the grades
approaching it will not exceed forty feet per mile ; the work
around will be comparatively light ; it is doubtful whether
there would be any rock excavation. An admirable site for
a bridge across the Pecos can be found near the mouth of
the canyon about five miles above Anton Chico. At this
point machine shops, etc., could be advantageously estab-

236 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

lished, as there is an abundance of coal and timber in the
immediate vicinity, and a large water-power might be
commanded; good building stone abounds, nor is it defi
cient at the Gallinas. By crossing the Pecos at this point
rather than at or below Anton Chico, the ascent to the high
land in approaching the canyon Blanco is materially lessened.
To the canyon the route would traverse a somewhat broken
country, rendering grades of about forty feet per mile neces
sary. At the summit, between the canyon and Gallisteo
creek, a short tunnel through an easily excavated material
would be needed, and a small amount of moderately heavy
work would occur in passing to the Rio Grande. As far as
the Lagunas timber is found in abundance, and in descend
ing the valley of Gallisteo creek, mottes of cedar and pinon
are frequent, while the mountains in the immediate vicinity
possess large forests which will furnish an endless amount of
fuel.

Throughout this division of the road there will be no
difficulty in procuring the necessary timber for the purpose
of construction. Pine, hemlock, and other forest trees of
large size abound in the Santa Fe mountain, and along the
head- waters of the Pecos, and other streams. The construc
tion of a bridge at San Felipe, while a work of no small
magnitude, will offer no serious obstacle; three spans of
two hundred feet each will be necessary. The bed of the
stream is of solid rock, affording the best of foundations for
the abutments and piers. Good building stone can be
obtained in the immediate vicinity.

While a mere reconnoissance does not afford sufficient
data for an elaborate and exact estimate of cost, an approxi
mation may be made from notes taken along the route that
will not vary much from the amount to be expended in the
actual construction of the road — an estimate which it is
thought will fully cover all expenditure is appended. It is
based upon such knowledge of the country as can be had
without the actual use of transit and level instruments. It

The Journey along the 35th Parallel 237

is true that the sinuosities of the Canadian River might, by
those disposed to find fault, be urged against the route but
when we consider the width of its valley, its gentle rise, the
abundant supply of wood and water, the very small cost of
construction, and the capabilities of the country for support
ing a large population, these constitute, it must be ac
knowledged, advantages that are not found to belong, in an
equal degree, to any other projected route across the
continent.

Beyond the Antelope Hills even this objection cannot
obtain, for the course of the Canadian is remarkably
straight from the io4th meridian to that point, and if
this portion of the line could be connected with the
frontier of either Missouri or Arkansas without too great
an increase of cost, the 35th parallel route would be
unrivalled in its claim to consideration.

The north fork of the Canadian would probably afford a
more direct location than the main stream, and the summit
between it and the latter could be crossed without the
adoption of objectionable grades. Whether the valley,
however, would prove as favorable in other respects is
questionable. Such a line would be worthy of a careful
examination and comparison with the other. Another route
from the southwestern portion of Missouri to the Antelope
Hills is worthy of consideration. The country west of the
Missouri frontier comprises a series of gently rolling
prairies, well wooded and watered, of excellent soil, and not
so broken as to offer any serious impediment to the building
of a good road with easy grade. No difficult streams
would require bridging, and the summits between the water
courses could be easily crossed. A railroad connecting the
town of Neosha with St. Louis is projected, and will, no
doubt, be in a short time constructed. This is a fact of no
little consequence in this connection, and unless the enter
prise of citizens of Arkansas arouses them to a sense of their
position, and efforts are made to connect the flourishing

238 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

little city of Fort Smith by rail with the east, she may for
feit by the neglect of her people the advantages nature has
bestowed upon her.

The respective merits, however, of these proposed lines
can only be decided by a critical and careful examination by
the civil engineer; the level and transit instruments solve
difficulties and establish facts in a few days that would defy
simple barometric and compass reconnoissances for years.
A twelvemonth of careful survey would furnish reliable and
accurate estimate for the entire route from the frontiers of
the States to California, and in that time an examination
could be made of all the branch lines, that the expediency
of reducing the distances and grades to the lowest limits
might suggest. I have already described to you the coun
try lying between the Del Norte and the Colorado
River, nevertheless a recapitulation may not be thought
unnecessary.

Leaving Albuquerque, the first fifty miles over a country
of sandy soil, not very well supplied with timber, but
possessing in parts a fair amount of grass; thence to Zuni,
grass, wood, and water are found in sufficient quantities.
The timber is pine, of the largest proportions existing in
noble forests. Intermediate in this distance, by an explora
tion to the northward, I made important discoveries of
mineral (copper ore) and a country of uncommon beauty.
This region I have described in my journal, which accom
panies this letter, as far as the village of Zuni, and at it, a
distance of one hundred and fifty miles to the westward of
Albuquerque. Corn forage may be obtained at short
intervals on the road.

From Zuni to the Little Colorado River the country is
rolling, and well supplied with wood, water, and grass, and
is of a good surface for the whole distance, excepting the
wide sandy beds of several creeks, which are at times
several feet deep, and at others dry. Once arrived on the
banks of the Little Colorado, there is before the traveller a

The Journey along the 35th Parallel 239

wide river bottom, and abundant grass and timber, to the
base of the San Francisco Mountain. At this point the
road ascends to its greatest elevation, through pine forests
and magnificent valleys, and by an ascent so gradual that
there is but little appearance of it to the eye. From the
San Francisco Mountain to Floyd's Peak the country is
very much of the same character as that between Zuni and
the Little Colorado River, being high and rolling, but not
hilly. It is nearly equally divided between open plains,
covered with nutritious grasses, and dense forests of pine,
pifion, and cedar. Between Floyd's Peak and the Colorado
River, timber becomes scarcer, although there is still a great
abundance until within forty miles of the river, when the
country assumes a barren and sterile appearance.

Among the important discoveries made during this
exploration was the existence of the finest quality and abun
dant quantity of timber in a mountain, which I called on my
first expedition ''Harry Edwards' Mountain, " and which is
not over forty-five or fifty miles from "Beale's Crossing" of
the Colorado River. I cannot conclude this letter without
urgently calling your attention to the imperative necessity
of building a bridge across the Rio del Norte, at or near
Albuquerque. This is a military, civil, and emigrant
necessity. In support of this assertion, I have the honor to
enclose you the replies of distinguished officers of the army
serving in New Mexico, and thoroughly acquainted with the
subject, to the committee appointed at a public meeting
held in Albuquerque for the pu^se of considering this
matter. I also desire to call your ^ention to the itinerary
which accompanies this letter. It &in itself an abbreviated
history or description of the country from Arkansas to
California, by which an emigrant lUay pursue the route of
the 35th parallel with a perfect \.iowledge from hour
to hour of the character of the country in advance of
him, its resources, climate, production, Indians, and
game.

240 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

Without intending to draw invidious comparisons be
tween the various routes from our western border to the
Pacific ocean in favor of that by the 35th parallel, I think
I can, with safety, say that none other offers the same
facilities for either wagon or railroad.

It is the shortest, the best timbered, the best grassed,
the best watered, and certainly, in point of grade, better
than any other line between the two oceans, with which I am
acquainted.

For the first of these assertions an inspection of the map
is quite sufficient proof; for the second, I rely upon the
report of Lieutenant Whipple and my own observation, and
especially my last exploration, which, by the discovery of
fine pine timber in Harry Edwards' Mountain, enable me to
state that the 35th parallel road carries abundance of cedar
and pine to within forty miles of the State line of Califor
nia, within which, on the same parallel, there is abundance
in the whole Sierra Nevada range of mountains. For the
third proposition, I rely upon the concurrent testimony of
all who have travelled the road and compared it with other
trans-continental routes, who agree with me that it is
habitable throughout. For the fourth assertion, I think
there can be no better proof than the fact that water is at
but one point thirty miles distant ; and for the last assertion,
I rely upon the profile of the country, which has been pre
pared from the instrumental observations of my two
explorations.

It is my firm belief i^Ht whatever influences may tend
to divert travel from t) fr» road at present, the future will
fully sustain the judgrr>, it of those who now advocate its
claims.

I have given my T^WS in this letter of the facilities
offered by the 35th parallel for a railroad as far as New
Mexico. Accompanying this is an estimate also of the cost
of that work. These may be considered by you of some
value, and I am willing to give them to the public, in the

§ 'o

a> ^

§ 2

C! fe

The Journey along the 35th Parallel 241

hope that they may in some manner aid this great necessity
of the age.

I have the honor to be your obedient servant,

E. F. BEALE,

Superintendent.
Hon. J. B. FLOYD,
Secretary of War,
Washington, D. C.

Estimate of cost of railroad, with double track, from Fort
Smith, Arkansas, to San Felipe, New Mexico.

FIRST DIVISION.

From Fort Smith to Antelope Hills, 377 miles ;
graduation, masonry, track, engineering
expenses, and equipment $ 9,311,900

SECOND DIVISION.

From Antelope Hills to summit between Cana
dian and Gallinas, 308 miles; graduation,
masonry, track, engineering expenses, and
equipment 8,192,800

THIRD DIVISION.

From summit to Rio Grande at San Felipe, 95
miles; graduation, masonry, track, engi
neering expenses and equipment 3,886,400

$21,391,100

The following extracts are taken from General
Beale's Journal of the expedition from Fort
Smith to California.

March 22, 1859. Taking Drs. Floyd and Spil-
ler, the Delaware, and Little Axe, I started to
explore the valley of Inscription Rock. Turn-

242 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

ing back on our road of yesterday nearly to the
head of the valley, I crossed to the opposite or
northern side; following down the north side of
the valley came first to a dry ravine which, how
ever, has evidently at times much water in it, as
the remains of a large Indian encampment proves.

Going on to the westward close under the moun
tain, and crossing a sandy piece of ground, for a
mile or more I found another of similar character,
and having old Indian signs about it; beyond this,
perhaps two miles, discovered a large spring in a
grove of small oak; this spring is about forty feet
in diameter, a perfect circumference; good solid
ground around even to the edge of the water, and
issuing from it a rill of clear sweet water ; the spring
is seven feet in depth, a thicket of cottonwood
grows just below it, and a long line of red willow,
of small growth, marks the course of the rivulet
which flows from it: Inscription Rock bears by
compass SW. by W. ; distant about eight miles;
between this point and the rock the grass is every
where abundant and the soil good, but stony in
parts; at the spring where we are at present
encamped, are several [oaks] of great size, one of
them over four feet in diameter, and an abundance
of small oaks.

Leaving our noon camp and crossing a low sandy
ridge, we came into a sheltered valley; here, fringed
with cottonwood, we found a sparkling fresh flow
ing brook; it was of a size which in the Eastern
States would be called a fine trout stream, and was

The Journey along the 35th Parallel 243

as lovely a spot as one would desire to see, flowing,
as it did, over the rocks, and making beautiful
little cascades of clear bright water; some enormous
pines grow in the bottom and much cedar, with
bark resembling white oak in every respect; the
distance from the spring to this stream is about two
miles NW. and its bearing from the Inscription
NE. ; remaining awhile at the stream, we pursued
our way along the base of the mountain and
crossing a dry bed of what is evidently at times a
large stream, we came at nightfall to another dry
bed, where we encamped, deferring until to-morrow
a search up it for water ; in the bed of this stream is
found limestone in abundance, of a gray color and
of finest quality; in this stone we found innumer
able fossils, some of which we took to camp with
us ; killed a catamount this evening.

March 23. This morning we followed up the
dry bed, and in a mile or two found abundant run
ning water. In many places the solid limestone
made canyons of twelve to twenty feet in height.
Returning at ten, we raised camp and pursued our
journey, still keeping the northern side of the
valley and the base of the mountain, which is
densely covered with pine of the largest size, and
the valley rapidly becoming green in grass. Leav
ing camp and pursuing the same course at the foot
of the mountains about northwest, we came in a
mile upon another fine stream larger than the first.
This was fringed like the other with cottonwood
and oak, and in a grove of giant pines, on a little

244 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

mound, we encamped for noon, Inscription Rock
bearing about S. by E. The bottom lands as well
as the hillsides are of the richest quality of soil.

Following down the stream after nooning we
saw on the opposite bank the ruins of an ancient
building, which we crossed to examine. We found
it larger and more perfect than those on the sum
mit of Inscription Rock. The wall remaining was
about ten feet in height, built of stone, all of the
same size and regularly laid. Opposite, in strange
contrast with its massive appearance, were some
deserted huts, built of mud and twigs, the houses
of the present inhabitants of the country. It was
ancient and modern Greece. Leaving the stream
and pursuing our course, and passing over a soil
of incomparable richness, we came at sundown
after travelling about four miles to another brisk
running stream, on which we encamped in large
pines at the foot of the mountain. ... I killed
another catamount this evening.

March 24. This morning, breakfast on wild
cat being over, we started to explore the creek to
its head. We found much rich copper ore on its
banks. About a mile above our camp several
rich and pretty pieces of malachite were found.
Following up the mountain we came to a grove of
quaking aspen. Above this the stream flowed
almost to its head, over a broad flat rock which
seemed as though it might be the very backbone of
the world.

We found the stream had three forks. Two we

The Journey along the 35th Parallel 245

explored to their heads. Both issued out from
under the rocks near the summit of the mountain.
The right hand fork is the largest and bursts out
of the mountainside a full-grown brook and goes
on its way making cascades over the rocks, rushing
and sparkling through the crevices in fine style.
In ascending these forks we found several spots
where cattail was growing luxuriantly, and which
gave unmistakable evidence of living water. The
view from the summit was of the grandest descrip
tion. We found the mountain covered to the
summit with lofty pines, and but little snow,
scarcely any upon it.

Leaving this camp and travelling about five
miles, still along the foot of the mountain and over
the richest description of soil, we arrived at the
largest stream we had yet seen. It would be
impossible to do justice to the view from our pres
ent camp. Guided by the roar of the water we
followed up the stream a hundred or two yards
above our camp and there found it issuing from
the mountain, roaring and boiling and struggling
among the rocks of the canyon. Looking up toward
the mountain, up the bed of the stream, nothing
could be wilder or more savage. The powerful
stream pent up in the narrow solid rocks seemed
in torture to get free, and was twisted and turned
from its arrow-like career at every inch by the
rocks which stubbornly opposed it. At times it
broke with tremendous bounds in cascades, and at
others formed deep whirls and pools of foam, al-

246 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

ways violent, restless and noisy. The steep sides of
the mountain even to the verge of the canyon, and
where there was room within it were covered with
pine, and on all sides huge rocks and broken trees,
with occasional patches of snow.

Turning from this scene of savage grandeur, just
below and stretching for miles was a quiet, smiling,
abundantly fertile valley, through the centre of
which the fierce stream above flowed as peacefully
as though its waters had never been vexed and
tortured by the rocky walls of a canyon. On the
opposite side, about five miles off, a high mesa of
red and white sandstone rose perpendicularly, its
summit and its base covered with cedar. . . . This
stream cuts directly across the valley we have been
traversing, and enters a canyon on the opposite
side ... its course is nearly north and south.
Here also we found, in a hill on the sides of which
we encamped and quite near to where the river
comes out of the canyon, rich copper ore. From
this point Inscription Rock bears about SE. by S.
and distant some eighteen miles.

The climate of this region is most unexception
able; the days warm, the air pure, the nights cool
without being too cold. . . .

March 25. To-day I return to camp, my duties
requiring my presence there. I shall cross to the
opposite side of the valley, and return by it to
Inscription Rock ; my exploration has been in every
way most satisfactory, disclosing as it has a coun
try rich in everything that makes the habitation of

The Journey along the 35th Parallel 247

man prosperous and happy; to New Mexico it is
of incalculable importance, and I trust to live to
see my labors of the past few days rendered useful
by the enterprise of our people, and some day to
find flourishing settlements and prosperous com
munities where our footsteps have trodden, in
what is now a wilderness known only to the
wretched Indians who now inhabit it. ...

March 26. We left El Moro, Inscription Rock,
early, and travelling over our old road, which we
found excellent, and well timbered and grassed,
the surface being nearly level and without a hard
pull, we nooned at the beautiful spring of the Ojo
Pescado ; we crossed the Zuni River before coming
to and after leaving this spring, a mile on either
side of it ; the river was full and running rapidly ; it
was about twenty-five feet in width and three in
depth; it is sometimes quite dry where we crossed
it though water is always to be found in it below.

After nooning we travelled on to within ten miles
of Zuni, where we encamped near the river, in good
grass and wood plenty. Going toward Zuni it is
always well to encamp at a distance of ten miles or
so from the town, as nearer, one does not find good
grass or wood, the Indian sheep and ponies requir
ing it nearly all, besides which, most of the valley
is cultivated in corn and wheat.

March 27. We entered Zuni to-day. We had
a wagon under charge of Mr. George Beall three
days in advance, trading with the Indians for corn,
and having obtained a sufficiency we moved on

248 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

about six or seven miles from town to a good camp
in the cedars and about half a mile from the river.
The day was very disagreeable with a high wind
blowing the dust in every direction, reminding us
of Washington City in a winter gale. Before
reaching the town about two miles we crossed the
Zuni River for the last time, and already beginning
to lose a large portion of its waters in the loose soil
of the valley. The old Governor met me in the
town with many compliments and congratulations,
and bearing in his arms a box containing my " arti
ficial horizon " which I had left with him in passing
last winter.

He told me the charge had been a great burden
on his mind and he was glad to be rid of the re
sponsibility ; rewarding him with several blankets
and pieces of calico, I sat down in his house to hear
the news. He had a long list of grievances. The
United States had persuaded him into an alliance
with the troops as auxiliaries in the late war with
the Navajoes; his people had fought with our
troops side by side like brothers; the United
States had found it convenient to make peace
with their enemies and had left their auxil
iaries the prey of their powerful and numerous
foes.

I told him I thought it served him right for
meddling in things which did not concern him, and
warned him for the future to avoid "all entangling
alliances. " I left town after giving some things to
the Indians and trading for some corn-meal, and

The Journey along the 35th Parallel 249

through the dust which was nearly blinding, we
rode to camp.

April 29. We arrived early this evening at the
springs at the Colorado Mountain, where we found
the water very plentiful. We played off a very
good joke on the Indians last evening, which
brought up our accounts quite square with them ;
about sundown after they had killed the mule and
stolen the one mentioned yesterday, I caused the
mules to be hitched up, and camp made ready in as
much apparent confusion as possible, knowing the
devils were watching every movement we made; it
was so managed that we got off at night, so that
they could not see the men we left behind con
cealed in the rocks.

After going a few miles as if we had been fright
ened off and were moving to seek more open
ground, we encamped and built our fire. All this
must have amused Mr. Indian vastly, and doubt
less he chuckled hugely how they had frightened
us. The men left behind lay in the rocks until day
light when, just as we expected, our red brothers
came down to see the mule they had killed, and
what damage besides they had done us, when our
party fell upon them and killed four, returning to
camp before we were ready to start in the morning,
bringing bows, arrows, and scalps as vouchers;
it was a good practical joke — "a merrie jest of ye
white man and ye Indian. "

April 30. Went to the summit of the mountain
and to the base on the ether side to look at the road.

250 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

We saw the river very plainly but could see nothing
of the troops, and so shall make our preparations
to go down and give the Mohaves a turn in
the morning, for which the men are busy pre
paring their arms. ... I shall take with me
thirty-five men and three days' provisions on
three camels. The men will go on foot, so
that we shall not be encumbered with mules
to guard while we are fighting; as for the
camels, they will pack our provisions and require
no guarding, as they will feed well tied up to
a bush.

May i. Left camp early with thirty-five men
all on foot, and in fighting trim with nothing to
carry but their rifles, knives, and revolvers, the
camels packed with provisions following close
behind us. We marched the twenty-five miles in
six hours. On our arrival at the river we saw
Indians, and the men as soon as they had drunk
started out to get a shot. Whilst they were hunt
ing them through the thick undergrowth which
fills the bottom, and about three hours after we
arrived, we were surprised at seeing three or four
white men coming up the trail. These informed us
that the troops were encamped on a bend of the
river a few miles below, and that Colonel Hoffman
had made a treaty with the Indians; so that we
immediately called in our men much to their dis
appointment and intense disgust. Here I heard
that our caches of provisions had been raised by
the soldiers so that I would be obliged to go into

The Journey along the 35th Parallel 251

the settlements for more. Major Armistead is at
present in command of the troops.

The construction and maintenance of national
wagon roads across the plains was laid aside upon
the outbreak of the Civil War and not resumed
when peace came, as, in the meantime, the railway
era had begun. The situation of affairs when Gen
eral Beale was called to the post of surveyor-general,
not to survey nor to examine land titles but to help
keep the Pacific Coast territory in the Union, is well
described by a correspondent of the Philadelphia
Press, who under the signature of " Wanderer*'
writes to his paper in the following terms under
date of October 15, 1859, from Gum Spring,
Choctaw Nation.

. . . Having yesterday made more than the usual day's
travel, and the ponies evincing distress, we have, early this
afternoon, made camp and a huge fire under a spreading
oak of lordly dimensions. We are east of the Winchester
Mountains, and not more than two days' journey from
Arkansas. I have the cacoethes scribendi upon me, and as
we have had our coffee and several pipes, and the usual chat
about our good old city of Philadelphia, I sprawl myself
upon the machilla of my saddle to wear out the sun, now
nearly two hours high, with writing something of the routes
to the Pacific.

Ever since the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo gave us our
California possessions, the same motive that actuates
England to draw her Indian colonies to her by lessening the
distance and shortening the length of travel between them
and the mother country, and that also impels France to
desire a ship canal across the Isthmus of Suez has induced

252 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

speculations and explorations for a railway route across
this continent. There has been a myriad of theories de
duced from books and nicely sketched; daring men have
explored in every quarter; the Government press has
poured out ponderous tome after tome filled with itineraries ;
appropriations have been made by Congress for the con
struction of wagon roads in order to facilitate the emigration
of the hardy pioneers, who with their families plunge into
the wildernesses of the Far West to raise up new settle
ments — these things have gone on steadily until the public
mind has become fully awakened to the importance in a
military as well as commercial point of view, of a railway
between the Atlantic and the Pacific. The large majority
of the people of the United States are undoubtedly in favor
of some route, but the particular route to be selected is the
question at issue.

A Pacific railroad as a Government project can only be
sustained upon the ground of its necessity as a national work.
Not to lose the force of an argument so vital, the route
ought to be neither an extreme northern nor an extreme
southern one, unless there are insuperable obstacles to a
central route by which of course all sections of the country
would be equally benefited. I don't mean that a pair of
dividers should fix the centre and a route be marked and
followed accordingly; but that the best practical route near
the centre of the Confederacy should be selected; the one
that gives the easiest crossing of the Rocky Mountains, and
furnishes wood, water, and grass, at all seasons of the year.
This route, beyond all cavil, is that laid down and travelled
by Lieut. Beale. Of the wagon roads started some have
been abandoned and others drag their slow length along.
Beale rapidly marked his upon the route of the thirty-fifth
parallel, crossed it and recrossed it with large parties and
small parties, with camels and without them, with heavy
teams and the last time, I -am told, with a light buggy.

A paper which I found up the country, I think it was The

The Journey along the 35th Parallel 253

St. Louis Republican, contained the information that Mr.
Beale had arrived home, that he had taken his party home
by a more northern route in order to compare it as he had
all the other routes with his own; that his examinations had
been rigid and impartial and that the conclusion was
irresistibly in favor of the route from Fort Smith over the
thirty-fifth parallel through Albuquerque in New Mexico to
California. It is the most direct route, not dipping as the
route now followed by the overland mail does hundreds of
miles south into Texas.

I am confident from what I have seen of it that it is as
good a natural road as can be found. . . . Besides, from
Albuquerque to California the road has been improved; it
has been deeply marked by the heavy teams, trees have
been cut down out of the way where it could be shortened,
and bridges have been constructed over the streams. Then
come the plains and you strike Little River. The Canadian
is fordable, or a ferry is to be had at all times. The other
streams between Fort Smith and Little River are crossed
with substantial iron bridges sent out from Philadelphia.
Mr. Edwards has his men now engaged upon the double
span bridge over the Poteau, which will be completed ere
long.

The Choctaws have commenced to improve the road over
the Winchester Mountain, and a project is afoot to turnpike
the road from the bridge through the fearful boggy bottom
of the Poteau and Arkansas to the village of Skullyville.
Thus will there be a good wagon road or road for any kind
of travel from the East to California. Already railroads
are creeping towards Fort Smith by the way of Little Rock
from Memphis and from St. Louis. The forerunner of
railway travel, the telegraph, will station itself soon, as
soon, I learn, as the poles can be put up, at Fort Smith,
which of itself will lessen the time of news communication
from California three or four days. All these things are
signs.

254 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

I have seen Santa Fe traders taking Beale's route as far
as it would take them to their destinations. You never
saw a Santa Fe party? Riding in advance is a young man
armed with his six shooter and knife, and a fowling piece.
His dress is for use rather than show, yet show is not for
gotten as the red sash round his waist will testify, as well as
the rich blue ribbon that binds his hat, and flutters its ends
in the wind. His saddle has the high can tie and pommel,
the broad wooden stirrups, the leg-flaps and the wide
leathern manchilla that covers the frame in the day and
serves at night as part of his bed to prevent the sharp
stones and sticks and damp getting at him. All these like
the old fashioned Spanish or Moorish saddles, the awful
spurs and check bit weighing something less than a ton,
must not be forgotten.

Anon and we see two hard-faced grave-looking men
mounted upon serious-looking mules, that have their tails
shaved off, except a slight bunch of hair at the end, giving
them a ludicrous appearance. They are in deep chat but
salute us with much dignity as we pass them. In the woods
and prairie are others of the party hunting fresh meat for
the evening meal. Then there are the heavily-laden
wagons drawn by their half-dozen ox-teams each, the loose
cattle, the teamsters, and the long ox-whip cracking on
every side its eternal noise. We saw an Indian just behind
the party tricked in his best. He was on his way to pay a
visit. . . .

If Edward F. Beale had been a Massachusetts man, his
services to his country would have teemed the papers with
his exploits, his daring and his usefulness. The more
credit to Massachusetts! A young lieutenant in the navy
during the war with Mexico, not his least daring act was to
carry despatches through Mexico itself. In California, he
gathered the wild Indians that threatened the lives and
property of the settlers and miners upon reserves and there
taught them agriculture and to earn their own subsistence.

The Journey along the 35th Parallel 255

His merit gained for him from California high praise,
together with a commission as Brigadier- General. Hon.
Jefferson Davis, when a Senator from Mississippi, before
entering Gen. Pierce's cabinet was impressed with the belief
that camels if introduced into this country would be of vast
use in Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico, and he made
efforts to have the matter tested. When the camels were
brought over, under his administration of the War Depart
ment, he selected Mr. Beale to take the camels and decide
the point he had so much at heart. We all know how well
Mr. Beale discharged this duty and in what an unprece-
dentedly short space of time the first mail over Mr.
Beale's route across the continent was brought by the
camels.

In concluding his letter " Wanderer " laments, a
sentiment that was surely not shared by General
Beale, that after the wagon road over the 35th
parallel had been completed he should be allowed
to retire quietly into the circle of his friends in
Chester, Delaware County, Pa., without receiving
ovations.

The same people [he adds reproachfully] that hung
with raptures over the foolish and profitless daring of
Blondin in walking a rope stretched over the Niagara Falls
are neglectful of the courage and the hardihood and suffer
ing of the man who traverses this Continent amid every
conceivable danger from disease, the elements, and the yet
more ruthless hand of hostile savages to prepare the way
for new cities and States and greater power and influence
for our Republic.

CHAPTER XIV
GENERAL BEALE AS SURVEYOR-GENERAL

Lincoln Appoints Beale Surveyor-General of California and
Nevada — Plans of the Secessionists — Beale Persuades
Lincoln not to Enforce the Draft in California —
Weathering the Crisis — Scale's Letter to the President
Volunteering for Service in the Field — His Views on
the Cause and Probable Consequences of Civil War
Published by the Philadelphia Press— "The Fate of
the Commons of the World Depends upon the Issue
of the Struggle"— Beale's Letter to Secretary Chase
Favoring Acquisition of Lower California by United
States — Chase's Reply — Letters from the Mexican
General Vega — Beale's Sympathies with the Liberal
though Fugitive Government across the Border —
Grant and Beale Contrive to Send Muskets to Juarez
—President Diaz's Recognition in After Years of
Beale's Assistance in This the Hour of Need.

ONE of the first appointments made by
Lincoln after his inauguration was that of
Beale to the post of surveyor-general of
California and Nevada. In ordinary times the
post of surveyor-general with the control of the
public lands and the duty of locating the old
Spanish grants and translating them into English

256

General Beale as Surveyor-General 257

measures was important enough, but Beale soon
found that the duties to which he was. urged to
address himself with particular zeal were almost
exclusively extra-official.

The overshadowing issue of the moment, west as
well as east of the Sierra Nevada, was that of union
or secession, and the political outlook in California
was anything but reassuring to Northern sympa
thizers. It must be admitted that the southern
settlers in California, though doubtless outnum
bered by the Unionists, were exceedingly active
and well organized, and when Sumter was fired on
it was generally believed that the secession organi
zation aided by the lukewarmness of a large alien
population would succeed in taking California out
of the Union in a few weeks.

Such was the situation when Lincoln bestowed
upon Beale his confidence and gave him full charge.
The papers dealing with the political affairs of this
important and interesting period were nearly all
destroyed in the recent great fire in San Francisco
when the archives of the Pioneers' Library went
up in flames. Fortunately, however, the memory
of General Beale 's successful activity still survives
in the recollections of those who knew distracted
California in war time.

It was only a few days after General Beale had
been appointed, and when assisted by the other
U. S. officials he was engaged in developing and
organizing the Unionist sentiment of the State,
that the draft proclamation from Washington
17

258 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

arrived. Suddenly aroused like a leviathan from
its slumbers, the Government was going to work
on a large scale but somewhat automatically, the
same in Maine as in Nevada, in California as in
Connecticut, without the slightest regard for local
conditions and local prejudices.

Beale recognized that the publication of the
draft and its attempted enforcement would not
bring many men into the Union armies, and on the
other hand might tip the balance, until then with
such difficulty preserved, and send California into
the secession ranks. Upon his own responsibility
General Beale suppressed the proclamation, and in
a forcible despatch to Washington laid before
Lincoln the reasons which had induced him to
take this extraordinary step. Lincoln approved
and applauded Beale's course. He wrote upon the
surveyor-general's letter, " Draft suspended in
California until General Beale shall indicate that
the times are more auspicious."

In a few weeks the Unionists, now thoroughly
aroused and effectively organized, made their
presence felt in the State. Californians though
not drafted were volunteering for the Union
army in larger proportion to the population than
was the case in some of the Eastern States.
Beale feeling now that the immediate crisis was
over, thought that he might with propriety ad
dress the President, acquainting him with his
desire for active service in the field. He did it
in the following terms :

General Beale as Surveyor-General 259

SAN FRANCISCO, CAL.,

July 24, 1861.

His EXCELLENCY PRESIDENT LINCOLN :

A short time ago you did me the honor to appoint me to a
most important and responsible position for which I beg
you to accept my grateful acknowledgment. Under any
other condition of public affairs, you have left me nothing
to desire; but to the flag under which I have received
honorable wounds, under which my father and my grand
father fought for the honor and the glory of the country, I
think I owe something more, in this hour of trial, than a
mere performance of duty in a position of ease and quiet.
To the government I owe early education and support, for
I entered its service almost a child and feel toward it a
filial affection and gratitude. All that I have, even my
life I owe to it, and it is a debt I am willing gratefully and
cheerfully to discharge.

From fourteen to twenty-five my life was passed at sea,
and for the past fifteen years principally on the great plains
and in the Rocky Mountains. I served during the Mexican
War, and at its close I resigned and have been engaged in
many expeditions of some importance since. I know that
I am resolute, patient, and active and if I had not courage,
my love of country would supply the want of it in such a
time as this. Devoted to my country, and owing it every
thing I have in the world, I write to offer my services to you
in any capacity you may wish to use them until the present
rebellion is crushed out of the land. You cannot add to the
distinction you have already conferred upon me by any
appointment, for there is none within your gift more dis
tinguished or more honorable; nor do I desire any change
except that I may more efficiently serve the United
States. In a word I wish simply to offer my life for the
flag.

With great respect, your obedient servant,

E. F. BEALE.

260 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

The Press of Philadelphia — Oct. 9, 1861 — repro
duces in part a letter which General Beale wrote
some weeks later to a personal friend in Wash
ington and which apparently arrived by the same
mail that brought his proffer of service to President
Lincoln. In this communication General Beale
says:

Nothing could be more delightful or agreeable to me than
the office I hold, at least in California ! Nevertheless I feel
that if my services are required this is no time to withhold
them from my country. I have been looking forward with
the keenest delight to two or three years of rest after so
many long ones of hardship, but I will cheerfully put off my
time of rest still longer, or find eternal rest in an honorable
grave under the old flag. I conscientiously believe that the
fate of the commons of the world depends upon the issue of
the struggle and I am willing if need be to devote my life
to the great cause of the people.

Commenting editorially the Press said the letter
would be read with pleasure alike for its noble
spirit and cheering example.

Lincoln, however, and as the event proved wisely,
for the secession movement in the State was not
dead or even sleeping, decided to keep Beale in a
position where it was recognized he had rendered
such invaluable services. The President's decision
was a great blow to the General, but he took it like
a man and a patriot. From California at least
there was no " fire from the rear " directed upon the
war administration.

Early in 1863, General Beale began to take an

General Beale as Surveyor-General 261

interest in the Mexican revolution which provoked
or rather invited the French intervention and its
consequences in which the United States became
so closely involved. Beale had always regretted
that the war of 1847 between Mexico and the
United States had not ended in the acquisition
of the Peninsula of Lower California. He had
always regarded its possession as necessary to the
safety and to the prosperity of Upper California,
and indeed of the whole Southwest. The General
frequently stated, without, however, revealing his
authority, that it had been the purpose of President
Polk to demand for strategic reasons Lower Cali
fornia, then more even than now a vacant wilder
ness. The matter, however, seemed of so little
importance to the American peace commissioners
that the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed
and sealed before their important oversight was
discovered.

Thinking the moment opportune General Beale
brought up the question again, and the following
interesting correspondence took place between him
and the Secretary of the Treasury, Salmon P. Chase.

SAN FRANCISCO,

Aug. 5th, 1863.
SIR:

I have written several letters to Thomas Brown, Esq.,
U. S. Agent for the Pacific Coast, on the importance of the
acquisition of the Peninsula of Lower California by the
United States.

I am quite sure I have not exaggerated the great value
to our country of that long mountain ridge which abounds

262 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

in good harbors on both the Gulf coast and the Pacific
and is filled with mineral wealth of every description. I
beg you will give this subject a few hours' consideration.
Valuable and abundantly occupied as your time is I assure
you this matter is worthy of your attention. I desire most
particularly to call your attention to the fact that we have
it in our power at this time by purchase of Lower California
and a very small portion of the opposite coast, to possess the
mouth of the Colorado destined to be as important to us on
the Pacific as is the Mississippi to the Eastern States. If
the line of the Gadsden purchase was straightened, instead
of being deflected at 1 1 1 degrees of longitude, and touched
the Gulf at the Coast, and we should possess ourselves of
Lower California, we should then control entirely the
navigation of the Colorado, which the future will prove of
the utmost importance to the welfare of the Pacific Coast
States.

The mountains which border the Colorado abound in
vast resources and in mineral wealth which has but just
commenced to excite and lead our people to their explora
tion and development while its rich bottom land invites
our farmers with most flattering prospects to their cultiva
tion. Cotton, sugar and tobacco will there find their
largest crops and furnish their greatest returns to commerce.
Lower California as I have before written possesses mines
of incalculable extent and inestimable value while its
harbors are numerous and secure. This cannot have
escaped the French sagacity, and if it is not purchased
now or taken possession of by us it may very soon be
too late to do so at all. It seems to me this might be
easily accomplished by a purchase from the Government
party lately expelled from the City of Mexico by the
French. If this was done without noise and the ports of
La Paz and Guaymas promptly occupied, we might easily
with five thousand men drawn from the Army of New
Mexico, where they are actually entirely useless, and

General Beale as Surveyor-General 263

placed under a proper commander, defy foreign inter
position to prevent our holding the new territory
forever.

You may be sure that those who live after us on this
coast will not hold the memory of that administration in
high respect which will have allowed a foreign power to
collect toll at the mouth of the Mississippi, of the Pacific,
after having lost the opportunity of its acquisition for our
own people.

Offering my services to you in any manner in which I
can serve the country,

I have the honor to be, Sir,

Your Obt. Servt.,

E. F. BEALE.
Honorable S. P. CHASE,
Secretary of the Treasury,
Washington, D. C.

Mr. Chase's reply reads:

TREASURY DEPARTMENT,

Sept. 5th, 1863.
MY DEAR SIR:

Yours of the 5th of August has just reached me. I
appreciate as you do the importance of the acquisition you
suggest. I fear that the Juarez Government is now too
entirely broken to warrant negotiations with it but I will
confer with the President and Secretary of State on that
subject.

What a pity it is that we neglected our opportunities
when the states of Central America were so ready to
identify their fortunes with those of the American Union!
What a pity it is also, that when General Scott took Mexico
he did not remain there and establish a protectorate ! The
timid counsels of the Whig leaders and the fears of the
slave-holding oligarchy suppressed a policy which would

264 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

have prevented all our present troubles so far as French
domination in Mexico is concerned.

Yours Very Truly,

S. P. CHASE.
To

E. F. BEALE, Esq.

Later General Beale again wrote the Secretary
of the Treasury on the subject he had so near
at heart, and in the following terms:

SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 5, 1863.
SIR:

While I thank you very much for your reply to my letter
in relation to possessing ourselves of the mouth of the
Colorado and the Peninsula of Lower California I must
beg again to intrude upon your time on the same
subject.

Every day more and more convinces me of the importance
of our owning the country of which I have spoken. Every
day new and rich discoveries in the precious metals are
drawing attention to that region and rendering its purchase
more difficult. If Mexico could always keep it, it would
be greatly to our disadvantage, but in the hands or under
the influence and control of any other Power, it would be
ruinous to our commercial prospects on that part of the
Coast.

We must have the whole Peninsula with its magnificent
harbors and bays even if we have to fight France for it. I
beg you to remember that this river reaches with its
tributaries spread out like a fan for a thousand miles into
the very bowels of our continent and terminates in that
long and narrow placid sea which washes the shores of
Sonora on one side, and the Peninsula of Lower California
on the other, for more than seven hundred and fifty
miles.

General Beale as Surveyor-General 265

The Gulf of California is the mouth of the Colorado.

It is possible to buy up for insignificant sums immense
grants of land in both Sonora and Lower California. These
grants are what are called floating grants, that is, they are
unlocated. It occurred to me to buy up these grants and
locate them so as to cover the mouth of the Colorado and
that this title might be somehow transferred to the U. S. Gov
ernment. It is true an individual would not, in making the
purchase, buy with it the sovereignty, but the fact that the
land was all owned by citizens of the United States might
predispose Mexico to part with its sovereignty for a small
consideration of some commercial character which we
could make. It may be that this is not possible, but in
conference with Mr. Brown and Col. James, we thought it
probable that your experience might find in this scheme
something by which this most desirable result could be
accomplished.

I trust you will not think I underrate the hazards of a war
with France. I believe I fully appreciate all its cost added
to our present struggle but I know that in a few months
more it will be almost impossible to possess ourselves of this
country, and I believe it worth all a war will cost us. More
over since your letter I find Juarez is again at the head of a
respectable army and as we still recognize his Government
why could not a secret treaty of purchase be made with him
and kept secret for the present until we have more time to
devote to outside matters?

I beg you to excuse my writing to you again on this sub
ject. I do it with infinite regret, for I can imagine how
every moment of your time is fully occupied. Still, I am
somewhat encouraged to intrude upon you again, as I
interpret that portion of your late speech at Cincinnati
(Oct. 12) into a determination not to allow France to have
things entirely her own way in Mexico and your very kind
letter to me satisfies me that the interests of the Pacific
Coast are not forgotten or neglected by you in the midst of

266 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

all the herculean labors you are daily performing in the
service of your country.

I have the honor to be your Obt. Servt., etc.,

E. F. BEALE.
Hon. S. P. CHASE,

Secretary of the Treasury.

If the press of California is to-day well informed
the Congressional delegation of that State would
seem to be under instructions from their constit
uents to bring to the attention of Congress in the
winter of 1912 the policy of reshaping the Mexican
frontier line which General Beale urged so strongly
upon the Secretary of the Treasury in 1863.

The plans, the hopes and the fears of the Mexican
revolutionists of the day are very clearly revealed
in the following letters addressed to Beale by Gen.
Placido Vega who was operating in Sinaloa.
Spanish originals of these letters are preserved
among the Beale papers.

GENERALS-IN-CHIEF OF THE BRIGADE OF SINALOA

EXCELLENCY:

In the many conferences which we have had with
reference to the French Invasion and the firm resolve of the
Constitutional Government to fight to the last extremity to
defend the nationality and independence of our country, it
has given me very great pleasure to see the interest and
the sympathy with which you have followed the heroic
efforts of my Fatherland in the defence of the most sacred
of causes.

Of course nothing less was to be expected from a worthy
general of the Republic, nourished and fortified in the
doctrines of Liberty and in the rights of man, or from one

General Beale as Surveyor-General 267

who also understands how dangerous it would be for the
political principles in the worship of which we are core
ligionists, to permit the development on the American
Continent of the monarchical principle that the party of
European Reaction pretends and seeks to promulgate.

Holding as I do these views the generous offers which you
have been kind enough to make, of your services for the
purpose of expediting the export of arms and munitions
which have been gathered in this city compel the deepest
gratitude of my countrymen, and of the Constitutional
Government and I for my part am pleased to be called upon
to voice this sentiment in which I participate in the highest
degree.

I accept then the good disposition you have shown in
favor of my country's cause and leave entirely to your
loyalty and good faith all the arrangements for the departure
of the munitions and arms from this state that may seem
to you most convenient, in the understanding however that
I will personally embark on the ship with them.

The munitions referred to are now deposited in the ware
houses of the government, and also in those of private
individuals. In the same way they should be sent out to
the Colorado consigned to the person you may see fit to
designate.

At the first opportunity I shall place in your hands the
receipts and all the papers relative to the consignment so
that you may arrange the freight and indeed all other
questions which their export may entail. I also beg to
inform you for your guidance that I will bring on board
with me very excellent pilots of the coasts in question whom
I have recruited in advance for the greater security of our
landing.

The well deserved influence and consideration which you
enjoy in the official and all respectable circles in this city
and in the other states of the Union procure for you facilities
to render important services to my country such as no one

268 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

else could ; for this reason and because I am convinced that
your party has sympathy for our cause and the good will
to aid us to sustain it, I do not impress upon you the fact
that the actual circumstances of the Constitutional Govern
ment of Mexico demands the greatest economy in the pur
chase of arms although they are so urgently needed. And
it is on the score of this very urgency that I suggest to you
to select a steamer so that the cargo may the sooner arrive.
Even the very moments are indeed precious.

The preceding suggestions should not be construed as
instructions for the performance of the mission you have
been so kind as to accept. On the contrary I merely submit
them to your good judgment so that you may modify them as
you think best and in order that you may with your per
fect knowledge of men and of affairs adopt the means most
suitable for carrying out the work we have in hand. In
sending this note I have the honor to offer to you the
consideration of my particular respect and esteem.
Independence — Liberty — Reform.

San Francisco, May I7th, 1864,

PLACIDO VEGA.
To Gen. E. F. BEALE.

And again on the following day General Vega
writes:

MEXICAN REPUBLIC,
DEPARTMENT OF SINALOA.

The Supreme Government of the Mexican Republic,
vested by the honorable Congress with extraordinary
powers has authorized me to dispose of the Salinas or salt
works or deposits on the Island of Carmen, which belong to
the territory of Lower California, so that funds may be
secured with which it would be possible to purchase the
machinery necessary to the manufacture of munitions of
war. The salt deposits have been profitably worked and

General Beale as Surveyor-General 269

there is no reason to fear they would not be profitable to any
one advancing money on the lease.

With the object of raising the desired funds I delegated
my authority in the matter to the Licenciado Jose* Aguirre
de la Barrera who acting under the instructions which I
communicated to him previously went to New York and to
other states and cities of the Union. He was by means of
very brilliant work successful. I shall not molest Your
Excellency with the details of his mission, in forming a
company to lease the salt works on the lines and in the
manner set forth in the contract which I submit herewith
as an enclosure.

All possible funds having been obtained in this manner
we have been able to purchase the machinery and the
munitions of war so ardently desired by my Government.
These articles should arrive in this port within a short time.
I would also inform you, as the enclosed papers show, that
we have purchased five thousand Austrian rifles through
the agency of Licenciado Pedro Barrera and these
rifles are also expected to arrive in this city in a few
days.

I have wished to keep you informed of these events
because I have felt it my duty to reciprocate the many
marks of sympathy and confidence you have been good
enough to show to my country and to my cause, also because
I trust you will continue to assist Senores Barrera and
Aguirre in carrying out the duties with which they have
been charged.

These gentlemen, who already have the honor of being
in communication with you will inform you of any details
you may wish to know in regard to our current affairs and
will call upon you should circumstances arise requiring
your influence and co-operation. Again I have the honor
to renew the assurances of my respectful thanks and
sincere esteem.

Independence — Liberty — Reform.

270 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

Beale was at this time in close touch with General
Grant. They had after Vicksburg resumed their
long interrupted correspondence. Grant was more
strongly in favor of a forward policy in Mexico
than Seward and would seem to have been, from
1864 on, in communication with the Liberals of
Mexico, Beale probably acting as his intermediary.
Grant's attitude at this time is made plain in Gen
eral Badeau's volume, Grant in Peace. Badeau says
that on the first day of the Grand Review in
Washington, at the conclusion of the war, Grant
hurried Sheridan off to Texas (see page 181):

"There must be a large amount of captured ordnance
in your command," said Grant, and Sheridan was directed
to send none of these articles to the North. " Rather place
them, " said Grant, "convenient to be permitted to go into
Mexico, if they can be gotten into the hands of the defenders
of the only Government we recognize in that country. "•

On the 3Oth of July, 1866, Grant again wrote Sheridan,
"Since the repeal of our neutrality laws I am in hopes of
being able to get authority to dispose of all our surplus
ammunition within your command to the Liberals of
Mexico. Seward is a powerful ally of Louis Napoleon, in
my opinion, but I am strongly in hope that his aid will do
the Empire no good. "

Evidently the Administration in Washington
was of two minds how to approach the problem
which the presence of Maximilian in Mexico pre
sented. While sending notes, more or less diplo
matic, to the Tuileries, with the tacit approval
of the Administration, something much more sub-

Kit Carson Statue

Frederick MacMonnies, Sculptor

Courtesy of Theodore H. Starr, Esq.

General Beale as Surveyor-General 271

stantial was sent across the frontier to the Liberals
of Mexico, and it is certain that all the surplus
ammunition and the condemned muskets so plenti
ful at the close of the war in Texas now mysteri
ously disappeared. For his part, General Beale
turned over to General Vega eight thousand mus
kets. He never was inclined to speak of the provi
dence of these muskets but seemed confident they
fell into the hands of Juarez and were used in the
battles around Queretaro in which the fate of the
Mexican Empire was tragically decided. This
view was confirmed twenty years later when Presi
dent Diaz, at a Union League Club dinner in New
York at which Beale was present and made the
address of welcome, hailed him as a friend of
Mexico in her hour of trial and as one who had
contributed mightily to the restoration of her
liberties.

CHAPTER XV
LIFE ON THE TEJON RANCHO

Beale Resigns as Surveyor- General and Retires to Tejon —
Purchases More Land from Absentee Landlords
— Description of the Bakersfield Country when Kern
County was a Wilderness — The Spring, the Fig Trees
and the Live Oaks — A Rodeo — Robber Bands — Near
est Justice One Hundred and Fifty Miles Away! —
Sale of Sheep in San Francisco — Mexicans who Panned
for Gold before the Forty-niners — Lincoln and Beale
Anecdotes — "Monarch of All He Surveys" — Charles
Nordhoff's Visit to Tejon — Description of Life There
— His Praise of What General Beale had Accom
plished — Kit Carson's Ride by Joaquin Miller — Beale
Falls Foul of the Poet— Sad Scenes on the Rancho.

WHEN the Civil War was over General
Beale sent in his resignation as surveyor-
general and retired to the Tejon Rancho.
Here he spent much, indeed most of his time until
well on to the end of his life when, deeply interested
as he always was in the political questions of the
day, his annual visits to Chester, Pennsylvania,
and to the National Capital were greatly prolonged.
The Tejon lands were purchased by General

Beale from Mexicans and Spaniards, who lived in

272

Life on the Tejon Rancho 273

Los Angeles, and who took very good care never to
go near the enormous land grants which they had
heired. General Beale was accustomed to relate
with considerable humor that he often had to con
vince these absentee landlords that they were
legally possessed of the land before inducing them
to sell. While in comparison with the recognized
value of Kern County lands to-day the prices
paid for these grants seem merely nominal, the
vendors were delighted, regarding naturally the
purchase money for something they did not well
know they owned as so much gold picked up by
the roadside.

There was a deserted fort on the place, the lands
were unoccupied, and no one passed that way ex
cept an occasional detachment of troops, changing
post, and now and again a roving band of Indians
on some predatory excursion. However, the place
appealed to General Beale as had no other spot he
had come upon in his many travels, and here
actually and not figuratively he pitched his tent
and began to prepare with what philosophy he
could summon for those long years which overtake
even the most nimble traveller.

The Tejon Rancho rose five hundred feet above
the present town of Bakersfield, and enjoyed, as
General Beale once wrote to an envious friend
summering on the Potomac flats, "a refreshing
atmosphere of perpetual spring which never
becomes close summer/'

Here the wanderer camped by his own spring

274 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

and planted his own fig trees. Not indeed that
shade was wanting. It was perhaps the wide-
spreading umbrageous live oaks that had first
chained his wandering fancy. One of these pri
meval forest trees, as the General satisfied himself,
not by rule of thumb but by the careful surveying
in which he delighted, covered with its pendent
branches a circumference of two hundred feet.

Some three hundred Indian herders, or rather
Indians who became herders, the same soft-spoken
but uneasy fellows who had apparently driven the
previous owners to seek refuge in the towns, lived
in an adobe village at the Monte near the entrance
to the Tejon Canyon.

Some idea of the life on the ranch in these early
days is given in the following letter of General
Beale to his children who were then in the East on
a visit.

RANCHO DE LA LIEBRE, May 3, 1865.
MY DEAR CHILDREN:

The past few days have been of such excessive labor
that I could not fulfil my intention, as promised in my
letter to your dear Mother, of writing the day after to you.
On the first of May I rode from noon until six o'clock,
forty-five miles. Then from that time until night worked
anxiously and hard on the rodeo ground with from five to
seven thousand head of cattle parting out five hundred for
market. Unfortunately in putting them in the corral for
the night they became alarmed and many escaped, which
gave me all the next day to collect again, so that it was
noon to-day before I could start Mr. Hudson on the road
with them, and after seeing him ten miles on the way, rode

Life on the Tejon Rancho 275

back and threw myself perfectly exhausted on the bed, and
went to sleep, and have just now awakened. A good bath
has greatly refreshed me.

The country I am sorry to say is in a very disturbed
condition, — robbers swarm over it in bands of ten to thirty,
and only to-day some fifty soldiers stopped here who were
looking for a large party of secessionists and thieves who
had stolen from my Rancho, at the Tejon, a large herd of
one of my neighbor's horses, who had just collected them to
gather his cattle with. But the soldiers will not catch them
or distinguish themselves in any way under their thick
headed General McDowell. The whole countryside here
has never before been in such a horrible condition, even this
lawless region where our nearest Justice of the Peace is
a hundred and fifty miles off ! So far they have not robbed
me, but my turn may come, and when it does I shall defend
my property as long as I have life. Our house is well pro
vided with arms and my people faithful and attached so
that I feel prepared and secure.

In my last letter to your dear Motfier I told of my sale
of sheep at San Francisco. I must now tell you of what
befell my shepherd on his return. He was encamped on
the shores of the great Tulare Lake, and for protection
against the wind had made his camp some considerable
distance within the tall and exuberant growth of flags and
reeds twice as high as one's head, which we call tule. This
tule is frequently fired by the Indians to scare out the
game, which seek its shelter from pursuit or natural inclina
tion for such localities, and at such times ill betide the
unfortunate who cannot escape the flames. In that long
journey of mine alone and on foot through them, I found
the calcined bones of some unhappy wretch who had been
overtaken in them and perished miserably in this manner.
Well, to go on with my story.

About midnight the shepherd lying wrapped in his
blankets and fast asleep, was roused by his dog jumping

276 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

vehemently on his breast, and barking violently and tearing
at the blanket which covered him. At first he thought it
was sunrise, it was so bright around him, and that the dog
was mad, but the instant the faithful brute (it hurts my
feelings and jars upon me to call such a noble animal brute,
while assassins and murderers escape that reproachful term
and are called men) found his master was thoroughly
awakened, he fled with a howl directly for the open land
beyond the tule, and at the same instant the shepherd
became aware that the devouring flame was upon him. He
had barely time, a little scorched, to escape with life and
lost only his camp.

The General kept open house at all times at
Tejon according to the Californian custom, whether
he was in residence or not. He would talk to all
comers concerning his companions, the Argonauts,
of Stockton, of Carson and of Fremont, Sloat
and Kearny. As to his own exploits he was
modest and non-committal. Late in the seventies
however one of the San Francisco papers awoke
to the fact that the pioneers were dying and that
it was high time that something, at least, of what
they knew should be committed to paper. So a
most expert questioner was sent to Antelope Valley
and we are indebted to him for information
which has escaped other chroniclers.

"When in 1857 I came from Little Salt Lake in Utah via
Amargosa," said the General, "and struck this valley at
Big Rock, I travelled West to Tejon Pass along the foothills
and was as you can imagine highly impressed with the
country. There was considerable grass and wild game but
not a single human being did we see. At Elizabeth Lake

Life on the Tejon Rancho 277

the ducks and geese were so thick that I killed three ducks
with one shot of my rifle. We did not have shot guns then. "
"My attention," continued the General, "was first
called to this ranch, the first land sold in the Antelope
Valley since the conquest, by a curious incident which was
not without influence upon the course of my life. I chanced
to enter the U. S. Court House in Monterey while a Mexican
witness was being examined. He was a man whom the
owners of the Liebre Rancho had living there. It was then
held though afterwards discarded, " interjected the General,
"that to make a Spanish grant good there had to be occu
pancy." "I was panning out gold on the San Felipe
mountain, " asserted the Mexican witness and the watching
lawyer thought he had caught him in a falsehood
but as a matter of fact the Mexican succeeded in prov
ing that he had panned gold south of the Liebre years
before the official discovery of gold. "I bought this
forty thousand acre tract and started to raise cattle.
In those days my nearest neighbors were at Visalia on
one side and at Los Angeles on the other." From
Liebre, the correspondent rode with the General back to
his usual residence at Tejon. Together they traversed
several other tracts of land which the General had pur
chased and which taken in the aggregate made an estate
half as large as the state of Rhode Island. They met
fifteen thousand cattle on the way and five hundred horses
and they spent the evening at Tejon. "It was crisp and
cool," writes the correspondent, "and we sat by the open
fire-place with a rousing fire which made the spacious room
in the great adobe house cheerful with its glow."

A witty though absolutely groundless story is
told about Lincoln and General Beale, and the
latter 's great landed possessions. Lincoln is re
ported as saying that he could not reappoint Beale

278 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

as surveyor- general because "he became monarch
of all he surveyed."

As a matter of fact General Beale, to the
amusement of many of his friends who have since
died poor, purchased for cash all the land in
California of which he died possessed, and the
purchases were made long before he became
surveyor- general. While Beale only paid five
cents an acre for much of this land, this was five
cents an acre more than most people at the time
thought it was worth, and it was well known that
for years no white man could be paid to live on
the place during the General's frequent absences
for fear of marauding Indians and white outlaws.

General Beale enjoyed the "surveying story,"
as he called it, as well as any one else, but once
he said, "Some day the archives of our country
will tell why Lincoln made me Survey or- General.
It had nothing to do with rod or chain, but
much to do with the metes and bounds of the
Union."

Charles Nordhoff, the celebrated writer and jour
nalist, visited the Pacific Coast in 1872 and dedi
cated the resulting book of travel, as had Bayard
Taylor twenty-three years before, to General Beale,
"in memory of the pleasant days at Tejon." To
this brilliant writer we are indebted for many
interesting sidelights upon the subject of this
narrative and upon the work which General Beale
accomplished both as- pathfinder and road-builder
to the Pacific and as a vigorous and efficient citizen

:§ S>

Life on the Tejon Rancho 279

of the great commonwealth he lived to see grow
up on the Pacific slope.

Our host [writes Nordhoff] was a sparkling combination
of scholar, gentleman and Indian fighter, the companion
and friend of Kit Carson in other days, the surveyor of
trans-continental railways and wagon roads and the owner
to-day of what seems to me the most magnificent estate in a
single hand in America.

[Again he writes] The Rancho from which I write, the
Tejon as it is called, the home of Gen. Beale, contains
nearly two hundred thousand acres and lies at the junction
of the Sierra Nevada with the Coast Range. These two
mountain ranges bend around toward each other here in a
vast sweep and form the bottom of the San Joaquin Valley.
They do not quite meet. The Tejon Pass, a narrow defile,
separates them and gives egress from the Valley into the
Los Angeles country.

You may ride for eighty miles on the county road upon
this great estate. It supports this year over one hundred
thousand sheep; and it has a peasantry of its own about
whom I shall tell you something presently. The Tejon is
devoted to sheep and here I saw the operation of shearing ;
eight or nine weeks are required to shear the whole flock, as
well as the various details of the management of a California
sheep farm.

What we call at home a flock is in California called a band
of sheep. These bands consist usually of from 1300 to
2000 sheep and each band is in the charge of a shepherd.

"This country is quiet now," said the General one evening
in a reminiscent mood, "but when I first came into it it
contained some rough people. The head of the famous
robber Joaquin Murieta and. the hand of his lieutenant,
'Three-fingered' Jack, were brought into my camp but a
few hours after those two scoundrels were shot. Jack
Powers and his gang used to herd their bands of stolen

280 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

horses on my ranch as they drove them through the coun
try; and Jack once kindly came to tell me that he would
kill the first man of his gang that took anything from me.
Mason and Henry, the worst of all the road agents in this
state, used to go through Kern County waylaying and rob
bing ; and in those days a man had to be careful not only of
his money but of his life."

Of course the sheep are scattered over many miles of ter
ritory, but each band has a limited range, defined somewhat
by the vicinity of water, and it is customary in California
to drive them every night into a corral or inclosure usually
fenced with brush and with a narrow entrance. This corral
is near water and the sheep drink at morning and evening.
The shepherd sleeps near by, in a hut, or, in the mountainous
part of the Tejon Rancho, in a tepestra. The corral is to keep
the sheep together, and in a measure protect them against
the attacks of wild beasts, which, curiously enough are too
cowardly to venture after dark inside of even a low fence.
The tepestra is to protect the shepherd himself against the
attacks of grizzly bears which are still abundant in the
mountains, especially in the Coast Range.

The tepestra is a platform about 12 feet high, built upon
stout poles solidly set into the ground. On this platform
the shepherd sleeps, in the mountains, at the entrance to
the corral; the grizzly bear cannot climb a pole, though he
can get up a tree large enough to give his claws a hold. It
is, I believe, not infrequent for a grizzly to stand up at the
side of a tepestra at night and try to rouse the shepherd.
But all the men are armed with guns which they carry day
and night.

The grizzly does not usually attack sheep. The Califor
nia lion, a very strong but cowardly beast, the wildcat, the
fox and the coyote, are the sheep's enemies. The last
named is easily poisoned with meal which has strychnine
powdered over it. The others are hunted when they
become troublesome, and as the lion upon the slightest

Life on the Tejon Rancho 281

alarm will take to a tree, and will run even from a small dog,
it is not accounted a very troublesome beast.

Indians, Spaniards, Chinese, and some Scotchmen, serve
as shepherds in California. The last are thought the best,
and the Chinese make very faithful shepherds, if they are
properly and carefully trained. They are apt to herd the
sheep too closely together at first. Dogs I have found but
little used in the sheep ranches I have seen. They are not
often thoroughly trained, and where they are neglected be
come a nuisance. Of course the shepherds have to be sup
plied at stated intervals with food. They usually receive
a week's rations which they cook for themselves.

At the Tejon' there are two supply stations, and every
morning donkeys and mules were sent out with food to
some distant shepherds. The ration-masters count the
sheep as they deliver the rations, and thus all the sheep are
counted once a week and if any sheep are missing they
must be accounted for. The shepherd is allowed to kill a
sheep once in so many days but he must keep the pelt which
is valuable. Above the ration-masters are the major-
domos. Each of these has charge of a certain number of
bands; on a smaller estate there is usually but one major-
domo. It is his duty to see that the shepherds are compe
tent ; that new pasturage is ready when a band has need for
it ; to see that the corrals are in good order ; to provide extra
hands at lambing time; to examine the sheep, to keep out
scab which is almost the only disease sheep are subject to
in this State; and to give out the rations for distribution.

On such an estate as the Tejon there is finally a general
superintendent and a bookkeeper and a storekeeper, for
here in the wilderness a supply of goods of various kinds
must be kept up for the use of the people. A blacksmith,
teamsters, plowmen, gardeners and house servants make up
the complement of the Tejon's company. The gardeners
and servants are Chinese as they usually are in this State,
and very good men they are — civil, obliging, and competent.

282 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

Besides these numbers fed from the home place there
are on this estate about 300 Indians, who have been allowed
to fence in small tracts of land, on which they raise barley
and other provisions, and in some cases plant fruit trees and
vines. They form the peasantry of whom I spoke above,
and are a happy, tolerably thrifty, and very comfortable
people. Their surplus produce is purchased by the super
intendent ; when their labor is used they are paid ; and they
all have horses which pasture on the general fields. They
have learned how to plow, shear sheep, and perform some
other useful labor.

Now these Indians came to the Tejon naked, except a
breech clout, feeding miserably on grasshoppers, worms
and acorns, ignorant, savage nomads. They were first
brought here when a part of this rancho was used by the
Government as an Indian Reservation. Gen. Beale, the
present owner of the Tejon, was then Superintendent of
Indian Affairs in this State, and he has seen these people
emerge from a condition of absolute barbarism and wretched
ness into a degree of comfort and prosperity greater than
that enjoyed by the majority of Irish peasants; they have
abandoned their nomadic habits, have built neat and com
fortable houses and fenced in ground which they cultivate.
Their women dress neatly and understand how to cook food.
The men earn money as sheep shearers. In some places
vineyards and fruit trees have been brought by them to a
bearing condition. In short these human beings were sav
ages, and are — well, they are as civilized as a good many
who come in emigrant ships from Europe to New York.

And all this has been accomplished under the eye and by
the careful and kindly management of the owner of the
Tejon Rancho. It seemed a great thing for any man to
achieve, and certainly these people compared in every way
favorably with a similar class whom I saw on the Tule
River Indian Reservation, living at the expense of the
Government, idle, gambling, lounging, evil-eyed and good

Life on the Tejon Rancho 283

for nothing. If the Tule River Reservation be abandoned,
the Government would save a handsome sum of money, and
the farmers would find a useful laboring force, where now
there are three or four hundred idle vagabonds, who when
they do go out to work, as some of them do, still receive
rations and clothing from the Government, and use their
own earnings for gambling and debauchery.

Gen. Beale's Indians have been raised to a far better
condition by his own private efforts, than the Reservation
Indians after years of expensive support from the Govern
ment. They shear all the Tejon sheep, and are thus, of
course, of value to the estate, and they are useful in many
other ways. Unluckily their language is Spanish. It
seemed to me a pity that when they had to learn a new
language, English had not been taught them.

The Tehatchapie Pass by which the Southern Pacific
railroad is to pass from Bakersfield into the Mohave Plain
is part of the Tejon Rancho, and when I came to drive into
that great plain, which is just now the home of thousands of
antelopes, I saw another fertile region, only awaiting the
railroad to be " prospected" by settlers. The Mohave
Plains have the name of being uninhabitable, but they
furnish abundant pasturage for antelopes and deer. They
lack running streams of water; but a German, who is the
first settler, has dug a well, and found water without going
far down, and I saw on the plain a fine field of barley almost
ready for harvesting, which showed the quality of the soil.
Stretching far into the great uninhabited plain is a singular
and picturesque mountain range, called the "Lost Moun
tains" which relieves the dreary desolation of a great level,
and promises, in its canyons, springs and streams, pleasant
homes for the future settler when the railroad opens this
great uninhabited tract.

Sometimes, though not often, as the Patron was
not a leisurely rancher and his days were filled

284 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

with toil, General Beale would lay down the
shears and take up the pen, which he generally
used as a cudgel upon one or another of the Sierra
poets who were beginning to write with, as he
thought, little or no regard for historical accuracy,
of the days of the pioneers. The most vigorous,
sincere, and heartfelt of these articles the General
wrote in defence of his old friend and comrade, Kit
Carson, whose life had inspired the then youthful
Joaquin Miller to a soaring flight with Pegasus.

The General's rejoinder to the Poet of the
Sierras reads:

KIT CARSON'S RIDE

Under this title there comes to us in Harper's Weekly, a
very long poem by one Joaquin Miller, of California. As
well as we can make it out, it seems to be an ugly cross of
Browning on Swinburne, and ought to be put in a moral
glass bottle, labelled "Poison," put on a high shelf in the
cupboard out of the reach of children, and forgotten.

It is rarely that the license allowed to poets has been more
thoroughly abused than in the ill-written lines which are
contained in the article that heads this notice. As a rule in
poetry when fact is departed from, it has always been to
exaggerate the virtues of a departed hero, but never to
slander him by rendering his picture ridiculous, much less
indecent, and as we recall the modest, earnest, refined
simplicity of Carson, and compare it with the frenzied and
licentious buffoon presented in the poem and picture
referred to, we cannot but regret that the scalp of Joaquin
had not been counted among the "coups " of that redoubted
knight of the prairies and mountains. How far the descend
ants of that upright and noble man might be justified in

Life on the Tejon Rancho 285

sueing the author for defamation of character in a city
court, we do not know, but are sure in the courts of that
generous and active Judge Lynch, away off in the Rockies,
where Kit's fame is yet cherished by many a hardy pioneer,
we might safely count on "Exemplary damages" — some
thing that would make his hair stand on end.

What an abuse of all common sense is such stuff — as
though a half-witted maudlin had read "How the news was
carried to Ghent, " and then slept off the fumes of a debauch
dreaming of " Chastelard. " And this is a representative
poet! That virtuous gentlewoman, Dame Quickly, says of
the famous Pistol:

"He a captain! Hang him rogue! He lives upon
mouldy stewed prunes and dried cakes. A captain ! These
villains will make the word ' captain ' as odious as the word
'occupy/ which was an excellent good word before it
was ill-sorted. Therefore Captains had need look to it."

Carson was a man cleanly of mind, body and speech, and
by no manner of means a border ruffian. He had no gift
of swearing. The only oath I ever heard him use, was that
of William the Conqueror, which I had once read him out of
a stray volume of Tristram Shandy. On this occasion, he
drew a long single-barrelled pistol (old Constable's make),
which Fremont had given me, and I to Kit, for we had no
"gold mounted Colt's true companions for years" in those
simple-minded days, and with slow, deadly speech, which
carried the sense of imminent mischief in it, said to one who
was in the act of a cowardly wrong upon a sick man, "Ser
geant, drop that knife, or ' by the Splendor of God, ' I '11
blow your heart out. "

He had not the advantages of education, but was wise as
the beaver, and of great dignity and simplicity of character,
and not given to the least vulgarity of thought or expression
nor would he tolerate it in those about him.

It was not enough that this poor "metre balladmonger, "
has talked of scenes of which he knows nothing, and has

286 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

misplaced and misnamed all mountain craft, and the
chronology and geography, weapons, and ranges of tribes
of Indians and the spirit of the times whereof he speaks.
It is not enough that he puts into the mouth of a calm,
dignified, sweet nature, such words of bosh as would make a
love-sick and idiotic ape quite ashamed of himself, but he
slanders a character as chivalrous as that of a knight of
romance, by making him escape on his lady love's horse
from a danger in which she is left to perish. . . .

General Beale, after a further severe scoring of
the poet and his lines, pays this tribute to his old
friend :

Dear old Kit. Not such as the poet paints you do I
recall the man I loved. Looking back through the misty
years, I see a man Tasso, if you had lived in an earlier age,
would have placed by the side of Godfrey and made the
companion of Tancred and Rinaldo. A man pure, very
pure, in his nature — not given to lustful ways, but calm,
serious and sweet of temper; a man of very moderate
stature, but broad fronted and elastic, yet by no means
robust of frame though gifted with immense endurance and
nerves of steel. A head quite remarkable for its full size
and very noble forehead, quiet, thoughtful blue eyes, and
yellow hair, a very strong jaw and a face dished like an
Arab horse, that made a man who had never seen him before
look at him again with the thought that he would "do to
tie to." Arms rather long, and thin strong flanks, with
slightly bandy legs.

This was the outward shape, which enclosed a spirit as
high and daring and as noble as ever tenanted the body of a
man. No man to take a woman's horse because it was
faster than his own and leave her to the prairie fire, while he
galloped off to twaddle in tumid bosh over her marvellous
eyes. What an abuse of common sense is such stuff!

Life on the Tejon Rancho 287

Oh, Kit, my heart beats quicker, even now, when I think
of the time, twenty-five years ago, when I lay on the burn
ing sands of the great desert, under a mesquite bush, where
you had, tenderly as a woman would have put her first
born, laid me, sore from wounds and fever, on your only
blanket. I see the dim lake of waterless mirage. I see the
waving sands ripple with the faint hot breeze around us and
break upon our scattered saddles. I see the poor mules
famishing of thirst, with their tucked flanks and dim eyes,
and hear their sad, plaintive cry go up out of the wilderness
for help. I see the men dogged and resolute or despondent,
standing around or seeking such shelter as a saddle blanket
thrown over a gun afforded.

Without a thought of ever seeing water again, you poured
upon my fevered lips the last drop in camp from your
canteen. Oh, Kit, I think again of afterwards, on bloody
Gila, where we fought all day and travelled all night, with
each man his bit of mule meat and no other food, and when
worn from a hurt I could go no further, I begged you to
leave me and save yourself. I see you leaning on that long
Hawkins gun of yours (mine now) and looking out of those
clear blue eyes at me with a surprised reproach as one who
takes an insult from a friend. And I remember when we
lay side by side on the bloody battle-field all night, when
you mourned like a woman and would not be comforted, not
for those who had fallen, but for the sad hearts of women at
home when the sad tale would be told; and I remember
another night when we passed side by side in the midst of
an enemy's camp when discovery was death and you would
not take a mean advantage of a sleeping foe. Then you
were with Fremont and afterward at the solitary desert
spring of Archilete, when you all stood around shocked at
the horrid spectacle of slaughter which met your eyes. A
whole family done to death by Indians. Fremont asked,
"Who will follow these wretches and strike them in their
camp?" It was you, old Kit, and Alexis Godey who took

288 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

the trail; a long and weary hundred and twenty-five miles,
you followed that bloody band. You two attacked in broad
daylight a hundred. Killed many for which you brought
back our grizzly mountain vouchers and recovered every
stolen horse for the sole survivor, a little boy. And this
you did in pity for the women who had been slain. Oh ! wise
of counsel, strong of arm, brave of heart, and gentle of
nature how bitterly you have been maligned.1

But even at the Tejon it was not always sunshine
as the following characteristic letters of the Gen
eral to Mrs. Beale show:

TEJON RANCHOS,
TEJON, CAL., Sunday, October 17, 1886.

MY DEAREST WIFE:

This has been the saddest day I ever passed on the
Rancho.

When I got here, as soon as I had washed off the dust, I
went to see my old friend Chico. He knew I was coming

1 KENNETT SQUARE, PENNA.

Sunday, Aug. 27th, 1871.
MY DEAR BEALE:

Thank you heartily for writing, as well as for sending to me, your
defence of Kit Carson, and scarification of that vulgar fraud, Joaquin
Miller! I am very glad to have my own immediate impression con
firmed — that the fellow really knows nothing about the life he under
takes to describe. And this is the "great American poet" of the English
library journals ! Why, I 'd undertake to write a volume of better and
truer "songs of the Sierras" in three weeks! We authors have really
fallen in evil days, when such stuff passes for poetry. However,
patience is my watchword; we have but to wait and see these fictitious
reputations go down as fast as they go up.

How are you, and what are your plans? Can we not meet and have
an Olympian evening together, somewhere, soon? I am more depend
ent on circumstances than you are, but I can still make them bend a little,
for the sake of an old friend. Remember me kindly to all your family.

Ever affectionately,

BAYARD TAYLOR.

Life on the Tejon Rancho 289

and had been waiting for me all day most anxiously. When
I came into the room he struggled to put his arms around my
neck but was too weak and I had to raise his hands up to my
shoulders. He looked so pleased for a moment, but the
excitement of my coming soon left him and he began to
sink rapidly. I sat at his bed-side with his hands in mine
until they stiffened in Death.

Just before I came he asked, "Has not the Patron come
yet — I hear a horse, go to the door and see." It proved to
be my horse but poor dear old fellow it seemed as if he was
only holding on to life until I came to close those faithful
eyes which had watched my interests so carefully for so
many years. Jimmy Rosemire told me this morning that
in speaking to him a few days ago of his friends he said,
" I have no friend and do not want any but my Patron, and
his interests are all the business I have in life."

How we shall do without his wise counsel and knowledge
I do not know. I feel inexpressibly sad. He has been so
true and faithful these many long years. The Tejon without
him will never be the same to me.

I have fixed Tuesday for his burial and the place at the
head of the flower garden.

A priest will come for the occasion and everybody includ
ing all the Indians will attend.

Myself and Alex. Godey, Pogson and Lopez will act as
pall-bearers.

Good night, my dear wife,

Your devoted husband,

E. F. BEALE.

TEJON RANCHOS,
TEJON, CAL., October 20, 1886.

MY DEAREST WIFE :

We buried my old friend Chico yesterday.

It was the most impressive funeral I have ever seen. I
had sent to Bakersfield for a handsome coffin in which he

290 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

was laid at his house. The house I had built for him is
about a mile from here and there the procession formed.

All work was suspended on the place. Half way from
his house I met the procession, accompanied by Pogson and
Godey. The coffin was borne by the Vaqueros who relieved
each other at intervals. In front was carried in the arms of
one of our men his eldest child. All the Indians and men
followed chanting in Spanish the burial service — the men
one verse and the women another.

I never heard anything so solemn and sweet as this chant.
When the body arrived at the house it was placed in the
parlor, where it was permitted to all, Indians and white
people, to come and look at him for the last time.

The flower garden was full of roses and other beautiful
flowers which soon filled the coffin. Here at intervals the
funeral songs and hymns of the Catholic Church were sung
as before — the women and men's voices in alternate verses.

At eleven the priest arrived.

Then I took the right hand side of the coffin, and Godey
the left — the middle was taken by Lopez on one side and
Don Chico Lopez on the other, and the other end Pogson
on the right and Rosemire on the left, and we bore him to
his grave at the upper end of the flower garden.

The priest preached a sermon — very appropriate and
performed the full service of the Church and all was
over.

I am just going off with Pogson for the day and will write
at every opportunity.

Your devoted husband,

E. F. B.

CHAPTER XVI
LAST YEARS

General Beale Purchases the Decatur House — Its Dis
tinguished Occupants and Ghost Story — Beale's Politi
cal Activity — His Untiring Efforts to Help the Negro
— Appointed by Grant Minister to Austria — News
paper Comment in California — A Bill of Sale from
Slavery Days — Awkward Diplomatic Situation — The
Emperor and Count Andrassy — Friendship of Grant
and Beale — Their Correspondence Published — Arthur
Fails to Appoint Beale Secretary of the Navy — Grant's
Resentment — Beale Ends the Grant-Blaine Feud —
Last Days — Beale's Death — Scenes in Washington
and on the Tejon Rancho.

GENERAL BEALE'S Washington residence,
which he purchased shortly after the close
of the war, was the Decatur mansion on
Lafayette Square and within a stone's throw of the
White House. This mansion, which has played an
important if silent part in the life of the National
Capital, was designed by Latrobe, one of the archi
tects of the Capitol, and built by Commodore
Decatur, the hero of the Algerine War, in the early
years of the last century, and here, in the present

library, it is said, Decatur died from the wound

291

292 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

which he received in his duel with Commodore
Barren. r

Martin Van Buren lived here when elected
President, and from here he removed into the
Executive Mansion. Henry Clay, Vice-President
George M. Dallas, and the British and Russian
Embassies were among its distinguished occupants
before the house passed into Gen. Beale's posses
sion. Its exterior is of an old-fashioned plan — a
plain three-storied structure of painted brick,
without ornamentation of any kind, but with a
dignity and distinction very difficult to copy or
to reproduce, as many distinguished Washington
architects have learned to their cost and to the
regret of their clients.

The floor of the ball-room, which is on the second
floor, is made of California woods, of, it is said,
twenty-two thousand pieces, in the centre being a
beautifully inlaid reproduction of the arms of Cali-

1 Another correspondent, this time an old Washingtonian, writes as
follows concerning the Decatur-Beale house, another version of an
historic incident.

"Mortally wounded by Barron, Commodore Decatur was borne home
to his wife and died in the small south- wing room on the ground floor.
Of course that room is haunted, and if rumor is to be believed it is not
alone the impressionable negro servants who have seen the figure of the
Commodore prowling about at ghostly hours, with ghastly face and
blood-streaming wound, enveloped in the inevitable blue-luminous,
terror-inspiring mist."

Many tributes are also paid in all chronicles of Washington life to
the dignity and splendor of this historic mansion during the years
immediately before the war, when it was occupied by Judah P. Ben
jamin, then Senator from Louisiana, and afterwards Attorney-General
and Secretary of State of the Southern Confederacy." — From the
Beale papers.

Last Years 293

f ornia. The house was so spacious and furnished in
such excellent taste that it never seemed crowded
even when all Washington was there at one of
Mrs. Beale's receptions, nor yet encumbered by
the number of historic relics which it contained,
surpassing as they did in their number and value
the resources of several of Washington's museums.
Among the most notable of these historic relics
was a massive silver urn presented by the mer
chants of London to Captain Thomas Truxtun of
the United States frigate Constellation for the
capture of the French frigate Insurgente, 44 guns,
in the West Indies in 1799.

They were, it must be admitted, very forgiving,
these London merchants and during the French
War, as the great urn testifies, they delighted to
honor a man whom a few years before, while their
shipping suffered from his roving activity, they had
denounced as a pirate. Then there were in strange
corners and nooks, which General Beale would
only reveal and explore with his young son's boy
friends, medals to Truxtun and to George Beale
for his gallantry in the fight with Macdonough on
the Lake, and lances — fearful and awe-inspiring
weapons were these captured from the Mexican-
Calif ornian cavalry at the battle of San Pasqual,
and how interesting this or that lance was because
it had lodged in the thigh or the breast of those
paladins of the plains, Godey or Kit Carson!

From 1 870 on, when he began to spend at least six
months of the year in the Decatur house, General

294 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

Beale exerted great influence politically and socially
in the National Capital. He was elected President "of
the National Republican League, and never spared
his time or his money in furthering the cause of
good government. In helping upward the eman
cipated negro he was more useful and more sincere
than many a man whose name is enshrined in the
Walhalla of the Abolition cause. He rarely spoke
at the political meetings of his party and of his
friends; for this purpose there were speakers in
plenty and to spare, but knowing the reluctance of
many white leaders of opinion to speak at the
meetings of colored men at this period he never
refused a call of this description, although they
came frequently and compelled journeys to out-of-
the-way places.

From his earliest years Beale had strong opinions
on the slavery question and did what he could to
bring about a settlement of the vexed question, a
legal settlement if possible, but in any event a
settlement. He in early life liberated many slaves
and among his papers is a bill of sale1 for a negro

1 UNITED STATES OF NORTH AMERICA,
STATE OF TEXAS,
CALHOUN COUNTY,

June 4, 1857.

We, Josiah W. Baldridge, Daniel P. Sparks, and Joseph H. Baldridge,
former partners and now in liquidation, known and designated under
the style and firm name of Baldridge, Sparks & Co., have this day sold,
and by these presents, bargain, sell, and convey unto Edward F. Beale,
our negro man named Jourdan, of yellow or copper color, supposed to be
from twenty -five to thirty years of age, for and in consideration of the
sum of one thousand five hundred dollars to us in hand paid by the said
Edward F. Beale, the receipt of which is now acknowledged. And the

Last Years 295

in Texas whom he learned was about to be sold into
the hands of a cruel task-master, a New England
man, as so many such people were. Beale pur
chased the slave and set him free, and went on his
way rejoicing that he should have been given the
opportunity of bringing happiness to a fellow-being.

At all times and particularly in the early 'sev
enties, Beale was an ardent and indefatigable
student of the profession which he had left years
before with so much reluctance. He knew the un
satisfactory condition of our Navy, as far as the
ships were concerned, and worked and wrote in the
reviews on the subject in the hope of bringing home
to Congress and the people an appreciation of our
national weakness.

In 1876 came unexpectedly Beale's appointment
as Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipoten
tiary to Austria- Hungary. Ever since the execu
tion of the Emperor Maximilian, by Juarez, our
relations with the reigning house and with the
government of the Dual Monarchy had been of a
perfunctory rather than of a cordial character, and
while this criticism most certainly does not apply to
General Beale's immediate predecessor, the Hon.

said Baldridge, Sparks & Co. covenant and agree with the said E. F.
Beale that said boy is healthy, sensible, and a slave. We also guarantee
the title to the said E. F. Beale free from all incumbrance or claims of
every kind or description whatever. Claiming through us. Witness
our hands and scrolls for seals this day and date above written.

On the back of this document Beale wrote:

"I bought the slave referred to within and gave him his freedom."

E. F. B.— Beale papers.

296 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

John Jay, so distinguished in letters and in diplo
macy, it is quite true that many of the occupants
of this important post in the service had been
obscure men and many of them unfit for the per
formance of the duties which were incumbent
upon them.

When General Beale was selected by General
Grant for the Austrian Mission the appointment
was received with much enthusiasm in California.
The San Francisco News-Letter voiced as follows
the sentiment which prevailed in the State :

The news of Ned Beale's appointment to be Minister to
Austria, succeeding Mr. John Jay, is as refreshing as a
shower of rain — for if ever there was a typical and represen
tative Californian, Ned Beale is he. Setting out in life a
Lieutenant in the Navy, he had a chance to fight in the
Territorial days and he fought like the devil. Appointed to
look after the Arizona Indians at a time when Arizona
Indians were at their best and meanest, he polished them
off and taught them to stand around in such style that they
have never been the same Indians since.

Those were days when Indians were Indians, and their
only use for a Commissioner was to scalp him on sight. In
his Arizona administration Beale took bigger risks, showed
more endurance, underwent more trying hardships than
any other man whether in the army or out of it. He out-
scouted any scout and out-rode any mail-rider, we had in
the service. He showed himself an iron-man put up with
steel springs and whalebone, and all this time be it noted
he was only a youngster.

Finally, the war came and Beale went Union and got
thereby the Surveyor-Generalship of California. Ned
Beale was no sentimentalist — not by the longest kind of

Last Years 297

odds. He was born with a head on his shoulders, was
Edward, and he never laid it away in his trunk.

No questions of great international impoitance
arose between the two countries during General
Beale's stay of a year in Austria, but nevertheless
his mission gave him an opportunity to show
diplomacy of a very high order. When General
Beale's name was submitted to the Austrian
Emperor by the State Department, according to
diplomatic usage, the report upon his availability
for the Austrian Mission, doubtless supplied by the
Austrian Envoy in Washington whose acquaintance
with Beale was of recent date, was most enthusi
astic. Later, however, when Beale had been
officially accepted and indeed was on his way to his
post, Ball-haus Platz, the Austrian Foreign Office,
received information which admitted of no denial,
and indeed none was ever attempted, that General
Beale had been a strong sympathizer with and a
valued supporter of the Juarez administration in
Mexico, which, after the capture of Queretaro, had
put to death the so-called Emperor Maximilian,
the younger and best-beloved brother of that
Emperor to whom Beale now found himself
accredited.

It was certainly an awkward situation and the
way in which it was handled was most creditable
to all concerned. Had not General Beale's name
already been passed on favorably, it is certain that
when the first news of his former relations with
Juarez and the Mexican Liberal generals reached

298 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

the Foreign Office a polite but prompt refusal to
accept the new envoy would have followed; how
ever, the Emperor received General Beale appar
ently with great cordiality. Every honor was
paid him that the most desired and most welcome
envoy could have asked for, but it was soon evident
that the Emperor did not propose cultivating close
relations with the man whom he certainly regarded
as the friend of his brother's murderers. After all
the American Minister could transact his business
at the Foreign Office.

It was fortunate for Beale that at this — for him
— awkward moment such an able and intelligent
man as the famous Count Jules Andrassy presided
over the Foreign Office of the Dual Monarchy.
A few days after the reception at Court, Beale had
his first serious conversation at the Foreign Office
and Count Andrassy introduced the subject of
Mexico. Perhaps the kindly Hungarian wished
to give General Beale a quiet tip as to the reason
of the frigid atmosphere into which chance and the
careless methods of the American State Depart
ment had steered his bark. General Beale talked
frankly about the matter as though it had not
the slightest bearing upon his personal position.
He explained what he knew about Mexico, and with
equal frankness what he did not know. Andrassy
was impressed and pleased. The next day he
reported to the Emperor. "General Beale is the
only man who has ever made the Mexican tragedy
clear to me. You should speak with him," he

Last Years 299

said . A summons to a private breakfast at Schoen-
brunn followed, and ever afterwards the Emperor
admitted General Beale to his presence upon terms
of friendship and even of intimacy.

General Beale was always inclined to credit the
dissipation of this diplomatic cloud to Count
Andrassy 's good will. Andrassy naturally loved
conspirators. In early life, as a member of Kossuth's
revolutionary government he had been condemned
to death, and only saved himself by flight to Tur
key. In later life, when mellowed by the lessons
of the passing years and with direct reference to
Andrassy, the Emperor said: "It was fortunate for
me that all my sentences of death were not carried
out. I should have lost many valuable servants."

When the year elapsed which was all that Gen
eral Beale felt he could give to the Government in
view of his many and pressing interests at home,
Mr. Fish was able to, and did, write the departing
envoy, that he was leaving the relations of the two
countries on a very different basis from that on
which he had found them.

In Scribner's Magazine for October, 191 1, extracts
from General Grant's letters to General Beale,
charming in their manly simplicity, were published
with the following introductory note:

These letters were written by Grant to his friend General
Edward F. Beale at intervals from 1877, when Grant left
Washington and went upon his travels, down to 1885; the
last, indeed, was penned within a few weeks of the heroic
end of the great commander at Mount McGregor.

300 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

The letters are the living memorial of a friendship which
began in California in the early fifties and which twenty
years later had a marked influence upon the course of
national affairs. Grant had the gift of friendship, and his
circle was not small ; but to the Washington of the seventies
it was no secret that of all his personal friends the one he
most admired, the one to whom he always listened (and
then did as his own good sense dictated) , was "Ned" Beale
(a grandson of the gallant Truxtun), who with Stockton
conquered California, who fought Kearny's guns in the
desperate battle of San Pasqual, who gave up active service
in the Civil War at Lincoln's request because the providen
tial President knew that Beale' s presence in the debatable
State would preserve it to the Union. Beale related that he
first saw Grant in 1848 in the Casino on the Plaza of the
City of Mexico where the officers used to gather during the
American occupation. Beale was on his famous ride across
Mexico, bringing the news of the conquest of California and
the first specimens of the gold that had been newly discov
ered in the City of Mexico. He stopped for a few hours to
change horses on his route to Vera Cruz. The friendship
of Grant and Beale, however, really dates from 1853, when
Grant's army career seemed closed, and Beale, having
resigned from the navy that he might provide for his grow
ing family, was becoming interested in the wonderful
development of the Golden State, which he foresaw like a
prophet and by which he profited like a wise man.

In these days, when Grant was unfortunate, Beale stood
by his friend with both word and deed. They walked the
Long Wharf together and ate their meals at the "What
Cheer" House when San Francisco was as uncertain of its
name as of its future.

The value of these letters is enhanced by the fact that Grant
was a reserved man and a somewhat reluctant correspond
ent ; to few if to any of his circle of intimates did he open his
heart as he did to his old comrade and house-friend Beale.

Last Years 301

Beale while at home as well as abroad had con
tinued his naval studies. While in Vienna it was
said of him that he would travel a thousand miles
to avoid an idle function and twice that distance to
visit an interesting navy yard or a stud farm.
Outside of the Navy, and of course precedent if not
the law makes the choice of a naval officer to head
this branch of the Government impossible, there
was perhaps at this time no one in the country so
capable of beginning the reconstruction of the Navy
that was now admittedly an imperative necessity,
as General Beale, and shortly after Mr. Arthur
became President General Grant urged Beale's ap
pointment as Secretary of the Navy most strenu
ously. However, the whole Congressional delegation
from New England demanded the appointment for
a New England man, Mr. Chandler, and in a diffi
cult situation and with evident reluctance, Presi
dent Arthur yielded to the political pressure which
was exerted.1

Whatever may have been Grant's feelings,
General Beale was certainly not embittered. He
remained the friend and adviser of the successive
Secretaries of the Navy, from Chandler to Whitney
and Herbert, and when the new Navy, as typified

1 Ben Perley Poor in his reminiscences, Sixty Years of the National
Metropolis, says, p. 449:

"President Arthur in his desire to administer his inherited duties
impartially made himself enemies among those who should have been
his friends — General Grant asked that his personal friend General
Beale might be appointed Secretary of the Navy and he never forgave
President Arthur for not complying with his request. "

302 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

by the White Squadron, put to sea, in it were em
bodied as many of the ideas of General Beale as
of any other man.

During the years of the famous feud between
Elaine and Grant, General Beale made several
attempts to bring them together for the good of the
party and as he most sincerely thought for the good
of the country. In 1883 the party managers urged
upon Beale renewed attempts to bring about the
long frustrated reconciliation, stating that they
regarded it as a sine qua non to Republican success
in 1884.

General Badeau in Grant in Peace sheds some
light upon these negotiations. To Badeau, Grant
wrote in October, 1883:

"I write because of your allusion to hearing a rumour that
Elaine and I had formed a combination politically. You
may deny that statement peremptorily. I have not seen
Elaine to speak to him since a long time before the Conven
tion of 1880." Grant knew that I was anxious for him to
take ground in favor of Elaine [continues Badeau]. Gen.
Beale, who was an intimate friend, Senator Chaff ee, the
father-in-law of one of Grant's sons, and Elkins all desired
the same result but were unable to bring it about at this
time.

However, Beale was undaunted, and at last suc
ceeded where others had failed. General Grant was
staying in General Beale's house and Blaine lived
next door to him on Jackson Place. Only a month
intervened before the election when, as the Beale
papers reveal, Blaine wrote as follows to General

Last Years 303

Beale, a hasty note but of far-reaching importance:
" My dear General: — It will give me great pleasure
to call on General Grant at your house at any time
you say."

One cold October afternoon the interview took
place in the historic drawing-room. The three
party leaders sat around an open grate fire and
the feud which had disrupted the Republican party,
or probabty only typified its disruption, was buried.

The reconciliation, however, took place too late.
In the last days of the campaign Grant and his
adherents developed remarkable strength, and it
was all loyally exerted in favor of Elaine, but in
November the Plumed Knight went down in
defeat. A new god had arisen in Israel, and his
name was Grover Cleveland.

Early in the spring of 1893 General Beale's physi
cal powers began to wane, while mentally he re
mained as active and alert as ever. On April
22d the long expected event occurred and General
Beale passed peacefully away.

The press of the country recognized General
Beale's death not only as that of a distinguished
and remarkable personality, but as an event
marking the close of an era. The day of the
pathfinders was over, and the papers of the
country without exception, from Sandy Hook to
the Golden Gate, from the St. Lawrence to the Rio
Grande, paid eloquent tribute to the man who in
so many ways had played a distinguished part in

304 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

the winning of the West and the development of
the Pacific Empire. The Cabinet and the Justices
of the Supreme Court, the scientists of the Smith
sonian and the political leaders were present at the
simple service of the interment. There came to the
bereaved family messages from crowned heads, from
the Courts of St. Petersburg, of Vienna, and of
Athens, which showed that those who ruled by
divine right could still recognize the rare quality
of this leader of men who had come to the front by
right of personal achievement.

Sympathetic words there came too from the
humble and the lowly, from the trapper and the
scout, from the small farmer and the herder who
had found life more spacious because of the rich
domain of Southern California which more than
any other one man General Beale had opened to
the crowded East.

Down on the Tejon Rancho in the San Joaquin
Valley there still lived two Indians who had fol
lowed General Beale across the plains when, in the
heyday of youth in 1847, with his San Pasqual
wounds still open, he had carried the news of the
conquest of California to Washington. These men
had long outlived their usefulness, they were crip
pled by the weight of years and the burden of
hardships undergone, but the Patron, as they
called the General, by the most adroit and long
sustained diplomacy had always succeeded in con
vincing them that they could still do a day's work
with the best and more than earned their rations.

Last Years 305

When Raimundo the scout, whom even Carson
relied upon, heard the sad news that the wires
brought with such marvellous rapidity from the
Capital, he said simply, "I do not care to live any
longer," dressed himself in his fete-day clothes,
wrapped his serape about him, and, stretched out
upon his blanket in the sunshine outside his adobe
hut, soon passed from sleep to death.

Juan Mohafee, the incomparable packer who
had been charged with the General's mules on
many a desert journey, was all bustle and excite
ment. He told every one that the General would
want him on the long journey that lay before him,
longer indeed than any they had ever undertaken
together. "I will go, too, " he said decidedly and
then with a touch of pride, ' ' I may be able to help him,
he always said I could." Juan continued his active
preparations for a long journey and when not
busily engaged in furbishing saddles and oiling
creaking packs could be found waiting patiently
under the spreading fig tree outside of the great
house where he had awaited the coming of the
Patron so often in the earlier active years, and here
now his children found him one morning, but his
body was cold and his faithful soul had fled.

306 Edward Fitzgerald Beale

THE FOLLOWING IS THE OFFICIAL RECORD OF
GENERAL BEALE'S PUBLIC SERVICES

Appointed Midshipman in the Navy, from Georgetown College,
December 14, 1836.

Ordered to duty on the Independence, the Receiving Ship at Phila
delphia, which served at the time as Naval School, in February, 1837.

Warranted, March, 1839.

Ordered to the West Indian Squadron, September 19, 1840.

Ordered to the Naval School, Philadelphia, in August, 1841.

Commissioned Passed-Midshipman and ordered to Porpoise, August,
1845.

Ordered to Frigate Congress as Acting Master, October 2, 1845.

Returned from Pacific and placed on waiting orders, June 2, 1847.

Ordered to Fortress Monroe as witness in Colonel Fremont's trial,
September 29, 1847.

Commissioned as Master, February 28, 1850.

Commissioned Lieutenant in Navy, August 3, 1850.

Resignation from Navy accepted, March 5, 1851.

Appointed in 1852 by President Fillmore, Superintendent of Indian
Affairs in California and Nevada.

In 1857 was appointed by President Buchanan, Superintendent of the
Wagon-Road Expedition from Fort Defiance, New Mexico, to the
Colorado River.

In 1858 by President Buchanan to command wagon-route survey
along 35th parallel from Fort Smith, Arkansas, to California.

1859-60, in charge of wagon-road construction on central plains.

1861, appointed by Lincoln, Survevor-General of California and
Nevada.

1865, resigned position of Surveyor-General.

1876, appointed by President Grant, Envoy Extraordinary and Minis,
ter Plenipotentiary to Austria-Hungary.

INDEX

Abiquiu, 88

Acting Master, Commissioned, 5

Agassiz and the Capiniche, 49

Albuquerque, 238, 253

Allston, Lieut., 192

Amargosa (Bitter Creek), 158, 276

Ammen, Daniel, Letter from, 48

Andrassy, Count Jules, 298

Angosturas, 235

Antelope Hills, 235

Antelope Valley, 276

Apispah River, 76

Aqua Caliente, Rancho of, 12

Aqua del Tio Meso, 158

Aqua del Tomaso, 160

Aqua Escarbada, 157

Arapahoe Indians, 73

Archilete, Felipe, 82, 98

Archilete's Spring, 158, 287

Argonauts, the, 276

Arkansas River, 74, 232

Armistead, Major, 251

Army of the Center, the, 10

Army of New Mexico, the, 262

Army of the West, the, 10

Arthur, President, 301

Artificial Horizon, the, 248

Aspinwall, Mr., 46

Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe

Railroad, 34

Austrian Rifles for Mexico, 269
Avonkarea River, 95, 133

Badeau, General, 270

Bakersfield, 273, 283

Baldridge, Sparks & Co., 294

Ball-haus Platz, 297

Bancroft, George, 9

Barnum, P. T., offers to buy

Beale's gold, 47
Barrera, Jose de la, 269
Barrera, Pedro, 269
Barron, Commodore, 292

307

Beale, E. P., Letter from the Raton
Mountains, 49; description of
Transcontinental Route, 51;
Conspiracy against, 186; Ap
pointed Minister to Hungary,
295; Bravery told by Kit Car
son, 30; Letter to the Senate,
177; Report on the Indians, 179;
Recommendations, 185; Letter
to his children, 274; Letter to
his wife, 289; Punishes a slan
derer, 189; Letter to Governor
of California, 191; Letter from
El Paso, 201 ; Journey from Fort
Smith, 241; Report to Con
gress, 21 1 ; Journal, 112; 217,
241 ;Report to Secretary of War,
230; Faith in California, 59;
Profits in Transportation, 62;
near death, 14; meets Pico, 17;
and Carson go to San Diego,
21 ; meets Frdmont, 23; appoin
ted Superintendent of Indians,
64

Beale, George, father- of Edward
F., i; Medal presented to, 293;

"Beale's Crossing," 239

Beall, Col. B. L., 194

Beall, George, 247

Benjamin, Judah P., 292

Benton's Speech, 15; Letter to
Secretary Mason, 31; Letter to
Beale, 170, 171, 187

Bigler, John, 182

Big Rock, 276

Bill William's Divide, 213

Blaine-Grant Feud, 302

Blaine, James G., 302

Blake, Major, 79

Blondin, 255

Boggy River, 232

Boone, Daniel, grandfather of Kit
Carson, 27

Bonncville Journals, 210

308

Index

Bradford Diary, 209
Briones, Ramond, 177
Brown, Richard, 76

(Dick the Delaware)
Brown, Thomas, 261
Buchanan, James, 54
Buffaloes, first sight of, 71
Byre, Col. Edward, 192

Cajon Pass. 164

California, the rush to, 38; Expedi
tion to, 67

Calif ornians revolt, n

Callao Harbor, Beale rejoins ship
at, 7

Camel Corps, Beale's, 199; tan
dem team, 207

Camels, Arrival of, 201; Beale
buys, 207

Canadian River, 232

Canby, Gen., death of, 195

"Capitanoes," 125

Carnero Pass, 109

Carson, Kit, Beale meets, n, 199,
276, 279; described by Sher
man, 27; appointed Lieutenant,
31; Revenge, 158; Beale's De
fence of, 284

Carson's Ride, Kit, 284

Cedar Bluffs, 217

Cedar City, Coal found at, 145

Cerenoquinti, the, 132

Chandler, Secretary, 301

Chase, Letter to Secretary, 261,
264; Letter from, 263

Chester, Pa., 4, 255, 272

Cheyenne Indians, 73

Chico, Anton, 236; death of, 288

Chihuahua, 143

Choctaws, the, 253

Choteau's Trading Post, 234

Chupainas, 235

Civil War, Outbreak of the, 251

Clay, Henry, 292

Cleveland, Grover, 303

Clifford, Nathan, Minister to
Mexico, 45

Cocomongo Rancho, 166

Colorado River, 91, no, 221

Colorado Mountain, 249

Col ton, Rev. Walter, 6; appointed
Alcalde, 35

Comanche Indians, 176

Conchas River, 231

Congress 44, the, 5, 9, 52
Constellation, the, 5, 293
Coochatope Pass, 83
Coochumpah Pass, 85
Cordova, Juan, deserts, 128
Cosgrove, J., 67
Council Grove, 69
Cuchada, a small stream, 78

Dallas, George M., 292

Davis, Jefferson, favors camels,

200, 206, 255

Death of General Beale, 303
Death Valley, 199
Decatur Mansion, Purchase of,

291

Deck and Port, 6
Diamond of the Desert, 156
Diaz, President, 271
Dick, the Delaware, 68, 76, 131,

163, 241
District of Columbia, Birthplace

at, I

Dolan, Patrick, 82
Draft Suspended in California,

258

Eagle Range, 87

Edwards, Mary, 53

Edwards, Samuel, 54

Elbow Creek, 192

Eldorado by Bayard Taylor, 58

Elizabeth Lake, 276

El Moro, 247

El Paso, Texas, 201

Epaulettes and sword presented

to Beale, 26
Executive Documents Nos. 42

and 124, 208
Express Charges, 218

Farraguts, the, 4

Field, The, 139

Fillmore, President, 64

Fitzpatrick, Major, 73

Floyd, Dr., 241

Floyd, Hon. J. B., 202; Letter to,

217, 241

Floyd's Peak, 239
Foote, Senator. 46
Fort Arbuckle, 232
Fort Atkinson, 73

Index

309

Fort Defiance to the Colorado,
from, 208

Fort Leavenworth, Army of the
West at, 10

Fort Smith, Ark., to the Colorado,
208, 231, 233, 253

Fort Tejon, 206, 227

Fort Yuma, 213, 228

Four Creeks, 147

France and Lower California, 262

Frank Murray's Peak, 226

Franklin, Sir John, 54

Fremont, n, 159, 170, 276; Me
moirs, quoted, 22; description
of Grand River, 91

French Invasion, 266

Gadsden Purchase, the, 262

Gallengo, Jose, 121, 150

Garcia, Jesus, 68, 82

General Jesup, steamer, 228

Georgetown College, Beale
attends, 3

Germantown, Sloop of War, 45

Gillespie, Captain, 12

Grand River, 87, 90, 128

Grant, General, 270; Letters to
Beale, 299; death at Mt. Mc
Gregor, 299

Grant in Peace, by Badeau, 270

Gregorio, Interpreter, 193

Grizzly bears, 165

Godey, Alexis, the Scout, 13, 287;
Revenge, 158

Gold, Beale brings first, 43; placed
on Exhibition, 47

Greenbank, Home at, 4, 47

Green River Fork, 134

Grinnell, Henry, 54

Guadalajara, 44

Guadalupe Hidalgo, Treaty of,
251, 261

Guaymas, Port of, 262

Gum Spring, 251

Gunnison, Col. J. W., 172

Harmony, Rear- Admiral, 6, 62

Harper's Weekly, 284

Harry Edwards' Mountain, 239

Hawkins Gun, 287

Heap, Gwinn Harris, Journal by,

67; continues Journal, 122
Heath, Lieutenant, 70

Herbert, Secretary, 301
Hitchcock, Gen. E. A., Letter

from, 167, 182
Hoffman, Col., 250
Howards Spring, 218
Hue's, Abbe, Travels in China and

Tartary, 199, 216
Hudson, Mr., 274
Huerfano Butte, 77
Huerfano River, 76

Indian Creek, 68, 79

Indian Murders, 218; herders, 272;
Marksmanship, 119; Horse rac
ing, 1 20

Indian Territory, 232

Indianola, Texas, 201

Indians, taunted by the, 129

Inscription Rock, 241

Insurgents, Frigate, 293

Jackson, Andrew, first meeting

with Beale, 3
Jackson, Lieutenant, 79
Jacksonians, Beale's Battle for

the, 2

ames, Col., 265
aroso Creek, 87
ay, John, 296
ohnson, Captain, 13, 228
ohnson, Major, 73
ones, Catesby, 48
ones, Commodore, 52; Report
by, 36; Caricatured by Beale,

Jones, William Carey, 45
Jordan, Captain, 168
Jornada, first, 155
Jourdan, Negro Slave, 294
Juarez Government, 263, 295

Kane, Expedition, the, 54

Kanzas, 67

Kearny, Colonel, 10, 276; attacked

by Calif ornians, 13
Kerlin, F. E., 227
King River Reservation, 193

Laguna, Crossing the, 89
Lagunas, Timber of the, 236
La Paz, Port of, 262

3io

Index

La Sierra del Aquila, 87

Las Vegas de Santa Clara, 99,
147; Mormons at, 133, 138

Latrobe, Architect, 291

Lee, Captain, 218

Leiper, George G., 54

Leiper, Samuel L., 54

Lente, Juan, 97

Leroux, Antoine, 70, 74, 82, in

Lewis & Clark, 210

Liberals of Mexico, 271

Liebre Rancho, 277

Lincoln appoints Beale Surveyor
General, 208, 256; Beale's Let
ter to President, 259; joke of,
277

Little Axe, 241

Little Colorado River, 238

Little Rock, 253

Little Salt Lake Valley, 138, 276

Livingston, Lieutenant, 192

Loeser, Lieutenant, 40

Lopez, Don Chico, 290

Los Angeles Papers, extract from,
205

Los Angeles, Valley of, 164; Arrival
at, 167

"Lost Mountains," 283

Lower California, Peninsula of,
261

Lynch, Judge, 285

Lynch, W. P., letter from, 56

McDonough, Commodore, I

McDowell, General, 275

McKee, Agent, Criticism by, 184

Madrid, Gregorio, 68

Magruder, Dr., 80

Maria, Brig. Beale takes passage
in the, 6

Marysville Stage, the, 62

Mason, Colonel, 41

Mason, Secretary of Navy, 31

Massachusetts, Fort, 79

Matamoras, Taylor at, 10

Maury, M. F., letter from, 58

Maximilian, Emperor, 270, 295

Mazatlan, Mexico, 42

Mediterranean, Cruise to the, 5

Mes, Ramon, 177

Methodist Mission at Council
Grove, 69

Mexican Revolution, 261 ; Fron
tier Lines, 266

Mexico, Situation in, 9; War

with, 10

Miller, Joaquin, 284
Mobile Register, the, quoted, 32
Modocs, treatment of, 195
Mohafer, Juan, death of, 305
Mohave Plains, 283
Mohaveh River, 141, 162
Mohaves, the, 250
Monroe, Captain, 13
Monterey, Mexico, 277
Mormon Settlements, 99
Mosquitoes, Sufferings from, 94
Mount Benton, 224
Mount Buchanan, 224
Mountain Sheep, 85
Murieta, Joaquin, 279

Namaquasitch, Camp at, 103
National Intelligencer, the, 171
National Republican League,

Beale President of, 294
Navajoes, 248
Navy, Interest in the, 295
Navy, Application to enter the, 3
Neosha, town of, 237
Nordhoff, Charles, 278; Dedicates

book to Beale, 278
North Fork Town, 232

Ohio, the, 5, 38
Ojo del Gaetan, 155
Ojo Pescado Spring, 247
Otterby, Charles, no
Otterby, Thomas, no
Owen's River, 147

Pah-Utahs, the, 138, 147; Chil
dren of, 141; Horse thieves, 147;
Billingsgate, 156

Palo Alto, Battle of, 10

Paragoona, 138

Para wan, 139

Pareamoot Mountains, 91

Paredes Army, 43

Patron, the, 283

Pawnee Fork of the Arkansas, 73

' ' Pawnee Rock, " 73

Payute Wheat, 154

Pecos, 235

Philadelphia Press, quoted, 54,
251,260

Index

Pico, Don Andres, 14

Piegan, the, Massacre, 196

Pike's Peak, 76

Pinole, 113

Pioneers' Library, Destroyed by

fire, 257
"Pite," 156

Polk, President, 31, 261
Polly, Aunt, and the Wonderful

Coat, 4
Polygamy among the Mormons,

146

Poor, Ben Perley, 301
Porpoise, the, 5
Porter, David Dixon, 200
Porters, the, 4
Poteau Creek, 232, 253
Powers, Jack, 279

Queretaro, Battles of, 271

Raimundo, death of, 305
Republican, Letter in the, 195
Resaca de la Palma, 10
Rich, Paymaster, 37
Riggs, Elisha, 67, 70
Riggs, William, 67, 74
Rio Atascoso, 153
Rio Hondo (Deep Creek), no
Rio de la Cibolos, 85
Rio de la Laguna, 89
Rio de la Virgen, in, 151
Rio de las Gallinas, 233
Rio del Moro, the, 136
Rio del Norte, 83, 238
Robbers, Trouble with, 275
Robinson, Lieutenant, 70
Rodgers, Raymond, 49, 80
Rogers, William, 67
Rosemire, Jimmy, 289
Roubindeau's Pass, 78
Rucker, Major, 70

Sacramento, Camp in the Val
ley of the, 22

Sacramento, 214

Sahwatch Creek, 83, 107; Valley,
83; Mountains, 123

St. Louis Republican quoted, 253

St. Vrain, Mr., in

Salado, the Camp on, 137

Salinas, the, 268

Salt Spring Gold Mines, 158

San Antonio, Camels start from,
202

San Bernardino, 14, 147, 165

San Bois, 232

San Felipe, 233

San Francisco fire, 257; Mountain,
239; News- Letter quoted 296;
papers, Interview by, 276

Sangre de Cristo Pass, 77; Moun
tains, 77

San Joaquin River, 23; Valley,
279

San Luis Valley, 78, 83

San Pasqual, Battle of, 13, 293

San Pedro, 165

San Rafael, 136

Santa Ana Creek, 164

Santa Fe, Capture of, 10; 254

Savoya, Valley of the, 117

Schoenbrunn, Breakfast at, 299

Scott, General, 263

Scott Valley, Massacre at, 190

Scribner's Magazine, quoted, 299

Sebastian, Senator, Speech by,
176

Secession, 257

Secret Mission, 6

Seward, Secretary, 270

Seymour, Admiral, 8

Shasta, Massacres at, 190

Shepherds in California, 281

Sheridan, General, 270

Sherman, General W. T., 27

Sierra Mojada, 75, 80

Sierra Nevada, 227

Simms, George, 68, 98

Sixty Years of the National Metro
polis, 301

Skullyville, 253

Slave freed by Beale, 294

Smith, Col. G. A., 142

Smith's Narrative, 209

Snyder, Jake, 24

Sonora, Mexico, 143, 264

Southern Pacific Railroad, 283

Spiller, Dr., 241

Spring of Uncle Meso, 158

Stockton, California, 214

Stockton, Commodore, 7, 276;
sends Beale to Washington, 26;
Engages in business, 60

Stockton-Fremont-Kearny Con
troversy, 12

Supply, Store Ship, 200

Sutter Discovers Gold, 36

Index

Taos, San Fernando de, 81, 100,
in

Taylor, Bayard, Letter from, 58,
288; Dedicates book to Beale,
278

Taylor, General, 10
Tehatchapie Pass, 283
Tejon Rancho, 272
Thompson, Smith, Letter from, 2
Thorburn, Lieut., 216, 222
'"Three-fingered" Jack, 279
Trinity River Massacre, 184
Truxtun, Commodore, i, 4; Pre
sented with Silver Urn, 293;
Truxtun, Emily, Mother of Ed
ward F. Beale, I
Tulare Lake, 275
Tulare Valley, 147, 214
Tule River Reservation, 282
Turkey Creek, 70
Turner, Captain, 13

Uncompagre River, 90, 121

Upshur, Rear-Admiral, 6

Utah Creek, 80

Utahs, Murders by the, 88; Meet
ing with the, 104; Trouble with
the, 127

Vallejo, 182

Van Buren, Martin, 292

Vega, General Placido, Letter

from, 266, 268
Vega Quintana, 155
Vera Cruz, 45
Vicksburg, Grant at, 270
Visalia, 277; Rising at, 190

Wagner, J., 67

Walkah, Indian Chief, 142; De
clares War, 142

Walker, Joe, 143

Walker's Pass, 143

"Wanderer" writes to Philadel
phia Press, 251

Washita Valley, 234

West Indies, Cruise to, 5

Westport, Mo., the Start from, 67

"What Cheer" House, 300

Whig Leaders, Council of the, 263

Whipple, Lieut., 240

White Squadron, the, 302

Whitney, Secretary, 301

Willow Creek, 87

Wilson, Mr., Indian Agent, 166

Winchester Mountains, 251

Wool, General, 10, 191

Young, Brigham, 139
Young, Henry, 67, 132

Zuni, 212, 238, 247

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