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FAIRFIELD'S
PIONEER HISTORY OF
LASSEN COUNTY
CALIFORNIA
TO 1870
Thompson's studio, susanville, California
(^4/jlsi^JU?/ c4^^/^^^
FAIRFIELD'S PIONEER
HISTORY of LASSEN COUNTY
CALIFORNIA
CONTAINING EVERYTHING THAT CAN
BE LEARNED ABOUT IT FROM THE BEGINNING OF
THE WORLD TO THE YEAR OF OUR LORD 1870
/
THE CHRONICLES OF A BORDER COUNTY
SETTLED WITHOUT LAW, HARASSED BY SAVAGES, AND
INFESTED BY OUTLAWS. ALSO MUCH OF THE PIONEER HISTORY
OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, SHOWING THE EFFORTS OF
THE SETTLERS TO OBTAIN FREEDOM FROM MORMON RULE
THE HISTORY OF LASSEN'S TRAIL, ROOFS SETTLEMENT, THE
MURDER OF HARRY GORDIER AND THE HANGING OF
SNOW, EDWARDS AND "LUCKY BILL," TOLD IN FULL FOR
THE FIRST TIME; THE BIOGRAPHIES OF GOVERNOR
ISAAC N. ROOP AND PETER LASSEN, THE
ORMSBY MASSACRE, THE BOUNDARY LINE
WAR, THE PEARSON MASSACRE, AND
MANY STORIES OF INDIAN WARFARE
NEVER BEFORE PUBLISHED
By ASA MERRILL FAIRFIELD
PUBLISHED FOR THE AUTHOR BY
H. S. CROCKER COMPANY
SAN FRANCISCO
Copyright
BY A. M. FAIRFIELD
SUSANVILLE
CALIFORNIA
1916
THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED TO THE PIONEER
SETTLERS OF LASSEN COUNTY, WITH THE
HOPE THAT IT MAY SERVE TO KEEP THEM
IN REMEMBRANCE IN THEIR OWN LAND
111254.2
FOREWORD
9 ' i THE following pages have been written for neither gam nor
J[ glory, but to preserve the names and deeds of the men and
women who sowed the seeds of civilization in the mountain val-
leys of Lassen County, California, Though it is not on record
that the women went on the war path, except in figurative way;
yet they bore their part of the toil, hardships, and dangers in-
cident to the settlement of a country cut off from the outside
world during the winter months, and infested by savages and
outlaws.
The writer, them a boy about eleven years of age, crossed the
plains in 1865, and came to Honey Lake Valley to live; and the
most of his life since then has been spent here. As boy and man
he was acquainted with the majority of the pioneers of the county,
and many months of his life have been spent in listening to their
tales of early days.
In 1909, when this work was commenced, excepting the out-
line given in the "History of Plumas, Lassen, and Sierra Coun-
ties," there was no history of Lassen county ; and there was no
likelihood that any would ever be written. Very few of the early
settlers of the county were alive, and if their stories were saved
and anything like a complete history written, it had to be done
at once. For these reasons the writer undertook the work.
An attempt has been made to tell the truth in plain language,
and no pains have been spared to obtain the truth. A great deal,
perhaps the most, of what is given in the folloiving pages in the
way of Indian troubles, historical reminiscences, etc., was learned
from the men who took an active part in the events narrated, or
from the men and women who lived in the country at that time.
As a matter of course, after a lapse of fifty years, or more, their
stories are more or less conflicting in the minor details; but in
nearly every case it has been possible to find some account of what
they told in the publications of those days, and in that and in
other ways their stories have been verified. In what is given as
original, unless otherwise stated, the date and the principal facts
can be depended upon.
In 1882 Fariss and Smith published a work entitled "History
of Plumas, Lassen, and Sierra Counties, California." Mr. Ed-
mund R. Dodge, now a prominent lawyer of Eeno, Nevada, col-
[ix]
FOKEWOBD
lected a great deal of the history of Lassen county contained in
that work. To his work the writer is greatly indebted, for much
of the information he collected at that time could now be found
in no other place. Mr. Dodge obtained information from men
who were dead when the writer commenced this work, and had
access to at least one book which has been lost or destroyed since
he used it. Isaac N. Boop, Recorder of "Nat aqua," kept two
books; one of which contained the land filings of the settlers, and
the other a record of their political work, public meetings, arbi-
trations, etc. The latter book can not be found, and what Mr.
Bodge took from it is quoted in these pages. The book of filings
was given by Mrs. A. T. Arnold, daughter of I. N. Boop, to
Lassen county, and is now among its records. Peter Lassen,
"Nataqua's" Surveyor, kept a record of the surveys made by him,
but no one knows what became of his book. Boop's little book,
a few entries made in the records of Plumas county, and some
documents in the office of the Secretary of State at Carson City,
Nevada, relating to the part the citizens of Honey Lake took in
the organization of Nevada Territory, are all the records of this
section made before it became a county by itself.
The history of the settlement of Western Utah, the organiza-
tion of the territory of Nevada, and the political work of the
Honey Lake settlers has been taken from the "History of Plumas,
Lassen, and Sierra Counties," Thompson and West's "History of
Nevada," and the newspapers published in Nevada and northern
California at that time.
Through the kindness of Mrs. B. H. Leavitt, the writer has
had the opportunity of using the diary kept by her first husband,
A. L. Tunison; and from it has been obtained many facts, dates,
and accounts of expeditions against the Indians. The writer also
vishes to acknowledge the kind assistance of Miss Eudora Gar-
outte, the lady who had charge of the California department of
the State Library at Sacramento while he was collecting informa-
tion there; H. B. Van Horn of the California Adjutant General's
office; Miss Jeanne E. Wier, Secretary of the Nevada State His-
I orient Society; J. C. La Plant and V. L. Bonner of the V. S.
Forest Beserve Service and Charles F. Hart, all of whom made
maps of the country along the Lassen Trail; Mrs. A. T. Arnold,
who contributed old letters, documents, and newspapers; and
George N. McDoio, President of the Lassen County Abstract Com-
fx]
FOREWOED
pany, who made the map that is found in this book, furnished
the use of the maps in his office, and in other ways helped in this
work.
The writer is sincerely grateful to those who have helped him,
and intends to give every person credit for the information given.
With one or two exceptions, every one has told all he could; but
some have had the will and the knowledge that enabled them to
give so much help that they deserve especial mention. To Fred
Hines and William Dow the writer is indebted more than to any
one else for information regarding the first eight or ten years'
settlement of the county. Hines came here in 1856 and Dow in
1857. Both were determined men, in the prime of life, and both
took a prominent part in almost every important event that
occwn'ed during those years. Both were reliable men of excep-
tionally good memories, and both did all they could to help in
this work. If it had not been for their knowledge and their will-
ingness to help, much of the most important matter in' this book
could not have been written. Wm. H. Clark, who settled here in
1857, also gave considerable information about the early settle-
ment of the county. Mrs. Smith J. Hill came to the valley with
her parents, who settled on the site of Janesville in 1857, and her
husband came there the next year. They told the story of the
first setlement of that place and many events that took place in
the valley during the next six or eight years.
Joseph C. Wemple, Henry E. Lomas, Thomas N. Long, Wm.
Milton Cain, Archibald L. Harper, Alvaro Evans, Mrs. A. T.
Arnold, William H. Hall, John F. Hulsman, V. J. Borrette, J.
Bristo Rice, Eber G. Bangham, Mrs. E. G. Bangham, Dr. H. S.
Borrette, Wright P. Hall, Samuel R. Hall, A. W. Worm (now
Wern), Charles Laivson, George W. Harrison, I. N. Jones, Mrs.
Philenda Spencer, Hiram H. Dakin, Hiram N. Skadan, Daniel
W. Bryant, Thomas H. Epley, J. Oscar Hemler, Mrs. Louisa Fry,
William S. Brashear, Thomas Brown, W. W. Asbury, and A. G.
Moon have told much of the settlment of the valley and the local
events here narrated.
Besides those already named Alec. T. Arnold, John J. Mcllroy,
Orlando Streshly, William J. Seagraves, La Fayette Marks, Alvin
E. De Forest, Isaac Coulthurst and Wife, Mrs. Frances Corneli-
son, Mrs. W. M. Cain, Mrs. Dora Moe, Mrs. Mary A. Bass, John
T. Long, Charles Barham, Jacob W. Broadwell, William R.
[xi]
FOREWORD
Bailey, Harry F. McMurphy, William Brockman, James Doyle,
Charles E. Hurlbut, Thomas J. Lomas, Boss Lewers, Thomas J.
Mulroncy, Leroy N. Arnold, John Baxter, Jeremiah Bond and
Wife, Mrs. Eva Partridge, David B. Bankhead, John Todd, John
H. Cornell, Willis Brockman, Mrs. G. W. Harrison, Mrs. A. C.
Neale, John S. Borrette, G. E. Deforest and Wife, Freeman
Lanigar, William D. Minckler, Harry Peyton, P. B. James, Mrs.
Ella Forkner, and Mrs. Sarah A. McClelland have given more
or less information and assistance.
Alvaro Evans told the most of the history of Long valley,
but J. C. Wemple, J. B. Bice, H. H. Dakin, William Beilly,
Edwin Ferris, H. N. Skadan, and Mrs. Cordelia A. Wright also
helped. The history of Milford was given by J. C. Wemple,
aided by J. B. Bice. The earliest settlement of Janesville was
told by Smith J. Hill and his Wife, and its later history was
given by them and W. M. Cain, H. E. Lomas, H. N. Skadan,
H. H. Dakin, and T. H. Epley. The settlement and history of
Susanville and the tipper part of the valley was told by Fred
Hines, William Dow, Mrs A. T. Arnold, T. N. Long, A. L. Har-
per, J. F. Hulsman, E. G. Bangham, and Wife, Dr. H. S. and
V. J. Borrette, Charles Lawson, W. P., S. B., and W. H. Hall,
G. W. Harrison, and Isaac N. Jones. The history of the "Tide
Confederacy" ivas given by H. E. Lomas, John H. Summers,
John D. Putnam, W. M. Cain, W. S. Brashear, and Charles T.
Emerson. The history of Mountain Meadows was told by W. J.
Seagravcs, T. N. Long, and T. J. Wright. The settlement of
Dixie valley was given by Mrs. James P. Eldridge, W. J. Sea-
graves, G. W. Harrison, and T. J. Wright. The history of the
early settlement of Horse Lake valley, Secret valley, and Made-
line Plains was told by John B. McKissick, Albert L. Shinn,
T. N. Long, and Charles Cramer. The history of Willow Creek
valley was given by Bernhard Neuhaus, Mrs. Jennie Harrison,
W. H. Hall, and William Dow. What is told of the settlement
of Surprise valley was related by John Price, W. H. McCormick,
and W. J. Seagraves. The story of Hay den Hill was told by
L. H. Hopkins and Mrs. Mary E. Harris. The history of Big
valley ivas given by Mrs. Mary E. Harris, Bichard A. Bicketts,
Joseph Wilson, and N. Bieber.
In finding the Lassen Trail the writer has been aided by A.
Delano's "Life on the Plains and among the Diggings/' William
[xii]
FOBEWORD
Dow, Louis S. Smith, James S. Church, Abel and L. W. Bunnell,
Charles F. Hart, Chester and L. W. Boggs, George N. McDow,
Waldron B. Philliber, Homer C. Jack, James M. Streshly, V. L.
Bonner, J. C. La Plant, T. N. Long, William E. Vinyard, Harry
Fitch, Lewis M. Folsom, Walter J. Dakin, N. E. Sutton, Wil-
liam Fish, and J. W. Zumwalt. The last named came over the
"Trail" in 1849.
No pains have been spared in finding where this road orig-
inally ran. Its course has been learned from men who were well
acquainted with different parts of it, and the writer believes that
the route followed by Lassen in 1848 is given more exactly in this
work than in any other place.
In tracing the course of the Noble Road help has been given
by the "History of Plumas, Lassen, and Sierra Counties," by
an article written by John H. Dreibelbis in "Hutchings Califor-
nia Magazine," and by Fred Hines, W. W. Asbury, J. C. La
Plant, W. M. Cain, and G. W. Harrison.
In other places in this book will be found the names of people
and publications, not given here, that have been of assistance in
this work.
The names of those who settled in the county that year have
been given in each chapter. These lists are incomplete and per-
haps there are mistakes in them, for at this late date it could not
be otherwise, but it is a very good record of the permanent set-
tlers of the county during those years. The length of residence
applies to those whose names are given and to the wives of the
married men. In a few cases one or the other of a married
couple died in the county and the other one did not. Sometimes
a person who is said to have lived in the county all his life
moved away for a few years and then returned. There is not
room in a book like this to tell about everything of that kind.
Asa Merrill Fairfield.
Susanville, California,
April 20, 1916.
[xiii]
AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF THE AUTHOR
ASA MERRILL FAIRFIELD was born in Douglas, Wor-
cester county, Massachusetts, July 30, 1854. His parents,
Enos Walling and Sarah Luvan (Parker) Fairfield, were both
born in the same town. The Fairfields are of Huguenot descent,
the French name being "Beauchamp." Five generations back
of A. M. Fairfield, Jonathan Fairfield settled in the viilage of
Pascoag, town of Burrillville, northern Rhode Island. It is
supposed that he came to Rhode Island from Fairfield, Con-
necticut. A. M. Fairfield's grandmother, Phebe (Churchill)
Fairfield, was a descendant of Roger Williams, her mother's
maiden name being Williams. Her father, Joseph Churchill,
served in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War,
probably in the Rhode Island Line.
Sarah L. (Parker) Fairfield's parents were Captain Abel
and Sarah W. (Darling) Parker, both of whom died in this
county. She was the third generation from James and Eunice
(Emerson) Parker. He was an Englishman who settled in
Douglas, Mass. The children of their son Prince and his wife
Olive were Joseph, Prince, Abel, Lovel, Zary, and Polly.
A. M. Fairfield's parents were married in 1852, and a year
or two later his father, who was a machinist by trade, concluded
to leave the shop and go West. In the fall of 1855 the family
moved onto a farm near Rockford, Illinois. January 28, 1857,
a daughter, who was named Phebe Ellen, was born to them. In
the spring of 1857 the family moved to the little town of Jeffer-
son in Bremer county, Iowa, twelve miles north of Waterloo.
They lived there four years and then moved to Waterloo and
lived there four years. Here the father's health failed, and in
1865 they crossed the plains with a team to Honey Lake valley.
The mother's family, the Parkers, who also came to Rockford
and then to Jefferson, had emigrated to this valley in 1862. The
Fairfields lived with them two miles northwest of Milford during
the winter of 1865-66, and the children attended the first public
school taught in that district. In the summer of 1869 they re-
turned to Iowa, going by the newly constructed railroad, and
settled in Waverly, Bremer county. The daughter died at this
place in August, 1871. The son went to school in Waverly about
[xv]
THE AUTOBIOGEAPHY OF THE AUTHOR
a year and a half and in the spring of 1871 began teaching.
He taught three short terms of school in Iowa.
In the fall of 1873 the family came back to Honey Lake valley
and in the spring of 1875 settled on a place about three fourths
of a mile southeast of Janesville. The mother died there in 1893
and the father died at Janesville in 1904.
A. M. Fairfield began teaching at Janesville in the spring of
1875 and followed that profession the most of the time until the
summer of 1899. This teaching was done in Honey Lake valley
and in five districts — Janesville, Soldier Bridge, Richmond,
Johnstonville, and Lake. During the past six years he has been
engaged in collecting the material for this history and in writing
it. He has lived in this county, excepting four years, ever since
the fall of 1865 and most of that time has virtually known every-
body in this valley besides many others living in the county.
He was acquainted with the majority of the pioneers, and what
he learned from them and his knowledge of the people and the
conditions here in early days has been of much use in determining
the truth of many things written in the following pages.
A. M. Fairfield.
f xvi ]
CONTENTS
FOREWORD ix
AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF THE AUTHOR xv
DESCRIPTION OF LASSEN COUNTY xxi
CHAPTER I. 1848 TO 1856 3
The Lassen Trail, The Beckwourth Pass Road, Description of
Honey Lake Valley, The Indians, Early History of Honey Lake
Valley, Noble's Route, Fredonyer's Pass, First Settlement, Dr.
McClay Killed by an Indian.
CHAPTER II. 1856 30
Settlement, The Drowning of Isadore Meyerwitz and His Wife,
Roop House Register, Honey Lake Politics, Western Utah — Early
Settlement and Politics, State of the Desert, Utah Territory Or-
ganized, Settlement, Squatter Government, First County Organi-
zation, Carson County Created.
CHAPTER III. 1857 55
Settlement, Roop House Register, Western Utah Politics, Second
Attempt at Territorial Organization, Honey Lake Politics, Ter-
ritorial Meeting in Honey Lake Valley, Indian Troubles, The
Potato War, The Pursuit of the Indians Who Stole Vary 's Cattle,
Elliott and Ferry's Shooting Scrape, Barber Springs, Fight Over
the Noble Road, Conditions in Honey Lake at the Close of 1857.
CHAPTER IV. 1858 97
Settlement, Western Utah Politics, Judge Crane to His Constitu-
ents, Result of the Movement of 1857, Honey Lake Politics, Laws
of Honey Lake Valley, Indian Troubles, Treaty with the Smoke
Creek Pi Utahs Indians, Expedition to Cold Springs in Pursuit of
Indians, Captain Weatherlow's Fight with the Indians, Crawford
Killed by an Indian, The Trip to Goose Lake Valley in Pursuit
of the Indians, Another Indian Hunt, Chapman's Escape from
the Mormons, Ferry's Horse Taken by Sheriff J. D. Byers, The
Murder of Henry Gordier, The Arrest of Edwards, Lucky Bill,
and Others and Their Trial, and the Execution of Edwards and
Lucky Bill, The Black Rock Mining Excitement, The Fraser River
Mining Excitement, Pursuit of Horse Thieves, The First Flag in
the Valley, W. P. Hall's First Visit to Honey Lake Valley, Con-
ditions at the Close of 1858.
CHAPTER V. 1859 149
Settlement, Western Utah Politics, Movement of 1859, The Meet-
ing of the Legislature of Nevada, Informal Meeting of the Legis-
lature, Governor Roop's Proclamation, Indian Troubles, Life of
Peter Lassen, Death of Lassen, Lassen 's Masonic Charter, Trouble
with the Pit River Indians, Colonel Lander's Road Expedition,
Fast Mail through Honey Lake Valley and Noble's Pass, Death
of John Mote, The Killing of Van Hickey, A Common Occurrence
in Early Days, Row at a Dance at Richmond, Honey Lake Val-
ley's Reputation in 1859, The Winter of 1859-60, Conditions at
the Close of 1859.
[ xvii ]
CONTENTS
CHAPTEE VI. 1860 188
Settlement, Pioneers Who Are Still Living, Politics in the Provi-
sional Territory of Nevada, Honey Lake Politics, Indian Troubles,
The Murder of Dexter E. Demming, Cady and Blodgett Killed by
the Indians, The Pah-ute War, The Battle of Pyramid Lake, Gen-
erally Called ' ' The Ormsby Massacre, ' ' The War in Honey Lake
and Long Valleys, The Battle of the Truckee, Movements of the
Never Sweats, The Murder of Horace Adams, Lander and Weath-
erlow's Expedition Against the Pah-utes, Utt 's Escape from the
Indians, Colonel Lander 's Talk with Young Winnemucca, A Meet-
ing of the Citizens of Honey Lake Valley, Young Winnemucca 's
Talk with the Never Sweats, The Soldier's Bridge, The Shooting
of "Big" John Chapman, A Bear Story, Conditions at the Close
of 1860.
CHAPTER VII. 1861 239
Settlement, Nevada Territory Politics, Honey Lake Politics, In-
dian Troubles, The Murder of James Lawson, White's Horses
Stolen, Conditions at the Close of 1861.
CHAPTEE VIII. 1862 257
Settlement, Nevada Politics, Honey Lake Politics, Indian Troubles,
The Pursuit of the Indians Who Stole the Cattle of William B.
Long and Others, Two Indians Killed at the Lathrop and Brad-
ley Eanch, Fight with the Indians at the Lathrop Eanch, Hall's
Trip to the Humboldt, The Burning of the Mud Flat Station,
Horses and Cattle Stolen by the Indians from Susanville, The
Murder of James Bailey and William Cook, Two Indians Shot
Near Bankhead's, Four Men Attacked by the Indians Near the
Shaffer Eanch, An Attack by the Indians on Mud Flat, The Pur-
suit of the Indians, A Complaint from Susanville about the
Indians, Soldiers Promised to Honey Lake, Fredonyer's Talk
Against Time, Lassen's Monument, The First U. S. Mail Eoutes
in the County, Eough Elliott's Fight with Douglas, Cornelison
and Eafael Shot, William Fox Shot by Dr. E. F. Moody, Seaman
Killed by Hyde, Conditions in 1862.
CHAPTEE IX. 1S63 305
Settlement, Nevada Territory and Honey Lake Politics, The Sage
Brush, or Boundary Line, War, Indian Troubles, One of Old Win-
nemucca 's Escapes from Susanville, The Winter of 1863-64, The
First Death at Milford and at Janesville, An Attempt to Eecruit
for the Confederate Army, The Knights of the Golden Circle, The
Union League, A Cutting Affray at Janesville.
CHAPTEE X. 1864 338
Settlement, Lassen County Politics, The Organization of Lassen
County, Proceedings of the Lassen County Board of Supervisors —
First Meeting, The First Grand Jury, The First County Court, A
Set of Land Pirates in Armor of Brass, Indian Troubles, How
the Tule Confederacy Got Its Name, The Killing of Wales and
Boody, The Honey Lake Eangers, The Prices of Merchandise in
Susanville in 1864, The Never Sweats.
[ xviii ]
CONTENTS
CHAPTER XL 1865 364
Settlement, Lassen County Politics, Indian Troubles, The Murder
of Lucius Arcularius, The Massacre at Granite Creek Station,
The Murder of Bellew, The Death of Black Rock Tom, Black
Rock Tom 's Pale Horse, The Death of Pearson, Walker Killed by
Brunty, Spencer's Trouble with the Gamblers, The Road from
Chico to the Humboldt and Idaho Mines, The Overland and Idaho
Routes, Hanging of Charles Barnhart, Biddle Killed by Williams,
High Water.
CHAPTER XII. 1866 389
Settlement, Lassen County Politics, Indian Troubles, Fight with
the Indians in Guano Valley, Streshly, Mulroney, and Hough's
Mules Stolen by the Indians, Cattle Stolen from Honey Lakers
at Soldier Meadows, Nevada, Indians Killed at Papoose Valley,
"Old Tom" Killed, Edward Mulroney Wounded by the Indians,
Drake and Tussler's Fight with the Indians, A Row with the
Soldiers in Susanville, ' ' Buckskin Mose, ' ' Robert Wisbern Killed,
How Robber's Creek Got Its Name.
CHAPTER XIII. 1867 407
Settlement, Lassen County Politics, Indian Troubles, Gaddy Shot
at by an Indian, Old Winnemucca Pays Susanville Another Visit,
The Murder of Charles League, Indians Killed in Dry Valley,
Summers and Hurlbut 's Horses Stolen, The Murder of Mrs.
Thompson, The Marks-Myers "Shooting Scrape," The History
of the Black Rock Mines.
CHAPTER XIV. 1868 441
Settlement, The Settlement of Big Valley, Indian Troubles in
Big Valley, Lassen County Politics, Indian Troubles, John L.
Crow's Horses Stolen by the Indians. The Massacre of the Pear-
son Family and S. C. Cooper, The Pursuit of the Indians who
Killed the Pearson Family and Samuel Cooper — The Susanville
Party, The Pursuit of the Indians who Killed the Pearson Family
and Samuel Cooper — The Long Valley Party, An Indian Scare in
Long Valley, The Exterminators, Indians Hanged for the "Pear-
son Massacre, ' ' Honey Lake Very High.
CHAPTER XV. 1869 466
Settlement, The Settlement of Dixie Valley and Vicinity, Hayden
Hill and Its Mines, The Early History of Bieber, The Susanville
Water System, Lassen County Politics, Indian Troubles, The Mur-
der of Partridge and Coburn, Three Indians Killed for the Mur-
der of Partridge and Coburn, Another Indian Hanged in Susan-
ville, The Death of Governor I. N. Roop and a Short Account of
His Early Life.
CHAPTER XVI. IN CONCLUSION 485
Old Winnemucca 's Death, The Death of Young Winnemucca, Las-
sen County Pioneer Society, The Diversions of Early Days, The
Death Roll of the Pioneers, A. W. Wern's Tribute to the Pioneers
of Lassen County, California, Conclusion.
[xix]
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
THE AUTHOR Frontispiece
PETER LASSEN Facing Page 166
SUSANVHiLE IN 1864 Facing Page 338
ISAAC N. ROOP Facing Page 480
MAP OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA, AND
SURROUNDING COUNTRY Back of Book
XX
DESCRIPTION OF LASSEN COUNTY
The following brief description is given for the benefit of any
one who is not acquainted with this section.
A glance at the map will show Lassen county's location in
California, and that it is bounded on the east by Nevada. It
will also show that it lies east of the Sierra Nevada mountains
and is a part of the Great Basin, that elevated, semi-arid country
lying between the Sierra Nevada and Cascade mountains on the
west and the Rocky mountains on the east. Big valley, Ash
valley, and Mountain Meadows are drained by tributaries of the
Sacramento river, but their characteristics are the same as the
rest of the county.
Its surface is very rugged, probably two-thirds of it consisting
of hills and mountains, the highest peaks of the latter rising to
an altitude of from 6500 to 8400 feet. Its western part is
covered with heavy timber; and the east line of this heavily
timbered belt, beginning at the southern end of the county, runs
up the wrestern side of Long valley, along the southern and
western sides of Honey Lake valley, and then to the southern end
of Eagle Lake. From there it extends in a northwesterly direc-
tion to Dixie valley, thence to the south side of Big valley, and
around the southern and western sides of it to the Modoc county
line. There are a few small bodies of good timber east of this;
but, as a rule, where there is any timber, it is juniper or scrubby
pine.
Excepting Pit river and its tributaries and a few mountain
creeks that help to form the headwaters of Feather river, the
streams of the county, all of which are small, flow into lakes,
or sinks, which have no outlets.
The valleys of the county are Honey Lake, Madeline Plains,
Big valley, Long valley, Willow Creek, Ash valley, Secret, Horse
Lake, Dixie, Mountain Meadows, Red Rock, Grasshopper, and
Dry valleys. The altitude of these valleys ranges from about
4000 feet to 5300 or 5400 feet. Their climate is temperate with a
touch of the semi-tropical, for there is a wet season and a dry
one. The moisture and temperature depend, however, on the
elevation and the proximity to the Sierra Nevada mountains ;
but the heat, cold, and the amount of rain and snow are very
variable, sometimes the dry season being very wet and the wet
[xxi]
DESCRIPTION OF LASSEN COUNTY
one very dry. Occasionally there is a year when there are slight
snow falls through March and a part of April, and once in a great
while snow falls to a considerable depth late in the spring, but
it does not stay very long. As a rule, the crops are raised by
irrigation, and the grains, fruits, and vegetables of the temperate
zone are produced. A great deal of hay is raised, and stock
raising is one of the principal industries of the county. Though
politically in California, Lassen county, in every other respect,
is a part of Nevada.
[ xxii
THE HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY
CHAPTER I
THE YEARS 1848 TO 1856
There is nothing to show when the first white man, or
men, set foot within the limits of this county. In the fall of
1848 a small train of immigrants under the leadership of Peter
Lassen went the entire length of the western part of it. It is
reasonable to believe, though, that wandering bands of hunters
and trappers had passed through here before that time.
The Lassen Trail
The writer believes that the following description of the orig-
inal Lassen Trail is the most correct one in existence.
The "Hesperian Magazine" of August, 1859, Bancroft's His-
tory, and "Fifty Years of Masonry in California" say that
Lassen went east across the plains with Commodore Stockton in
1847, and the following spring started from Missouri with a train
of twelve wagons. These immigrants were to settle on his grant
at the mouth of Deer Creek, in the southeastern part of what is
now Tehama county, California. (For a full account of the
life of Lassen, see the year 1859 in this book.)
At that time the emigrant road ran up the Platte and Sweet-
water rivers, through the South Pass, and on to Fort Hall, which
was near the Snake river and almost due north of Salt Lake City.
The road to California ran southwest from Fort Hall to the
headwaters of the Humboldt river, and then followed down that
stream to its sink. Lassen came this road until he reached the
Big Bend of the Humboldt river, and there he turned into the
Applegate road which went into southern Oregon.
Bancroft says that in June, 1846, "Levi Scott, Jesse Apple-
gate, Lindsey Applegate, John Scott, Moses Harris, Henry
Bogus, John Owens, John Jones, Robert Smith, Samuel Goodhue,
Bennett Osborne, William Sportsman, William Parker, Benj.
Burch, and David Goff" started from Polk county, Oregon, to
find a route from there through the Cascade mountains, and
out to the regular emigrant road to California. They succeeded
in finding a road out to the Humboldt river, and went on to
Fort Hall to meet the coming immigration. Bancroft says that
there they got ninety or a hundred wagons to go with them
instead of taking the northern route, and these they conducted
into Oregon by the new road. F. and S. (hereafter the "History
[3]
HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
of Plumas, Lassen, and Sierra Counties" will be referred to
in this way) say there were forty-two wagons and one hundred
and fifty people. At the Big Bend of the Humboldt river, near
what was afterwards called Lassen 's Meadows, they left the river
and went west to Antelope springs, and then to Rabbit Hole
springs. After going a little farther west, they went northwest
across the desert to the Big Hot spring west of Black Rock
mountain, which is at the southern extremity of the Black Rock
range. They kept along the western side of this range up to
Mud Meadows, and then turned west into High Rock canyon.
They went up through this canyon, and on to a point about two
and a half miles south of the Massacre Lakes; and turning to
the southwest, went across to the 49 canyon, and down that into
Surprise valley. Crossing the valley between the two upper
lakes, they kept up the west side to the Fandango Pass, for many
years called Lassen's Pass, and there went over into Goose Lake
valley. They kept down the east side of Goose lake until they
reached a narrow place in it, south of west of the Sugar Loaf.
All the way down the lake they had kept close to the edge of it ;
and here, near the northwest corner of Section II, Township 45
north, Range 13 east, they crossed the lake, going a little west
of north. It is said that the old road can still be seen where it
goes into the water on each side of the lake. The Oregon road
then turned to the northwest and went around the north end of
Clear and Tule lakes.
Lassen followed the Applegate road until he reached the
lower end of Goose lake, and here the Lassen Trail really begins.
One old road turned off on the west side of the lake and ran
almost south, crossing the Devil's Garden, and striking Pit river
near the mouth of Rattlesnake creek. A. Delano, who went over
the road in 1849, and in 1857 published a book entitled "Life
on the Plains and Among the Diggings," says he never crossed
the bed of the lake, but went right on down the river. "Without
doubt, both roads were used. The writer has never been able
to learn how far north of the Applegate road the water was at
that time. Lassen kept down on the north side of the river and
crossed it near the mouth of the canyon below what is now called
Canby. He then went over into Stone Coal valley and down that
to the river, and again followed down the river, being obliged
to crass it frequently and sometimes to go along the sides of the
[4]
THE YEARS 1848 TO 1856
hills above it. About ten miles above where Lookout now stands
he crossed the river for the last time, going over to the east side
of it, and then went down through Big valley, then called Eound
valley, keeping close to the river and passing through the present
site of Bieber. As early as 18-19 a road ran from the upper end
of the valley north to the Applegate road. They left the valley
at the Thompson place, where George Thompson and his family
settled in the spring of 1872, and climbed the hill to the plateau
above the river. They then went on almost south, keeping about
a mile from the river until it turned west, over to Clark's valley
and then on the same course to the west end of Little Dixie valley.
From all that can be learned, it seems that the original trail
went from Little Dixie about eight miles south of west to Beaver
creek. There it turned and ran a little east of south to the west
end of Poison lake, and then to Pine creek at the place where
the road from Susanville to Dixie valley and that part of the
country now crosses it. A little later on another road was made,
which ran from the west end of Little Dixie to its southeast cor-
ner, just touched Big Dixie, and ran about three miles farther
to the southeast. Then it turned southwest, passed along the
west side of Shroder lake, and kept on that course until it met
the other road at the southwest corner of Poison lake.
From Pine creek Lassen went a few miles southeast, turned
south, passed Feather lake, crossed Susan river just west of
Norvall Flat, passed west of Duck lake, and crossed Clear creek
about a hundred yards above where the road crossed it in 1910,
or before Westwood was built. He then went on to the Big
spring in the north arm of Big Meadows, and kept on south
until he got north of where the original Prattville stood. Then
turning to the southwest, he crossed the river about a mile above
that place, and kept on that course about seven miles farther,
until he struck the north fork of Butt creek. He followed up
Butt creek northwest to its head in Soldier Meadows, through
these meadows (this is the Deer creek pass) to Lost creek, and
down that to Deer creek. Delano says the trail followed down
this stream eight miles to the last crossing, and two miles below
that left the creek. After going about fourteen miles, they
reached the top of the ridge between Deer creek and Mill creek ;
and they followed down the summit of this ridge for twenty
miles. He also says "Eight miles from the foot-hills was the
[5]
HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
house of Col. Davis, where the Lawson Trail first struck Deer
creek. About a mile below this was Lawson 's on the opposite
side of the creek. At Lawson 's were two or three small adobe
buildings, one of which was by courtesy called a store, having
a little flour, whiskey, and groceries for sale. Flour was $50 a
hundred, beef 35 cents, pork 75 cents, sugar 50 cents, and cheese
$1.50 per pound." (Lassen's buildings were on the south side
of Deer creek and perhaps a mile and a half from the mouth of it.
In early days Lassen's name was pronounced "Lawson" and
sometimes spelled that way. The early settlers pronounced the
name of the county ' ' Lawson. ' ' Men who were well acquainted
with Lassen say that he pronounced his name "Lassen," the
Danes of today say it is "Lassen," so it seems that the pro-
nunciation of this county's name, like its weather, must be
guessed at. — F.)
The Lassen Trail was a "holy terror," so to speak. See on
the map the distance from the Black Rock mountain to Clear
creek by the road through Honey Lake valley, and see where
Lassen took his train to get there. It took Delano two days over
a month to go from the Humboldt river to Lassen's ranch. After
the experience of the 1849 immigrants it was called the "Death
Eoute" and "Lassen's Horn Route," probably because it was
about as much of a cutoff as going around Cape Horn would
have been. A great immigration went over this road in 1849 ;
some of them going this way because they were afraid of the
forty miles of sandy desert between the Humboldt sink and Rag-
town on the Carson river. From Lassen's Meadows to Rabbit
Hole springs is something like thirty miles, and Antelope springs
are about half way between them. At this time none of these
springs had been opened up, and afforded very little water, and
there was no feed worth speaking of at either place. It was
nearly thirty miles across the desert to the Big Hot spring west
of the Black Rock mountain, and five miles beyond that they
found the first good grass since leaving the Humboldt river.
They had jumped from the frying pan into the fire, and their
troubles had only begun. At the hot springs in this vicinity a
great many wagons were abandoned, and traces of them can still
be seen here, and in the High Rock canyon, too. In fact, wagons,
etc., were left all along the road. Their teams gave out or died,
or were stolen by the Indians; and they had to leave their
[6]
THE YEARS 1848 TO 1856
wagons, and go on the best they could. Some cut their wagons in
two, and made carts out of parts of them; and on these they
hauled their families and what little else they could.
Going from the Hot springs up to Mud Meadows they had a
long stretch of sandy desert, and Delano says they let their
wagons down into the High Rock canyon with ropes. From
Surprise valley up through Fandango, or Lassen's, pass, the
mountain looks a person in the face, and one would hardly want
to go over the old road with a pack train. Probably it was rough
traveling from Hot Spring valley to Big valley, although not
so bad as in many other places. They say it makes a person's
hair stand up to see where they came down into Horse creek at
Little Dixie valley, and the marks on the trees show that they
let their wagons down with ropes there, too. Because it was a
very dry time, they went across Big Meadows without any
trouble; the swamps being almost, or entirely, dry that year.
Delano says they cut hay in Big Meadows and carried it along
to feed their teams on the fifty miles of mountain desert to be
traveled over after leaving there, and that twenty miles of the
road between the last crossing of Deer creek and the Sacramento
valley was on the top of a ridge. Sometimes the top of this
ridge was fifty rods wide, and in other places it was just wide
enough for the road; and sometimes it was hundreds of feet
almost straight down from the top of the ridge. To make matters
worse, this ridge was crossed occasionally by ravines which made
hard, rocky, sideling hills to go down and up. William Fish,
who knows that country well, says there are two places called
"The Narrows," where at each place, for perhaps two hundred
feet, it was hard work to drive along with a wagon without
tipping over. He says there was water at different places near
the summit ; but probably the immigrants did not find it, and
went a long ways down into the canyon after it. After leaving
the ridge the ground sloped gradually into the valley. Live oaks
grew along here, and the immigrants cut a good many of them
down for their stock to browse on.
It looks as though Lassen didn't know where he was going.
They used to say that when he got to Goose lake, he saw Mt.
Shasta one day and Lassen's Butte the next. He didn't know
the difference, and traveled one day toward one of them and the
next day toward the other. It is also told that out in the Pine
[7]
HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY; CALIFORNIA
creek country he got lost, and the men in his train threatened to
hang him. He told them that if they would let him go to the
top of the mountain near by, he could find the way. They let
him go, and from the mountain he was able to get on the right
course again. The writer will not vouch for the truthfulness of
either story, but he has heard both of them told a good many
times. F. and S. say that Lassen led his train along safely until
it reached Mt. Meadows, or Big Meadows; and there their pro-
visions and animals both gave out, and they had to stop. This
was about the first of November. The news of the discovery
of gold did not reach Oregon until the last of August. Immedi-
ately twenty wagons set out for California, and there being no
other road, they followed the Applegate road out to Goose lake,
and there took the trail Lassen's train had made a few weeks
before. When they overtook Lassen, they helped him finish
his journey.
The following quotations tell the history of those who went
over the Lassen Trail after 1848. F. and S. say: "The experi-
ence of Lassen's party in 1848 was repeated the next year, when
a large emigration came over that route, and became snowed in
and out of provisions on the headwaters of Feather river. "When
word of their precarious situation reached the valley, the people
of San Francisco, Stockton, and Sacramento, who remembered
the sad fate of the Donner party, made a great effort in their
behalf. Their condition was reported to Gen. Percifer F. Smith,
who, with the consent of Gen. Bennett Riley, the military gov-
ernor, placed one hundred thousand dollars in the hands of
Major Rucker, U. S. Quartermaster, to- purchase animals and
supplies for their relief. The military authorities were the more
moved to this act of humanity because Gen. Wilson, U. S.
Indian Agent, was among the sufferers. John H. Peoples, who
was afterwards drowned in one of the Trinidad expeditions, was
selected to lead the relief party. About the first of October Mr.
Peoples started with twenty-four pack-animals, three wagons,
and fifty-six beef-cattle, having twenty-five men in his party.
He found the emigrants in the snow on Pit river, out of food,
and suffering with the scurvy. On the first of December he
brought in fifty families to Lassen's ranch, including Gen. Wil-
son's, the last thirty miles being traversed through a blinding
[S]
THE YEARS 1848 TO 1856
snow-storm. The majority of the emigrants settled in the head
of Sacramento valley, or went to the Trinity mines in the early
spring."
A. Delano has this to say : ' ' Those who left Missouri late in
the season (1849) and could not arrive until November experi-
enced incredible hardships. The previous trains had eaten up
all the grass and thousands of cattle perished. Worn out with
fatigue and weak for want of nourishment they arrived late in
the season in the mountainous region of the Sierras. The snow
and rain commenced much earlier than usual and fell to an
unprecedented depth, and it seemed utterly impossible for them
to get through. Many suffered from scurvy and fevers from
using salt and impure provisions. Keports of these sufferings
reached the settlements, and the government and individuals
contributed largely, and sent out a detachment to afford all the
relief they could, and bring the suffering emigrants in. The last
of the emigrants on the Lassen route had reached the Feather
river when the government train reached them with mules. Some
had been without food for two or three days, and with others
a heavy body of snow lay on the ground. Three men made a
desperate effort to get through. For some days they had been
on an allowance of but one meal a day, but baking up all the
bread they had left, which was only a supply for two days, they
started for Lawson's, a distance of seventy miles. The snow
was between two and three feet deep yet they waded through
it for a few miles, and came to a wagon containing two women
and two or three children who had eaten nothing for three days.
They gave all they had in the way of food to them and went on.
They succeeded in reaching Lawson's. Many knocked their
animals in the head and lived on the meat until the government
train arrived. Strong men fell down exhausted, and women
waded through the deep snow carrying their helpless children.
The only food they had was their animals, and men became so
famished that they cut meat from horses and mules which had
perished from hunger and thirst by the road-side. When the
government train arrived the women and children were placed
on the mules, exposed to a furious snow-storm in which many of
the animals perished; but the emigrants finally succeeded in
getting through, when the government furnished them with
boats to carry them to Sacramento as the roads along the valley
had become impassable."
[9]
HISTOEY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFOKNIA
Bayard Taylor in "Eldorado or Adventures in the Path of
Empire, ' ' says : ' ' Public meetings were held in San Francisco
by the citizens to contribute means of relief. Major Eucker took
the expedition over the Lassen road himself. He found a large
body of emigrants scattered along Pit river, many without pro-
visions and others without animals, the Indians having stolen
them. There were so many who needed his assistance that he
had to come back to the ranches on Deer creek for more supplies,
and leaving Mr. Peoples to hurry them up. They were very
apathetic about trying to move rapidly. At the first part of
the journey they threw away supplies that they needed ; and now
they hung onto useless goods and refused to lighten the loads
of their teams. While they were crossing the mountains to
Deer creek a violent storm came on, and Mr. Peoples made them
leave their wagons and hurry forward with the remaining ani-
mals. They finally got into Sacramento valley with the loss of
many wagons and animals. Major Eucker went at once to Deer
creek and saw that they were favorably established for the
winter. They built log houses; and the government gave them
flour from its stores and bought cattle from the neighboring
ranches, and this furnished them with food for the winter. ' '
Delano also says: "But a small portion of the emigration
of 1850 came by the Lawson, or northern, route. The character
of this route was now generally understood, and but few
attempted it, fortunately. Those who did, almost without excep-
tion, suffered severely. The Indians on Pit river were very
hostile. In one night they stole twenty-seven mules from one
train, which so completely broke it up that the emigrants were
compelled to leave their wagons and pack what they could on
the few mules they had left, leaving their wagons and goods to
be plundered by the Indians."
After 1850 little or no emigration went over the Lassen Trail.
A great deal of the road, though, has been used ever since ; but
of course it has been worked and improved. In many places,
through deep canyons and mountain passes, the remaining traces
show the difficulties encountered by those who first used it.
Eelics of the emigrant days, such as chains and irons where
abandoned wagons were burned, and goods buried because they
could be carried no farther, are even now occasionally found.
[10]
THE YEARS 1848 TO 1856
The Beckwourth Pass Road
In the spring of 1851 James P. Beckwourth, the old "moun-
tain man, ' ' or trapper, discovered the pass which bears his name,
although it is misspelled; and that fall conducted an emigrant
train of seventeen wagons from the Truckee river through it to
American valley, and then on to Marysville. This road entered
the limits of Lassen county about a mile and a half from its
southeastern corner, ran north down Long valley creek to the
pass, and then went through it into Sierra valley. This road
was much used during the emigration to California, and has
been used ever since.
Description op Honey Lake Valley
Honey Lake valley, the Land of the Never Sweats, was the
part of the county first settled ; and was for almost twenty years
the only part of it that was settled to any great extent. Its size
and location can be seen from the map. The mountains on its
southern and western sides are heavily timbered; but those on
the north and east are without timber, excepting a few scattering
junipers. The lake is shallow, the water muddy, and more or
less alkaline. The peninsula extending into the lake is locally
known as "The Island," or, as lately called by some, "Honey
Island." The elevation of Honey lake is 3949 feet.
The early settlers found the valley in some respects different
from what it is now; and what is said about this valley applies,
in almost every way, to the rest of the county. Excepting some
natural meadow land along the streams, the country was covered
with sagebrush. Those who came through here in early days
remembered that more than anything else. On a great deal of
land where little or no grass can now be seen, rye grass grew as
high as a man's head, and bunch grass grew everywhere. There
was literally "thousands of feed." Uncle Johnny Baxter said
that December, 1857, about a foot of snow came. He had a little
bunch of cattle running around his place, which was about three-
quarters of a mile down the edge of the timber from Janesville,
or Bankhead's; and when they came near the house he threw
some hay out to them. They sniffed at it a little and went away
without eating it. There was plenty of dry grass above the snow,
and they liked it better than they did the hay. For many years
stock did well all winter without feed, and it was a matter of
[11]
HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
astonishment how fat the range cattle got in the summer time.
In the fall of 1856 Fred Hines traded for some poor emigrant |
oxen out on the Humboldt river. He drove them to this valley
and left them on the range through the winter. He said that
the next spring they were the fattest cattle he ever saw.
The ground had not been tramped down, and was light and
loose, and there were no trails or roads to carry the water off.
During the rainy season the water went into the ground and
made it very soft. All over the valley it would "mire a saddle
blanket. ' ' One spring in the early 60 's, John F. Hulsman hauled
a load of wood to Richmond with a couple of yoke of oxen. On
the way home the wheel cattle walked faster than the leaders,
and would turn out and try to pass them. Every time one of
them got a little out of the road he mired down, and Hulsman
had to pull him out with the leaders. This happened so many
times that it took him nearly all the afternoon to get home, a
distance of only a few miles. On account of the looseness of the
soil, it was easily worked. In 1862 S. R. Hall put in thirty-five
acres of grain on the south side of the river seven or eight miles
below Susanville. He never plowed the ground, just harrowed
in the seed, and he got thirty-five bushels of oats, and twenty-five
bushels of wheat, to the acre.
Either because not so much water flowed in them, or because
the channels were not broken, the beds of the streams were not
washed out as they are now. Where the road from Susanville
to Janesville crosses the Baxter creek, a sixteen mule team and
three wagons could have been driven across the stream without
any trouble. At the old James D. Byers ranch on Baxter creek :
northeast of Janesville, where there is now a hole in the ground, |
they used to cut one hundred and fifty tons of hay yearly. In |
1856 the falls in Susan river were about fifteen feet high, and
were where the Toadtown ( Johnston ville) grist mill now stands,
or perhaps a little lower down. In two years they washed back
to a little above where the Lake Leavitt reservoir dam is now.
In many other places deep channels have been cut where at one
time the water ran almost on the top of the ground.
Deer, antelope, sage hens, water-fowl, and rabbits were very
plentiful ; and there were bears, mountain lions, and a few moun-
tain sheep in the mountains. In the winter of 1859, and perhaps
considerably later than that, a person in "Rooptown" could see
[12]
THE YEARS 1848 TO 1856
bands of deer and antelope feeding on the hills to the north.
Twenty years after that there were large bands of antelope in
the country around Secret and Pete's valleys, and deer could
be found almost anywhere in the hills and mountains.
The Indians
When Lassen county was first settled by the whites, the
southern part of it and along the south side of Honey lake was
claimed by the Wassaw, or Wasso (Washoe), Indians. The
Pah Utahs, or Pah Utes (Piutes), claimed the rest of the valley
and the most of the eastern part of the county. The Pit Rivers
lived along that stream, and probabl}r the Hat creek and the
Dixie valley Indians were branches of the same tribe. The Pah
Utahs and Pit Rivers made raids nearly all over the county, and
occasionally a band of Modocs or Bannocks came down as far
as the southern part of it. In the spring of 1857, "Old Tom"
and "Old Charley," Indian valley Indians, and their families
lived in the upper part of Honey Lake valley, and may have been
there three or four years before that.
The Washoe Indians ranged along the base of the Sierras,
west of the Pah Utahs, from Walker lake to Honey lake. The
two tribes were bitter enemies ; and there never was a treaty of
peace between them until 1908, or about that time. In 1859
Major Dodge, the Indian Agent, reported that they numbered
about 900, and that they owned not one pony, horse, or mule.
The Pah Utahs, who spoke the same language as the Bannocks,
ranged over nearly all of what is now the state of Nevada, north-
eastern California, and some of southeastern Oregon and south-
western Idaho. Major Dodge reported in 1859 that there were
between 6000 and 7000 of them. They lived principally along
the rivers and around the lakes of the country belonging to them.
When first known to the whites, "Old" Winnemucca, or Po-i-to
(in a treaty made in 1858 it is spelled Winnemorha and Winne-
morhas, and another authority has it Wonamucca) was their
head chief, and under him were many sub-chiefs. His head-
quarters were at Pyramid lake. Out in the Smoke creek country
there was a band of renegade Pah Utahs under a chief the whites
called "Smoke Creek Sam." This band was on friendly terms
with the main tribe of the Pah Utahs, but they were never very
much under the control of Old Winnemucca.
[13]
HISTOKY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
The Washoes never gave the settlers much trouble after the
"Potato War." The Pit Rivers were always very hostile, and
committed many depredations until the most of them were killed
or taken away. Except in 1860, the Pyramid lake Pah Utahs
never had much trouble with any of the whites. A few years
later on, Smoke Creek Sam's band, and that of Black Rock Tom,
who ranged a little farther to the east, committed many depre-
dations on the settlers of that section, and also on the travelers
along the road from the Humboldt river to Honey Lake.
Until the latter part of 1857, the settlers here had very little
trouble with the Indians. Perhaps they stole a little whenever
they had a chance, but at that time there was not much here to
steal. The settlers had few animals, and did not raise much on
the land. Among these Indians it seemed to be the custom to
share with each other; and when one had food, the others helped
him eat it. At first they seemed to think this was the custom
among the whites, too, and some of them may have taken vege-
tables, etc., through ignorance. During the winter of 1854-5,
when I. N. and Ephriam Roop stayed in the valley, an Indian
stole a table-cloth that E. Roop had made out of flour sacks; and
had washed and hung out on the line to dry. When he was
caught with the goods, I. N. Roop yanked him around and booted
him a little to show him he had done wrong ; and then Old Winne-
mucca told him to leave and not come back there any more.
Old Winnemucca was a friendly sort of a fellow, and in 1856
the settlers made a treaty with him. Capt. William Weatherlow
says the terms of the treaty were "that if any Indian committed
any depredation or stole anything from the whites, the settlers
should come to Winnemucca and make complaint to him and not
take their revenge indiscriminately upon the Indians. And the
whites agreed that if a white man should steal horses or cattle I
from the Indians or molest the squaws, that Winnemucca should I
come and make his complaint and they would redress his wrongs
and punish the offender. The settlers also passed a resolution)
that no white man should molest or live with a squaw in the
valley, under penalty of being summarily dealt with and driven!
from the settlement. The treaty was faithfully observed on both '
sides, in not a single instance was there a misunderstanding , j
between the whites and the Indians. ' ' Of course this referred to
Winnemucca and his Indians.
[14]
THE YEAKS 1848 TO 1856
This is speaking in general terms. The white men and the
Indians could not live in the same neighborhood very long with-
out finding some excuse for killing one another, even though
there was no actual warfare going on between them. The Indian
killed the white man because the latter had something he wanted,
or he wanted to keep him out of the country. Sometimes he
killed him out of revenge for the killing of an Indian, or for
some other wrong done by the whites. The white man killed the
Indian because he had stolen something or killed a white; and
sometimes the Indian was killed for the fun of it, or because the
white man wanted to say that he had killed an "Injun." It is
said that Joseph L. Meek, the "mountain man" and trapper, and
his partner, when out one morning looking after their traps,
killed some inoffensive Indians. When they got back to camp
and told about it, some one asked if the Indians had molested
their traps or stolen anything. Meek said ' ' No, but they looked
as if they were going to." Many frontiersmen looked upon an
Indian as a wild animal and treated him like one. The only good
Indian was a dead one. The Indians were blamed because they
killed any white man out of revenge, whether he had wronged
them or not. This was the way the Indians were raised, and
they knew no better. White men were raised under the teachings
of Christianity, and they have been doing the same thing ever
since the settlement of America began. When a man has had his
family or friends killed, or his stock driven off by the Indians ; he
can not be blamed if he follows them, and takes ample revenge.
But killing human beings in cold blood, without any excuse for
it, is another thing. One thing that kept up hostilities between
the two races was the fact that there always were white men
who, out of revenge, killed an Indian every chance they had,
whether there was war going on or not. Among the pioneers of
this county there were several men of that kind ; and, no doubt,
they honestly thought they were justified in doing it. A man
who once lived in this valley told that in early days he met an
Indian who had a good rifle. After some talk he bought the gun
and paid the Indian for it. He went on a short distance, and
then returned and followed the Indian and shot him. He took
from his dead body the money he had paid for the gun, and went
his way rejoicing ; thinking, no doubt, that it was a good joke on
the Indian, and that he had done some clever financial work.
[15]
HISTOKY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
In the following pages it will be seen that in many cases, before
a massacre by the Indians took place, one or more Indians had
been killed for the fun of it; and the savages wreaked their
vengeance as soon as possible, perhaps on innocent people. It
was inevitable that the two races would fight, and that the Indians
would be killed off or driven away; but in numberless cases a
little more justice on the part of the whites would have saved a
great deal of trouble and bloodshed.
The Early History of Honey Lake Valley
Honey lake and Honey Lake valley were named from the
honey-dew found on the grass and some of the trees and bushes,
but it is not certain who gave them the name. After much
research in the pioneer literature relating to northern California
the writer is satisfied that June, 1852, is the first time the name
ever appeared in print, and that Mr. Noble, or some member of
the party with him at the time, named them in the spring of 1852,
or possibly in the spring of 1851. (See "Noble's Route.")
It is also uncertain what white men discovered the valley, or
when that event took place. The following is a synopsis of what
is told by F. and S. : James P. Beckwourth claimed to have
visited the valley in 1845 with a party of hunters and trappers.
His biography says he was in California in 1852, but tells
nothing of the following incident. Beckwourth settled near his
pass early in 1852, and soon afterwards a party of miners from
Jamison creek, in pursuit of some Indians, stopped at his place.
He told them that, judging from the course taken by the savages,
they were headed for a large valley which he had visited in 1845.
He then gave them a description of the valley, and said that it
could not be more than seventy-five or a hundred miles from
there. At their request he went with them. They rode hard
until sundown, and during the night as fast as they could and
follow the trail. About daylight the next morning they reached
the top of the mountain southeast of where Milford now stands.
They could see the Indians they were after just going out of the
timber toward the lake; but there were a good many more in
sight, so the white men went no farther. They didn't get any
Indians, but they proved Beckwourth 's statement that he had
seen Honey lake before that time. (Judging from the time it
took them to reach the lake they saw, and from what old timers
[161
THE YEARS 1848 TO 1856
said about Beckvvourth 's truth and veracity, it is doubtful
whether they proved it or not. — F.)
F. and S. make several more surmises as to who were the first
white men who entered this county, but tell nothing for certain.
It is said that in 1850 a man named Stoddard led a party
from Nevada City in search of the lost "Gold Lake." They
followed up Feather river until they got into the country south
of Honey lake. They had met with a great many hardships on
the trip, and had found no "Gold Lake"; so they held a consul-
tation, and decided to hang Stoddard at once. Finally they
concluded to let him hunt for the lake one more day, and that
was to be his last chance. It would seem, though, that Stoddard
did not want to take any more chances, for that night he left
them and went to the mines of the lower country. From this
incident Last Chance valley is said to have been named. If this
story is true, there is a possibility that some of this party may
have gone up to the summit of the mountain and looked down
into this valley. All of the foregoing, however, is only surmise,
and the writer can find nothing to prove that any white man ever
set foot in this valley before 1851.
Noble's Route
F. and S. say, no authority given,: "Early in the spring of
1851, a prospecting party of eighty men, headed by a man named
Noble, and now known as Noble's party, after crossing Indian
valley, passed through the mountains to Honey Lake valley. The
company soon returned and disbanded, but Noble, who was
impressed with the value of the pass through the mountains
which they had found, went to Shasta, then the chief town in the
extreme northern portion of the state, and made known his
discovery to the enterprising business men of that place. The
pass was then called and has since been known as 'Noble's pass.'
Realizing the fact that the opening of an emigrant route through
the upper mountains with its terminus at Shasta would be of
vast benefit to that town commercially, the business men of that
place raised a subscription, and hired Noble and a small party
of men to go out to the Humboldt, and divert as much of the
stream of emigration as possible through the new pass, and to the
town of Shasta. ' '
In Hutchings' California Magazine for June, 1857, an un-
[17]
HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
named contributor says that Big Meadows, then called "Lassen's
Big Meadows," was the west end of Noble's pass; and that the
old settlers of Indian valley claimed that to Peter Lassen is due
the honor of having discovered the Noble's pass route, having
known it long before Noble saw it. He was Noble's guide all
through this route, Mr. Noble being entirely unacquainted with
it. The writer also said that Lassen solemnly told the same thing
to him in 1854.
A part of the foregoing, at least, is certainly a mistake. The
Noble route never went through Big Meadows and down Deer
creek ; and if Lassen knew that route, he must have found it after
he made the Lassen Trail. It doesn 't seem reasonable to suppose
that if he knew of the Noble's pass route, he would take a party
of emigrants up to Oregon and back, just to get from the Black
Rock peak to Mt. Meadows. If he did, he should have been
punished for it.
"The Shasta Courier," late in June, 1852, says that Mr.
Noble had promised for the consideration of Two Thousand
Dollars, to show the route for a wagon road across the Sierra
Nevada mountains that would be superior in every respect to the
routes previously traveled. A party of citizens offered to accom-
pany Mr. Noble in making a thorough search for the route, and
they left Shasta, May 3, 1852. W. W. Asbury says that John
Fallensly, John Dreibelbis, Jack Hammans, — Swain, and Chas.
Kyle were among those who went with him. They got back June
24, 1852, and reported that Mr. Noble had fulfilled his promises
to the letter, and in some respects more than fulfilled them. They
called it three hundred miles to the Humboldt, and thought the
distance could be traveled in eight days with a pack train. The
greatest distance between watering places between the Humboldt
and Honey lake was only twenty-five miles, and there was plenty
of grass on the road. They said that Honey Lake valley was very
rich and fertile, and well situated for cultivation. Several mem-
bers of the company took up claims at this place, and intended to
return in a few days and improve them. The party remained on
the Humboldt river eight days. While resting at that place, a
party of twenty-two men passed on their way from Yreka to St.
Louis. With these men Mr. Noble left his party, and started for
his borne in Ohio.
The following description of the Noble Route is taken from an
[18]
THE YEAES 1S48 TO 1856
article published in Hutehings' California Magazine for June,
1857, which was written by John A. Dreibelbis, who went over
the road in 1852, and several times in 1853. Asbury and Hines
describe it about the same as he does. This route followed the
Applegate-Lassen Trail about thirty miles, nearly west, to the
Rabbit Hole springs; and then between twenty-five and thirty
miles northwest to the Hot springs west of the Black Rock peak.
Here the Noble's Pass Route begins. Leaving the old road, it
turned southwest and went nearly twenty-five miles to the old
Granite Creek Station. From there it came on to Deep Hole
springs, Buffalo springs, Smoke creek, Rush creek, Mud springs,
and then to the Susan river, striking it, or some of its sloughs,
about three miles from the lake. It kept up on the north side of
the river, and crossed Piute creek just a little north of where
Main Street now crosses it. It went on over the hill, up past the
Big spring, crossed Bridge creek; and keeping on northwest,
struck the Lassen Trail and followed it a few miles until it crossed
Pine creek. It kept on the same course until it got to Poison
lake ; and then turning to the west, went south of the lake and on
to Black Butte creek, now called Butte creek. (In early days the
Cinder Cone was called Black Butte.) It then turned south and
followed up that creek, turned southwest, going just north of the
Black Butte, and thence west four miles to Pine Meadows. (Per-
haps this was Badger Flat.) From there it went northwest four
miles to Hat creek, west two miles to Lost creek ; and then south-
west fourteen miles to John Hill's ranch on Deer Flat on the
north fork of Battle creek, going through Noble's Pass on the
way. Sometimes the country between Pine creek and Butte
creek was called Noble's Pass. It then kept southwest eight
miles to McCumber's mill, probably on, or near, what is now
called Macomber's Flat; and on three miles to Shingletown. It
then went four miles to what he calls Charley 's Ranch, probably
going northwest past the place where Ogburn's mill was after-
wards built. Then it ran north of west six miles to Payne &
Smith's, and then southwest seven miles to Dr. Baker's on Bear
creek. From there it was four miles to Old Fort Reading, and
that was only three miles from the Sacramento river. They called
it three hundred and eight miles from the Humboldt river to Fort
Reading.
The Honey Lakers called this road from here west the "Old
[19]
HISTOEY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFOENIA
Hat Creek" road; and it was used by them until Fort Crook was
established in Fall River valley in 1857, and then part of it was
abandoned. They followed the old road from the Sacramento
river up to Lost creek, and then followed the Fort Crook road
down that stream to Hat creek, and down Hat creek eight or nine
miles to the Hat creek hill. Then they turned east and struck
the old road near Butte creek, south of west of Poison lake.
When the emigration of 1852 reached Lassen's Meadows on
the Humboldt, Noble 's party tried to get them to go over the new
route ; but they had hard work to persuade any of them to leave
the regular road. The experience of those who followed Lassen 's
' ' cut-off ' ' had become well known, and in almost every train that
came along there were men who had previously crossed the plains.
F. and S. say that some of the returning Californians threatened
to do them great bodily injury, so to speak, if they did not quit
trying to get people to travel their road. William Dow says
he was in one of the trains that came along about this time. Part
of his crowd wanted to turn off here ; but the rest were unwilling,
and they went on down the Humboldt river. Finally the Shasta
men succeeded in getting a small train to go over their road, and
they reached the Sacramento valley without any mishaps or
suffering. William W. Asbury, now a resident of Tehama county,
was among those who went over the Noble road this year. He
says that at the Humboldt river they were given a written
description of the road; and though it was dim, they had no
trouble in following it. The next year or two the road was
improved a little, and before long the greater part of the emigra-
tion into northern California was going over it. Later on some
statistics will be given to show the amount of this travel.
Fredonyer's Pass
Of this pass, now mis-called "Fredonia" pass, the "Altq,
Calif ornian" of May 26, 1855, says: "From the most reliable
data, it appears that Dr. Fredonyer came through the pass in the
month of July, 1850, and was the first person who gave a written
description of it, and the first and only person who made a map
thereof prior to 1852."
W. J. Seagraves says that when he went through Fredonyer's
pass in 1860, the following inscription was painted on a tree on
the summit of the hill: "Fredonyer's pass. Discovered in
[20 1
THE YEARS 1S48 TO 1856
1852." It looked as though it had not been there long; and
probably this was the case, for Fredonyer had just located in
Mt. Meadows. A. L. Harper also remembers the date as being
1852. Fredonyer must have known the date of his own discovery.
First Settlement
Evidently the men in Noble's party who took up claims in
Honey Lake valley in 1852, forgot to ''return in a few days and
improve them," for no settlement was made in the valley that
year.
In June, 1853, Isaac N. Eoop, acting postmaster at Shasta,
lost his hotel and store by fire, leaving him penniless. Discour-
aged by his loss, he concluded to try his luck elsewhere ; and came
alone on horseback to this valley, probably with the idea of
finding a place where he could carry on a trade with the
emigrants.
He located a piece of land at the upper end of the valley, and
put up a notice on it, of which the following is a copy. This
notice and the others given are taken from Roop's record of the
filings made by the settlers.
' ' Notice
"I Isaac Roop do take up and claim the following described
tract of land. Beginning at a pine tree on the south side of Susan
river at the foot of the bluffs, thence running north some four
hundred rods more or less to a pine stake set at the foot of the
bluifs on the north side of Susan river, thence west to the
timber thence south along said timber to the top of the bluffs on
the north of Susan river thence up said river on the top of said
bluffs two miles thence across Susan river to the top of the bluffs
on the south side of Susan river thence down on the edge of said
bluffs to the edge of the timber thence to continue in a south-
easterly course to the place of beginning. (This being in the
head of the valley)
"Sept A. D. 1853. Isaac Roop.
"July A. D. 1854 Built a house on the above claim. Left for
Shasta Nov. A. D. 1855.
"A true copy of the original this first day of May A. D. 1856
Isaac Roop Recorder"
F. and S. say: "It will be observed that in the notice he
applies the name Susan river to the stream that comes down from
[21]
HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
the Sierra and flows easterly to Honey lake. It is claimed by
some that this name was then given the stream, by him in honor
of his only daughter, Susan, who was then living in the east.
By others it is maintained that an emigrant girl named Susan
De Witt, who died on the road, and was buried a short distance
east of the Buffalo salt works, in Nevada, has her memory per-
petuated in the name of this stream. Still others say that a
young lady bearing the name of Susan passed through with one
of the trains in 1852, and that her name was bestowed upon the
stream. These contradictory opinions are held by the early
settlers, all of whom would seem to have been so situated as to
know the facts in the case; and as it is impossible to decide
between them, we let the matter stand as it is. One thing is
certain : Koop, in his notice, left the first record of this name for
the beautiful mountain stream, and it is not improbable that he
bestowed this title upon it to better define the boundaries of his
location. It is, however, also improbable that emigration would
pass this river for two seasons without a name of some kind being
applied to the stream."
Probably all of the foregoing stories were told and perhaps a
few more could have been found at that time without much
trouble. But the next thing to be considered is the value of these
stories. Very few, perhaps none, of the pioneers of this county
went through Honey Lake valley before Roop came in here.
Those with whom the writer talked after this work was com-
menced, were satisfied that the river was named in honor of Susan
Roop, now Mrs. A. T. Arnold, of Susanville ; and the fact that
Roop named his town after her makes it still more probable that
he also named the stream. Very few emigrants went over the
Noble road in 1852; and the second year the Lassen trail was
traveled, very few of the natural features along it had been
named. It is not strange, however, that the naming of Susan
river, or anything else, should have been disputed. In the course
of this work, the writer has found more than one man who would,
to show his own knowledge, dispute what could easily be proved
beyond a doubt; and probably would dispute with his mother
about the date of his birth.
Roop went back to Shasta county and stayed there during
the winter of 1853-4. He stayed here until late in November,
because he wanted to see Old Winnemucca before he went below.
[22]
THE YEAES 1848 TO 1856
After seeing the chief, he cached everything of value that he
didn't want to take with him, and started over the mountains
by the Noble road. Before he got across the Sierras, a big storm
came on. Fortunately for him, he came to an old trapper's cabin
in which there were a few old cooking utensils and a little
barley; and here he stayed for nine days, until the storm was
over.
Dr. McClay Killed by an Indian
Dr. McClay was the first white man killed in Honey Lake
valley by the Indians ; and the following account of it was given
by Fred Hines.
The last of September, or the first of October, 1853, Dr.
McClay 's train was camped on the flat, just below where Roop
afterwards built his cabin. The next morning, when they were
hitching up to resume their journey, they discovered that some
of their cattle were missing. Just as they made the discovery, an
Indian they had brought from the head of the Humboldt river
started to run toward the foothills to the north. Some of them
followed him on horseback, and shot him as soon as they caught
up with him. McClay, his son, and some of the men of the train,
followed the trail of the cattle back along the road until they
came to a swamp about ten miles down the river. There the
trail went into the tules, for at that time it was a tule swamp all
along there. They followed the trail into the tules, and rode
around in them looking for the cattle. They had not hunted very
long before an Indian rose up and shot Dr. McClay in the breast
with an arrow. They returned and got a carriage, and took him
back to camp. His wife pulled out the arrow, and he died that
night. His body was taken to Shasta and buried there.
Dr. Minor, with whom Mr. Hines crossed the plains, camped
near the tule swamp the night before ; and during the night one
of his horses was shot by the Indians, it was supposed.
The following quotations are from F. and S., and from Roop's
record of filings. ' ' In May, 1854, Roop and John Hill went from
Shasta to the valley, to see if the snow was sufficiently melted to
admit of the passage of a wagon loaded with supplies. On the
way they overtook a prospecting party of about a dozen men, one
of whom was Hyram K. Wilcox, who had left Shasta a few days
before. They all came on to the valley together, arriving on the
sixth of June, the prospectors soon becoming dissatisfied, and
[23]
HISTOEY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFOKNIA
returning across the mountains. Eoop and Hill also went back to
Shasta, and Roop soon returned with a load of merchandise and
supplies, accompanied by his brother Ephriam Roop, William
McNall (McNaull), Captain William Weatherlow, and others."
William Armstrong was one of the crowd.
"During the summer, this party built a rough, one-story log
house, about 20 by 30 feet in size, which still stands in an orchard
in the eastern suburbs of Susanville, and is owned by A. T.
Arnold, Mr. Roop's son-in-law. This building was covered with
a shake roof. Since it was used for a fort in the Sage-Brush
War, it has been called Fort Defiance. In this building was
placed the stock of goods that had been brought over from Shasta,
and a brisk and profitable trade was carried on with the emi-
grants." As it was hard work to haul freight into the moun-
tains at that time, their stock must have been a small one.
Probably it consisted of a few staple articles, and some tobacco
and whiskey ; for in those days, if a trader did not have the last
named goods, his patrons would be badly disappointed.
The log house they put up stands on the east side of Weather-
low St., about 140 feet back from the street, and 380 feet north
of Main street. It is twenty-seven feet long, and eighteen feet,
nine inches wide, outside measurement; and was intended to
be eight feet high at the corners.
That year, Roop claimed a water right on Pah Ute (Piute)
creek, then called Smith creek, and posted up the following
notice :
' ' Notice
"I the undersigned claim the privilege to take all the water
out of Smith Creek at the junction of the two forks where this
stake stands I shall build a dam some six feet high and carry
the water along the south hill to the emigrant road.
"August A. D. 1854. Isaac Roop.
"Recorded the first day of May A. D. 1856.
Isaac Roop Recorder ' '
"From this creek they dug the Roop ditch, about one-half
a mile long, by which they conveyed water in close proximity to
the log house. When working upon this improvement, it was
always necessary to leave a guard at the house ; for, though the
Indians were not openly hostile, their predatory habits compelled
[24]
THE YEAES 184S TO 1S56
the early settlers to be constantly on their guard to protect their
property. When winter set in, Koop and the larger number of
his companions returned to Shasta, while a few stopped in the
valley until spring, though there was no necassity for their
doing so."
Roop put his dam in the creek about one hundred and sixty
yards above where Roop street strikes it. It is not known how
much of the ditch was dug that year, but they raised a few vege-
tables. This ditch was the beginning of a water system that
supplied Susanville with water until the early 70 's. Mrs. Arnold
says that I. X. Roop and his brother stayed in the valley during
the winter of 1854-5, but the former went below early in the
spring. Captain Weatherlow stayed, too.
"During the year 1854, Lieutenant E. G. Beckwith, in charge
of an exploring party, passed through the valley. The war
department had sent out, the previous year, several exploring
expeditions to examine the various routes across the continent,
for the purpose of ascertaining which was the most feasible
for a trans-continental railroad. One of these detachments,
under the charge of Lieutenant Beckwith, crossed Honey Lake
valley, and went through Noble's pass to Fort Reading. They
then went up the Sacramento and Pit rivers, and passed down
the old Lassen trail, and again to Fort Reading. The observa-
tions and conclusions of Lieutenant Beckwith are embodied in
his report, which was submitted to congress by the secretary of
war, and is to be found in the 'Pacific Railroad Reports, Volume
2.'" As early as 1851, Lieut. R. S. "Williamson made a survey for
a railroad through the country just north of Honey lake.
"In the early part of the year 1855, Peter Lassen was living
with Isadore Meyerwitz (or Meyerowitz), a Jew, on a ranch in
Indian valley, located by them in 1850. In June, 1855, he
started over the mountains on a prospecting trip, accompanied
by Kenebeck, Parker, and another man, themselves mounted on
horses, and their outfit packed on the backs of mules. They came
into the valley three miles west of Janesville, where they pitched
their camp just back of the ranch now owned by Richard Bass."
(This is the upper end of Elysian valley.) Some of the earliest
settlers say that they came over Diamond Mountain, and camped
under the tree where Lassen was afterwards buried. "The next
day Parker and the one whose name is unknown started out to
[25]
HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
make some kind of a trade with the Indians, going around the
lake to the north in search of them, and encamped in the vicinity
of the hot springs. At the same time Lassen and Kenebeck
traveled towards the north-west, along the base of the Sierra,
and after going about six miles, camped at a pile of bowlders,
which are in front of, and but a short distance from, the first
cabin he built in the valley. They prospected for a few days,
and were so gratified at the result, that Lassen returned at once
across the mountains to procure men and supplies to work the
place systematically. ' '
' ' In the latter part of June, Lassen came again to the valley,
accompanied by Joseph Lynch, William Gallagher, and Samuel
Knight. They brought with them a complete mining outfit and
a supply of provisions. The first thing necessary was to bring
water to the claim, and this they did by digging a ditch two miles
in length, from the little stream now known as Lassen creek.
(Wrong. Lassen's ditch was taken out of what was afterwards
called Hill's creek.) This ditch has always been called the
Lassen ditch. After they had worked a couple of weeks a cause
of difference arose between Knight and Lassen, and the former
took what property there was belonging to him and left the
valley. About ten days after the ditch was completed the water
supply failed, but during that time the claim had paid them good
wages. They therefore decided to go to Indian valley and make
preparations to return here and spend the winter.
"In October, 1855, Lassen came back to Honey Lake valley,
accompanied by Isadore Meyerwitz, Joseph Lynch, — Greenwood,-
and a Spaniard named Lazier. They brought a good supply of
provisions, blacksmith and mining tools, a plow, and such other
implements as they thought would be necessary or useful. They
also brought a number of cows, oxen, and horses. Lassen then
located a tract of land one mile square, embracing the place
where they had encamped while engaged in mining, and now
including the ranches of John Hulsman, Joseph Lynch, and
David Titherington. This he did not survey until the following
spring, and never had it placed on record. In a short time the
Spaniard and Greenwood went back to Indian valley, leaving
Lassen and Meyerwitz alone in the valley. Soon after, John
Duchene came over from Quincy, where he had gotten into some
difficulty, and hired himself to Lassen. Newton Hamilton and
[26]
THE YEARS" 1848 TO 1856
Marion Lawrence, called generally Commanche George, came
over the mountains, packing a good supply of provisions. It was
their intention to locate land ; but they did not do so that season.
They made their camp with the others, and began prospecting.
"Fearing that the snow would fall to such a depth as to
prevent his stock from sustaining themselves by browsing, Lassen
cut about twenty tons of hay from the bunch grass that grew in
such abundance, and stacked it near his camp. The next thing
required was a shelter for himself and men during the winter.
They then erected a long, low, log house, which has never been
without a pioneer tenant to this day, Joseph Lynch having lived
there constantly. The cabin, or house, is nearly fifty feet long,
sixteen wide, six logs high, and covered with a shake roof. At
either end is a room sixteen feet by twenty. One of these Lassen
used for a general storeroom, and the other for an apartment to
live in, and which he floored with lumber cut with a whip-saw.
At one end of this room was built a rock fireplace, with sufficient
capacity to admit cordwood. The openings to the outside world
were a door and a three-foot-square window, over which barley
sacks were nailed to keep out the cold. The small room in the
center was used by Peter as a sleeping apartment, and where it
is said he always kept a bed for a traveler or a friend. In this
rude hut the pioneers of Lassen county, Peter Lassen, Isadore
Meyerwitz, Joseph Lynch, Newton Hamilton, Marion Lawrence,
and John Duchene spent the winter of 1855-56 ; and though this
humble dwelling has furnished a pioneer with shelter for a
quarter of a century, it gives evidences of remaining a monument
to the memory of its builders long after the last one shall have
passed away."
Joseph Lynch lived there until his death in December, 1885,
three years after the foregoing was written. This cabin was on
the south side of Lassen creek, about one third of a mile west of
where the mountain road from Susanville to Janesville crosses
that stream. It was about four miles south and a mile east of
Susanville. The cabin built the fall of 1855 was ten by twelve
feet, or perhaps a little larger, and about seven feet high at the
corners. It had a fireplace, and a door so low that one had to
stoop to enter it, and no window. It was built of unhewn logs of
unequal size, and looked as though it had been hastily con-
structed. In after years additions were made to it. For a while
[27]
HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNT Y, CALIFORNIA
Lassen did a little blacksmithing under a big tree right in front
of it. This cabin was burned by Peter Vogt about the year 1896,
because the logs had decayed and it had fallen down.
It is hard to understand why P. and S. call Lassen and his
five companions the pioneers of Lassen county. Just before that,
they say that some of the Roop crowd stayed in the valley during
the winter of 1854-5. Roop claimed land in the county two years
before Lassen did, and put up a cabin the year before Lassen
built his. "Why wasn 't Roop the pioneer of the county ? Ephriam
Roop, McNaull, and Weatherlow stayed in the Roop cabin all
through the winter of 1855-6. I. N. Roop was there the latter
part of the winter.
"During the year a man named Moses Mason came into the
valley and located a piece of land adjoining Roop's on the north-
west corner, but did not remain upon it or make any improve-
ments. The next year his notice was recorded, and read as
follows :
' ' Notice
"I Moses Mason do take up and claim this valley on Smith
Creek of some four hundred acres more or less. November
A. D. 1855. M. Mason.
A true copy of the original. May first, 1856. Isaac Roop,
Recorder.
The above claim joins Roop on the North-west corner."
' ' During the winter, Lassen and his companions busied them-
selves in sawing out lumber with a whip-saw for sluices, and
splitting rails for fencing. About five thousand rails were gotten
out, and in the spring were used to fence a portion of his land.
The weather was so mild and pleasant that the stock passed
through the winter with but little need of the hay he had
provided.
"It is stated in the Sketches published in the ' Mountain Re-
view,' that in December, 1855, William Hill Naileigh (better
known as Captain Hill), McMurtre, Captain Gilpin, and
two others were piloted into the valley from Gold Canyon, Ne-
vada, by old Winnemucca, the Pah Ute chief, and that they
prospected on Gold Run and discovered what was known as
the Hill diggings." In a lawsuit about the Lassen ditch in 1875,
Cap. Hill testified that he came into the valley in 1855, and
in 1856 discovered the Hill diggings on Hill's creek.
T 28 1
THE YEARS 1848 TO 1856
It is probable that the information gathered by Mr. Dodge
for F. and S., together with that obtained by the writer, is all
that will ever be known of the history of this county previous to
1856. So far as is known, every man who settled here before that
time is dead. Isadore was drowned in the lake in 1856, and his
body was never recovered. Lassen and Lynch lie under the
big tree beneath which the former camped the first night he
was in the valley, and Commanche George is buried in the sage-
brush about a mile north of them. I. N. Roop, Naileigh, Weath-
erlow, and Wilcox lie in the Susanville cemetery. Ephriam Roop
died on the Isthmus of Panama while on his way to the East.
The fate of the others is unknown to the writer. In all prob-
ability they, like thousands of other pioneers, died in some county
hospital or while prospecting in the mountains, and lie in un-
marked and unknown graves.
[29]
CHAPTER II
1856 j
The news had gone abroad that gold had been found in pay-
ing quantities in Honey Lake valley, and men, and perhaps
a few women, began to come over the mountains early in the
year. The most of them came from the mines on the headwaters
of Feather river. Leroy Arnold said that in those days if a
man owned a mine where the gold was ankle deep, he would soon
hear of a place where it was knee deep and would leave his mine
and go there. Some took up land, but the most of them went
to mining. They worked on Gold Run, Hill's creek, Lassen's
creek, and the gulches in that vicinity. Considerable mining was
done there until 1861. Lynch says there were more men engaged
in mining in 1856 than in any of the following years, and that
possibly there might have been a hundred men working at it that
year. More or less mining was done in that neighborhood for
more than forty years after Lassen discovered the mines.
A large majority of the earliest settlers of this county came
from the mines of California, generally from those on Feather
river. They had come to the coast several years before that, and
by the time they got here they were used to the hardships of
frontier life. They could ride and shoot, and were resolute,
energetic, and self-reliant. Some one has said that the pioneers
of California were the best body of men that ever settled in any
country. "The weak in mind never started to come here, and
the weak in body died on the road." Besides fighting nature,
they had to fight Indians and outlaws; and only men of good
nerve would stay in the country. The majority of the pioneer
women were also strong in mind and body.
The early settlers of Honey Lake valley needed both courage
and the ability to endure hardships, for they were in a very
dangerous locality. They were exposed on all sides to attack
by the Indians and no help was near at hand. Between them
and the settlement in Indian valley was a range of mountains
generally hard to cross during the winter, and the settlements
in the Carson country were more than a hundred miles away.
Fortunately, the most hostile Indian tribes were either distant
or not very strong, and the Pi-Utahs, as they were then called,
were comparatively friendly.
[30]
THE YEAR 1856
Settlement. 1856
At the beginning of this year Roop and Lassen each had a
cabin, and perhaps one or the other of them had done a little
fencing. The former had a short irrigating ditch and the latter
a mining ditch. These were all the improvements there were
in the county.
Early in the spring Commanche George (Marion Lawrence)
located the land along the stream that flows out of Elysian valley,
from the lower end of that valley to the Bald mountain to the
north. Lynch claimed a tract along what is now called Parker
creek, a couple of miles southeast of where Janesville now stands.
Isadore located at the corner of the lake about three miles south-
east of him. F. and S. say that Newton Hamilton took a section
of land which he afterwards sold to Hasey, McMurtre, and
Elliott. If that is so, the land must have been on Gold Run
creek, and its northern boundary about two miles south of Roop.
These four locations were never placed on record.
The greater part of the information in this book in regard to
the claims of the settlers, was taken from Roop 's book where those
claims were recorded; but what is shown there frequently had
to be helped by what the writer learned from Dow and Hines,
and by what the writer himself had learned since 1865. Many
of the notices of location in Roop's book read like this: "Notice.
I commence at this stake and run east one mile, thence south one
mile, thence west one mile, thence north to the place of beginning.
Claimed by Daniel Reed. This II day of March, 1857." Being
copies of the original notices, they are frequently lacking in
punctuation and many words are mis-spelled. The descriptions
are vague ; and when distances from any known places are given,
they are guessed at. This year many men recorded claims on
land they never saw, and left the valley a few days afterwards.
Some stayed a short time, but made no improvements on the
land they claimed. Many put no relinquishment of their claims
in the record book, and the claims were put on the same land,
one after the other. The writer has been able to tell where nearly
all the claims were located; and if the reader will notice their
direction and distance from known claims and landmarks, he,
too, can tell their location nearly enough for all practical pur-
poses. Unless otherwise stated, the claimant took a section of
land.
[31]
HISTOEY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
March 14, 1856, Ebenezer Smith of Meadow valley, Plumas
county, California, (known as "Red Head," or "Bricktop, "
Smith) located on the south side of the lake about half way
between the present sites of Janesville and Milford.
In April, Florence Smith, wife of E. Smith, claimed about
660 acres on the south side of the river southeast of Roop. (N.
B. Roop's southeast corner was on the south side of the Susan
river, perhaps a quarter of a mile from it, and at the east edge
of the bluffs opposite the mouth of Pah Ute creek. His east
line ran north from that.) A. G. Hasey located just north of
where the Richmond schoolhouse now stands, his southwest cor-
ner at the edge of the timber; John Strode on the south side
of the river about a mile and a half east of Roop's east line, and
a mile north of Hasey 's north line; W. T. C. (Rough) Elliott
just north of Hasey, and M. T. Shores north of Elliott.
In May, Paul Hulsey, or Hulsa, located west of Lassen ; Wm.
Hill (Cap. Hill) in the little valley between Lassen and the
west fork of Baxter creek; J. F. Hill, location uncertain; John
Hollingsworth, north of the river and east of Roop; R. J. (Bob)
Scott, where Milford now stands and north of it; Dow, Estep,
and Aganett, two sections one mile west of Scott; W. M. Lyttle
& Co., south of Hasey; Mathew Adams, location uncertain;
George Lathrop, on the lake, three miles west of Scott; George
(Joe) Epp'stein, joining E. Smith on the east; and Stephen Raney
on the lake east of Eppstein.
In June, Henry Denney and Henry Keelty claimed one sec-
tion in Elysian valley south of Commanche George; William
Weatherlow, on the north side of the river north of Strode, and
about a mile and a half east of Roop ; John Griffin, on the south
side of the river south of "Weatherlow; Stephen O'Laughlin, the
little valley on the west fork of Baxter creek, over the ridge
east of Cap. Hill; Ephriam Roop, on the south bank of Susan
river, having its northeast corner at the west base of "Curloo
Butte"; (Curlew Butte is the little rocky hill on the south side
of the river about three miles below Susan ville) and
Henery in the forks of Susan river and Willow creek.
In July, T. P. Kingsbury and D. A. Breed located two sec-
tions between Commanche George and 0 'Laughlin ; John Adams,
east of McMurtre and south of Carter (McMurtre's claim lay
east, or northeast of Hasey) ; R. W. Dezoe, west of E. Smith;
[32]
THE YEAR 1856
Joshua Abbott, one half section having D. P. Carter on the east
and E. C. Gillett on the west, and crossing Susan river and taking
in "Curloo Butte"; Samuel Burnie, or Brunie, in Antelope
valley, "some three miles northeast of Hoop's House and at the
foot of the mountain"; G. W. Byerly, on the north side of the
river and east of Weatherlow; W. B. Galphin, north of Mc-
Murtre; H. C. Nichols, east of Joseph Eppstein, "being the
ground formerly taken up by Stephen Raney"; and L. E. Cush-
ings, south of Nichols. Ebenezer Smith claimed "this boiling
spring situated on the northeast side of Honey lake for the pur-
pose of building a bath house, and also a building spot sixty feet
front facing the lake by one hundred feet back."
In August, Florence Smith, by E. Smith, Agent, claimed a
section east of I. N. Roop, having the river for its north line;
the next day J. B. Mankins claimed almost the same piece of
land; and the day following that, John C. Mankins claimed a
section almost south of Roop, the eastern part of which took in
a part of the two previous claims; Dave Hescock, Francis Lani-
gar, and Charles Nixon, three sections east of E. Roop and
Byerly; James and "William Shelton, two sections east of the
foregoing claim; T. C. Smith, north of J. B. Mankins and east
of Roop ; Thos. N. Kingsbury claimed the section north of Elliott
previously located by M. T. Shores; William Morehead claimed
the land taken up by Strode, and forfeited by him, relinquishing
it himself the following November; and C. T. Miller and Bro.,
the two sections previously claimed by Kingsbury and Breed
and relinquished by them.
In September, Capt. Weatherlow claimed the land taken up
by Moses Mason in 1855; Thos. P. Kingsbury transferred to A.
G. Hasey the land claimed by him in August; L. M. Robertson
took the land previously claimed by Weatherlow on the north
bank of Susan river, but soon relinquished it; William N. Craw-
ford re-located the land taken by Griffin in June, but relinquished
it before long.
No settlement was made in Long valley until this year. During
the fall, our old acquaintance, Ebenezer Smith, who seems to
have been "on the job" when there was land to be taken up.
located a tract of land in the southwest corner of the north end
of the valley. It was about six miles south of what is now called
the "Willow Ranch," or eleven and one third miles south of
[33]
HISTOEY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFOKNIA
where the road crosses the summit between Honey Lake valley
and Long valley. Geo. W. Humphrey, afterwards a prominent
stockman of Sierra valley, came in with him, but did not remain
there very long.
In October, Ladue Vary made a location at Deep Springs
(Deep Hole), on the emigrant road between the Humboldt river
and Honey Lake; J. W. San Banch, an old Northwestern Fur
Company's trapper called ''Buckskin," in Antelope valley; and
J. H. Patty relocated the claim southwest of "Curloo Butte"
taken by E. Roop in June, and forfeited by him.
This fall Nicholas Clark and his son William H. came into
the valley from Plumas county, but stayed only a short time.
In November, M. W. Haviland relocated the Weatherlow-
Robertson tract on the north side of the river one and a half
miles east of I. N. Roop ; A. D. Morton, on the north side of the
river east of Haviland; D. P. Dexter, northwest of R. J. Scott;
W. N. Crawford, north of Dexter, but relinquished it in two days ;
Logan E. Whitaker, northeast of Scott; Win, Morehead, west
of Dexter, and one half claim on the lake west of Dexter; W. N.
Crawford and L. M. Robertson one section west of Morehead;
Thomas Mitchell relocated J. Wy croft's claim. This was the
land where Janesville stands and that to the north of it. Anton
Storff located north of Mitchell; R. J. Lennox relocated the
most of the tract claimed first by Strode and then by Morehead ;
W. W. L. Lennox "jumped" I. N. Roop's claim.
In December, John W. Davis re-located the Hulsey claim;
Joseph Libler located east of O'Laughlin, and A. U. Sylvester,
east of Morton. The claims of Haviland, Morton, and Sylvester
extended on the north side of the river from a mile and a half
east of Roop, down below where the Johnstonville bridge crosses
the river. Manley Thompson located a section east of Lynch,
and built a cabin on it that winter. The middle of his south line
was near where Buntingville is now. Before Weatherlow took
the place left by Mason, E. Roop claimed it; but he was afraid
of the Indians and left it in a short time.
Late in the spring of 1856, L. N. (Newt) Breed came into
Indian valley and bought a small stock of goods from E. D.
Hosselkus and I. J. Harvey, and hired them packed into this
valley. He put up a tent on the flat across the creek from
[34]
THE YEAR 1856
Lassen's cabin, and sold goods that summer. In the fall he had
a trading-post for emigrants at the crossing of Willow creek.
In 1853, when he was seventeen years old, Fred Hines crossed
the plains with Dr. Minor. He passed through this valley over
the Noble road; and went on to Shasta, and mined there until
July, 1856. Then he, Ladue Vary, and A. U. Sylvester came to
this valley; Vary to prospect, and the others to trade with the
emigrants. They went out to Lassen's Meadows on the Hum-
boldt, and stayed there until the last of September, or the first
of October. During that time, Hines and Vary came back to
Deep Hole springs with a pack train. "When they went back,
Hines concluded to go straight across from Granite creek to
Eabbit Hole, and save a good many miles of travel. They did
this, and about midway between the two places found some hot
springs. Shortly after they got back to the Humboldt, an emi-
grant train came along. They were going over the Noble road,
and Hines told them how to keep his trail and find the hot
springs. They followed his directions, and made a new road
which was traveled after this instead of the old one.
The Drowning of Isadore Meyerwitz and His Wife
The following was told by F. and S., A. G. (Joe) Eppstein,
and W. H. Clark.
In the month of July, 1856, Isadore and his Indian wife
were drowned in Honey lake. He and Sailor Jack built a sail-
boat out of a wagon box or some old boards, something more
like a bos than a boat. It was a crazy affair, and their neighbors
warned them against risking their lives in it. Evidently no
attention was paid to their advice, for soon after it was finished,
Isadore and his wife, George Lathrop, R. J. Scott, Reed, and
Sailor Jack took a sail in it, starting out from near Isadore 's
ranch. When they had reached quite a distance from the shore,
a sudden gust of wind upset the boat and threw them all into
the water. They all managed to get back to the boat, and some
of them clung to it, the others getting up on the bottom of it.
The Indian woman kept slipping from the boat, and every time
she did this Isadore would put her back. Finally he got tired
out, and she drowned. Soon after this, he gave up and let go
of the boat. Lathrop left the boat and started for the shore.
He swam until he was completely tired out, and gave up the
11 1254i> [ 35 '
HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
fight for his life. When he stopped swimming, he went down
a little ways and then struck bottom. He then stood up and
found that the water was only waist deep. The lake was very
low at that time, and probably he had swum half a mile where
he might have waded. The others stuck to the boat, and finally
it drifted ashore near the mouth of the Big Slough. A few days
afterwards Eppstein and two others rode entirely around the
lake looking for the bodies of Isadore and his wife, but they
were never found.
Of course different stories are told about this. Thos. B. Doyle
says he has the following from good authority: There were
seven persons in the boat — their names were given — and the
boat was made out of the trunk of a tree. (Others tell this, too.)
They started out on the lake near the Ebenezer Smith place.
Perhaps "William Goose was one of the men with Eppstein, and
it took them a day and a night to ride around the lake.
F. and S. say: "The first entry of any nature whatsoever
made upon the civil records of the territory of Nataqua was in
the matter of the estate of Isadore Meyerwitz, who had been
drowned in Honey lake." The following quotations are from
F. and S., and are from Roop's record of public meetings, etc.:
"Estate of Isadore Meyerowitz ]
vs. \
Geo. Lathrop, Admr. J
"At a meeting held this 15th day of July, A. D. 1856, Geo.
Lathrop was duly elected administrator for the Estate of Isadore
Meyerowitz, Dec, and Win. Reed, R. J. Scott, and John W.
Cushing were elected Appraisers.
"Isaac Roop, Recorder."
The next entry is as follows :
"July 27, A. D. 1856.
"Isaac Roop was this day sworn in by due process as Re-
corder.
"Peter Lassen was this day sworn as Surveyor by Recorder.
"Geo. Lathrop was this day sworn as administrator by the
Recorder.
"Roop, Recorder."
"In the appraiser's inventory of the deceased man's estate,
his ranch, a section of unimproved land, was put in at $400 ; one
[36 1
THE YEAR 1856
boat (probably the one from which he was drowned), $12.50;
one set of double harness, $8.00; two spurs, $4.00; one purse
with cash, $1.50; and numerous other articles, such as farm
and house utensils, clothing, etc., amounting in ail to $625.75.
The inventory was filed July 30, 1856."
Lathrop's notice was written out on a little piece of paper,
and tacked up on Roop's cabin by the side of the door.
"The first civil cause that came within the jurisdiction of
the high tribunal, to be organized in accordance with sections
9 and 11, was the following: (For these sections see Honey Lake
Politics, 1856.)
"Florency Smith Be it remembered that on the 7th day of
vs August, 1856, Florency Smith filed her
J. B. Mankins Complaint of Forcible Entry and Detainer
against J. B. Mankins before me, I. Roop,
Recorder, in the words and figures as follows: 'That J. B.
Mankins, on or about the 5th day of August, A. D. 1856, did
willfully and knowingly take possession of a certain tract of
land belonging to her, Florency Smith. The said land is fully
described and boundaries denned in Record Book A page 3.
And thereupon, on the same day and date, a call was made to
the citizens to meet at the Roop House on the 10th day of
August, 1856, and try said cause.
"I. Roop, Recorder.' "
"August 10, A. D. 1856.
"The citizens appeared in pursuance of the above call, and
on being organized into a board of arbitrators, neither of the
parties appearing, it was resolved to proceed with the cause;
and the proofs and allegations concerning said cause, together
with the Record, being fully heard and examined by said Board
(about this time the defendant J. B. Mankins appeared), and
upon a consultation by said Board, the Verdict was as follows:
"That the said Florency Smith recover and have restitution
of the premises ; and further, that the said Florency Smith shall
cause said premises to be surveyed within fifteen days from the
date hereof, and that the Recorder make out a quit Deed to her
for said premises, and signed by all present; and further, that
if the said Florency Smith shall fail and neglect to have said
premises surveyed within the time specified, then in that case
[37]
HISTOEY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFOKNIA
she forfeits all her right, title, and interest in and unto the same.
Reed, Seott, Breed, Morehead, Hasey, "Weatherlow, Gushing,
Kingsbury, Ely, Grout, Devol, and Hank.
"Three o'clock P. M. this tenth day of August, A. D. 1356.
"Isaac Roop, Recorder."
"On the 29th day of August, 1856, Isaac N. Roop, who had
been acting in the capacity of recorder, appointed I. Ely and
J. H. Patty his deputies, with full power to act in his stead,
himself placing their appointment on record; and soon after
went to Shasta to remain until the following spring. J. H. Patty
had placed but six claims on record when he was summarily
ousted from his position by the following proceedings which
appear on the record :
"Honey Lake Valley Nov 16/56
"As it became necessary to hold an Election in this valley
for the purpose of electing a Recorder pro tern to fill the vacancy
of Mr I Roop until his return to the Valley or until tim vacates
his office the Citizens therefore proceeds to Elect a Recorder
pro tern
"Wherein Wm Hill Presids President
"W W L Lennox Secty.
' ' On Motion Mr Goodwin, Hasey & Davis was put in nomina-
tion to fill the office.
"they then proceeded to take the Ballot when Mr Hasey was
declared unanimously Elected to fill that office.
"there being no important business be four the meeting a
motion of Mr Morton it was adgourned sine die.
W¥L Lennox Secty."
"The reason these proceedings were held does not fully appear ;
but it may be judged that a change was desired by some for
personal reasons. This thought is suggested by the fact that on
the twenty-ninth of the same month W. W. L. Lennox copied
verbatim the notice Roop had posted up and placed on record
of the first location in the valley, and caused it to be recorded
by the new official. He thus relocated, or "jumped," Roop's
claim, including that portion which had been designated as a
town site in section six of the laws adopted by the first assembly
of the territory of Nataqua. It might have been done for other
and better reasons. ' ' "When Roop came back in the spring, Len-
[38]
THE YEAR 1856
nox told him he thought that he had left the valley for good;
and that he (Lennox) might as well have the claim as any one
else. He gave the claim back to Roop without making any trouble
about it, and probably this was one of the best things he ever
did in his life for the good of his health.
"November 23, 1856, the following power of attorney was
placed on record by A. G. Hasey : ' Notice — Know all men by
these Presents that I the undersigned have been and is hear by
appointed to act as Agent or Substitute to represent the Claim
of Mrs. L. M. Ellis. J Belcher.'"
About the first of October Hines, Sylvester, and Vary, and
some others, came back from Humboldt with the cattle they had
obtained by trading with the emigrants. They camped on the
river two or three miles below Roop 's ; and stayed long enough
to build some corrals and brand the cattle, which they turned out
and left here. Sylvester and A. D. Morton, who had come in
with them from the Humboldt, each took a claim as before
related. Hines went to Shasta and wintered there, and Morton
went to Quincy. Sylvester stayed in the valley with Morehead,
who had a cabin a couple of miles up the lake from where Milford
now stands. Weatherlow stayed that winter down on the lake
with E. Smith, or had a cabin near his place. Some time during
the winter a big wind-storm came on; and that night a large
pine tree blew down across the corner of his cabin, pinning him
down to his bed. If it had not fallen across the chimney, he
would have been instantly killed. Smith was not at home, so
his wife started out for help, and struck out for a cabin near
the edge of the timber at the western corner of the lake. The
wind was against her, and it almost blew her into the lake ; but
she finally reached the cabin, and some men went down and
sawed off the tree and got Weatherlow out. This accident laid
him up for some time.
Early in the year Hasey, Elliott, Shores, and others claimed
two miles square on Gold Run, the southwest corner of the tract
being about 600 yards south of west of where the Richmond
schoolhouse now stands. During the summer the land was traded
around, and finally L. C. McMurtre bought in; and then the
whole tract belonged to him, Hasey, and Elliott. Just before
Christmas they put up a log cabin near the spring at Richmond.
During the year 1856, all the good land from the mouth of
[39]
HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
Willow creek to the head of the valley, from Milford around the
foot of the mountain to Gold Run, and down that stream had
been taken up, some of it three or four times. Claims on over
36000 acres of land had been recorded, and a good many claims
were never put on record.
According to the Register kept at the Roop House that year,
after August 19th 278 men, 69 women, 89 children, 323 horses,
22 mules, 4515 cattle, 3700 sheep, and 88 wagons passed through
the valley going west. Probably a good many went through
before that time. None of them stopped here, they were going
to the mines. The most of them went on to the Sacramento
valley, and then turned and came back into the mountains.
At the end of the year, Lassen, Roop, and Weatherlow each
had a cabin ; the last named being across the street from Roop,
and not far from Main street. E. Smith had one near some
springs at the edge of the bluff about a mile and a half south of
Roop, and one at his place on the lake. R. J. Scott had one at
Milford, Morehead one a couple of miles further up the lake,
and there was one close to the edge of the timber at the west end
of the lake. There was the cabin at Richmond, the miners may
have had some "shacks" in the hills, and of course there may
have been one or two that the writer failed to hear about, though
Hines knew what was in the valley late that fall. All the settlers
whose names are given in 1856 came in here that year, unless
they were mentioned before that time.
The Roop House Register
For several years the Roop House (Roop's cabin) was the
only station on the emigrant road in the valley. Even when there
were settlers down along the river, it was the most important
place on the road; and the emigrants made it a stopping place
for a time. For some years a register was kept here, and in it
almost everything that took place was jotted down. It was a
sort of diary, and it seems as though any one wrote whatever he
pleased in it. In after years the book fell into the hands of those
who used it for a scrap-book, and newspaper clippings were
pasted over the most of it. A small part of the book, the record
for the latter part of 1856 and the first part of 1857, had nothing
pasted in it, and the most of what was written there is given here.
I! tella something of the life led by the few men around the
[40]
THE YEAR 1S56
station, and of the efforts made to induce some of the passing
emigrants to settle here. It is quoted just as written. The date
of the first extract could not be seen, but probably it was August
17, 1856.
"Kellog Orton & Heep started out Hill says he has got ten
thousand potatoes Clay says money there is liquor money coming !
Cap getting Diner Lassen highly interested with Old Stephe
Morehead & Roop in close conversation about Town lots Hill
Gon to Sleep
Losson Gon don to Meet the Emegrant Devol Went Down to
meet the Girles and got throod and came Back and sent Breed
Roops House Monday 18 1856
Charley started to go Down Without any Legins and Could not
make the Rifle
Augus 1856 Monday the 18 1856
Dane Last Night Roop Went out and asked the Girles in the
house and there Was thirteen Girles
Tuesday 19
Woods & Longs Train 20 men 3 women 1 child 15 horses &
mules 420 cattle 5 wagons
Mitchum & Co Train 18 Men 1 Woman 2 Jacks 26 Horses &
Mules 270 cattle 3 Wagons
A T Smith Train Au 19th 56 Big Meadows
130 Cattle 8 horses & mules 16 men 5 Women 7 children 5 Wagons
Geo W Beers from Grand Rapids Kent Co Michigan formerly
of New York City
Aug 19 1856 Thos. J Bowling, Fort Royal Va
I Was Frying Meat and A Sage Rooster Darned Hot
They Benches was crowded with Girls Roop was Fixing Some
plan to stop them in this Valley Tes and Cap Charley
Devol and the Balance of the Boys could not say one Word to
them nohow (Sugar no go)
Roop House Thursday 21
Barnes Train 1 Waggon 20 Cattle 6 horses 1 Woman 3 children
4 men
Elliott Train 10 Men 280 Cattle 12 Horses & Mules 1 Jack
1 Jenny 1 Waggon
Friday 22nd R. H. Stuart
Some for the Gall that Dresses Neat and Some For the Gall that
Kisses Sweet
I Tomkins
[41]
HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
August 1856
Lassen & Hill Returned from Working on Emegrant Road
Breeds pack Train Came in
Weatherlow. Grout. Sailing & Devol leaves for the Humboldt
River or in that vacinity
Girls very scarce non coming of any amount
0 I should like to mary if I could find
Some hansome young Ladie Just suited to my mind
1 should like to mary I know I could fancy
Say, Susan. Betty. Katey. Louisa or Nancy
It is not good for a man to be a lone Vereley. Vereley. I say
unto you take unto yourself a wife that your days may be long
in the land that the Lord thy God gave unto you for how can
a man live to a good old age if he obey not this commandment.
August 21st 1856
J. W. Johnson passed here to-day en rout for ' ' Sweet Amer-
ica" via the "big meadows" "Deer Creek" and Lassen's peak.
Family all 0. K.
John Smith, Thomas Brown et al are just behind with large kid-
neys and extensive ab-do- mens
Regester August 1856
M Carter & Abbott arived
Black smith Tools Damned high Old Iron. Wagon tire. &c. Scarce
Arkansas Fools With Black smith Tools
Crossed the Plains Without any Brains
Stoped here for a day Then went their way
Aug 25 Mr Long from Arkansas left here this morning for the
"big Meadows" with his wife and two daughters. Why in
' ' Gods Name ' ' cant some of the women stop here ? Johnson
Patty Turned Black smith shoeing all day (Abbott & Carter
Leaves)
Roop House Thursday 28th
Major A. T. Smith leaves here this day for the Meadows on
the other side of the Mountain. Would advise my friend Bryant.
Winfield to remain at this Point for a few days and recruit his
Stock and enquire for me—Mr Roop can tell you if you have
any Horse Shoe Nails let. Mr Roop have enough to Shoe his
damn Old Horse Smith
The Fool Killers Have Left Honey Lake Valley This Day
[42]
THE YEAR 1856
August, 1856
very late when I got up to mad to rise early. Patty Leaves
early for the Camp
Roop House Augs 29 1856
Messr Jenkins & Dobbins arrive from Shasta Roop, Jenkins &
Dobbins leaves for Shasta
Roop House Sunday Aug 31st
Another Sabbath has passed on the swift pinions of Time,
and we are one week nearer eternity. A few years more and
we shall have passed smoothly down the stream of Life and paid
the debt of nature. How different then Avill this far famed
Elysian valley appear ! What great and stupendous changes will
have taken place ! "Where now stands Lassen 's log Cabin, a
modern pig sty will have been erected and round that sage
covered Ranch will be a rail-worm fence, composed chiefly of
piles of brush Who among this generation will be able to
recognize this valley? Echo answers "nary bugger" Brown
September 2 1856 4 foot men this for Big Medders
Sept 5 Roop House Honey Lake Valley
Cap Sailing Devol Grout left Smoke Creek on Tuesday got
out nine miles from mud Creek took Johnsons Cutt off Trav-
eled 75 miles on it took to the blufs 4 miles to Willow Creek
Cap left to take another look at the buggy
Sept 6 Ely, John, Charley & sailing all left for Red Bluffs,
by way of the Big Medders
Sept 4 1856 a Dace Givn by the sitions of Honey Lek Valley
at Roops Hous. 9 Ladys in attendence all enjoyed themselves
finely
9 Prepperation for a danc. and a sad Disapointment. no
lady could be find. after a hard search som wer found but
ingaged so they could not com Men all Got the Slipper
Roop House Sept 15th 1856
Messrs Rogers & Scimpshir left here this morning for some
better country where Girls are more in demand — very sorry to
see them leave but am somewhat comforted by the assurance that
I have done all I could for them. Where is Roop? Poor Ike,
he is losing deal.
Sept 15 5 men from over the Mountain Prospecting for
Ranshes. Patty is sick with the year ake
[43]
HISTOEY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
18 Kingsbury left— Flat
19 Brown's Train 1 ]\lan 1 Woman 27 Children 4 Steers
1 Cow
Roops House Sept 22
Sept 22 The great and unterified Vigalence Committee once
more in Session ! ! Business of all kinds is suspended and the
greatest excitement prevails, causing the whole earth to shake
from center to circumference ! The highest Hill is to be visited
and wo ! wo ! to the unfortunate sinner who falls into the hands
of this never- to-be- forgotten and much feared Committee.
Being men who have had much experience in such matters having
immigrated mostly from that great receptacle of all horse-thieves
and cut-throats Carson Valley, they will not fail to inflict sum-
mary punishment on all offenders Johnson
Roops House Sept 27 1856 Buc skin Leavs for American
Valley
Roops House Sept 30, 1856.
In bygone days and ere this land of golden dreams was known
Ere men from every clime and strand had sought it for their
home.
A stranger came and in these wilds did make himself a ranch
This valley claimed for many miles and likewise all the branch;
One day the stranger sought the brook and sunk a hole I'm
told
From which some particles he took which proved to be pure
gold
Then came a rush and every man from all adjoining stations
Did seek this place with pick and pan provided with their
rations
Then Carson valley grew quite sick and certainly did vomit
And forth she sent in time quite quick some fellows who
were "on it."
To be Continued J. W. Brown.
Roop House Octo 9th
C. C. Walden Tehama Sylvester Shasta Fred Hines
Shasta Ladue Vary Trinity F. Batchellor alias Piccayune A.
D. Morton 2 Wagons 1 Indian 3 dogs 50 head Cattle 15 1
horses 1 mule Nary woman
[ 44 ] j
THE YEAR 1S56
Roop's Ranch Oct 14, 1856.
Honey Lake Valley about "gone in", Whiskey just "gin
Eaut" Walden leaves tomorrow for Tehama in Company with
Vary, Pick & H only i/2 Gal of Gin to carry them over the
mountain "Halo" Chamuc Buckskin going over the mountain
for "Whiskey
Roop's Ranch Oct 24th 1856
The last train from Pike County has just Arrived.
A. D. Morton Left the Humboldt Sept 28 Arrived in the
valley Oct 10 1 man 1 Hors 2 Catle 0 women 0 Children"
The "Roop House Register" says that Wood & Long's train
reached there Aug. 19th. This train came from Arkansas under
the leadership of General Allen Wood, a veteran of the Mexican
War. He and Wm. B. Long, his son-in-law, had been partners
for several years, but Long came to California first. W. B. Long,
Thos. N. Long, and John Clemmens went from Humbug valley
to meet the train on the Humboldt river. A few days before this
train reached Roop's, a couple of men went from there out to-
ward Big Meadows, and cut out the brush at the places where
creeks were crossed. When the train left Roop's, Cap. Hill and
Lassen went with them on horseback as far as Clear creek. This
was the first emigrant train, or any heavy wagons, to go from
Honey lake to Humbug valley; but there was a trail, and light
wagons had gone over it. There was a road from Humbug to
Oroville. A. L. Harper crossed the plains with this train. T. N.
Long says that when the train got to Roop's, there were two
or three board shanties there, besides the cabin; and twelve or
fifteen men around the place.
Two men not previously mentioned, Asa Adams and Henry
Talbert, came into the valley this year.
Of those who came into the valley before 1857 I. N. Roop,
Weatherlow, Wilcox, Meyerwitz, Lynch, Lassen, Lawrence, Nai-
leigh, Eppstein, Nixon, Lanigar, Sylvester, and Hines virtually
lived here the rest of their lives and died here. L. N. Breed
lived here about thirty years, and sold goods most of the time.
Hines held the offices of Supervisor and Sheriff, and for several
years before his death was President of the Bank of Lassen
County.
Vary, Thompson, Asa Adams, Storff, Hasey, McMurtry, El-
liott, Lathrop, Crawford, Haviland, and Tutt lived here from
eight to eighteen years.
[45]
HISTOEY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFOKNIA
Honey Lake Politics. 1856
It has been told that early in 1856 settlers came into the
valley and began to take up land. It was not long before they
saw there must be some rules, or laws, made in regard to taking
land, so they might get along without trouble. They also saw
the necessity of establishing some sort of government.
As to location, they did not know just ' ' where they were at. ' '
The valley was so near the line between Utah and California
that it seemed a hard matter to decide which one they were in.
Probably they knew that the 120th degree of west longitude was
the eastern boundary of California in this locality, and that the
line crossed lake Tahoe near its center; but they took no pains
to find out whether they were east or west of that line. A very
small part of the trouble and expense this question caused them
and Plumas county in the years that followed, would have made
a rough survey of the line from lake Tahoe to this valley, and
settled it for all time to come. But neither they nor the Plumas
county authorities seem to have thought about this. Probably
the Never Sweats didn't think, or care, much about it. They
guessed they were too far east to be in California, and they
didn't want to be in that state anyway. They were east of the
Sierra Nevada mountains, and for several months in the year
were practically shut off from intercourse with the people of
California; and they believed they had nothing in common with
them. So they decided to create a new territory east of the
mountains, and have a government of their own; and have it
where it was handy to get at.
On the 26th of April, 1856, a little bunch of men met at the
Roop House, organized a new territory, and drew up some laws
for its government. F. & S. have the following, taken from
Roop 's record :
"A New Territory Formed at Honey Lake Valley. — Laws
and Regulations for Its Government
Adopted April 26, A. D. 1856
"Pursuant to previous notice, the citizens of Honey Lake
valley met April 26, A. D. 1856, in mass convention, at the Roop
House, for the purpose of forming such laws, rules, and regula-
tions as are deemed necessary and advisable in view of the set-
tlement of said valley.
[46]
THE YEAR 1856
' ' The meeting being organized by the election of Peter Lassen
to the chair, and Isaac Roop secretary, the following laws were
unanimously adopted by the citizens:
"Sec. 1. — Inasmach as Honey Lake valley is not within the
limits of California, the same is hereby declared a new territory,
and the boundaries thereof shall be as follows, viz. : Beginning at
a point where the 38^2 degree of North Latitude crosses the East
line of California; thence East to the 117 degree West Longitude ;
thence North to the 42 degree North Latitude; thence running
"West to the 120 degree West Longitude (N. E. corner of Cali-
fornia) ; thence south to the beginning; the said territory to be
named Nat aqua (i. e., woman).
"Sec. 2. — Each actual male settler twenty-one years of age
shall have the right to take up a claim of six hundred and forty
acres.
' ' Sec. 3. — Any person taking up a claim shall put up a notice
describing the boundaries of said claim as near as possible, and
also cause the description to be placed on record.
"Sec. 4. — All claims shall be surveyed within ninety days
from the date of the putting up of the notice and recording, and
said survey, together with the recording, shall be done in the
presence of the claimant.
"Sec. 5. — All claims so taken up and surveyed shall be
improved or occupied by the claimant or his substitute.
"Sec. 6. — All that tract of land lying between Roop's house
and the timber on the West, and between the top of the bluffs on
the North side of the Susan River and three hundred yards west
of the Emigrant road, Roop shall cause to be laid out in a town
plat, and each settler shall be entitled to one lot in said plat,
provided he causes a building to be placed thereon by the first
day of May, A. D. 1857. All portions of said plat not claimed and
improved according to the provisions of this section shall belong
to said Roop.
"Sec. 7. — Any claimant shall have the privilege to settle on
or improve a town lot or his claim, and that either shall be held
as an improvement of his claim of six hundred and forty acres.
"Sec. 8. — No person shall divert water from its original
channel to the injury of any prior occupant.
"Sec. 9. — All difficulties and disputes shall be settled by an
arbitration composed of the citizens of the valley, and all decisions
6f this board shall be final.
[47]
HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
' ' Sec. 10. — No person shall sell, trade, or in any other manner
dispose of any spirituous liquors to the Indians; and any person
or persons misusing, maltreating, robbing, or stealing from the
Indians shall be considered an offender, and upon any person
making a complaint in writing to the Eecorder that such offense
has been committed, the Recorder shall forthwith summons the
citizens together, and they shall form a board of arbitrators, and
after hearing all the evidence, they shall determine and assess
such punishment as they may deem proper.
"Sec. 11. — The Eecorder shall be chairman in all such boards,
and shall keep a docket of all proceedings had in said boards, said
minutes to be recorded in a book. In the absence of the Recorder,
a majority of said board shall elect a chairman, and majority
shall decide all business of said board.
"Sec. 12. — That there shall be a Surveyor and Recorder
elected to hold their office until their successors are elected and
qualified.
"Sec. 13. — That there shall be declared a public road, as
follows: beginning at the boiling springs on the North side of
Honey lake, thence to run in a Westerly course on the North
Bank of Susan River to the Roop House; said road to be one
hundred feet wide, and named Emigrant Road.
"Sec. 14. — That there be declared a public road as follows:
beginning at the Roop House, and to run to the Big Meadows on I
the north fork of Feather river ; said road to be one hundred feet
wide, and named Lassen Road.
"Sec. 15. — That there be declared a public road as follows:
beginning at the Roop House, and to run a westerly course to the
East line of California; said road to be one hundred feet wide,
and named Shasta Road.
"Sec. 16. — That there be declared a public road as follows:
beginning at a point on the Emigrant road three-quarters of a
mile East of Roop's East line, and thence to run south to the
south-east corner of Smith 's ranch ; thence southerly to the south-
west corner of Hasey's ranch; said road to be eighty feet wide,
and named Gold Run road.
"Sec. 17. — That there be declared a public road as follows:
beginning at the south-west corner of Hasey's ranch, and thence
to run easterly to the south side of Honey Lake; thence to the
[48]
THE YEAR 1856
Truckee Meadows; said road to be eighty feet wide, and named
Honey Lake road.
"Sec. 18. — That there be declared a public highway as fol-
lows: beginning at the south-east corner of Meyerowitz's ranch,
on Honey Lake road, and thence to run North to the Emigrant
Road ; said road to be eighty feet wide, and named Central road.
' 'Sec. 19. — That Isaac Roop was elected and qualified a
Recorder, and Peter Lassen was elected and qualified a Surveyor,
and each shall act in his respective office from this date.
"Sec. 20. — 'That to a strict adherence to and fulfillment of
the above laws and regulations, we, the undersigned, permanent
settlers of Honey Lake valley, pledge ourselves and our honor,
each to the other, to stand to and abide by the same, and defend
them inviolate.
"In testimony whereof we, the undersigned, hereunto set our
hands and names this twenty-sixth day of April, A. D. 1856.
Peter Lassen. Win. Hill.
Isadore Meyerowitz. L. C. McMurtre.
G. W. Lathrop. E. W. Shaw.
Isaac Roop. W. T. C. Elliott,
Joseph Lynch. M. T. Shores.
R. J. Scott. M. Mason.
E. Dow. David Hescock.
Paul Hulsa. A. G. Hasey.
W. S. Davis. E. Smith.
John A. Strode. Marion Lawrence.
' ' I hereby certify that the above is a true copy of the original.
"Isaac Roop, Be'd.
1 ' The following was omitted by me :
' ' On motion of Peter Lassen, it was resolved that, in order to
fully promulgate these laws, the Secretary be directed to furnish
the editor of the Shasta Republican with a copy of them for
publication, with a request that other papers throughout the state
copy. The convention then adjourned sine die.
"Isaac Roop, Sec. Peter Lassen, Pres."
"With this meager code of laws, and but the two officers to
administer them, the new territory of Nataqua was launched
upon the political sea."
The new territory was a little over seven times as large as
Lassen county. It was about 220 miles long and 150 miles wide.
[49]
HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
Beginning at the northeastern corner of California, it extended
to about twenty-five miles south of lake Tahoe. The south line
crossed the lower end of Walker lake, and the southeast corner
was a little west of where Belmont, Nevada, now stands. The
line on the east side ran near the present sites of Austin and
Battle Mountain, Nevada, and the northeast corner was near the
southwest corner of Idaho.
These twenty men finished a large job in a short time, but
they made a wild shot at their location. They didn't even live
in the territory they had created. It was nearly thirty-five miles
from their place of meeting to the western line of Nataqua, and
the settlers furthest down the lake were almost twenty miles west
of it.
Besides that, they took in the people of Carson, Eagle, and
Washoe valleys, and the other settlers in that vicinity, who at
that time must have numbered at least six hundred. It is not on
record that these settlers were ever notified of the fact that they
had been taken into the new political division. The Never Sweats
should have known, though, about the settlers along the Carson
river, for some of them had come from there. Apparently they
paid no attention to any of these things, but went about their
business ; no doubt thinking everything was fixed up all right.
Western Utah — Early Settlement and Politics
In 1857 the Never Sweats joined the people of what is now
western Nevada in trying to get the United States government
to organize a new territory, and take them from under the
Mormon rule. As the political affairs of the settlers of Honey
Lake valley were for several years closely connected with those of
the settlers farther south, the following brief history of western
Utah, afterwards Nevada, is given in order that what took place
in Honey Lake valley may be better understood.
"State of the Desert"
On the 18th of March, 1849, the Mormons assembled in con-
vention in Salt Lake, and organized a territorial government over
what they designated as the ' ' State of the Desert. ' ' The boun-
daries named for this new territory included what is now Utah,
Nevada, Arizona, a portion of Colorado, a slice from Oregon, and
that portion of Wyoming lying south of the Wind River moun-
tains. It also included of what is now California San Diego and
[50]
THE YEAR 1856
Los Angeles counties, as far up the coast as Santa Monica. From
there the line ran directly north to the ridge of the Sierra Nevada,
, and took in half of Kern county, a part of Tulare, all of Inyo
and Mono, a part of Alpine, all of Lassen, and part of Shasta
and Siskiyou.
Utah Territory Organized
On the 9th day of September, 1850, the day on which Cali-
, fornia was admitted as a state, Congress, by act, established the
territory of Utah with the following boundaries: Bounded on
the west by the state of California, on the north by the territory
of Oregon, on the east by the summit of the Rocky mountains,
and on the south by the 37th parallel of north latitude. In the
Report of the "Nevada Historical Society" for 1907-8, R. L.
Fulton says : ' ' When California was made a state, the enabling
act defined the eastern boundary as beginning at the point where
the 35th parallel of latitude intersected the Colorado river and
running thence northwest to the 120th meridian, thence north
along the summits of the Sierra Nevadas to the Oregon line.
But a California man, John F. Kidder, was sent to survey the
state line, and when he reached the point where the line running
northwest reached the 120th meridian he found it in the middle
of lake Tahoe, and instead of following the summits of the Sierras
he followed the 120th meridian."
Early Settlement of Western Utah
In 1850 a party of Mormons from Salt Lake City started for
California. They got to the Carson valley so early that they
could not get over the mountains, and while staying there
prospected and found gold. The news soon got over to Cali-
fornia, and some miners came from there that year and went to
work. Mormon Station was founded by Salt Lake Mormons.
June, 1850. That fall the Mormons traded with the emigrants.
Flour was $1.50 a pound, and beef 75c a pound. That fall they
abandoned the place, and the Indians burned all the buildings.
In Sam Davis 's History of Nevada, Prof. Robert Lewers of the
Nevada State University says: "In March, 1850, De Mont organ-
ized a party in Salt Lake City to go to California, and upon
reaching the Carson valley some of the party determined to locate
there. Among them was H. S. Beatie, who built what was prob-
ably the first house in Nevada. This was on the present site of
[51]
HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
Genoa, then called Mormon Station. Beatie and his partner went j
to California and bought supplies which they sold to the emi-
grants. The Salt Lake traders returned to their home that
winter. Beatie sold his house to Moore, and he transferred it to
John Reese, a member of the mercantile firm of J. and E. Reese
of Salt Lake City."
The next spring (1851) John Reese left Salt Lake with ten
wagons loaded with flour, butter, eggs, etc., intending to estab-
lish a trading post somewhere east of the Sierras. He stopped
first at Ragtown, a station on the Carson river down toward the
lake, but shortly afterwards went to the place where the Mormon
station was the year before and located there. The name of
Mormon Station was kept until 1855, and then the ground was
surveyed and the name changed to Genoa.
Squatter Government
The citizens of western Utah held a meeting at Mormon Sta-
tion November 12, 1851. Two more meetings were held that
year, and another one May 22, 1852. At each one of these meet-
ings something was done toward framing some sort of a local
government. They were under the government of the Mormon
authorities, but they knew nothing about them and paid no
attention to them. At these meetings they made rules for taking
up land, elected some county officers, and petitioned to congress
for a separate territorial government.
First County Organization
On the third of March, 1852, the legislature of Utah divided
what is now the state of Nevada into seven counties. Juab county
contained all of Storey county and the most of Washoe county.
The same legislature elected judges for these counties, and
George Bradley was made judge of Juab county. At that time
none of these counties was organized, and for the next three years
the settlers governed themselves.
On March 21st, 1853, the citizens held their fifth meeting,
and made some more rules about the taking of land, and changed
the fees of some of the county officers.
Carson County Created
On the 17th of January, 1854, the territorial legislature of
Utah passed an act creating the county of Carson, and authorized
the governor to appoint a probate judge for it. In a couple of
[52] -
THE YEAR 1856
days the legislature divided Utah into three Judicial Districts.
The governor appointed Orson Hyde as probate judge, and he
got to the Carson valley in June, 1855. A lot of Mormons came
with him. He called an election that year, and the various county
offices were filled. Richard D. Sides was elected treasurer.
In the report of the " Nevada Historical Society" for 1907-8,
Miss Beulah Hershiser, A. B. says: ""When Utah was divided
into court districts Provo was the meeting place of the district
that included all western Utah, and of course the Carson valley
settlers would have to go clear there to attend court, and so they
petitioned to the California Legislature to extend the jurisdiction
of the state over the Carson valley. The California senate passed
a memorial to congress in March, 1853, urging that Carson valley
should be under the control of California ; because the desert was
the natural boundary, and Utah was too remote. It further
suggested that the eastern boundary of California be a line drawn
from the intersection of the 42nd parallel and the 120th meridian
to the intersection of the 35th parallel and the Colorado river.
This memorial was adopted by the California senate, but not by
the assembly. This caused the Mormons to organize Carson
county in 1854, and a colony of Mormons was sent to put it into
effect. Before Judge Hyde, whose task it was to organize the
county, could proceed, he had to clear up the indefiniteness of the
boundary question. In connection with an act to build a wagon
road to the eastern boundary of the state in 1855, the California
Surveyor General appointed Mr. Goddard to survey such portion
of the state line as should fall in Carson valley. For this work
Judge Hyde of Utah furnished supplies. As soon as Mr. God-
dard felt convinced that Carson valley was in Utah, Judge Hyde,
who had accompanied the party from Sacramento, hastened on
to Mormon Station to hold court."
The Mormons had been coming into the Carson valley every
year; and in 1856, when the county officers were elected, all
excepting one were Mormons. A good many "Gentiles" had
settled in that section, too ; and as usual, there was a feeling of
bitterness between them and the Mormons.
The reader will notice that near the beginning of the next
chapter it says that Francis Lanigar and his Wife spent the
winter of 1856-57 with Peter Lassen. Since that was written it
has been learned that they had four children with them — Jane,
[53]
HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
John W., and Freeman. Jane married Frank Murphey and now
lives in Surprise valley, Modoc county, California. John W.
lived in this section, or not far away, until his death in 1909.
Freeman has also been a resident of this section and has lived in
Honey Lake valley for a good many years. The name and fate
of the other child are unknown to the writer.
[54]
CHAPTER III
1857. SETTLEMENT
Lodgings were extremely scarce in the land of the Never
j Sweats during the winter of 1856-7, and not many of those
who came here in 1856 stayed all winter. The following per-
sons spent all, or nearly all, the winter here. R. J. Scott and
Wm. Morehead stayed on their claims, and A. U. Sylvester spent
part of the winter with the latter. E. Smith and his Wife and
Capt. Weatherlow stayed at Smith 's place on the west side of the
lake. Francis Lanigar and his Wife, Eppstein, Antone Storff,
and Lynch stayed with Lassen. Hasey, McMurtry, and Elliott
stayed on their claim. Dr. W. W. L. Lennox, Lathrop, Cap. Hill,
and probably Gilpin and O'Laughlin stayed somewhere in the
valley. E. Roop and McNaull stayed at Roop's, and I. N. Roop
was there the latter part of the winter.
Early in the spring men began to come into the valley from
the other side of the mountains. Wiley Cornelison came here in
March. He says there were thirteen men and two women in the
valley at that time. Probably some of those who wintered here
had gone to the lower country for a short time. The permanent
settlement of the valley began this spring. Men came in then to
take up land and stay here, and some of them brought their
families with them. A good many of those who settled in the
valley this year stayed here all the rest of their lives.
The list of those who took up land in 1857 is a long one, but
it is given because it will be of interest to those who know the
country. It will be noticed that some men took up a good many
claims of what was shortly afterwards valuable land, and soon
abandoned them, or sold out for a song.
In January A. D. Morton and M. W. Haviland came back,
and some time during the month put up a cabin on the latter 's
claim. It was on the north side of the river about a mile and a
half east of Roop's east line, just about where the Jensen house
now stands. This was the first cabin put up in the Toadtown
(Johnstonville) country. The latter part of this month, or the
first of February, Morton built a cabin on his claim. Probably
he was helped by Haviland, Sylvester, Johnson Tutt, and C. C.
Walden. This cabin was on the north side of the river, a little
[55]
HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
northeast of Curlew Butte. January 2nd Stephen O'Laughlin
sold his claim to Dr. Lennox, ' ' hecause I owe him money. ' ' Janu-
ary 26th S. C. Perrin, John Teskey, and Asa Adams relocated all
the land between the claims of Lathrop and Smith, previously
claimed by Reed and Cushings. Probably this was along the lake
east of Eppstein. The last of the month Nicholas Clark bought
E. Smith's claim on the lake for $400, and sold the east half of
it to the "Know-nothing Boys" (Thos. Eaton and Ben. Ward).
Mr. Clark's Wife walked over here from Elizabeth Town some
time during the summer. They and their son, William H., spent
the rest of their lives on this ranch, and it is still owned by their
descendants.
In February Gabriel Murphy located north of Manley Thomp-
son on land that was afterwards partly covered by the Baxter
and Bartlett ranch on Baxter creek; David P. Dexter relocated
the land northeast of Scott that Whitaker had taken the year
before; James Belcher relocated the claim southeast of Roop,
"formily held by Florancy Smith"; Wm. Hill (Cap. Hill) gave
notice that he constituted himself "substitute for Mrs. L. M.
Ellis in place of James Belcher," and he also relinquished his
claim east of Lassen ; D. M. Munchie claimed a section west of
Haviland; — Butts claimed Haviland's land, but relinquished it
in about a week; N. Greenwood took a claim south of Morton;
James Belcher relinquished his appointment as agent for Mrs.
Ellis ; J. W. Tremer took a claim, the northwest corner of which
was "a certain tree about two mile below the mound on Susan
river"; J. H. Ferry, W. T. Eadwards, and Daniel Terry took
three claims along the lake, location uncertain ; James F. Ray and
John Meyer relocated the claim just relinquished by Hill ; R. F.
Mastin, Wm. Powell, and Mrs. L. Cooper took three claims in
Elysian valley, Mastin 's on the west, probably joining the land
claimed by Denney and Keelty the year before, Powell east of
him, and Mrs. Cooper east of Powell (Charles Cooper was with
his Mother) ; John Griffin took a section just north of Belcher's
last claim ; Joseph Libler claimed the ' ' water of the creek known
as Camanchas Creek for farming and mining purposes" (east
branch of Baxter creek) ; A. Fredonyer took a claim north of
"Geo. Lathrops formerly Isadore Mayerowtz claim, situated in
Honey Lake valley and state of California or Utah Territory as
the case may be," but relinquished it in a few days "because he
[56]
THE YEAR 1857
had since learned the same to be claimed and occupied by an
actual settler. " In a few days he took another claim along Susan
river east of I. N. Roop.
Some time during this month A. T., Leroy, and Cutler Arnold,
and the latter 's son Henry, and Malconi and Albert Scott came
into the valley, but did not stay very long. The fall before,
while on a prospecting trip, L. Arnold and M. Scott came into
the valley for a few days.
In March Richard Thompson located a section south of Mor-
ton, the center of his south line being about twenty-five rods
south of the mouth of Lassen creek; Antone Storff claimed the
water from Rosees creek, probably the creek three fourths of a
mile northwest of Janesville ; Wiley Cornelison claimed a half
section northwest of Haviland; Daniel Reed made a location,
place uncertain, and relinquished it in nine days; Cornelison
located west of Haviland, but relinquished it in less than a
month; Robert Hamilton, N. Clark's stepson, claimed a tract
south of the land sold by Smith to Clark. "William Dow, who
had come from Michigan to California in 1852, and Henry Hatch
came into the valley the last of March. Dow says that the Roop
and Weatherlow cabins were then the only buildings where
Susanville now stands. They stayed here a few days and
claimed some land, and then went back to La Porte; but in the
course of a month they returned here to stay.
In April Dow and Hatch claimed two sections on the north
side of Susan river seven miles below Roop; Malcom S. Scott
took half a section north of the land last claimed by Belcher and
transferred by him to Cutler Arnold, but in eleven days Scott
relinquished his claim ; Leroy N. Arnold located west of McMur-
try & Co. and south of the Belcher- Arnold tract; Belcher took
another claim a little northeast of Hasey & Co., but relinquished
it the following July ; James Hood and Isaac Coulthurst took a
tract on Susan river eight miles east of Roop 's ; J. T. Saum
claimed Antelope valley northeast of Roop ; Daniel Reed located
what was "formily knone as the Morhed claim" afterwards
claimed by R. J. Lennox. This land, so Reed said, had been
forfeited according to the laws of the valley, but after an arbi-
tration he relinquished his claim; William C. Kingsbury and
Richard F. Cahill claimed a tract east of Lanigar and Nixon and
south of Hasey & Co. ; Albert A. Smith took a half section join-
[57]
HISTOEY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
ing Lassen on the north and west of Lassen creek ; W. H. Watson
located down the river east of Sylvester, and in May he gave up
half of his claim to Hugh S. Porter; Thomas J. Harvey took a
claim in the ' ' forks of Susan river and Willow creek, ' ' but relin-
quished it in July; E. P. Townsend made a location west of
this; Geo. W. Williams relocated the land northwest of R. J.
Scott which had been claimed by Dexter the previous November ;
James R. Damrye claimed 320 acres joining R. J. Scott on the
southwest; W. W. L. Lennox and Mary C, his Wife, sold the
claim he bought of O 'Laughlin to Lassen for $50 ; Morehead took
a half section southeast of his place northwest of where Malford
now stands ; John Tusky, or Tesky, claimed 160 acres northwest
of Antones, probably Anthony Barla east of Murphy (see May) ;
John Baxter located all the unclaimed tillable land on the creek
west of Gabriel Murphy. The western part of this, which he
sold to Matchelor, was afterwards the James D. Byers place;
Samuel Brown took up 120 acres north of Scott, a part of the
land that had been claimed by Damrye a few days before that ;
F. M. Jackson made a location in the neighborhood of Scott, but
didn't record it until June; T. J. Harvey also made a claim this
month that he didn't put on record until July; Henry Lish
claimed a section "at the foot of the lake. ' ' Some time this
spring, or perhaps the fall before, Wm. Hill Naileigh (Cap. Hill),
located a section joining R. J. Scott, and a little to the northeast
of him. This was afterwards the L. P. Whiting ranch, now the
property of the Wemple Brothers.
F. & S. say that April 28th, 1857, the legislature of Cali-
fornia passed an Act "To provide for the construction of a
wagon road from Oroville, Butte county, to and intersecting at
the most practicable point the line of the proposed National
Wagon Road that has its terminus at or near Honey lake, Plumas
county," and three commissioners were named to construct the
road. The Act also provided for the issuing of $20,000 bonds
each by the counties of Butte and Plumas, provided such measure
received the indorsement of the people at the fall election. The
surveys made by the government led people to believe that when
a transcontinental railroad was built, it would go to Fort Read-
ing ; and it was thought that if a good wagon road was built from
Oroville to Honey Lake, it would be the means of turning the
railroad in that direction, and making a shorter line to San Fran-
[58]
THE YEAE 1S57
cisco. But the measure was defeated in both counties, and the
project was abandoned. If this road had been built, perhaps the
Central Pacific railroad would have been put through Honey-
Lake valley.
In May Pelio Trutters claimed a tract joining Coulthurst on
the southwest; Johnson P. Ford took a section east of Hasey &
Co., and afterwards sold it to Asa B. Judkins and Dan. R. Cate ;
Albert Scott located west and southwest of Dow and Hatch;
Harry Jarder, probably Gordier, located east of Hood and Coult-
hurst ; Daniel Reed made a claim on Susan river about four miles
east of the mouth of "Willow creek, and Eli B. Prater took the
section east of him; Chas. E. Alvord claimed a half section
northwest of A. A. Smith ; Anthony Barla located east of Gabriel
Murphy, and James W. Duesler southwest of Cornelison ; Dan. R.
Cate took a section which had for its northwest corner a certain
tree about two miles below the mound on Susan river; "Wm.
Alford, John and Eadcene and James Beart claimed four sections
northeast of Murphy and Barla; Rusel Alford located a tract
east of Reed, and J. H. Ferry, W. T. Eadwards, and A. B. Norris
three sections along the south side of the lake, place uncertain;
"W. D. Fitts took 180 acres joining Morehead on the east ; Kings-
bury and Cahill claimed a half section east, or northeast, of A. A.
Smith; L. M. Robertson and Wm. N. Crawford took the little
valley southeast of Lassen, the tract first claimed by Hill ; Hugh
S. Porter recorded the east half of the land claimed by "VV. M.
Watson, and sold by him to Porter; (This was the first notice
recorded by Roop since Hasey was elected Deputy Recorder.)
A. Fredonyer located east of Roop, taking in both sides of the
river and a water privilege ; Edward Rice took a quarter section
west of the Lennox Brothers, and the same day they sold out to
him, but it was not recorded until the third of July; H. Sehlke
claimed a strip of land along Lassen creek between Thompson
and Lassen ; C. Arnold claimed the privilege of taking water out
of Susan river for the purpose of irrigating his ranch; Charles
C. Walden claimed an irregular tract between Hasey, Lennox,
and Thompson; E. Smith & Co. located east of Reed, "some five
miles east of Willow creek and near the point where the emigrant
road comes in the valley"; J. B. Hixson took a section on th^
south side of the river about three fourths of a mile west of where
the emigrant road enters the valley ; C. Arnold claimed 160 acres
[59]
HISTOEY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFOENIA
south of Florence Smith's first claim, but relinquished it in
July; T. P. Kingsbury located on Smoke creek.
George Lathrop and L. N. Breed sold to Reuben F. Mastin,
for $150, the place in the upper end of Elysian valley that had
been taken by Denney and Keeltey the previous year. In one
way and another Breed had managed to get possession of this
claim ; and Lathrop, who had bought or relocated Isadore 's ranch,
sold it to Breed, or traded it to him for part of the Elysian valley
claim.
Malcom Bankhead came into the valley and bought the land
where Janesville now stands and that to the north of it from
Thomas Mitchell. This summer he put up a building of hewn
logs 20 by 30 feet, or something like that, and two stories high.
This building was used by him, and others, as a hotel until 1872.
Then Dennis Tanner tore it down, and put up a new building
on the site of the old one. In the fall Bankhead went over to the
mining town of St. Louis, and brought back his wife and four
children. His Father, his brother William, two of his nephews,
and Ralph Niesham also came with him.
About this time Robert J. Scott, who had built a shanty and
raised a few vegetables, sold out to Lassen ; and he built a cabin
near what is now the upper part of the town of Milford.
Some time this spring Peter Lassen, the Nataqua Surveyor,
ran a base line from near the site of the Johnstonville gristmill
to the bluffs near Susanville. It ran just north of Curlew Butte.
Mention has been made of the fact that Roop began to record
land claims again this month. After this he acted as Recorder
the most of the time as long as any squatter filings were made in
the valley.
In June F. M. Jackson recorded his claim, which lay south-
east of Goodwin and not far from Cap. Hill; Charles E. Tomp-
kins, James Hunter, and Thomas Llewelen took the land along
Baxter creek between the claims of Libler and Storff; Squire
Lewis Stark and James P. Sharp bought Commanche George's
claim on the east branch of Baxter creek, and relocated it ; Thos.
Calloway took the northeast quarter of a section of land claimed
by Dr. Fredonyer; — Johnson claimed half a section north of
Haviland; Emory Scott located west of Daniel Reed; C. Arnold
bought from Roop the privilege of taking water through his
ranch; Dow and Hatch sold, probably to W. J. Tutt, the claim
[CO]
THE YEAR 1857
they took in April, for a cow and a calf; Edwin R. Scott took a
section joining the claim of Dow and Hatch, located in April ;
William Powell sold an undivided one half of a tract of 1200 acres
in the eastern part of Elysian valley to H. A. and D. I. Willmans
and A. D. McDonald.
This spring John H. and A. Clark Neale came into the valley
with cattle; and they and Dow and Hatch bought out Richard
Thompson, the Neales taking the south half of the claim.
Early in the month Cutler Arnold, with the help of his neigh-
bors, put up a log building, perhaps 25 by 30 feet and a story
and a half high, on the northeast corner of Main and Union
streets. This was the first hotel in "Rooptown," and for two or
three years it was the only one. It is said that Arnold also kept
a stock of general merchandise for sale in it. It was used as a
hotel for some time, and after that was used for various purposes.
For several years before it was destroyed, it was occupied by the
Chinese, and was known as the "old China house." It was
burned in the fire of September 23, 1882. This fire burned all the
buildings on the south side of Main street between Lassen and
Union streets. The log house was the only building burned on
the north side of the street. F. & S. have the following, which
will bear repeating : "For two years this was the only place where
meals were served to the public, for which the moderate price of
seventy-five cents each was charged. The proprietor also pro-
vided a few beds in the loft, to reach which required a little
climbing. This portion of the establishment was not patronized
as extensively as the table, for few men traveled in those days
and in such localities without their blankets, and all they required
in bad weather was the floor of some saloon or store to spread
them on ; while on fair nights, the ground for a couch, and the
stars for a roof, were all they felt the necessity of. Thus pre-
pared, the weary traveler composed himself to sleep, soothed by
the soft voice of the coyote, and the sweet lullaby of the night-
owl, while various insects indulged in explorations about his
person, and creaked forth their comments to their companions.
With such surroundings no one could 'court the balmy' without
success." Lodgers in Susanville hotels can still have the coyote
serenade.
In July R. J. and W. W. L. Lennox recorded the sale of their
claim south of Haviland to Edward Rice ; Jessey Gipson recorded a
[61]
HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
notice to the effect that he had "jumped" the Crothers claim which
joined Coulthurst on the west ; U. J. Tutt relocated the second sec-
tion claimed by Dow and Hatch in April, but he relinquished it in
January, 1859 ; Cap. Hill took the land northeast of Hasey & Co.
that Belcher claimed in April and relinquished when Hill claimed
it ; the little valley between Lassen and the west branch of Baxter
creek was again claimed — this time by James Greshly; Thos. J.
Calloway and Robert Farish located two sections in Long valley,
probably at the lower end of it, but held them only nine days ; in a
few days Calloway took a half section in the same valley and a
man named Smith located near him, but perhaps no one ever lived
on these Long valley claims at that time; Antelope valley was
taken by Samuel V. Conner and Jarvis Taylor ; J. P. Ray recorded
notice of a claim made by him in June — it was on 200 acres of
land between C. Arnold and Hasey & Co. ; Tutt and Walden again
located the east section claimed by Dow and Hatch in April ; Wm.
Wickhan took a half section northeast of "W. H. Watson ; Thomas
Johnson claimed 300 acres between Arnold and Hasey & Co.,
perhaps the land taken by Ray in June ; Arnold relinquished the
land he took in May, and claimed the land taken by Florence
Smith in April, 1856, and afterwards by Belcher ; M. S. Scott re-
linquished the claim he took in April, and located another one
which included the land just abandoned by Arnold; Edwin R.
Scott relocated the west section claimed by Dow and Hatch in
April, but relinquished it in September ; William Bankhead & Co.
claimed the vacant land along the Baxter creek between Storff and
Baxter & Co. ; Thomas J. Harvey recorded the claim he took in
April, this being between Libler and the land taken first by Com-
manche George. A part of his notice was as follows : "I put up
my notice in April and planted my garding and would of had
it recorded but had heard it often said that Mr Hasey was not a
valied recorder"; Calloway took a quarter section which had the
Upper Hot spring in the center of it ; Emory Scott relinquished
the land he claimed in June ; W. H. Watson relocated the land
east of Sylvester that he had taken the previous April ; William
Eaton, F. W. Butler and W. M. Brown claimed the east half of
Morton 's section and the west half of Sylvester 's, stating in their
notice that the land had been purchased from Morton and Syl-
vester by H. G. O. Drake, A. G. Baker, H. Burlingham, and Z. N.
Spalding, but they relinquished it in three days ; Thomas Johnson
[62]
THE YEAR 1857
and Robert Ferriss relocated the east half of the section claimed
by Sylvester in December, 1856, claiming that according to the
laws of the valley, it had been forfeited for several months pre-
vious to this ; Milton Craig claimed 40 acres in the corner between
Haviland and Cornelison; Burlingham, Drake, Spalding, and
Baker recorded notice of claim on the section they had bought of
Morton and Sylvester ; Craig claimed 40 acres close to the bluffs,
and about a mile south of Roop; Dow & Hatch and the Neale
Brothers recorded a claim of 900 acres of land, the most of it
being what they bought from Richard Thompson; Daniel Reed
filed in Quincy on 160 acres of land in this valley, location uncer-
tain ; Thomas Watson bought from Hasey, McMurtry and Elliott
the southeast section of land claimed by them, and lived on it the
rest of his life. On the eleventh of this month Roop, McNaull &
Co. raised the frame of the first sawmill in the valley. It was
built just below where the Susan river canyon first becomes nar-
row and deep, going up the stream. It was a water power mill,
and at first had an up-and-down saw,
In August Sylvester located a half section east of Dow & Hatch
and the Neales; the little valley between Lassen and the west
branch of Baxter creek was claimed by Amos Conkey and James
"Williams, his brother-in-law, this being the fourth time it had been
taken up since Cap. Hill located it in May, 1856. Shortly after
this Sylvanus and Betsey Conkey, the Father and Mother of
Amos, came from Sierra county onto the place wTith their family.
Williams lived there more than twenty years, Amos almost thirty
years, and his Mother still longer. L. M. Ellis claimed a mill
privilege "at the foot of the mountain on the stream running
through Scott's and Hill's ranches"; Gabriel Murphy filed at
Quincy on 160 acres of land in this valley, location uncertain.
Dr. Zetus N. Spalding and Wife came into the valley about the
first of the month. They lived here the rest of their lives, and
the most of the time he was one of the prominent men of the
county. William C. Kingsbury brought in his Wife and two
boys, Frank and Fred. They came on horseback, each one carry-
ing a child. He soon went into partnership with Lassen.
In September Emory Scott relocated the section originally
taken by Dow and Hatch, and which had been relinquished by
Edwin R. Scott in July; Reuben F. Mastin recorded a claim of
300 acres in the west end of Elysian valley, and also a water priv-
[63]
HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
ilege. This was the land he bought of Breed and Lathrop in
May; Thomas Bear relocated that part of Fredonyer's claim
which lay between the bluffs and the river. He put up a cabin
on the south side of the road and a little east of Pah Ute creek.
Mary Jane Duvall crossed the plains, and reached this valley
August 13th. September 23d she was married to Isaac Coul-
thurst. This was the first couple married in the valley. They
have lived here ever since. September 28th Emma Lanigar,
daughter of Francis Lanigar, was born on Gold Run southwest
of Richmond. This was the first white child born in the valley.
She married a man named Andy Frazieur and now lives in Ore-
gon.
In October W. H. Watson relinquished 40 acres of his claim,
and took 40 acres northeast of Morton ; Dr. John A. Slater relin-
quished 40 acres of his claim about three fourths of a mile north-
west of Bankhead's house, and took another 40 acres in place of
it; Dow, Hatch & Co. claimed all the waters of a stream four
miles below Lassen's; R. L. Bryant relocated the section south-
west of Dow and Hatch's old claim that Albert Scott had taken
in May ; Robert Steen claimed half of the Antelope valley ranch
because it had been forfeited, he said; Edward Rice and John
Neiswender relocated the northeast section of the four square
miles once claimed by Hasey, McMurtry, and Elliott.
In November Anton Storff located north of Conkey's ranch;
McNaull claimed a strip of land a mile wide and two miles long,
having the river for its center, and extending up the river from
Roop, McNaull & Co's. "Mill Damn." He also claimed the
waters of the river and its tributaries ; James Shores, or Shares,
took a half section east of Wickhan, who was east of W. H. Wat-
son; William Powell sold D. I. Wilmans the other undivided
one half of the tract he sold to the Wilmans Bros, and McDonald
in June ; R. F. Mastin sold Richard D. and Stephen Bass his claim
in the upper end of Elysian valley. R. D. Bass lived here the
rest of his life.
In December F. M. Rinard bought a half section north of Roop
and Fredonyer from Weikel, and recorded his claim; Dr. Slater
located 620 acres west of Bankhead and Asa Adams, and extend-
ing from the timber north across the valley to the Bald hills north
of Baxter creek. Dr. Slater crossed the plains this year, and
came into the valley with his Wife and a child or two. He was
I 64 1
THE YEAR 1857
a prominent man until his death. Robert Rushing claimed 80
acres joining Slater on the southwest, and 80 acres along the
creek above Slater ; A. B. Riffle took a claim east of James Shores ;
Neale Bros, claimed 800 acres on the south side of the river east
of the location made by them and Dow and Hatch in July; Par-
chiel (Zack) Taylor took a claim lying on both sides of the river
between Willow creek and the ranch of W. H. Watson. It is
probable that some time during this year William F. Raker and
William Goose settled about three miles northwest of where Mil-
ford now stands. It is claimed that they did, and Ross Lewers
says that in 1858 the place looked as though they had been there
some time. This year "Whitehead" Ross bought E. Smith's
claim in Long valley. A man named Kearns and his partner,
friends of Ross, also came in there, took some land, and built a
cabin about a mile and three quarters east of him. Ross was a
somewhat noted character. He came from Tennessee, and dur-
ing the Civil War he went back there and enlisted in the Southern
army and was wounded. After the war he came to Austin, Ne-
vada, and died there. Orlando Streshly, for many years a prom-
inent man in this county, came into the valley and bought out
A. G. Hasey at Richmond. His land lay west of that bought by
Thomas Watson. The latter part of June Cutler Arnold went
over into the mountains, and brought his family, which consisted
of his Wife, two sons, Henry and Rolla, and four smaller chil-
dren, to Honey Lake valley. They all came on horseback, and the
trail was so bad that A. T. Arnold had to come along to help
them over it. James P. Sharp bought a part of the Commanche
George ranch, and became a partner of Squire Stark. With
Stark's boy, John, he came to the valley to live on the place, and
Richard and Stephen Bass spent the winter with them. De-
cember 23d, 1857, there was recorded in Plumas county a deed
from Lewis Stark and Wife to Elizabeth A. Sharp, and the fol-
lowing is the description of the land given in it: "A certain
Ranch, piece or parcel of land, situated in Honey Lake valley,
county of Plumas and state of California, known as the Co-
manche George Ranch, and bounded as follows, to wit : On the
South by the Ranch of D. I. Wilmans & Co., on the Northwest by
a Ranch owned by Dutch Joe, on the east by the Ranch owned
by Dr. Slater. On the Northeast by a line commencing at a
stake near a creek known as the Irishmans creek and running in
[65]
HISTOEY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFOENIA
a Southeast direction one mile to a lone pine tree on the South
bank of Irishmans creek supposed to contain 640 acres of land."
Isn 't that a plain description ? This fall Fullbright & Crawford,
who had just crossed the plains, came into the valley with 600
head of long-horned Texas cattle, and located a tract of land about
a mile and a quarter southeast of the present site of Milford.
Charles and Abijah Adams brought in another large band of
cattle from the States, and claimed a large tract of land about
seventeen miles down the river from Roop 's, in what is now called
"The Tules. " This place is now known as the "Byers Ranch."
John Baxter located a piece of land about three quarters of a mile
southeast of Bankhead 's house, and built a cabin near a spring at
the foot of the hill. Harry Gordier took a claim on Baxter creek
south of the east end of the Bald mountain — the ranch after-
wards owned by Thomas Mulroney. Joseph Todd took up the
place east of Sylvester. The winter of 1857-8 Ladue Vary planted
some peach stones, or set out some small trees, in the northeast-
ern part of Rooptown. This was the first time anything of this
kind had been done in the valley.
Peter Lassen had a blacksmith forge in front of his cabin, but
he worked only for himself. Roop put up a blacksmith shop at
the sawmill, and did custom work. J. H. Ferry was his black-
smith. In December, 1857, Hines and Tutt went out to Rabbit
Hole springs, thirty miles west of the Humboldt river, with two
ox teams, four yoke of cattle to the team. They each got a full
load of iron from the wagons that the emigrants had burned
there because their stock had given out. They hauled it to the
valley and sold it to Roop — $1500 worth, and paid $30 a thou-
sand for the lumber they took for it.
This summer Dow and Hatch put up the first board house ever
built in the valley. It was built of lumber which they whip-
sawed, and was sixteen by twenty-four feet, and ten feet high
at the corners. That fall they put on twelve feet more in length.
It stood just east of the Curlew Butte. That winter Dow and
Hatch, Dr. Spalding and Wife, her brother, Thomas Brown,
her sister, Fanny Brown, afterwards Mrs. A. C. Neale, and
"Whiskey" Smith lived in it. This building was used for a
dwelling house until 1898, and burned down in the fall of 1911.
In June Dow and Hatch brought the first stove into the valley.
They brought it from La Porte on the back of a mule.
[66]
THE YEAR 1857
This fall Jonathan Scott brought in a pack train load of gen-
eral merchandise and put it into the Roop cabin. This was the
first regular store in the valley.
This year James Jones crossed the plains with his family and
settled in Honey Lake valley. He had three children, one of
whom afterwards married Stephen White. These children are
all dead. For some time after his arrival Mr. Jones lived at the
Manley Thompson place, and another daughter was born here on
November 10th, 1857. She was named Sarah Margaret, and
was the second child born in the county. In 1875 she married
George H. St. Clair, who died in 1902. Mrs. St. Clair now lives
in Alameda, California. In 1860 a son, James H., was born in
the valley, and he is still living.
Names of people not previously mentioned who settled in the
valley in 1857. N. B. An asterisk before a person's name indi-
cates that he may have settled here the previous year.
Thomas McMurtry, *David Lowry, James Conkey, "Big"
John Chapman, Alec. Chapman, James Jones and Family, Field-
ing Long, Joseph A. Knettles, Frank Johnson, — Mullen, —
Snow, M. C. Lake, John R. Morrow, Win. V. Kingsbury, John E.
Fuller, John Weikel, Salmon Belden, David Blanchard, Dolphin
Inman, Anthony Gray, Mrs. Johnson P. Ford, Mrs. Fullbright,
R. Hewitt and Wife, and George Purcell.
Of those who settled here in 1857 Cornelison, Hatch, Sharp, R.
Thompson, Zack Taylor, R. D. Bass, Craig, Raker, Jones, Syl-
venus and James Conkey, and Mrs. W. C. Kingsbury lived here
the rest of their lives and died here.
Leroy Arnold, W. C. Kingsbury, Streshly, A. A. Smith, Bax-
ter, Lowry, Amos Conkey and his Mother, and Dow lived nearly
all the rest of their lives in the county.
The Wilmans Bros., Neale Bros., Cutler Arnold, Edward Rice,
Squire Stark, S. Bass, Robert Hamilton, J. P. Ford, the Jones
Family, and Thomas Brown lived in the county from ten to
twenty years. Gray lived here six or seven years.
Dow lived in the county over fifty years, and was a well known
and prominent man. He is now a resident of Pacific Grove,
California. Cornelison had a store at first, then a blacksmith
shop, and for more than thirty years he ran a sawmill. Kings-
bury was county Assessor. Streshly was Assessor and Sheriff.
Smith was Surveyor, District Attorney, and County Judge.
r 67 1
HISTOEY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFOENIA
Squire Stark was Justice of the Peace in Plumas county and this
county for many years.
Roop House Register.
' ' List of Arrivals 1857
H. B. Ray Rabbit Creek 1st 1857
Henry Arnold Do Do April 3d 1857
stiles Train 650 cattle 306 horses and mules 119 men 1
woman 1 child 17 hands 3 wagons No of fools 201
To Roop
You may perchance when time and age
Have furrowed deep your wrinkled brow
Turned back and thought upon this page
Of some harsh thoughts or big bow bow
It may be too these dim lines
(Unworthy for a thought they be)
Will quicken still as life declines
Some friendly pulse to tell of me
Then let this simple record pass
For Oh I would not be forgot
By good old ' ' chums ' ' who glass to glass
Hath with me pledged this lovely spot
May 28, 1867. (Name looked like "Sebrach"
May 29. 57 Honey Lake is now the center of attraction
Men are pouring in daily and the prospects are nattering that in
a few years it will be some
May 30 Hill and Hasey came to the Roop House Hill got
slitly nebriated and Hasey is him self again Ho. Is. he say
Roop House June 5 1857
June 3d Orevill Deligation In with the first Coach ever in
the Valley W. A. Gamble Alex Brown S McDermutt H B
Hunt Thos Calloway Charles J Brown Report the Road from
Orevill to Honey Lake Valley Excellent
4th The Commissioners from Marysville Arive by Way of
American Valley Indian Valley — Came down over a low pass
Snow 10 feet Deep
7 Orovill Coach leaves at 10 o clock P. M. all O. K. A.
Salute fired. Legets Train for the states 20 Men 240 Horses
Roop House June 5 1857
Camped opposite the house 18 men Two Women Three Chil-
dren bound for the States with 38 Horses one Wagon Two of
I 68 1
THE YEAR 1857
the hombres Satisfied Geo Taylor & Wm Eaton that they were
To heavy on the Whiskey Game
June 9th 1857 the Neighbors Gathered Togather & raised
Cut Arnolds House got Drunk & retired Messrs Gilpen &
Weatherlow excepted
June 10th 1857 Messrs Gilpen & Wethc-rlow returned after
a long and tedious Jouny of Five day by leaving their goods &
Wares on the road to be devoured by the Gigantic Coyota after
their arrival they make arrangements to start over the Moun-
tains, Mr Wm Eaton to go & help fetch goods & Wares in
June the 12th 1857
Taylor went hunting returned and reported to have shot an
antelope but could not get it. Roop started with a fishing pole to
assist in getting the crippled game it is believed that the fish
and antelope will suffer
June 13th 1857
Taylor Hill and H. B. Ray went to Smok Creek after Iron and
when there they got they found they wer to lat the Iron was
all gon But they made a rais some where of a tire and Chains
For the States 16th
Thomas. S. Bradford Alpheus Hunter C. C. Boundy Geo
H. Brown for Pike For. God's. Country By —
Bought a Knife and Gun for knife. — for the Gun $10 for
the staits or some other sea Port or rather
June 25 1857
Cut Arnold and family arrived to-day all well
June 21st 1857
Arrived in Town Seven men from St Louis on a prospecting
tour
Sir Roop with his Troup Came down from the Mill Camp, to
clean out the Town left Satisfied that it was a heavy Job Fish
do not bite yet
Roops, House Three men from Humbug Valy they intend to
come back Shortly to settle there names dont know there
names I think the men are Humbug if they come back a Gain
to Honey Lake vally
Roop House June 18 1857
Camped above the house eleven men 19 Horses from Yreka
& Oregon bound for the White Settlements
[69]
HISTOEY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFOENIA
June 20th 1857
It has been as cold as hell for the last fortnight no frost
July 1st— 2— 3 & 4th
Rained every day some days more
Roop House Honey Lake Valley July 11 '57
Roop raised Mill today, Bob Sick"
There was one more entry that had nothing pasted over it. It
was dated July 20th, but it was so indistinct that it could not be
read. The remainder of the book was a record of the trains that
passed the Roop House in 1857. The record of the second train
was "Second Train Crawford & fullBrite 600 head of cattle &
4 Wagons 15 Men 4 Women 4 Children"
According to the Roop House Register there came through the
valley from August 2, 1857 to October 4, 1857 ninety-nine trains,
or parties, with 306 wagons and carriages, 665 horses and mules,
and 16937 head of cattle. There were 835 men, 254 women, and
390 children. Two or three large bands of cattle and a few of
the emigrants stopped in the valley. The rest of them went on
over the mountains. They were looking for gold.
Western Utah Politics. 1857
In 1856 an armed mob of Mormons had driven the United
States District Judge from the bench in eastern Utah, and he left
the territory. The relations between the Mormons and the United
States government became hostile. Where the Mormons had the
power (which was not the case in Carson county) murders were
frequent, and a reign of terror was begun. What was virtually
a rebellion caused President Buchanan to send General A. Sidney
Johnston with a small army to Salt Lake in 1857 to re-establish
the authority of the government. Brigham Young ordered all
the Mormons living outside of eastern Utah to return at once,
and help defend the "City of Saints" against what he called an
armed mob.
On the 14th day of January, 1857, the legislature of Utah
enacted the following law: "Said county (Carson) is allowed to
retain its present organization so far as county recorder, sur-
veyor, precincts and precinct officers are concerned, and may con-
tinue to elect these officers in accordance with existing arrange-
ments and laws until further directed by Great Salt Lake County
court, or legislative enactment. Section 5 — The record books,
[70]
THE YEAR 1857
papers and blanks, and seals, both of probate and county courts,
shall be delivered over to the order of the probate court of Great
Salt Lake county. ' '
April 13th the county court, with Chester Loveland for judge,
adjourned until the first Monday in the following June ; but it was
September 3, 1860 before there was another session of this branch
of the Judiciary.
On the 16th of July the California Mormon train, consisting of
seventeen wTagons and sixty-five people, left Eagle valley for Salt
Lake City. On September 26th 123 wragons and 450 people left
Carson valley for the same place. A few of them were from Cali-
fornia and Oregon. This left Truckee and Carson valleys almost
without inhabitants for a while. The land and buildings left by
the Mormons were sold for a trifle. People from California
bought up this real estate, and the valleys soon filled up with
Gentiles and apostate Mormons.
Second Attempt at Territorial Organization
On August 3d, 1857, at a meeting in Genoa of the citizens of
Carson and adjoining valleys, a call was issued for a grand mass
meeting of the people living along the eastern base of the Sierras.
It was to be held at Genoa August 8, 1857. The object of this
meeting wras to petition congress to organize a new territory out of
portions of Utah, California, and New Mexico, and to provide
ways and means to lay this subject before the President and con-
gress of the United States. Judge Loveland, the Morman elder,
and Judge Crane wrere invited to be present and address the
meeting.
On the appointed day the meeting was called to order by Ma-
jor Wm. M. Ormsby, and Col. John Reese was elected president.
By this time the Never Swyeats had joined hands with the rest of
the people living east of the Sierras, and their representatives
were here. Isaac Poop was one of the four vice-presidents of the
meeting.
After organization a committee wras appointed to present busi-
ness before the meeting. They retired to do their work, and in
their absence Judge James M. Crane addressed the meeting.
Judge Loveland was not there.
The committee then brought in some resolutions and a Memo-
rial to the President and congress of the United States, and these
were adopted.
[71]
HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
The Resolutions were to the effect that the people inhabiting
the territory commonly known as the Great American Basin, lying
east of the Sierra Nevadas, west of the Goose creek range, south
of the Oregon line, and north of the Colorado river and its tribu-
taries were convinced that the increasing population of this region
were in danger from hostile tribes of Indians, and from the ab-
sence of any law for the protection of life and property, and that
some kind of a government should be established in the shortest
time possible.
That a memorial should be drawn up setting forth the reasons
for this movement, and the same submitted to the consideration of
the President and both houses of congress, and that the meeting
select a delegate to represent to the President and congress the
views and wants of the people of this section.
That James M. Crane, on account of his long residence in and
knowledge of this country, as well as his "candor, fidelity, and
ability," be appointed to represent the people of this section in
Washington.
It was also resolved to appoint twenty-eight men to carry out
the work laid out at this meeting, and five of those appointed were
from Honey Lake valley. They were Major Isaac Roop, Peter
Lassen, Mr. Arnold, Wm. Hill, and Mr. McMurtry. (Probably
it was Cutler Arnold, Wm. Hill Naileigh, and L. C. McMurtry.)
In conclusion the members of congress from California and the
territorial delegates from Oregon, Washington, Utah and New
Mexico were asked to use their personal and official influence to
obtain the passage of a bill organizing the territory asked for;
and the newspapers of the Pacific coast, and several in the eastern
and the southern parts of the United States were "invited and
requested to publish these proceedings and memorial, and other-
wise extend to us the benefit of their powerful influence and sup-
port."
The Memorial was a very long document, and contained a good
many misrepresentations ; but it showed the condition of affairs in
western Utah at that time, and also showed the ideas of the people
living there in regard to their country. The following synopsis
gives a good idea of. what it contained.
It began as follows : ' ' The citizens inhabiting the valleys within
the Great Basin of the American continent, to be hereafter de-
scribed, beg leave respectfully to present for the earnest consid-
[72]
THE YEAE 1857
eration of the President of the United States, and the members of
both houses of congress this their petition ; praying for the organi-
zation of a new territory of the United States. "We do not pro-
pose to come with any flourish of trumpets or mere words in this
memorial, but we propose simply to submit a few plain statements
as the inducements and reasons which actuate us in making this
appeal to those who have the power to remedy the existing diffi-
culties and embarrassments under which we now labor and suf-
fer."
It then stated that the majority of the people of this section
had been there six or seven years, and during that time had been
without protection of any kind from Indians and outlaws ; and
there was no reason to suppose it would be any better until some
government was organized that could make laws and enforce
them. They were law abiding citizens and did not wish to see
''anarchy, violence, bloodshed and crime of every hue and grade
waving their horrid scepter over this portion of our common
country. ' '
"In the winter time the snows that fall upon the summit and
spurs of the Sierra Nevadas frequently interrupt all intercourse
and communications between the Great Basin and the state of
California and the territories of Oregon and Washington for near-
ly four months every year. During the same time all intercourse
and communication between us and the civil authorities of Utah
are likewise closed. "Within this space of time, and indeed from
our anomalous condition during all seasons of the year, no debts
can be collected by law; no offenders can be arrested, and no
crime can be punished except by the code of Judge Lynch, and
no obedience to government can be enforced, and for this reason
there is and can be no protection to either life or property except
that which may be derived from the peaceably disposed, the good
sense and patriotism of the people, or from the fearful, unsatisfac-
tory and terrible defence and protection which the revolver, the
Bowie knife, and other deadly weapons may afford us. ' '
Even during the favorable season of the year, on account of
their location, they could get no benefit from the governments of
the neighboring states and territories. The most of them be-
longed to the government of Utah, but no intercourse could be
held with the authorities of that territory, because it was nearly
800 miles to Salt Lake City ; and to get there it was necessary to
[73]
HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
cross two deserts. Besides that in Western Utah no one paid any
attention to the territorial laws. The Mormons, in their social
affairs, conformed to the habits of life among the Gentiles; but
their dealings with each other were regulated by the rules of the
Mormon church.
These were only a part of their grievances. Nearly one half of
the county in which the most of the petitioners resided had only
two justices of the peace and one constable. No one respected
their authority, and very few knew or cared where they lived.
The territorial legislature of Utah once made a county called
' ' Carson ' ' out of nearly the whole of this region, but for some rea-
son unknown to the petitioners they abolished the county and
established in place of it an election precinct in which nobody
voted, or cared to vote.
There were 7000 or 8000 people living within the limits of the
proposed new territory and their numbers were rapidly increas-
ing. There were no less than two hundred valleys, running into
one another, of the most fertile grazing and agricultural land. In
the mountains were found "gold, silver, copper, lead, iron, coal
and other minerals, metals and precious stones," and they be-
lieved that proper exploration would show that they had one of
the richest and most productive regions on the globe. For these
reasons they expected to have a rush of population such as settled
up California and Texas so rapidly, and unless congress at its next
session organized the territory asked for, when the rush did come,
there would be no laws to govern the settlers and the land would
be full of "unrestrained violence and bloodshed."
' ' There are some portions of the Great Basin of this continent
claimed by the state of California in which reside a considerable
number of people who, in the winter time, can have no connection
with it. This is the case with those who reside in Honey Lake
valley. That valley lies east of the Sierra Nevadas, and within
the Great Basin, and from this cause the people living in it have
no intercourse with other parts of the state during the rainy sea-
son for nearly four months every year. They, therefore, natu-
rally belong to the eastern side of the Sierra Nevadas, and on this
account they desire to join us in this movement. If they are
forced to remain with California they can not know anything
about the affairs of their state during the whole time its legisla-
ture may be in session. It is, therefore, folly, and worse than
[74]
THE YEAR 1857
folly, to attach the people of this valley to a state about which
they know nothing, and care nothing, for one third of the year,
and that third the most important part of it to them. They there-
fore cordially unite with us in this prayer and memorial to con-
gress, asking not only that they may be attached to the proposed
new territory, but that they may add their united voices in sup-
port of the great necessities for the organization of the aforesaid
territory." Those living in southern California east of the Sierra
Nevadas and those of New Mexico (New Mexico then included
Arizona) living near the Colorado river and its tributaries were
also shut off from their respective capitals during the winter
months.
It was then submitted that in addition to the facts here pre-
sented, all the routes across the continent between the Atlantic and
Pacific states would be well guarded when this new territory was
organized. The Indian population of the proposed new territory
was not far from 75000 or 100000, and the most of them could be
very easily controlled, if there was anything like an organized gov-
ernment in their country. For these and many other powerful
reasons that would readily suggest themselves, they prayed for
the organization of a new territory.
The petitioners suggested that the boundaries of the new terri-
tory, which, by the way, was to be called "Sierra Nevada/' be as
follows : Beginning at the northeastern corner of California, the
line was to run east about two thirds of the way across the present
state of Nevada, and then southeast to a point about forty miles
north of where Phoenix, Arizona, now stands. From there it was
to run south to Old Mexico, and west along the northern boun-
dary of that country to the southeastern corner of California.
Then it was to follow the eastern boundary of that state to the
place of beginning.
This boundary would take in a range of valleys connected
together, and in the winter time the people who inhabited them
were almost entirely shut off from communication with California,
New Mexico, Utah, Oregon, and Washington ; but in all seasons
they could enjoy free intercourse with one another. All the
proposed wagon, military, stage, and railroad routes crossing
the continent between the Atlantic and Pacific states and terri-
tories enter and pass through these valleys ; and the most trouble-
some Indian tribes roam through or live in them. For these and
[75]
HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
similar urgent reasons and considerations they asked that the
said territory be organized by Congress within the shortest pos-
sible time.
W. W. Nicols, R. D. Sides, Orrin Gray, J. K. Trumbo, and
Col. William Rodgers were appointed to procure signatures to
the memorial.
The meeting adjourned "with the full determination of all
to work in good earnest to accomplish the success of the under-
taking. Great harmony and enthusiasm prevailed on the occa-
sion."
No ' ' nourish of trumpets ' ' about that. They certainly claimed
everything in sight and "then some." The semi-arid country
between the Sierra Nevada and the Rocky mountains can hardly
be called "the most fertile grazing and agricultural land;" and
although the minerals and metals they told about were there,
probably they knew nothing about any of them excepting the
gold. They were not one fourth as many whites and Indians
as they claimed living in the proposed new territory, and eight
hundred miles to Salt Lake City was rather stretching the road.
T. & W. (Thompson and West's History of Nevada) have the
following: "Western Utah at the close of 1857 had perhaps
two hundred or three hundred people. There was not much to
attract settlers. The placer mines were poor, and as the emigra-
tion grew less trading with the emigrants was not very profitable.
The principal occupation was stock raising from the Truckee to
the head of Carson river. There was only one Mormon in the
country, and there was no organized government of any kind.
The only law was that dealt out to ' Lucky Bill. ' ' '
Judge Crane went to Washington to "boost" the cause of
the new territory, and in the history of the next year the results
will be given.
Honey Lake Politics. 1857
When the Honey Lakers found they had taken in a lot of
settlers to the south of them who paid no attention to their gov-
ernment, they dropped Nataqua and, as previously told, joined
the people of western Utah in their endeavor to have the United
States organize a new territory. Besides this they had some
politics to attend to at home.
In 1857 the valley was settled up quite rapidly and the land
was taken up and improved. Before long there was settlement
r 76 1
THE YEAE 1857
enough in the valley to make the property worth noticing, and
August 4, 1857, the board of supervisors of Plumas county
organized it into a separate township, calling it Honey Lake town-
ship. This, and other official acts, and the taxing of the people
of the valley brought on trouble that lasted for the next six
years. Everybody thought the valley was close to the line, but
no one took the trouble to do a little surveying and be sure about
it. A part of the Honey Lake settlers said they were in Cali-
fornia, and the Plumas county officials said so, too. That was
all. The people of the valley, however, were not all of the same
mind during the years of trouble with Plumas. Some of them
believed they were in California, and were willing to acknowledge
its jurisdiction. Others paid their taxes rather than have any
trouble. Another class owned property both here and in Plumas.
They had to pay their taxes, for if they didn't, their property
there would be taken to pay them. But forty or fifty men, most
of them men who came into the valley first, endured hardships,
fought Indians, and in other ways bore the brunt of the battle,
would have nothing to do with Plumas county. They said it did
nothing for this valley, made no roads, built no schoolhouses — just
came in and collected taxes. They didn't want to be in California,
and didn 't believe they were ; and as long as the matter was in
doubt they were going to pay no taxes, and were willing to fight
it out — and they did. It seems as though a majority of the
settlers here wanted to be in the new territory to be organized
east of the mountains, but they were not willing to fight about it.
The most of the settlers here filed their land claims with Koop,
but some of them went to Quincy and filed their claims, deeds,
etc., there, too.
F. & S. say: "The action of the board of supervisors, in the
creation of Honey Lake township and the appointment of jus-
tices and constables (none of whom qualified), called out the
following proceedings from the citizens of this valley: (Quoted
by them from Poop's record.)
"In pursuance of a notice, the citizens of Honey Lake valley
met at M. Thompson's ranch on the twenty-ninth of August,
A. D. 1857, and were called to order by appointing M. Thompson
chairman, and L. N. Breed secretary.
' ' The following Preamble and resolutions were offered by Mr.
Williams, and unanimously adopted :
[77]
HISTOKY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFOKNIA
' ' Preamble
"Whereas, we, the citizens of Honey Lake Valley, entertain-
ing very reasonable doubts of our being within the limits of the
state of California, and believing that until the eastern boundary
of the state of California is determined by the proper authori-
ties that no county or counties have a right to extend their
jurisdiction over us, therefore be it Resolved by the citizens of
Honey Lake Valley in Mass Meeting assembled that we consider
the action of the Board of Supervisors of Plumas county an
unwarrantable assumption of power.
"Firstly, in appointing Justices of the Peace without our
knowledge or consent.
' ' Secondly, in dividing the Valley into precincts, and appoint-
ing officers for the same.
"Thirdly, in ordering an assessment of the property of the
Valley. Therefore be it further resolved that we will resist any
action of the authorities of Plumas, and individually and col-
lectively pledge ourselves by all we hold sacred to assist and aid
each other in resisting any infringement of our rights.
"Resolved, That the officers appointed by the board of Super-
visors to conduct the election in this place be requested to keep
the Polls closed upon the day of election.
"Resolved, That a committee of five be appointed as a com-
mittee of safety, whose business it shall be to correspond with
the authorities of Plumas county, to end meetings when neces-
sary, and to take such action as they may think necessary, sub-
ject always to the approval of the citizens of this Valley.
' ' Resolved, That we cordially unite with the citizens of Carson
Valley in their endeavors to have a new Territory struck off,
whose limits shall be the Oregon line on the North, the Goose
Creek range of Mountains on the East, the Colorado River on
the South, and the dividing ridge of the Sierra Nevadas on
the west.
"Z. N. Spalding offered the following preamble, which was
adopted and signed by all present:
"We, the undersigned individuals of Honey Lake Valley,
feeling a just indignation at the course pursued by certain
individuals, calling themselves citizens of this Valley, relative
to a certain petition signed by them, and forwarded to Plumas
county, praying them to consider this Valley under the juris-
[78]
THE YEAR 1857
diction of said county, and for the authorities to appoint certain
officers, such as Justice and constable.
"Now, be it known — First, that the petition above mentioned
was drawn up and signed by persons most of whom were, and
are now, non-residents of this Valley, and had no interest identi-
fied with the welfare of this community. That very few of the
resident citizens of the Valley knew anything about the petition
until it was announced that Plumas county had appointed officers
for us, nolens vol ens.
"Secondly, We are, and do consider this Valley, not in the
state of California, and shall continue to do so until our bound-
aries are defined and established by the legally constituted author-
ities of the United States, and we will not recognize the authority
of Plumas county or California to make ourselves or appoint
our officers.
"Thirdly, Were we under the jurisdiction of Plumas county,
we would not suffer the office-making power to force upon us
men odious to the citizens generally, and destitute of the requisite
qualifications to fill any office.
' ' Fourthly, We disclaim the whole proceedings from beginning
to end and shall not regard any mandate issuing from under the
officers appointed by Plumas county to preside over us.
"In token whereof, we severally pledge ourselves.
Names.
Mi. Thompson, Thomas Eaton,
L. N. Breed, J. D. Sharp,
Joseph Lynch, A. G. Eppstein,
H. Dony, Peter Lassen,
Wm. Hill, Ralph Niesham,
G. A. Williams, R. J. Scott,
Wm. Weatherlow, A. U. Sylvester,
C. Arnold, H. A. Wilmans,
D. C. Jackson, R. Hewitt,
Thomas Mitchell, L. M. Robertson,
I. E. Wick, Wm. N. Crawford,
Ireton Warp, A. F. Chapman,
G. Lathrop, Wm. Dow,
Henry Denny, W. C. Kingsbury,
M. W. Haviland, Stephen O'Laughlin,
Anthony Barlow, W. Powell."
[79]
HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
William Dow says he did not attend this meeting.
"On motion, the following persons were appointed on the
committee to correspond with the authorities of Plumas county :
"Wm. Hill, Mr. Williams, M. L. Robertson, Z. N. Spalding.
"Moved, that the committee authorized to correspond with
the Plumas county authorities be vested with the power to draw
up a petition to Congress for the purpose of having a new terri-
tory organized. Carried.
"Mr. Jackson moved that the corresponding committee be
invested with power to draft such laws out of the code of laws
now governing the two districts, as may suit the people of said
districts in common, but so to form them as not to permit an
encroachment upon claims taken under former laws, and said
laws submitted to the people for adoption or rejection on such
day as the committee may designate. Carried.
"Moved, that the citizens of this valley attend the place of
voting on the day of election, and prevent the polls being opened.
Carried.
"Moved, that a committee of three be appointed to wait on
Dr. Fredonyer (one of the justices appointed by the supervisors
of Plumas county), and politely inform him that the citizens
of this valley can dispense with his services. Carried. Com-
mittee, Mark Haviland, R. J. Scott, Z. N. Spalding.
' ' Moved that the proceedings of this meeting be published in
the North California (Oroville paper). Carried.
"Moved, that the meeting adjourn. Carried.
"M. Thompson, Chairman,
"h. N. Breed, Secretary."
Evidently these people and some of the other citizens of the
valley took the foregoing proceedings in earnest, as the follow-
ing, taken from the "Marysville Express" of about a month
later, will show; though, in all probability, the story grew on
the road to Marysville. ' ■ The citizens of Honey Lake valley are,
for the most part, as violently opposed as ever to the exercise
of any jurisdiction over them by the authorities of Plumas
county. There is, however, some little inconsistency in their
conduct, for when the tax collector of Plumas county came
among them, they told him they were not in California but in
Utah, and when Orson Hyde from Salt Lake visited them, they
said they lived in California. A portion of the people tried to
[80]
THE YEAR 1857
hold an election there on the day of the last general election,
but the rest got double-barreled shotguns, revolvers, and butcher
knives and stampeded the whole ballot box establishment, 'horse,
foot, and dragoons.' "
Territorial Meeting in Honey Lake Valley
The following account was taken from the "Shasta Courier"
of October 17, 1857: "A mass meeting of the people of Honey
Lake valley was held in the town of Mataga (probably they got
that name from Nataqua, and got it badly mixed) on Saturday,
3d of October, 1857. The meeting was called to order by Isaac
Roop. Peter Lassen was chosen president, C. Arnold, Geo. Pur-
cell, and John A. Slater vice-presidents, and L. C. McMurtry
and E. Wick, Secretarys.
"The object of the meeting having been stated, Messrs. I.
Roop, W. Cornelison, J. Taylor, Wm. Weatherlow, and Mark
Haviland were appointed a committee to report business. In
the absence of the committee J. M. Crane addressed the meeting
for an hour, and reviewed the policy of the government from
1798 to the present time."
The committee submitted a preamble and some resolutions
which were adopted by the meeting. The preamble stated that
it was well known that the people inhabiting the Great Basin
between the Goose creek mountains and the Sierra Nevada, the
Utah line on the north, and the Colorado river on the south had
no protection from the Indians, or any protection for life and
property. That the people of Carson valley, at a meeting held
in Genoa, had petitioned Congress to establish a territory within
the limits of those boundaries.
"Resolved, That we endorse what the people have done at
Genoa, and we pledge the faith of the people of Honey Lake
valley to co-operate with them in this undertaking. That we
endorse and approve of the election of James M. Crane as the
delegate to Washington for the proposed new territory. That
if any attempt is made by the authorities of California to bring
the people of Honey Lake valley into subjugation before the line
can and shall be made, that we resist all such attempts with all
the power we can command. That the California authorities do
not try to protect us and defend our lives and property, but
try to extend their jurisdiction over us for the purpose of extort-
[81]
HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
ing revenue from our people. That Isaac Roop be and is hereby
appointed to co-operate with "Wm. M. Ormsby of Carson valley
and Martin Smith of Lake valley, and bring before the legisla-
ture of California a proposition to transfer all of her real or
supposed claims to lands lying east of the Sierras to the new
territory. That the thanks of the people of this territory are
due and are hereby tendered to Judge Crane for the many per-
sonal sacrifices he has made for us, and for his untiring efforts
to secure for us a territorial government."
Indian Troubles. 1857
It has been told that in 1856 a treaty was made between the
whites of Honey Lake valley and the Pahute Indians, and that
for several years it was strictly observed on both sides. Mrs.
A. T. Arnold has a long statement made by Capt. Weatherlow
in regard to the Indians and the Indian wars of early days, and
in it he says : ' ' The Pahute tribe of Indians occupied the valley
at that time in common with the whites. They were on the most
friendly relations, visiting the houses of the whites and trading
furs and game for such articles of clothing, etc., as they desired.
They were unlike any other tribe I had met in the country
inasmuch as they were never known to beg for food or clothing,
nor did they at every opportunity pilfer and carry off articles
from the whites.
' ' From the first settlement of the valley the Pit river Indians
which inhabited the country north of Honey lake made frequent
incursions upon the settlement, driving off stock and committing
other outrages. Finding that we could have no safety or security
for life or property without the Pit river tribe was driven off,
I raised a company of sixty men in the year 1857, and went out
against the Pit river Indians on several occasions when they
had made descents upon the valley and driven off stock. Winne-
mucca volunteered to go out with his warriors and aid us in
fighting the Pit river tribe. The offer was accepted, and he and
his warriors placed themselves under my command and rendered
most efficient service. He obeyed orders strictly, and fought as
well as any white man. He was also of great service in giving
me information in regard to the Pit river tribe, their places
of resort, etc."
On the 9th of October, 1857, the Pit river Indians stole five
[82 1
THE YEAR 1857
head of cattle from John Weikel, who lived a little to the north-
east of Rooptown. Five men immediately started in pursuit,
overtook them, and found that the cattle had been killed; but
some twenty Indians appeared and showed fight, and the pur-
suers were compelled to return. Capt. Weatherlow with thirty-
two men, accompanied by Winnemucca and some of his warriors,
started after the Indians again. They found them, and destroyed
two rancherias and captured two squaws. Sixty or seventy
Indians were put to flight and scattered in every direction. They
were closely followed as far as the head of Pit river; but they
succeeded in eluding their pursuers, and none of them were
killed. The provisions of the pursuing party gave out, and
they had to return to the valley. "When they reached home they
found that the Honey Lakers had got into trouble with the
Washos, who may have been aided by some of the other tribes.
The Potato War
The following account was compiled from what was told Mr.
Dodge by Wm. H. Clark and A. G. (Joe) Eppstein, from the
"Alta Calif ornian, " "The Sacramento Union," "The Marys-
ville Inquirer," and other newspapers published at the time,
and from what has been told the writer by Mr. Clark and others.
William Morehead, who owned a ranch about two and one-
half miles northwest of where Milford is now, had a patch of
potatoes at the foot of the mountain about half a mile back of
his house. The Washoes had been stealing vegetables and small
articles from the whites; and one day early in October when
Morehead had gone up to Roop 's place, they dug his potatoes and
carried them away. When he returned and saw what had been
done, he told his neighbors about it; and Joe Eppstein, Cap.
Hill, Henry Denny, F. M. Jackson, and the two Robertson
brothers went to the Indian camp about four miles down the
mountain, Mbrehead, who was lame, remaining behind. They
got into a fight with the Indians, killed three of them and
wounded another one; but were chased back to Hill's cabin by
the Indians. They fortified themselves there, and the Indians
went back to their camp. Goodwin's fort was not far away, and
about twenty settlers gathered there. Shortly after this they
made a dash on the Indian camp and captured some potatoes,
but killed no Indians. Eppstein, who had gone to Indian valley,
[83]
HISTOEY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
returned with ten men, and some provisions which they greatly
needed ; and they decided to attack the Indians on the morning
of the 17th of October.
There were thirty-five or forty men, and they made T. J.
(Old Tom) Harvey their captain. Among them were Cap. Hill,
Eppstein, Joseph A. Knettles, Denny, the two Robertsons, Jack-
son, Billy Clark, Lathrop, Tom. Watson, Storff, Charley Cooper,
L. N. Breed, J. P. Sharp, A. C. Neale, Ben. Foreman, Van Hickey,
Frank Johnson, and probably Fullbright and Crawford. The
names of the others could not be ascertained.
The Fullbright and Crawford cabin stood about half a mile
below where the road runs now, and near the creek that is a little
over a mile southeast of Milford; and they started from there
early in the morning so as to reach the Indian camps and attack
them just about daylight. These camps, two or three in number,
were along the foot of the mountain several miles to the south-
east. Lathrop, Eppstein, and Clark concluded to go to the
farthest camp, because they thought they would find considerable
plunder and not many Indians to fight. They hurried along
ahead of the others, and got on the steep sidehill about three
hundred yards above the camp while it was still dark. There
they waited, and just at daylight they heard two or three guns
fired by the men who were attacking the other camps. Then
from the camp below them, where they expected to find plenty
of buckskins but no bucks, seventeen of the latter came forth,
all armed with rifles, and started for the upper camps. Their
course was toward the three white men, who just then had a
sudden longing to see their friends. They started up the hill
on the run, and the Indians soon saw them and gave chase.
Clark and Eppstein outran Lathrop, and he said "Hold on, boys,
we must keep together," and the others waited for him to come
up. A couple of the Indians had got pretty close to them, and
Lathrop said "Let's fix these two." They dropped behind a
granite boulder, and resting their guns on it, fired and brought
the Indians down. Just then a bullet fired by one of the other
Indians struck the rock in front of them, and filled their faces
full of rotten granite. Clark says it stung, and he wiped his
face with both hands ; and when he saw they were covered with
blood, he was badly scared. They then ran on up the hill fol-
lowed by the Indians. When they reached the top of it, they
[84]
THE YEAR 1S57
could see the other men pursuing a band of Indians. They had
driven them from the upper camps, and were coming down along
the foot of the mountain. The Indians were now getting very
close to the three white men, and Clark, who was ahead, was
waving his hat and yelling to the other party to hurry. The
latter thought they were Indians and were going to fire on them,
but just then they saw their pursuers come over the hill. The
whites fired and killed two or three of them, and the rest turned
off and joined the other Indians. Right there was where the
battle commenced. It was in the sagebrush near the foot of a
steep bluff, something like five and one half miles below Milford.
The Indians were driven up the bluff for a short distance, and
there they got into a pile of rocks and made a stand. When
they opened fire from the rocks, every white man jumped behind
the nearest tree. The timber was scattering at that place, and
there was neither time nor opportunity to pick out a tree to fit
the size of the man. Newt. Breed, then a slim young fellow,
happened to get behind a big tree; but Harvey, who was large
and fat, was so unfortunate as to get a small one. After trying
in vain to shrink himself up to fit the size of his tree, Harvey
asked Breed to trade with him; but neither at that time nor
any other was Breed known to trade a big tree for a little one,
and Harvey had to dodge around his tree the best he could.
After the fight had gone on for a while, "Weatherlow, who had
just returned from the Pit river expedition, joined them with
a few men and some of Winnemucca's braves. As they were
coming up one of the Indians was shot by mistake. The fight
went on for some time. There were a good many Indians, their
number was estimated at one hundred and fifty, and they made
it very unpleasant for the whites. Finding that they could not
dislodge the Indians, they started back along the edge of the
timber. Eppstein, who had been shot in the thigh, they carried
with them in a blanket. The Indians followed along in the timber
above them, and kept up the fight. Both parties sheltered them-
selves behind the trees the best they could, firing at each other
whenever they thought it would do any good.
After a four hours ' fight the whites got back to their starting
place, the Indians having stopped their pursuit a while before
they got there. The loss of the Indians was estimated at from
seven to eleven killed and fourteen wounded. Eppstein was the
[85]
HISTOEY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
only white man hurt, and his was a flesh wound and not danger-
ous. One thing that accounts for the small loss of the whites
is the fact that during all of the fight the Indians were above
them, and probably shot too high.
Winnemucca demanded blood money for the killing of his
man, and it took both presents and bluffing to quiet him down.
It would not do to have the Pahutes hostile at this time.
Fifteen or twenty of the settlers intrenched themselves at
the Fullbright and Crawford place. The Indians remained in
the neighborhood, and the whites prepared still more for defense.
It was reported that they attacked the whites on the 18th. That
day Morehead and McMurtry came in from Carson valley, and
it took watchfulness and fast traveling to get through without
being caught by the Indians. "While the fight was said to be
going on, Messrs. J. Williams of Honey Lake valley and M.
Milleson of Indian valley started for the lower country with the
following petition to the governor of California:
"Honey Lake Valley, Plumas County,
State of California, Oct. 19, 1857.'
' ' To his Excellency, J. Neely Johnson and the citizens of the
state of California : We, the citizens of Honey Lake valley,
would call your attention to the state of affairs now existing in
our midst. We are now enduring all the horrors of an Indian
war. The Washoe tribe of Indians whose rendezvous is at the
lower end of Honey Lake valley have commenced hostilities upon
us. Upon Saturday the 17th of October, inst. after an obstinate
fight of four hours we were compelled to retreat owing to a dis-
proportion of numbers. Since that time we have been engaged
in recruiting our forces, removing our families, stock, etc. On
the evening of the 18th inst. our forces were attacked at their
fort and the battle is now raging. We have eveiy reason to
believe that the Pi-Utah tribe of Indians here-to-fore friendly,
have joined the Washos and intend exterminating the entire white
population east of the Sierra Nevada range. The Washos around
us number four or five hundred warriors. The Pi-Utahs a still
greater number. We are too small in numbers to contend against
such great odds. There is in the valley now three to five thousand
head of cattle, besides houses, grain, hay, etc. to a large amount
in value. We therefore call upon the citizens of the state of
[86]
THE YEAR 1857
California in the name of common humanity to aid us in repelling
the foe now in our midst, and enabling us to maintain our posi-
tion as a frontier settlement. We desire one hundred stand of
arms from the state of California for our protection. J. Williams
of Honey Lake valley, and M. Milleson of Indian valley, are
hereby appointed to present our appeal to the Governor and the
citizens of the state of California, and any attention shown to
them will be gratefully remembered by us.
"Signed Isaac Koop.
M. C. Lake.
John Weikel
and 43 others."
The two messengers reached Sacramento on the 23d or 24th
inst. and found the Governor absent, and they could not deliver
the petition. However they saw General Kibbe, the Quarter-
master General, and he let them have "some 50 stand of arms."
General Clark of the U. S. Army, who was also appealed to for
assistance, said his forces were too far north to give the aid
asked for.
"The Sacramento Union" of October 27th, in commenting
on the petition of the Honey Lakers for arms to fight the Indians
with, said they did not see how the governor of California could
help them as he had the right only to grant aid to the citizens of
the state. They told about the meeting of the citizens of Honey
Lake valley August 29, 1857, and said they prevented the election
as they agreed to at this meeting. They told that the justices
and constables appointed for the valley by the board of super-
visors of Plumas county had been told that their services were
not required, and that the Plumas county assessor had to leave
the valley without making an assessment. They referred to the
meeting held October 19, 1857, where the Honey Lakers said they
would withstand any efforts made by Plumas county to control
them before a line had been run to show where they were located.
The "Union" thought the governor should not help them unless
they were willing to abide by the laws of the state and the
jurisdiction of the officers of Plumas county.
On the 27th Mr. Williams had an interview with the Gov-
ernor about the matter embraced in the petition from the citizens
of Honey Lake valley and Indian valley. He admitted the course
taken by the citizens of Honey Lake valley, but said they were
[87]
HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
willing to come under the jurisdiction of California, if it were
found they were within its boundaries. Mr. Williams had been
in San Francisco and laid the case before Col. Henly, who
sent out a quantity of blankets and other Indian goods, with
the view of enabling Mr. Lassen, as agent, to settle all difficulties
without further bloodshed. Some months before this, application
had been made for arms for the volunteer company organized
in Plumas county. These arms— sixty stand — were forwarded
at once by General Kibbe. It was understood that Mr. Williams
was satisfied with this arrangement. The goods were to go up
in charge of Mr. Milleson.
We will now see what took place in the land of the Never
Sweats during the absence of their messengers. They had a
genuine Indian scare on hand, and, as is usual at such a time,
the stories grew as they traveled. It was reported that the last,
of September thirty well armed men had left Quincy to protect
emigrants along the road east of Honey Lake. They were to go
to Gravelly Ford on the Humboldt and punish the Shoshones.
They killed and scalped a Pah Ute east of Honey Lake, and an-
other one at the Humboldt; and the Pah Utes were going to
take revenge upon the settlers of Honey Lake valley. Besides
the Washos there were fifteen or twenty thousand Pah Utes;
and these two tribes had induced the Indian valley Indians to
join them in making a descent upon Honey Lake valley, and had
threatened Indian valley. A few families left the valley. Mrs.
A. C. Neale says that she went away with Dr. Slater and his
family, but they soon came back. The attack on the settlers at
the Fullbright and Crawford place was a false report. The
Washos withdrew from the valley, and when the Plumas Rangers
arrived to help the settlers, they found no Indians to fight. Prob-
ably Mr. Lassen made some sort of a treaty with the Washos, for
they never made any more trouble in this part of the country.
It was a narrow escape for the settlers east of the mountains.
If the Pah Utes had commenced hostilities, too, the Indians could
easily have wiped out all the settlements in western Utah.
The settlers in Carson valley also had some trouble with the
Washos at this time, for Col. Wm. Rodgers was sent to San
Francisco for arms and ammunition to defend the settlers against
them. Along the last of October Capt. Jim, the chief of the
Washos, came into Carson valley to negotiate for peace with
THE YEAE 1857
the settlers. He stipulated that justice should be enforced against
the white men who violated the rights of the Indians, and agreed
to give up to the whites any man of his tribe who committed
depredations upon their property. There was no person author-
ized by the inhabitants to enter into a treaty with the Indians;
but Mr. Mott, an old gentleman who was held in great esteem by
the neighbors, accepted the terms of the chief, and agreed to
furnish his tribe with flour, etc., and in consequence good order
prevailed.
The Pursuit of the Indians Who Stole Vary's Cattle
The following story was told by Fred Hines. In early days
the country between this valley and the Humboldt, and later on
up to southern Idaho, was much frequented by the Never Sweats ;
and what they did in that section will be told in the following
pages.
It will be remembered that when Hines came in from the
Humboldt in the fall of 1856, he left some cattle here on the
range to winter. When he came back the next spring they were
very fat; and he drove them to Quincy and traded them for
goods, and hired L. F. Hough to pack them to this valley. He
then fitted up some teams and hauled his goods out on the Hum-
boldt about a hundred miles above Lassen's Meadows, and again
traded with the emigrants. Morton and Sylvester went with him,
but Vary stayed at Deep Hole springs and kept a trading post
there. Tutt and Walden had a trading post on the Humboldt
in 1856, and in 1857 they went out there again.
About the last of October Sylvester, Tutt, Hines, Chas. Lewis,
Walden, J. B. Gilpin, and several men who were helping drive
their cattle, were coming back to Honey Lake valley. When they
reached Deep Hole Vary told them that if they would stay there
a day and give him time to gather up his cattle, he would go
along with them. He had nineteen head of large emigrant oxen
that he had traded for ; and they were running near a spring on
the west side of the Granite creek range, about five miles from
Deep Hole. The next day in the afternoon, Vary went after his
cattle, but he could not find them and came right back to camp.
The matter was talked over, and Hines and Sylvester told him
they would go back with him that afternoon and see if they could
not find them before dark. Fearing they would be out all night,
[89]
HISTOEY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
they put some crackers into their pockets. They took no weapons
but their six-shooters.
Soon after reaching the spring they found the tracks of the
cattle and followed them until dark. Then they stopped on a
sagebrush flat and hid themselves in the tallest brush they could
find, ate some crackers, wrapped their saddle blankets around
them, and wore away the long, cold night the best they could.
The next morning they followed the trail, which was going in a
northerly direction. Some time before noon some Indian tracks
came into the trail of the cattle, and this was the first Indian
sign they had seen. The cunning savages had, in the first place,
scared the cattle into going the direction they wanted them to
take without going near them, and then followed, keeping at
quite a distance on each side of them until they thought they
were safe from pursuit. That day Hines shot a sagehen and a
couple of rabbits, and they ate part of them. They followed the
trail until dark, and then camped as they did the night before.
The next day they followed the trail all day toward the north,
and ate what was left of the game killed on the previous day.
On the third day Hines, who was in the lead doing the trailing,
thought he saw an Indian coming down a ridge from the east,
his course being such that it would cross theirs at right angles.
He was not sure, though, that it was an Indian so he stopped
and waited for the others to come up. He pointed out to them
the object he had seen, and after watching it a while they came
to the conclusion that it surely was one. Hines told the others
that from the way the Indian was acting either he had not seen
them, or if he had, was paying no attention to them. He thought
the best plan was for the other two men to ride along on the trail
of the cattle, and he would ride up the mountain on the side of
the ridge back of the Indian until he judged he was opposite to
him, and then ride over to him. This was done, and Hines made
a good guess and came in sight of the Indian when within a
hundred yards of him. He had a load of beef on his back —
seventy-five or a hundred pounds — and this he threw down as
quickly as he could and tried to get his bow and arrows ready
to shoot. But Hines was too quick for him. He put spurs to his
horse, drew his pistol, and got there before the Indian was
ready ; and making him throw down his weapons, held him there
until Vary and Sylvester came up. It was an Indian who had
[90]
THE YEAR 1857
been around the station at Deep Hole during the summer, and
he had on a pair of old overalls that Vary had given him. They
talked with him the best they could, and he made them under-
stand that he would lead them to the cattle. Hines wanted to
make him carry all the beef, but Vary thought it was too big a
load and he carried only a part of it. The Indian left the trail
of the cattle and they soon struck a smooth Indian trail. As
they were traveling along this the Indian, who was a little ahead,
broke into a run. Hines yelled to him to stop, but he only looked
back over his shoulder and ran faster. Hines soon caught up
with him and thought at first that he would shoot him, but be-
cause he might help Vary recover his cattle Hines spared his life.
A little before sunset they came to a small creek. They had been
without water since morning, and both they and their horses
were very thirsty. They fixed the horses' bridles so they could
drink, and then lay down by the stream to quench their own
thirst, the Indian among them. The latter got through drinking
before the others did, and jumping across the creek, he started
up the hill on the other side. Hines called to him to stop and
he did so. Vary said "Never mind him. I want to go up the
hill myself," and Hines paid no more attention to them. Vary
left his horse at the creek with his pistol hanging on the horn
of the saddle, and walked with the Indian to the top of the little
hill. When they got there the Indian pointed to a hole in the
knee of his overalls and asked Vary for a needle and thread to
mend it. The white man took out his pocket-book and sat down
on a rock, and while he was doing this the other started off on the
run. While this was going on, Hines had crossed the creek and
was some little distance from his horse. His attention was called
by hearing Vary say "There he goes." This startled Hines and
he never thought of going back after his horse, but thought he
would run up the hill and take a shot at the Indian. Vary had
immediately started in pursuit, but before he had run very far
the rowel of his spur caught on a rock and threw him down.
Just as Hines got to the top of the hill Vary arose with a big
rock in his hand and threw it at the fleeing red man. If it had
struck him fair, it would have broken his back ; but it fell a little
short and just missed his heel. At first Hines could not shoot
because Vary was in the way, and when he did get a chance his
nerves were so shaky on account of the running he had done
[91]
HISTOEY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
and the Indian was so far off that he missed him. After shooting
three or four times without doing any execution he stopped, and
the Indian disappeared from view in the brush and ravines. He
had left his load of beef at the creek. The men went back to
the creek and got their horses and rode to the top of the ridge.
It was now almost dark, and they at once noticed a fire in the
direction the Indian had gone. Beyond this fire and a little to
the left was another fire, beyond that there was one, and to the
right there were two or three more. Off to their right and a
little beyond them was a large flat on which grew some very
tall sagebrush. It was light enough to see that it was an open
country away from the hills, and they concluded to camp for the
night on that flat. Hines told the other two that if they would
take his horse, he would go afoot to the first fire and see what
was there. He walked as far as he dared and then went on his
hands and knees until he was close enough to see that no one
was there. He then went back to the others, and after going
quite a ways out into the flat they found a place where the sage-
brush grew very tall and not very close together. They spread
a blanket over some of these brush and under it they built a
little fire out of some dry brush which they broke into small
pieces. Then one of them went off a little distance to find out
if their fire could be seen. They spent the night there, dozing
a little once in a while. The next morning the question arose as
to whether or not they should go any further. The Indians knew
where they were, and forty or fifty of them might make an attack
at any time. At last they left it to Vary because it was his cattle
that the Indians had stolen, and they were nearly all the property
he had. After some talk he said they would follow the cattle
part of the day, anyway, before giving it up. They took the
direction the Indian had gone, and soon found the trail of the
cattle which was still going north. They followed the trail until
two hours before sunset without seeing any cattle or Indians, and
then Vary said they had gone far enough and would turn back.
They turned around and rode until after dark, and again secreted
themselves in the sagebrush for the night. It took three days
for them to get back to Deep Hole, using for food the beef they
took from the Indian.
When their friends saw them they threw up their hats and
shouted for joy. Several days before this the men left in camp
[92]
THE YEAE 1857
had made up their minds that the three men had been killed by
the Indians. Lewis took possession of Hines and Sylvester's
property, and sent a man to Honey Lake to get men to come out
there and hunt for them. The next day after their return they
sent another man to stop the help from coming. During that
day they discussed the utility of a plan to have the men come
on and have an Indian hunt as they had plenty of provisions.
The next day they sent another man out to tell them to come on,
but he met the other two coming back and they all returned to
camp. The man sent out by Lewis reported that the Potato War
was going on, and that he could get no men to come with him.
The whole party then came on to Honey Lake valley.
This story shows the desperate chances that men took with
the Indians in those days. Their safe return was due to good
luck more than anything else. Half a dozen Indians could have
ambushed them in the brush or rocks, and filled them full of
arrows at short range without much danger to themselves.
Elliott and Ferry's Shooting Scrape
In the early part of the winter of 1857-8 while J. H. Ferry,
always called Blackhawk here, was working in the blacksmith
shop at Roop, McNaull & Go's, sawmill, Rough Elliott was haul-
ing lumber from there. One day the two men had a dispute about
something, and a few days afterwards Elliott went into the shop
and being younger and stronger than Ferry, who was a gray-
haired man, backed him over the anvil and beat him up consider-
ably. Not long after this a dog that Ferry knew belonged to
Elliott came into the shop. As soon as he saw the dog Ferry
said "I know whose dog that is", and went into a little room
where he slept, got his pistol, and stepped outside. Elliott was
close by, and as soon as he saw Ferry come out with his pistol
he jumped behind a big stump near by. They went to shooting
at each other, Ferry being in the open and the other man dodging
around the stump. Ferry kept going toward Elliott, shooting at
him whenever he saw enough of him to shoot at, and finally
emptied his pistol. He then said "I'll get him now", and
started back to the shop to get his rifle, Elliott shooting at him as
he walked away. Before he came out with his gun the boys came
down from the mill and stopped the fight, probably saving
Elliott's life.
[93]
HISTOEY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFOENIA
Barber Springs
In the fall of 1857 a man named Barber who lived in Carson
valley and who had been mining on Gold Run started for home.
One night he camped at the springs just over the divide between
Honey Lake and Long valley. At that time the trail ran over
the hill through a low pass to the west of where the road runs
now. The next morning a gun was fired from a pile of rocks close
by, and Barber was shot through the arm. The Indian caught
up a gun and fired at some one he saw in the rocks, but with
what effect was never known. Barber came back to the ranch of
N. Clark and stayed there until he was able to resume his journey.
For a long time after that the springs where he was shot were
called Barber Springs.
Fight Over the Noble Road
During the year 1857 the Noble Road was the favorite route
with emigrants going into northern California, especially with
those who knew something about the different routes. John Kirk
was superintendent of the western end of the Wagon road, and
the Never Sweats, not having trouble enough with the Indians
and the Plumas county authorities, entered into a wordy war
with him about this road. At that time Honey Lake valley was
the western terminus of the road because the railroad survey
made by Lieut. Beckwith passed that point, and because it was
thought by Col. Noble the best for entering California. The
Honey Lakers were afraid that Kirk's report would cause con-
gress to change the terminus to Carson valley ; and they claimed
that he said and did all sorts of unfair things to make it appear
that the Honey Lake road was not a good one, and that he was a
great friend of the Carson route. "The Butte Record" says
that a great number of emigrants raise their voices in indignation
about the way that John Kirk tried to force them to take the
Carson route. "The Sacramento Union" quotes the foregoing
and then expresses the opinion that the complaints did not come
from the emigrants, but from the friends of the Honey Lake route
and from the traders on that route. The trouble appears to have
begun and ended in words.
Conditions in Honey Lake at the Close of 1857
The permanent settlement of the valley began this year and
it was not deserted when winter came on. Men brought in their
[94]
THE YEAR 1857
families and the best land in the valley was taken up and settled
on, but it was held in large tracts and the houses were far apart.
The names of the women who came into the valley this year, as
far as could be ascertained, have already been given. Possibly
there may have been a few more of them. There was only one
house built of boards in the valley. The others were log cabins
covered with shakes and having a fireplace, sometimes partly
made of logs covered with mud. There was at least one stove in
the valley, and there may have been one or two more. Cooking
was done at the fireplace, and this was sometimes helped out by a
"Dutch oven." The furniture was generally home-made; and
before the sawmill was built it was made out of whipsawed lum-
ber, or planks split out with an ax. Merchandise, tools, imple-
ments, etc. were scarce and prices high. Everything of that kind
was brought in with pack trains over the Diamond Mountain
trail. Ned Mulroney and Robert Wisbern had a packtrain that
brought goods into the valley. Orlando Streshly also had one
and so did L. F. Hough.
Some vegetables were raised, and ruta-baga turnips grew so
well that for several years after this they were called "Honey
Lake currency." Perhaps a little wheat and other grains were
raised, but until 1860 all of it had to be thrashed with a flail.
The nearest gristmill was at Taylorville where Jobe Taylor had
built one in 1856. Once in a while when a person was out of
flour wheat was ground in a coffee-mill. Of course flour was
high. Charles Lawson says that he paid a trader who was located
on the north side of the valley this fall $2.50 for flour enough to
make one meal of biscuits for four persons. A fortunate thing
was that game was abundant, and for the first few years people
lived on it more than they ever have since that time. Another
lucky thing was that the first two or three winters were easy
ones. There was very little chance to make money, and those
who had any brought it with them from the mines of California.
Nothing was raised that could be sold excepting a few cattle.
and they were cheap and there was not much market for them.
The placer mines near Lassen's place paid quite well for a few
years, but they were never very extensive. While there was a
large emigration, in the fall quite a number of Never Sweats
strung out along the emigrant road between the valley and the
Humboldt river and up that stream for a hundred miles, or more,
[95]
HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
and traded with the emigrants. They took with them flour and
other provisions, ammunition, whiskey, and tobacco; and these
goods they sold to the emigrants, or traded them for their foot-
sore and tired-out animals. When these were rested they traded
them for other wornout animals, of course getting a good trade ;
and at the end of the season brought these animals into the valley.
It can easily be imagined that these traders did not go out for
their health, and between necessity and the traders the poor
emigrants were ground between the upper and nether millstones.
There were no light vehicles and the most of the traveling
was done on horseback. Almost every one kept travelers over
night, because there were no hotels excepting at some place like
Rooptown. People generally carried their own blankets, and if
much of a journey was to be taken, provisions were carried, too.
There was no regular mail brought in. Whenever any one went
to Quincy he brought back with him what mail there was for the
valley.
There was very little law excepting what the settlers made for
themselves, and less Gospel than there was law. Everybody went
armed with a six-shooter, and some men carried two of them and a
big knife. If a man had to go very far from home, he carried a
rifle. A man was supposed to defend his life and property and
"shooting scrapes" were quite frequent. The frontier is always
the resort of criminals and desperate characters, and on account
of the doubt as to where its territory was located and the absence
of any officers of the law, Honey Lake had its share of them.
The newspapers published at that time say that some of the worst
horse-thieves on the coast rendezvoused in this valley. They stole
horses from the settlers and from the emigrants passing through
here, and the Indians were blamed for a good deal of it. But
white men were caught at it once in a while and they were
quickly treated to a dose of frontier justice ; for in the new settle-
ments of the West, horse-stealing and counterfeiting have always
been considered the worst of crimes.
In conclusion, though the settlers were kind and helpful to
each other and to newcomers, there was very little social life.
The only amusement was a dance once in a while when a few
women could be found at attend. A great deal of whiskey was
drank and gambling was carried on almost every where.
[96]
CHAPTER IV
1858. SETTLEMENT
In January G. Craft claimed all the vacant land on Susan
river lying between the Walden and Coulthurst ranches near
Willow creek; W. H. Watson sold an undivided one half of his
ranch to J. H. Scott; Scott claimed forty acres which Watson
had relinquished from the southeast corner of his ranch the pre-
vious October and a tract lying north of Watson and Wickhan ;
Hasey and McNaull located two sections at the head of Willow
creek and the "mill seat that is up and down said creek far
enough to raise the water 18 feet;" Frank Rinard claimed the
land located by Cornelison and forfeited by him ; Thomas Dawsen
took a claim on the north bank of Susan river about three fourths
of a mile west of the Adams claim.
In February W. H. Watson recorded a claim to a section of
land, taken four days after Hasey and McNaull made their claim,
on the head of Willow creek and a millsite on the creek; John
Ferry claimed McMunchie's half of the section located by him
and Williams west of Haviland; Hasey claimed all of Antelope
valley; Storff located a tract on both sides of the river between
Coulthurst and Walden & Co. ; E. F. Cahill took a claim about
three fourths of a mile square southwest of Streshly's ranch.
There was recorded in Quincy a deed from A. D. McDonald to
T. G. Harmon for all of the former's interest in the 1200 acres in
Elysian valley east of the Bass ranch. This tract was owned by
McDonald and the Wilmans Brothers. The consideration was
$300.
In March Daniel Dawsen claimed a tract of one hundred acres
lying between Thomas Watson, the Neale Brothers, Rice & Neis-
wender, and the Bald hills, but relinquished it eleven days after-
wards ; Nathaniel Headrick and Jasper Allison relocated the land
that Libler had taken up in December, 1856, and which they
claimed he had forfeited ; Dolphin Inman made a location on the
south side of the river joining Haviland on the north and Rice &
Neiswender on the south; Antionie (Anthony) Gray relocated
the southwestern part of the tract taken by Libler in December,
1856, probably bought it from him; Milton Craig claimed forty
acres east of Cornelison and north of Haviland; J. Williams
[97]
HISTOEY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
claimed half of the land taken by McMunchie in February, 1857,
he having bought the other half of it ; John H. Ferry took a half
section between Williams and Haviland, and his notice stated that
it was the piece of land taken by McMunchie and by him for-
feited. It looks as though it was the land claimed by Williams
five days before that. Dawsen took a claim about four miles
southeast of the Neale Brothers and just north of the Bald hill ;
Albert H. Smith claimed eighty acres about one mile south of the
Neale Brothers.
This spring John Byrd came into the valley from Colusa
county, California, and settled eight miles below the present site
of Milford. He brought with him 700 or 800 head of stock horses
and stock cattle. These increased rapidly and until he left here in
1866 he was the largest stock owner in this section of the country.
In April B. F. Grayham and F. Yager located a claim on the
south side of the river joining the Neale Brothers on the east;
Ladue Vary relocated the land north of Roop and Fredonyer
which he had sold to Rinard and which the latter had relin-
quished. Ella Grace, daughter of Dr. Z. N. Spalding and Wife,
was born on the 18th of this month, the third child born in the
valley. She died April 5th, 1860. Some time this spring Richard
D. Bass, D. I. Wilmans, and Orlando Streshly brought their
families into the valley.
In June C. C. Walden took a claim west of Tutt, probably a
part of the land taken by Dow and Hatch in April, 1857. Dow
and Hatch bought a half section of land on the lake west of the
Clark ranch from Eaton and Ward. They gave a rifle, an
aparejo, and a mule for it. There was a cabin on the place and it
was fenced on two sides, and in the fall they got 5000 pounds of
wheat and some beans, corn, and potatoes from it. Soon after
Dow sold it to S. J. Hill for $1500 worth of half-breed Sam.
Neale mares. Dow and Hatch built the first bridge across the
river at Toadtown where the bridge is now. Thomas Brown says
that he, the Neales, Hines, Spalding, Sylvester, John C. Davis,
and some others helped to build it. It was a primitive affair and
went out when the first high water came. Thomas J. Mulroney
came in and bought the Rough Elliott ranch northwest of Streshly
for his brother Ned. Robert Wisbern, Ned's partner, stayed on
the place the following winter. Isaac Coulthurst built a house
on his place this summer.
[98]
THE YEAR 1858
In July Rinard took a claim northeast of Tom Watson which
extended east to the Neale ranch; Dr. Spalding and John E.
Fuller claimed 480 acres on the north side of the river east of
Hines and Sylvester. Their southwest corner was a little north-
east of Curlew Butte, and their land was half a mile wide and
extended down the river a mile and a half.
On the 12th an arbitration meeting was held at the Manley
Thompson ranch. Joseph Lynch and Anthony Barla were
partners in the place taken up by the former in 1856 and they
could not agree. Dr. Slater and S. C. Perrin were chosen arbi-
trators and they divided the land and water equally between the
two men.
In August Samuel R. Hall, then little more than a boy, came
into the valley, and in September he and Jack Demming went into
"Willow Creek valley and located a couple of claims at the upper
end of it. Demming 's place was where what is now called
Summers creek comes out of the hills and Hall's was not far
away. They were the first settlers in that valley. They did not
spend the winter there, but the next spring Demming went back
and commenced to improve his place.
In September Wm. R. Campbell took a claim between the
Conkey and Neale ranches; Edward (Ned) Mulroney claimed 160
acres, or more, near Gold Run northwest of J. P. Ford and
between him and Arnold.
The Neale Brothers had cattle running on the south side of
the river this summer, and fearing the land would be fenced up so
the cattle could not get water at the river, they had their hired
man, Wm. H. (Hank) Crane, plow a ditch from the river above
the falls, then not far from where the Johnstonville gristmill is
now, southeast across the flat to the bluff. This was the beginning
of the Buggytown Ditch, but it is possible that this was done a
year later.
Smith J. Hill came into the valley and bought the Baxter
place about three fourths of a mile southeast of Bankhead 's for a
mule. Hill says that about this time he bought out Matchelor for
James D. Byers. This ranch was on Baxter creek about two
miles northeast of Bankhead 's. Byers did not come here to live
until several years after this and James Anderson had charge of
the place and the stock.
r 99 1
HISTOBY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFOENIA
This summer Dr. Slater taught a private school at his own
house. His pupils were Susan and Hugh Bankhead, Maria Stone,
and his own children, Eva and Daniel. F. & S. say: "In 1858
Malcom Scott opened a private school in a small building that
stood on the south side of Cottage street, about midway between
Gay and Lassen streets. ' '
Late this summer Matchelor, Henderson, and another man,
who had all been living on the place Hill bought for Byers, got
out some logs and put up a cabin on the west part of Manley
Thompson's ranch. Thompson reported the case to the citizens
of the valley, and thirty or forty men met at his place to hold an
arbitration. At first the "jumpers" said they would stay there
anyhow and could not be driven off; but they soon saw that it
was of no use to try to fight the whole crowd, and they said that
if Thompson would pay them for the logs, they would leave.
Probably he did this, for that was the end of the trouble.
In October Wm. H. Crane, Wm. D. Snyder, C. W. Thompson,
Robert Cochran, and Cyrus Smith located two sections east of
Coulthurst and also claimed the water privilege of Susan river
and Willow creek.
On October 17th, 1858, there was born to Isaac and Mary
Jane Coulthurst a son, William R., the fourth child born in the
valley. He died October 10th, 1876.
This fall Lassen and Albert A. Smith went to Lassen's old
ranch on Deer creek after some millstones. It appears that they
allowed him to take anything of that kind any time he wanted it,
so he loaded up the millstones and started for home. At the
same time Dr. Spalding and Fred Hines went to Red Bluff to get
some drugs, the first used by Dr. Spalding in his practice here,
and coming back they struck in with Lassen and Smith. Lassen's
wagon was heavily loaded and Hines had to help him up the Hat
Creek hill. He was up near the leaders driving and Lassen was
behind the wagon carrying a big rock to chock the wheel when the
team stopped. All at once a chain broke near the wagon which
immediately started back down the hill. Lassen was old and
clumsy and would have been run over and killed; but in his
haste to get out of the way he accidentally dropped the stone
where the wheel struck it, and the wagon stopped. It was a close
call for Uncle Peter that time.
Lassen rigged up a rude mill near the creek, about half way
[100]
THE TEAR 1858
between where the road runs through Milford and the foothill,
or perhaps a little nearer the hill. He ran it with a sort of horse-
power ; and crushed grain, but made no flour. This was the first
attempt to build a gristmill in the county. This fall, some say
1857, Lassen and Kingsbury put up a house of hewn logs on the
top of the hill west of where the Hulsman residence is now, and
it was used as a ranch house for several years.
This year a man named Wasson settled in Long valley at
what is sometimes called the Upper Hot springs, or the Hot
Springs ranch. This place was six miles almost due south of the
"Whitehead" Ross ranch.
This month Elizabeth A. Sharp sold to Squire Stark for $500
the ranch she bought from him the previous year. This fall Ross
Lewers came in and bought the Fullbright and Crawford ranch,
and soon after took in Rough Elliott as a partner. J. P. Ford
sold out to Judkins and Gate.
In November M. and E. R. Scott "laid claim in and unto the
whole of Antilope valley so called situated north or in the
northern part of Honey Lake valley about three miles northeast
from Susanville." After the record of the notice Roop stated
that he told M. Scott that some other parties had claimed the
same land and filed their notice for record three days before, but
Scott said he wanted his notice filed and he would take the
chances. This is the first time that Roop's place has been
called ' ' Susanville ' ' in any newspaper, record, or document that
the writer has ever seen. For a while before this it was gener-
ally called ' ' Rooptown, ' ' and for a couple of years afterwards it
was sometimes called "Susanville" and sometimes "Rooptown."
Lynch sold his place two miles below Bankhead's to George
W. Fry and Dewitt C. Chandler. This fall David Rice was on
the Morehead ranch and John Bradley and Wife lived about five
miles further up the lake. They may have come into the valley
the previous year. Christopher Meyers bought in with Manley
Thompson. Some time this fall Mrs. Amanda Gray, the Wife of
Anthony Gray, came to the valley with her family. Her husband
came here the previous fall. The family consisted of T. W., Mary,
and Benjamin Hughes and Louisa, Minnie, and Robert Gray.
Some time during the year James Fuller, perhaps his brothers,
John E. and C. W. (Bill), were in with him, put up a board
shanty about three and one fourth miles below Roop 's and began
[101]
HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
to sell goods. It was on the north, side of the road near the river,
and not far from where Dr. Spalding had built his house which
is still standing. Daniel Murray was his clerk, and before long
he and Edward Powers bought Fuller out. This same year either
these two, or Fuller, put up a blacksmith shop across the road
from the store and Henry Hastings was the first blacksmith.
The following people settled in Honey Lake valley in 1858.
The names of some of them have already been given.
A. B. Jenison and family, *Mrs. Richard Thompson and
family, Thomas J. Mulroney, John S. Ward and family, John
and Edward Bass, Lewis Stark and family, G. W. Howard, J. H.
Breed, Thurston (Ken tuck) Thomas, * Christopher Meyers, * Will-
iam Meyers, James D. Byers, *Edward Powers, *Daniel Mur-
ray, Jacob Holley, *Ben B. Painter, *John Thayer. Per-
haps William (Limekiln) Smith and several brothers named
Wheeler settled here this year. Though Byers did not come to
this county to live until several years later, he was, in a way, a
settler here. He held county office and was a member of the
legislature and was always a prominent man.
The following lived in the valley all the rest of their lives :
Mrs. R. D. Bass, John S. Ward and his son Frank G. (Bob),
T. J. Mulroney, John Bradley and Wife, John Thayer, G. W.
Fry, D. C. Chandler, John C. Davis, Thurston Thomas, J. D.
Byers, Robert Wisbern, Mrs. R. Thompson, and A. B. Jenison
and Wife.
Ward was a lawyer and was a prominent man as long as he
lived.
Painter, Rice, Crane, the Fuller Bros., John and Edward
Bass, Hill, Stark, Lewers, Murray, John Byrd, Breed, Hall,
C. and W. Meyers, Mrs. Streshly, Mrs. Anthony Gray and
family, and Mrs. John S. Ward and her children Trowbridge
II . and Jennie lived in the county from six or seven to twenty-
five years or more.
W. H. Crane was a member of the legislature.
Western Utah Politics. 1858
T. and W. (Thompson and West's History of Nevada) say:
The following letter from Judge Crane shows that the creation
of the territory of Sierra Nevada was considered at Washington
[ 102 1
THE YEAR 1858
about the same as an accomplished fact at one time, but the act
was finally defeated.
"Judge Crane to His Constituents.
"Washington, February 18, 1358.
"Fellow-Citizens : — It affords me much satisfaction to furnish
you in advance information of great interest. The committee on
territories has unanimously agreed to report a bill forthwith to
establish a territorial government out of western Utah, under the
name of Sierra Nevada. It will be bounded on the east by the
Goose Creek mountains, on the west by the Sierra Nevada, or the
east line of California, on the north by the Oregon line, and on
the south by the Colorado river.
"The bill will be pressed through both houses of Congress,
by all parties, as having an immediate connection with the present
military movements against the Mormons. It has been agreed
upon that it shall form a part of the measure designed to com-
press the limits of the Mormons in the Great Basin, and to defeat
their efforts to corrupt and confederate with the Indian tribes
who now reside in or roam through western Utah. For this and
many other reasons, no time will be lost to organize a territory
over western Utah, that there may be concentrated there a large
Gentile population, as a check both upon the Indians and the
Mormons.
1 ' To the Hon. Wm. Smith, the able member of Congress from
the Orange congressional district in Va. (well known in Cali-
fornia) you and I owe an everlasting debt of gratitude for bring-
ing about this auspicious result.
"In connection with this subject permit me to say (if I am
not writing to you unadvisedly) that you all sow and plant heavy
crops of grain and vegetables this spring, for they will bring
ready sale at good cash prices to supply the army and the Indians
on their reservations.
"As soon as I shall get my seat I think I can secure mail
routes between Carson valley, via Gold Canyon, Ragtown, Sink
of the Humboldt, to the Great Salt Lake, and from Honey Lake
to the Humboldt, where the two lines form a junction. As to
the establishment of other necessary mail routes in the territory
I have no fears. In connection with this subject also, I have
great hopes of having a bill passed to bridge the deep snow
region of the Sierra Nevada, over the Honey lake and Plaeerville
[103]
HISTOEY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFOENIA
routes, so as to keep open communication between our territory
and California all the year round. The deep snow region on
the Placerville route is, I think, about eight miles in extent, and
on the Honey Lake route, via Shasta, about the same. Neither
will cost over $50000 or $60000.
"In conclusion, I hope the legislature of California will be
as liberal and as generous to you as Virginia was to Kentucky
in her days of infancy and trial, and as Georgia was to Alabama
in her days of infancy ; and like them, withdraw her jurisdiction
over valleys lying east of the Sierra Nevada, that they may all
come under our territorial government.
"Ever your faithful friend,
"James M. Crane."
' ' The foregoing will give the reader a fair idea of the state of
mind that the settlers of western Utah were in, and the induce-
ments that urged them to a separation. It further presents the
pecuniary outlook that floated before the mental vision of the
ranchers whose products from the soil was to feed 115000 Indians
on the reservations, and the soldiers that were to keep them and
the Mormons in check. Western Utah was a miner 's and farmer 's
Paradise, where the roads to wealth were to be paved by the
United States treasury, with coin, over fields of precious stones,
and the richest gold and silver mines on the continent. These
exaggerations had their effect, and the public was being slowly
prepared for an excitement such as followed the eventual discov-
ery of the Comstock Lode. ' '
Another Attempt to Reorganize Carson County
"In 1858 another attempt was made to reorganize Carson
county and it proved only partially successful. Governor Cum-
mings commissioned John S. Child, probate judge, and he called
an election for county officers. The election was Mormon or
Anti-Mormon, but as there were no Mormons excepting one, it
was really those who favored the hanging of 'Lucky Bill'
against those who did not. Four of the six precincts were
thrown out for illegal voting. All the Mormon ticket was elected
excepting Sides and Abernathy. The people paid but little
attention to the results of this election. Those who received the
highest number of votes were declared elected, but their positions
became mere sinecures."
[104]
the year 1s58
Result of the Movement of 1857
"The movement set on foot in 1857 failed and Congress did
not create the new territory asked for by the settlers of western
Utah. But there was a hostile feeling between the Mormons and
the citizens of the United States, and the people of western Utah
proposed to use this feeling to help them in getting Congress to
organize a new territory that should not include Salt Lake City. ' '
Honey Lake Politics — 1858
During the year 1858 political conditions remained about the
same as they were the previous year. The only political action
taken is shown by the following which F. and S. quote from
Roop's record. They say:
"To provide for their own government until such time as
congress should incorporate them in a new territory, the people
of the valley again met, in February, 1858, and adopted the
following laws:
"Laws of Honey Lake Valley. Adopted February 13, 1858.
"Sec. 1. — Each "White Male twenty-one years of age shall
have the right to take up and locate vacant land to the amount of
640 acres. Provided, that within 30 days from the taking up and
locating he shall have it surveyed, and a mound three feet high
thrown up at every corner, and a stake set in each mound 6 ft.
long, and the claimant's name placed on Record, and to occupy
and improve to the amount of one dollar per acre claimed within
twelve months from the date of locating, said one dollar per acre
to be placed on the land claimed as follows : I2V2 cts. per acre
within 30 days from the locating; I2V2 cts. per acre within the
next 30 days; 25 cts. per acre within the next 60 days; 25 cts.
per acre within the next 4 months; 25 cts. per acre within the
next 4 months. Said improvement to consist in plowing, fencing,
building, and the planting of fruit trees.
"Sec. 2. — An actual residence within the district where the
land lays shall be held an occupation of the land claimed. A
substitute can represent. No one person can represent more than
one claim.
"Sec. 3. — Claims may be held in fractions, where such frac-
tions have been made by prior surveys of claims, provided that
the number shall not exceed 4, and the whole not more than 640
acres, and each and every fraction shall be improved agreeable
to section one.
[105]
HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
"Sec. 4. — All sales and transfers of land shall be acknow-
ledged to by the Recorder, and to be placed on record.
"Sec. 5. — No person or persons shall divert water from its
original channel to the injury of any prior occupant.
"Sec. 6. — Owners of hogs shall be held to pay all damages
their hogs may do between the first day of April and the first
day of November.
"Sec. 7. — All difficulties, disputes, and suits at law, of any
nature, shall be had before a Board of Arbitrators, and a majority
of said Board shall render a decision ; and when a decision shall
not be satisfactory to both or either party, the one so grieved
may take an appeal within ten days thereafter, and have it tried
before a Board in an adjoining district ; and if the former decision
shall have been sustained by a majority of the second Board,
then such a decision shall be final ; but if the decision shall have
been reversed by a majority of the second Board, then the case
shall be left to seven citizens, three to be chosen by each party,
the seventh to be called by the six, and a decision the majority
shall make shall be final.
' ' Sec. 8. — There shall be an election held on the first Saturday
in May in each district, for the purpose of electing one Recorder
and three Arbitrators in each district.
"Sec. 9. — The fees of the Arbitrators shall not exceed five
dollars each a day, to be paid by the party losing the suit. ' '
Indian Troubles — 1858
In 1857 General Crook built Fort Crook in the upper end
of Fall River valley. This was a piece of good fortune for the
people of Honey Lake valley. The Pit river Indians had always
bothered them a great deal, and as soldiers were stationed at the
fort after this it helped to keep the Indians in check. Besides
that the soldiers often had a fight with them, and in these fights,
if General Crook was in command, a good many Indians were put
in a condition not to make any more trouble. In the course of
ten or a dozen years the tribe became so small that they did not
have the power to make very much trouble.
Treaty with the Smoke Creek Pi Utahs Indians
The following is an exact copy of the treaty which is owned
by the family of the late John F. Hulsman.
[106]
THE YEAE 1858
"Honey Lake Valley, January 5th, 1858.
"Treaty formed this fifth day of January One thousand eight
hundred and fifty eight (1858) between the chief of the smoke
creek band of Pi Utahs Indians named Winnemorhas and P.
Lassen Isaac Roop J Williams Sub Agents of J T Henley Super-
intendant of Indians affairs for California.
"P Lassen Isaac Roop and J Williams agree to give to
Winnemorhas the chief of the smoke band of Indians the clothing
blankets &c furnished by J T Henley upon the terms and condi-
tions prescribed by him to us.
"Winnemorhas the chief of the Pi Utahs Indians at smoke
creek agrees in consideration of the Blankets clothing &c received
by him to remain at Peace with the whole people of Honey Lake
Valley and vicinity and also to refrain from stealing stock or
other pilfering from the whites of the aforesaid vicinity and to
return all stock stolen from them if possible for him to do so and
further agrees all supplies from and intercourse with the whites
shall cease if he fails to perform his part of the contract
"J Williams
P Lassen
I Roop
Sub Agents Winnemorha
Chief of the smoke Creek
Band of the Pi Utahs Ind
Winnemorhas. His x mark
"Abstract of articals delivered as presents to the Pi Utahs
Indians of Honey Valley on Dec 11th 1857 and Jan 5th 1858 —
Viz.
Over halls ... 90 Pr Hickory stripe 250 yds
Blankets ...40 " Cotton Kerchief 90
Military coats . . 2 Blue Prints 50 yds
Brown drill ... 25 yds Linen thread 2 Bals
Buttons ... 8 gross Thimbals 90
Combs ... 2 doz Military Jackets 82
Needles ... 500
"We the undersigned disinterested persons here-by certify
that we ware present and witnessed the delivery of the above
articals to the Pi Utahs Indians
W C Kingsbury John Winnemorha Interpreter
A A Smith His x mark
[107]
HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
"Abstract of articals delivered as presents to the Pah Utahs
Indians of Honey Lake Valley on July 16th 1858
Over halls 54 Pr Hicory stripe 127V2 yds
Blankets 10 . . Cotton Kerchief 30
Brown drill 7 yds Blue Prints 60% yds
Buttons 3 gross Bdls Lin thred 1 . . Bdls
Combs 2 doz Thimbels 54
Needles 5.00 Milit Jackets 18
Cotton thread 4 doz
"Witness A L McDonald
A A Smith
W C Kingsbury"
Expedition to Cold Springs in Pursuit of Indians
Related by William Dow and Fred Hines
About the middle of March six or eight head of cattle were
stolen by the Indians from Charles Adams who had a ranch on
the river about three miles from the lake. In the fall of 1857
when Hines was out on the Humboldt river trading with the
emigrants, Adams came along with a band of cattle which he
had driven from the states, and he was looking for a good place
to winter them. Hines told him to come to Honey Lake, and he
and his brother Abijah came in here with the cattle and took up
a ranch. He remembered Hines and visited him every time he
came to the upper end of the valley. When his cattle were
stolen he at once came up to see Hines, and they talked the
matter over. There were quite a lot of men around the Hines
and Sylvester ranch, and they all told Adams they would do
what they could for him. They said they would kill a beef,
and then get some men together and go down and join with him
in the pursuit of the Indians. Hines told him that he had better
go home by way of the Bankhead place and see if he could not
get some more men to go along.
The men in the upper end of the valley got ready, and in a.
day or two William Dow, Fred Hines, John Neale, Henry
Arnold, Wiley Cornelison, Capt. Weatherlow, U. J. Tutt, and
perhaps a few others went down and camped between Willow
creek and Susan river at their junction, arriving there near the
middle of the afternoon. Just at dusk they heard a shot fired
and saw a fire on the south side of the river opposite the mouth
[108]
THE YEAR 1858
of Willow creek. Thinking it might be some men from the
south side of the valley who were signaling to them, Hines and
Arnold went in that direction as far as the water would permit
and fired their pistols several times. They got no reply, and
after waiting a while went back to camp. The next morning
Adams called to them from the other side of Willow creek and
said he could get no more men to go along. He had not seen the
fire, and they all came to the conclusion that it had been built
by some one who was out hunting cattle and had got cold. They
thought no more about it until subsequent events brought it to
to their minds; but the reader will please remember it, "for
thereby hangs a tale."
They took the trail of the Indians, there were only five or six
of them, and followed it until night and camped at the southwest
corner of Secret valley. That night they went to the top of the
highest mountain that was near them to look for Indian camp
fires, and this they did every night during the trip. The next
night they camped at the upper end of Snow Storm creek, and
the night following that at Cold Springs to the north of Madeline
Plains. The next day they spent in hunting around on a big
mountain in the range that comes down from the west side of
Surprise valley. The Indians had gone across a point of the
mountain where the ground was frozen, and there the white
men lost their trail.
The following morning they took the back track and reached
home in due time without meeting with any adventures. They
brought back neither cattle nor scalps, and this was the luck
of many parties of Never Sweats who went in pursuit of Indian
thieves.
Captain Weatherlow's Fight with the Indians
During the spring of 1858 the Indians stole a good many
cattle and horses from the Honey Lakers. The Washos, though
perhaps not openly hostile, did considerable of this ; or, at least,
it was laid at their door.
I. N. Hoop in a letter to the "Shasta Republican," dated
April 22nd says : ' ' The Indians are continually committing
thefts in the valley. Within the last six weeks they have driven
twenty-six head of cattle out of the valley besides the four that
they killed here together with six horses and two mules. They
[109]
HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
have been followed by the citizens to no purpose save once when
a company commanded by Capt. Wm. Weatherlow some two
weeks since started in pursuit of the Washos. ' '
The Indians had stolen some horses from Fullbright and
Crawford and a party started in pursuit. Seven or eight men,
one of them being Crawford, were from the lower end of the
valley, and Capt. Weatherlow, Cap Hill, "Jonce" Tutt, and
perhaps another man went from the upper end. In all of these
expeditions after the Indians, if Weatherlow went along, he was
looked upon as the leader. In fact, in most cases, he was the
one who raised a crowd of men and followed the Indians after
they had committed some depredation.
The party followed the Indian trail down the valley and
camped on the north side of the divide between Honey Lake and
Long valleys. Along about two or three o 'clock the next morning
part of them went south over the ridge to look for Indian camp
fires. They thought they saw some five or six miles away and all
of them excepting Weatherlow went back to move their camp over
to the south side of the ridge. About daylight two Indians, one
armed with a gun and the other with a bow and arrows, came to
him, and being able to talk a little English, they asked him what I
he was doing there. He told them that he was hunting antelope.
He then started off and they followed him. He tried to keep !
either one of them from getting behind him, but the one with the
bow and arrows finally succeeded in doing it and Weatherlow
turned and shot him with his revolver. The other Indian was too
close to use his gun, so he dropped it and sprang upon Weather-
low before the latter could shoot him ; and they had a rough and j
tumble fight that lasted for half an hour, the two rolling over and I
over on the ground, first one on top and then the other. Weath- I
erlow was a small man and the Indian kept him under the most
of the time, but whenever he was on top he threw sand and gravel
into the Indian's mouth and eyes and yelled as loud as he could,
hoping that some of his party would hear him and come to his
relief. The Indian had a knife slung on a string between his
shoulders, as the Indians then carried their knives, and this he
tried to get and Weatherlow tried to keep him from doing it.
The white man got one of the Indian's fingers between his teeth
and hung to it and caught hold of the Indian's other hand, and
so kept him from drawing his knife. But the red man finally
[HO]
THE YEAR 1858
wore his opponent out, and when his finger was chewed off he
got that hand free and soon had the white man at his mercy. In
a minute or two more Weatherlow would have been killed, but
just then Tutt appeared upon the scene. He ran up and caught
the Indian by the hair, and with one stroke of his Bowie knife
almost cut off his head. Tutt had started out from camp ahead
of the others, and hearing Weatherlow 's shouts, he threw down
his pack and ran to him as fast as he could, getting there just in
time.
Weatherlow was badly bruised in the fight, but he received no
other injuries and in a few days was ready to go after Indians
again.
Charles H. Crawford Killed by an Indian
Related by William H. Clark
A short time after the expedition to Cold Springs the Indians,
Diggers, or Diggers and Washos together, stole a yoke of oxen
from Manley Thompson and drove them over the mountain to the
southwest and killed them. Nine men, Wm. N. Crawford, Epp-
stein, Denny, Elliott, Billy Clark, M. Thompson, Chapman,
C. H. Crawford, Fullbright's partner, and Weatherlow, went in
pursuit of the thieves. C. H. Crawford rode a mule, he being too
fleshy to walk, and the others were on foot.
They started in the morning and went over the mountain to
what is now called Clark's creek, and went down this to the
place where it flows into Last Chance creek. There they came
upon a party of four Indians, two bucks and two squaws, camped
by a big fire and they took the bucks prisoners. They were armed
with guns and bows and arrows and their captors allowed them
to keep their weapons. There was nothing to show that these
Indians had anything to do with stealing the oxen. While the
white men stood there talking a party of nine men on horseback
under the leadership of Frank Johnson rode up and said they had
come to help them hunt for the Indians. Johnson wanted to put
up the captives at a distance of one hundred and fifty yards and
shoot at them, but C. Crawford would not allow it to be done. He
said that their party had taken the prisoners and that they would
take them down into the valley and try to find out from them
what Indians stole the cattle. Johnson said that if they could
not kill the Indians there was no use of going any further. So
they all started back up the north side of Clark's creek, the pris-
[111]
HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
oners in the midst of the men on foot, and the mounted men about
a hundred yards ahead. Before they had gone very far one of
the Indians threw down his gun and ran down the creek and
Chapman followed him. After running a short distance the In-
dian jumped off a high bank into the willows, and though Chap-
man fired at him several times with his six-shooter, he succeeded
in getting away. They then went on up the creek with the other
Indian and in a few minutes he, too, threw down his gun and
started up the side of the mountain, Crawford following him on
his mule. The men on foot followed him, too, shooting as they
ran, but they all missed him. When Crawford got within eight
or ten feet of the Indian the latter turned and shot him, the arrow
striking him on the right side and ranging downward into the
small of his back, going almost through his body. They surround-
ed the Indian and kept shooting at him, but in their excitement
they took no aim and no one hit him. Johnson got close to him,
and if the others had not prevented it the Indian would have
killed him with a knife. Finally Wm. Crawford shot him
through the leg and got him down, and then they managed to
kill him.
They cut some poles and with these and some saddle blankets
they made a litter, and the nine men carried Crawford over the
mountain to the valley He was such a heavy man that it was a
hard job, and their shoulders were worn raw by the poles. The
wounded man asked Clark to pull the arrow out and he, not
thinking what the result would be, did so and the head of the
arrow was left deep in the wound. Dr. Slater said that if the
arrow had been pushed on through his body it would have all
come out, and besides that it would have let out the blood and he
might have recovered. As it was he lived only three days. His
tombstone says that he was killed on the 21st day of May. He
was buried in the graveyard that is perhaps a third of a mile
south of the road, and four miles southeast of Janesville. This
is the oldest graveyard in the county. In addition to the fore-
going, Thomas B. Doyle says Wm. Crawford told him that the
Indians had no ammunition for their guns ; that he shot the In-
dian through both knees at a distance of four hundred yards,
and then they all shot him and riddled him with bullets ; and that
they came into the valley with Crawford about two miles north-
west of Milford.
r 112 1
THE YEAR 1858
The Trip to Goose Lake Valley in Pursuit of the Indians
Related by Dow and Hines
On Sunday, April 18th, 1858, the Pit river Indians stole two
horses and two mules from Hines and Tutt and three horses and
a mule from Jonathan Scott. The animals were running on the
flat to the north of Haviland's ranch and their loss was not dis-
covered until the next day.
Just as soon as they found out that the stock was gone Dow,
Tutt, and an Indian who had come from southern California with
J. Scott started out to get the course the Indians had taken with
the stolen animals. Dow and Tutt were considered to be among
the very best Indian fighters of the valley and they did consider-
able scouting. They followed the trail up past the Big Spring
at the head of what is now known as the Antelope grade; and
then wrote what they had learned on a piece of juniper bark and
sent the Indian back with it to notify the crowd to get ready.
Dow and Tutt followed the trail on over into Willow Creek val-
ley, but came back home that night. The next day the men who
were going in pursuit of the Indians met at the ranches of Dow &
Hatch and Hines & Sylvester, which were just across the road
from each other. The party consisted of Capt. Weatherlow, Tutt,
Dow, Hines, C. C. Walden, Henry Arnold, Thad. Norton, Alec.
Chapman, Storff, Amos Conkey, Frank Johnson, Rough Elliott,
Charles Adams, Lathrop, and J. B. Gilpin.
They started out the same day, taking with them three weeks'
provisions, but they did not get very far. They got a late start,
and not knowing the country very well, struck Willow creek about
the middle of the Big Swamp. It was frozen over, but would not
bear them up, so they followed down the stream about four miles
until they found a narrow place, and there they crossed the creek.
They went back up the creek until they found the trail of the
Indians, and it then being late, they camped for the night in a
neck on the north side and a little west of the center of the valley.
The next morning they got an early start and followed the trail
along the west side of Fredonyer Butte. Along here somewhere
the Indians had killed one of the mules. About ten o'clock in the
forenoon they came in sight of Grasshopper lake. They saw a
big flock of brants fly up, and the man in the lead, who was doing
the trailing, thought he saw a dark object on the lake and mo-
[113]
HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
tioned for the others to stop. They had a spyglass, and with the
aid of that they could see some Indians who appeared to be setting
nets for ducks in the lake. They thought these might be the
Indians they were after, so a man or two went up on a ledge of
rocks to watch them through the spyglass and the rest of the party
went down into a canyon and camped. Just before sunset the
Indians left the lake and went west across the valley to what
appeared to be a mound south of the middle of the lake, and half
or three quarters of a mile from it. The whites sat around their
camp fire until some time after midnight, and leaving Conkey to
watch the camp, they set out to find the Indians. The lake lay
between them and the mound, but from the actions of the Indians
they thought it must be shallow and they took a straight course.
When they reached it they found it was deeper than they ex-
pected, and some of the men went around instead of going
through the water. Those who waded got ahead of the others
and had to wait for them to come up. When they got to the
mound they found there were three of them, and the two southern
ones looked very much alike. This bothered them ; but after talk-
ing the matter over they concluded to divide and part of them go
around the south side of the south mound and the rest go up on
the east side, and if they found no Indians they would try the
next mound. It was the right one and both parties reached the
Indians about the same time. They were camped on the east
side of a steep ledge and those who went around came out right
above them — not more than eight feet away. It was then just
after daylight, and one of the Indians raised up and poked the
fire with a little stick. The whites immediately fired and killed
all of them, three bucks and a squaw. Only one man fired the sec-
ond time. One of the Indians sprang up convulsively when he was
shot, and some one who had a double-barreled shotgun shot him
as he raised up. They were Pit river, or Dixie valley, Indians,
but not the ones they were following. The white men thought,
however, that they deserved their fate, for there were marrow-
bones and fresh rawhides in their camp. The party then went
back to their camp, and after breakfast took the trail and followed
it along the east side of the lake, through Dry valley, then over a
little sand ridge onto the west end of Madeline Plains, kept on
north, and that night camped by a spring at the northwest corner
of the Plains. The next day they went down through a pass to
[ 114 ]
THE YEAR 185S
the south fork of Pit river, and camped that night on a creek that
runs into it near where Alturas now stands. That night Dow
and Elliott put on some moccasins they had taken from the In-
dians killed in Grasshopper valley, and went up on the side of a
mountain twelve or fifteen miles away to look for Indian camp
fires. They went up the mountain until they could see all over
that part of the country, but saw no fires. The next morning the
trail led them up Pit river, and during the day they came to a
place that looked as though the Indians they were following and
the rest of their band had wintered there. The Indians who had
been left in camp joined the ones with the stolen animals, and
they all went on together. In this place Dow and Hines do not
agree, but the matter is not important. Dow says they camped
that night near the south end of Goose Lake valley at the place
where the Indians had camped the night before. Hines says the
trail had not been very fresh, and the next morning after they
camped here some of the men became discouraged and wanted to
turn back. Rough Elliott and Alec. Chapman almost had a fight
over it. Finally it was agreed that they would follow the trail
until noon, and if it was no fresher they would turn back Early
that forenoon they struck the Sheep Rock road which left the
Lassen Trail at the lower end of the valley and went west to the
Yreka country. In this road they found the fresh tracks of shod
horses and this puzzled them. They knew it was too early for
emigrants, and they thought that either the Indians had stolen
some horses in Shasta county and brought them there, or that an-
other party of white men had come from the west hunting Indians.
They followed the Lassen Trail to the north, the new tracks and
the tracks of the Indians they were following both being in the
road. They were excited on account of finding the new tracks
and also because they saw a signal fire, the first one they had seen
on the trip, in the hills to the northeast, and they rode fast until
they came to a steep hill that ran west to the lake. Here the
tracks separated, the new ones going around the hill toward the
lake and the Indian tracks straight up it. Here the Honey
Lakers divided their crowd, nine men following the new tracks
and the other six going up the hill. The foregoing is the way
Dow tells it. Hines thinks they saw the signal fire before they
reached the Sheep Rock road and that the six men started in that
direction as soon as they saw it. The nine men went on around
[115]
HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
the hill, which Dow and Hines think must be the- Sugar Loaf,
and before long came to some people camped on the north side of
it near the road. They were the party with the shod horses, and
were twelve Mormons, seven men, three women, two of them
young ladies, and two children, from Eugene City, Oregon ; and
they were going to Salt Lake City in obedience to a call from
Brigham Young. The names of six of the men were B. Young,
David M. Stewart, or Steward, Dr. Silas G. Higgins, Lorenzo L.
Harmon, J. L. Adams, and Henry H. Winslow. The night before
the Never Sweats got there, the night of the 24th, while they were
changing their guard fifty or sixty Indians surprised them and
stampeded all their horses, twenty-three in number. The next
morning several Indians came to their camp and laid down their
bows and arrows and wanted the Mormons to lay down their guns
and be friendly. They said that some bad Indians had stolen
their horses and after some talk they agreed to bring them back if
the white men would give them a tent and some clothing. They
wanted one of the white men to go with them, and Dr. Higgins
volunteered to do this and had not yet got back. He told after-
wards that he went with them to their main camp, probably in
what is now known as Fandango valley, and there they found
seventy-five Indians, as near as he could judge. These Indians
said that some of the horses had been run off by other Indians,
and they could return only part of them. Shortly after this they
started back to the Mormon camp with twelve horses, ten or a
dozen Indians going along and riding the horses. The rest of
them went along, too, but they took another route.
We will now see what was done by the smaller party of Honey
Lakers. The trail which they followed over the hill led almost
directly to the Mormon camp, and when they got about a quarter
of a mile from it they came to a place where a high ledge of rocks
ran parallel to the trail. There was a ravine between them and
the ledge, and they saw a couple of Indians sneaking along it.
Walden called out to take them prisoners, but Dow said they
would take no prisoners, for a man had been killed by an Indian
prisoner just before they left home. He and two or three others
fired at the Indians, and thirty or forty more of them immedi-
ately jumped up from behind the ledge and gave a war whoop.
When the Honey Lakers at the Mormon camp heard the yelling
and shouting they struck out in that direction as fast as their
[116]
THE YEAR 1858
horses could run and soon came upon Higgins and the Indians
coming back with the horses. When these Indians heard the
noise they suspected treachery, and setting up a yell, they jumped
from the horses and shot them and the white man full of arrows.
Higgins was shot through the hip with a bullet, two arrows were
shot into his arm and three into his back, but the latter did not
go through into the cavity. In an account published in a news-
paper of the day it was said that he was shot ten times. Eight
of the horses were wounded so bad that they died, or had to be
killed. The Indians then ran away and the whites followed them
as fast as they could. The six men were chasing their bunch of
Indians, too; but it was hard work getting over the ledge, the
ground was soft so they could not run their horses very fast, and
they got behind the others. All hands were now in sight of each
other. The two bands of Indians were running toward the north
in almost parallel lines, but gradually drawing together, and the
whites in close pursuit. Dow shot a big Indian who had got be-
hind, Tutt shot another one, and probably several more were
killed while the chase was going on. The Indians soon came to-
gether and shortly afterwards suddenly dropped into a canyon.
The larger party of white men were still a little ahead, and seeing
the leading Indians running up the hill on the other side, they
rode right up to the edge of the canyon and found a sheer drop of
twenty feet or more. They hastily pulled up and just then the
air became full of arrows. Hines's horse was shot in the neck and
in the shoulder before he could get off and get behind it. An
arrow struck Lathrop on the breast, but he had a powder flask in
his shirt pocket and that saved his life. An arrow struck
Adams's stirrup. Dow says eight horses were wounded, all of
them slightly, excepting one of them that was shot in the throat.
Probably the arrows were poisoned, because the wounds swelled
a great deal, though none of the horses died. Hines thinks only
two horses besides his were shot here and that the wounded horses
belonging to the Mormons came to them and stood around while
the fight was going on, and some of them died there. At the edge
of the canyon there was a big rock pile, and the Indians hid them-
selves behind and under it. The steep part of this rock pile was
about one hundred and fifty yards long. It was in the shape of
an elbow with the point to the west, and at each end of it one
could go down into the canyon very easily. The white men
[117]
HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
stayed at the top of the canyon and fired at the Indians around
the ends of the ledge, or wherever they could see them. The
fight commenced a little after noon and lasted about four hours.
The whites did not expose themselves very much and only one man
was injured. Elliott got too far around the rock, and an arrow |
with a stone point struck him on the side of the head, making a
painful but not dangerous wound. After all of the Indians had
either been shot or had run away so that no more living ones
could be seen the whites thought some of going up to their main
camp. They talked the matter over and finally came to the con-
clusion that they might find more Indians there than they could
handle. Besides that they didn't know what had happened to
the Mormons during their absence, and thought they ought to go
and see. But before they went away they wanted to see what
was in the canyon, and Hines and Johnson started to climb down
into it. Just then Weatherlow, who was down where he could
see under the rocks, called to them to stop, for there was an In-
dian down below waiting for them. Several men got their rifles
ready, and then a couple more held Lathrop by the hand and he
leaned out over the rocks and fired his revolver as Weatherlow
directed him. "When he fired the Indian jumped out into sight
and the men with the rifles shot and killed him instantly. The
two men then went down into the canyon and found that the
Indian had only one arrow and that had no point, but he had it
fixed to his bow and stood ready to shoot the first man that came
down. He was a brave man, for he came to his death trying to
fight with a poor weapon instead of running away. The two
white men gathered up what bows and arrows they could find,
the arrows all having stone points. Evidently the Indians had
only one gun, for that was all the whites heard during the fight.
They found seventeen dead Indians and these they scalped and
brought the scalps home with them. Hines said so many parties
had gone from Honey Lake after Indians and never brought any-
thing back, they thought they would take something home to
show that they had killed some this time. They never knew how
many Indians were killed and wounded. There must have been
fifty or sixty of them in the canyon, and probably there were
more killed than they scalped and a good many wounded. On
the way to the Mormon camp Dow told Hines about the Indian he
shot before they reached the canyon, and said he wanted to see
[118]
THE YEAE 1858
what had become of him. They looked around and finally found
him sitting with his back against a juniper tree apparently dead.
Hines was going to him to take his scalp when Dow told him to
hold on, for the Indian might not be dead and would hurt him.
He stopped and Dow took a shot at the Indian, but he never
moved. Then they went to him and found that he had been dead
for some time.
They found the Mormons at their camp. They had pulled the
arrows out of Higgins and they thought he would die before
morning. They made a stretcher out of a blanket and some poles
to carry him on, and then they all went to an open place near a
creek a little south of the lake and camped there. They were
afraid the Indians would attack them in the night, and in an open
place there was less chance of their being surprised. No Indians
came around that night, and as Higgins was better the next
morning, they concluded to stay there that day. Elliott wanted
his wound attended to, so he and another man started for home
that morning.
During the fight their spyglass was lost and that day Tutt,
Arnold, Norton, Dow, and Adams went back to look for it. They
did not find it, but they found two horses, one belonging to the
Mormons and one that had been stolen from Honey Lake valley.
Of the eight animals stolen this was the only one they recovered.
They saw no Indians that day. There must have been a good
many of them in that locality at that time, and it seems strange
that they did not kill every one of the little band of whites. Per-
haps they had got all the fighting they wanted, and were willing
to let them depart in peace without having any more trouble with
them.
The next morning they started for the land of the Never
Sweats, taking the Mormons with them. They carried Higgins in
a litter made of a blanket sewed between two long poles. A horse
was put between the poles at each end and a couple of men led
the horses. Hines footed it all the way home, his horse being so
badly wounded that he could carry only the saddle and Hines 's
blankets. Higgins stood the trip all right, and after Dr. Spal-
ding had treated him a while he went below and had the bullet
taken from his hip. Some of the Mormon party went to the
lower country and stayed there, but the most of them went back
to Oregon and settled near Jacksonville, where Dow afterwards
[119]
HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
heard of them. Though the Honey Lakers brought back only one
of the stolen animals, they made a good many of what they
then considered to be the only good Indians, and so were well sat-
isfied with their trip.
Another Indian Hunt
Some time this fall the Indians stole two or three head of cattle
from a man who lived with Capt. Weatherlow, name unknown.
The owner of the cattle, Weatherlow, Hatch, John Mote and two
Indian valley Indians went in pursuit of them. They had no
fight with the Indians and brought back no cattle, but they cap-
tured a couple of squaws.
Chapman's Escape From the Mormons
The "Alta Calif ornian, " dated May 29, 1858, quotes the fol-
lowing from the ' ' Red Bluffs Beacon " : " Before Mr. Adams and
party left the valley (Honey Lake) Mr. Chapman and six others
arrived there from Salt Lake City. Our informant learned from
this party that they went to Salt Lake City last fall for the pur-
pose of purchasing stock, and that on their arrival at the city
were taken and thrown into prison, where they remained all win-
ter, and until the late excitement prior to the evacuation of the
Mormons, when they escaped, and were pursued some thirty
miles, when they fell in with a party of forty-two teamsters from
Col. Johnston's command."
Without doubt this was the man who was called "Big" John
Chapman in this valley, and who was cousin to Judge John S.
Chapman and his brother and two sisters who came to the valley
in 1859.
The following was told by Fred F. Kingsbury: In 1882
Kingsbury lived in Chico. One day as he was walking down the
street he came to a saloon in front of which sat a man who ap-
peared to have been drinking and who was surrounded by a
crowd. As Kingsbury came up he heard him say "Does any
one here know John Chapman?" No one made any reply, and
he waited until the crowd had all gone away and then asked the
man what John Chapman he meant. The fellow replied that he
meant the one who lived in Honey Lake valley and asked Kings-
bury if he knew him. Fred told him that he saw Chapman just
after he was shot by Smith, and when he inquired what the other
knew about him the man said that he was the one who saved him
[120]
THE YEAR 1858
from the Destroying Angels at Salt Lake City. He said that at
the time he was herding horses not far from the city. One even-
ing just after dark a man came to the corral where the horses
were kept at night. He was without weapons and alone in a
strange country, and had to throw himself on the mercy of the
man who was telling the story. He told him that his name was
Chapman and where his home was, and said that he and some
others had been put into jail by the Mormons, but did not say for
what reason. He and another man were condemned to die, and
that evening some of the Destroying Angels took them out of the
city in a wagon to kill them, as they supposed. The prisoners,
who were not tied in any way, sat together and not much atten-
tion was paid to them. They talked the matter over in whispers
and came to the conclusion that as long as they had to die any-
way they might as well take a chance. When it got a little dark
they made a break for liberty. The other man jumped out of the
front end of the wagon, but his clothes caught on a single-tree
hook and he was overpowered and put back into the wagon.
While this was going on Chapman jumped out of the hind end of
the wagon and ran a little ways out into the brush and lay down.
They hunted for him quite a while, and once or twice came very
close to him, but finally they gave up the search and went away.
When he could no longer hear them he struck out regardless of
the direction he took, and kept going until he came to the corral.
After listening to his story the narrator told him that some sol-
diers had passed there that day on their way to California, and
that he might overtake them. He saddled a horse, helped Chap-
man to mount him and said "Good luck to you." He rode all
night and the next day overtook the soldiers. The next morn-
ing the Mormons came to the corral and asked the herder if he
had seen anything of a man during the night. He told them that
he had not. They missed the horse and saddle and thought that
Chapman had stolen them and started for California, and they
immediately went in pursuit of him. The Mormons found him
with the soldiers, but they would not give him up and he reached
home in safety.
From what the writer has learned in connection with this he
believes that the foregoing story is almost right, although the nar-
rator told it partly from hearsay and twenty-five years after it
[121]
HISTOEY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
happened, and Kingsbury told it more than twenty-five years
after he heard it.
Thomas N. Long says that a man named Horace Buckley went
to Salt Lake City with the Chapman crowd. He never came back
with them and some thought that Chapman, who was a little
afraid of him because he was so wild and reckless, had killed him
while they were gone. Perhaps Buckley was the man who was
with Chapman when the latter made his escape from the Mor-
mons. If he was, that would account for his failure to return.
Ferry's Horse Taken by Sheriff J. D. Byers
Notwithstanding the position taken by the Honey Lakers the
Plumas county officials exercised a sort of jurisdiction over the
valley.
Early in the spring of 1858 a resident of Honey Lake named
John H. Ferry, known as ' ' Blackhawk, " was sued in Plumas
county and the plaintiff was given judgment against him. All
the property Ferry had was a saddle horse, also called "Black-
hawk, ' ' which was then running in a pasture owned by Kice and
Neiswender. James D. Byers, the second sheriff of Plumas coun-
ty, came here after the horse. He stayed over night with Rice
and Neiswender and the next morning started for Quincy riding
Ferry's horse and leading his own. Believing that the Plumas
county officers had no business here, Ferry, Sylvester, and another
man followed Byers with the intention of taking the horse away
from him. The other two men were ahead of Ferry and they
caught up with Byers about the time he reached Gold Run. Rid-
ing up to him Sylvester caught him by the leg and threw him off
the horse. Byers wasn't the man to stand much of anything like
that, and probably there would have been a man or two killed in
short order, for the Never Sweats were also ready and willing to
shoot. Just then Ferry rode up, and after seeing how matters
stood, said he didn 't want to see a man killed on account of a horse
and told the others to let Byers take the animal and go. Thus
ended what might have been a serious affair.
The Murder of Henry Gordier
In the spring and early summer of 1858 a series of events took
place in western Utah which caused great excitement throughout
that region. The first of these was the murder of Henry Gordier,
a Frenchman, in Honey Lake valley, and the events that followed
were the result of this.
[122]
THE YEAK 1858
The following story was nearly all told by William Dow, but
information was also received from Fred Hines, S. J. Hill and
Wife, W. H. Clark, 0. Streshly, William and David B. Bankhead,
Isaac Coulthurst and Wife, and John Baxter. All of these ex-
cepting Hill were in the valley at the time, and the most of them
took more or less part in what was going on. The details of this
and the following story are much more complete than any ever
published before this time.
In the fall of 1857 a man whose name is said to have been
William Combs Edwards killed Snelling, the postmaster at
Snelling in Merced county, California. After the murder he fled
across the mountains to western Utah and there called himself
William Combs, but the early settlers of Honey Lake and the
Carson country always call him Bill Edwards. Snelling was a
Mason and the Masonic Lodge and the people of Snelling offered
a reward of $1500 for the arrest of Edwards and notified the Ma-
sons on this coast to look out for him.
Edwards came to Genoa in what is now the western part of
Nevada, and there made the acquaintance of William B. Thor-
rington, better known as ' ' Lucky Bill. ' ' The latter was a man of
considerable property, but he was a gambler and an unprincipled
man who was known to be willing to protect and shelter any crim-
inal. It is said that Edwards told Lucky Bill about the killing of
Snelling, but claimed that he did it in self-defense.
After staying a while at Genoa Edwards came to Honey Lake
valley and lived with John Mullen and Asa Snow, who had a
cabin on Lassen creek almost exactly where Breed had his trad-
ing post in the summer of 1856. J. B. Gilpin had a cabin in the
edge of the woods to the north and Rough Elliott lived northwest
of Streshly. (Elliott was not called by that name on account of
manner. He came to the valley from the mining camp of Rough
and Ready, and at first was called "Rough and Ready." He
could be very polite and ' ' smooth " if he saw fit to do it. ) It is
said that Snow's name was an assumed one and that he had killed
a man before he came to the valley, but the writer will not vouch
for the truth of this. It may have been a case of ' • Give a dog a
bad name and hang him." Mullen had a few cattle and was said
to be handy at picking up other people's calves. Edwards spent
the winter working in his placer mine, which was not far from
the Mullen and Snow cabin.
[ 123 ]
HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
In the fall of 1857, when the Mormons of Carson valley and
that vicinity were selling their property in order to return to Salt
Lake City, Coulthurst and Gordier, who had been partners in
the mines of California, concluded to buy some of the Mormon
cattle. Coulthurst went down there and bought a band of fine
Durhams, the best lot of cattle that had ever been brought into
the valley, and Gordier, who was a man of considerable means,
took the most of them. At this time he lived on the Baxter creek
south of the point of the Bald mountain.
In the spring of 1858 Lucky Bill talked of going to Salt Lake
to buy some cattle, but instead of going there he came to Honey
Lake valley. A man named Sol. Perrin, who had known Thor-
ington at Placerville, lived at the upper end of the lake four or
five miles east of the Bankhead place, and when Thorrington was
going past his house he hailed him and the two men had a con-
versation. In the course of it Lucky Bill inquired about Gor-
diers's cattle and said he had come to see if he could buy them.
After talking with Perrin he went his way, but instead of going to
see the Frenchman he went up the valley and stayed all night with
Mullen and Edwards and then started for home. Perrin stopped
him again and asked him if he had bought the cattle. He replied
that he had not and that he had left the matter in the hands of
some friends.
Not long after this Mullen and Edwards began to talk around
among the neighbors about buying Gordier 's cattle and finally
talked to him about it. Later on they reported that they had
bargained with him for everything he had. Not far from the
middle of March they went to him and told him that he had a sick
cow over on the south side of the river opposite the mouth of
Willow creek, and that they would go along and show him where
she was if he wanted them to do so. The three men went over
there. Hines says that on the way home from Carson valley Ed-
wards told him they struck the river a little too high up and
turned and went down it. They were riding side by side and j
Mullen dropped back a little and shot the Frenchman through the
head with his pistol. They took off his clothes and put them into
an old Indian campoodie close by and set it on fire. This was
the shot and the fire told about in the story of the expedition to
Cold Springs after the Indians who stole the cattle from Adams.
They put a rock on his body, bent his knees up against it, and
[124]
THE YEAR 1858
then tied a rope around him to keep it in place. Then they took
the body to the river and sunk it in a deep hole. That night they
started for Genoa.
As soon as they were gone Snow, whom they had hired to
work for them, took possession of the Frenchman's cabin and
; gave out that Mullen and Edwards had bought everything he had
and that the three men had gone to Genoa to get the money from
Lucky Bill to pay him off. The neighbors thought it rather queer
that Gordier should leave so suddenly, but did not give the matter
a great deal of thought at the time. Mullen and Edwards went to
Genoa and stayed a few days and then came home by the way of
Quincy. They said that at Genoa Gordier had met an old ship-
mate and as soon as he got his money both of them staited for
France. Mullen and Snow immediately moved into Gordier 's
cabin and took possession of all his property. Some of the cows
had been loaned or rented to Malcom Bankhead and others, and
these people they told to keep on milking the cows until they
called for them. Gordier had a younger brother, some say there
were two of them, on the other side of the mountain, and while
the party was gone to Goose lake he wrote to some one in the val-
ley and inquired about his brother. When he heard that he had
sold out and gone to France he wrote back and said there must
be something wrong about it, for his brother would not leave the
country without coming to see him. That and some other things
that happened made people think that there was something not
just right about the Frenchman's selling out. The Goose lake
party got home not far from the first of May, and as this was the
only diversion to be had in the country, the boys thought they must
have a dance to celebrate the event. There were the three Mor-
mon women and they managed to get three or four more and had
their dance, probably at Arnold's hotel in Rooptown. At this
dance the Gordier matter was talked over more or less, for by
this time people were very suspicious that the Frenchman had met
with foul play. Cornelison told the writer that the next morning
after the dance a few of them were talking about it and one man
said "Boys, do you remember the shot we heard the night we
camped at the mouth of Willow creek?" Being answered in the
affirmative he said "That was the shot that killed Harry Gor-
dier." The evening before the dance Sylvester said to Hines,
"Bill Edwards will be there to-night and in the morning you tell
[125]
HISTOEY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFOKNIA
him to come around this way on his road home, for I want to see
him." Hines did so and Edwards, who was living at the cabin
on Lassen creek, came down through Toadtown on his way home.
Sylvester took him to one side and told him that people thought
there was something mysterious in regard to their buying the
Frenchman out, and if he and Mullen were going to live in the
country, they had better show their neighbors that everything was
all right. Edwards said they would do so and went on his way.
He must have gone down and told Mullen at once, for the same
day they went to Bankhead and told him they were going to leave
the country for a while. They also told him to keep on milking
the cows, and if any more of their cows came around with young
calves to take them up and milk them, too. They rode away and
Mullen was never seen again by any one in this valley. It looks
as though that when they left here their idea was to go somewhere
below and have Snow drive the cattle to them, for they left with
him written orders, said to be from Gordier, on the men who had
any of the cattle in their possession to turn them over to him.
When Mullen left here he rode a horse that belonged to him. This
horse was called "Bald Hornet" and was a bald-faced chestnut
sorrel that weighed about a thousand pounds. He was a quarter-
horse, and as he had run in the races at Quincy in 1857 and made
a good showing, he was quite a noted horse throughout the moun-
tains from Quincy to Sacramento. Evidently Mullen was afraid
to ride a horse that was so well known, for after leaving here he
traded him to Edwards. Probably when they got into the moun-
tains and talked the matter over they came to the conclusion that
their lives were in danger and they separated, Edwards going to
Genoa and Mullen no one knows where. There was a rumor that
he went to the Fraser river mining excitement and was killed
there, but it was only a rumor and nothing more was ever heard
about it.
"When it became known that the two men had left the valley
the suspicion that Gordier had met with foul play became
stronger than ever. In a day or two John Neale, Dow, Tutt,
"Mormon Joe" Owens, John Mote, a half-breed Cherokee, and a
few others, seven or eight in all, went down on the south side of
Susan river a little below the mouth of Willow creek to see if
that fire and gunshot had anything to do with the disappearance
of the Frenchman. They found that an old campoodie had been
[126]
THE YEAE 1858
burned where they saw the fire and they found some metal but-
tons in the ashes. They also found some dried blood on the ground
near the ashes. All around there the ground had been tram-
pled by the feet of men and animals and the tracks of both led to
a deep hole in the river. The ground there was trampled a great
deal, too, as though work of some kind had been going on. Mote,
and perhaps some of the others, dived into the hole to see if they
could find anything, but the water was very cold and they could
not stay down long enough to hunt around very much. Finally
they gave it up and went home. But there was considerable
excitement in the valley and they kept working at the case. Dr.
Slater analyzed some of the dried blood and said it was the blood
of a human being.
A few days after the party from the upper end of the valley
had been there William Bankhead and a crowd of white men and
Indians went over to the river. They hunted around and dived
into the river where the others did, but did not find anything. A
day or two afterwards, Bankhead, Frank Johnson, and a few
other men went there again and took with them the materials
with which to make a small raft, and a long pole to the end of
which they had fastened the hook from a logchain. They put the
raft together, and as it would float only one man, Bankhead got
onto it with the pole and they pushed it out a little distance from
the shore. He scraped the bottom of the river a few times with
the end of the pole and then the hook caught on something which
he thought was the root of a willow. He pulled hard and brought
it to the surface — it was Gordier's body coming up feet foremost
— and when he saw what it was he almost fell off the raft. It had
been in the water about six weeks and was a gruesome object.
They tied a rope to it and allowed it to sink into the river and
stay there until they could make preparations to take it away.
As soon as possible an inquest was held, William and Malcom
Bankhead and Frank Johnson being some of the members of the
jury, and the verdict rendered was that Gordier came to his
death at the hands of Mullen and Edwards and that they believed
that Snow and Lucky Bill were their accomplices. The murdered
man was buried in the graveyard about four miles southeast of
Bankhead 's. (Mrs. Isaac Coulthrust says that she dreamed where
the Frenchman 's body was and told the men to look there for it. )
The finding of the Frenchman's body put the fat into the
[127]
niSTOEY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
fire, so to speak, and almost every one took a hand in investigating
the matter. Elliott and Gilpin had been very friendly with
Mullen and the two men with him and Elliott knew that Edwards
had killed Snelling, although he claimed he was justifiable in
doing it. Elliott also knew that Thorrington had visited these
men early that spring. A meeting was held in the upper end of
the valley and Elliott was sent for. He was told that things
looked a little suspicious for him and that he must help bring the
guilty parties to justice. F. and S. say: "Elliott was one of a
committee appointed to work up the case, the others being Junius
Brutus Gilpin, John Neale, Frank Johnson, and Charles Adams."
They had an idea that the men they wanted had gone to Genoa,
and as soon as he could get ready, probably before the middle of
May, Elliott went down there to find out.
After Mullen and Edwards went away Snow continued to
live in Gordier's cabin and busied himself in picking up the
cattle. It wasn't very long before he happened to be at Bank-
head's when some of the committee were there and they took him
out to one side and began to question him. He immediately
became very angry and tried to draw his pistol, but they pre-
vented him from doing it. He denied knowing anything about
the murder of Gordier and was very impudent and abusive,
cursing them and calling them every vile name he could think of.
They took him along with them and from this time he was held
in custody, just where it is impossible to tell, as long as he lived.
The last place he was kept was at the cabin of L. N. and J. H.
Breed. This cabin was on the place taken up by Isadore about
four miles southeast of Bankhead 's. It was near a spring on the
east side of the road running north and not far from where that
road left the one that ran southeast down the lake. There are
many stories told about the hanging of Snow and after the lapse
of so many years it is hard to tell which one of them is true.
Some say he was given a trial and sentenced to be hanged in a
short time. That night they heard that the Plumas county
officers were coming to take him away so they raised a small
crowd and hanged him as quickly as they could. Others say
there was nothing private about it. They say he was given a fair
trial before a judge and a jury of ten men and the witnesses were
sworn. Another story is that they commenced to try him and a
mob broke up the trial and took him away and hanged him.
[128]
THE YEAR 1858
After getting all the information possible the writer believes that
the truth is something like the following : John Neale and a
crowd from the upper end of the valley went down to the Breed
cabin. Probably they were joined by others as they went along
and also by men living in that vicinity. There may have been a
sort of trial or investigation that lasted into the night. Snow
insisted that he was innocent and was very abusive and defiant,
and finally dared them to hang him. About two thirds of a mile
south of east of the cabin and a quarter of a mile from the lake
there were two pine trees. The larger tree, the one farthest from
the lake, had a large limb growing at almost a right angle with the
trunk and twelve or fifteen feet from the ground, and to this tree
the crowd went taking Snow with them. They intended to show
him what hanging was like and probably thought they could scare
him into making a confession. They pulled him up and let him
hang a while and then let him down and questioned him. He
said he knew nothing to tell and cursed and defied them. They
pulled him up again, let him down and questioned him, and the
result was the same. He was pulled up the third time and this
time they let him hang too long — when they let him down he
was dead. He was defiant to the last and died, so William Bank-
head says, cursing them and telling them to bring on their
strings. It is said that they dug a hole under the tree and buried
him in it without even wrapping him up in a blanket, and his
grave was never marked in any way. In spite of all that was
said by any one else, the settlers who lived here at that time
always believed that Snow knew all about the murder of Gordier.
In an article taken from the ' ' Marysville News ' ' the ' ' Alta Cali-
fornian" says that Mr. "Whiting of Whiting's Express told that
this took place Monday, June 7th, 1858, and probably this is
right or nearly so.
The Arrest of Edwards, Lucky Bill, and Others and their
Trial, and the Execution op Edwards and Lucky Bill
The greater part of the following was told by William Dow
and Fred Hines, but Wm. H. Clark, R. W. Young of Crescent
Mills, Plumas county, D. R. and Theodore Hawkins of Genoa,
Nevada, Joseph Frey of Reno, Nevada, who says he has been a
resident of that state since 1854, Emanuel Penrod, who was one
of the pioneers of the Comstock Lode, and Orlando Streshly each
gave more or less information.
[129]
HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
After leaving Honey Lake valley Edwards went directly to
Genoa. He did not show himself in public and as soon as possible
had a talk with Lucky Bill. Prom this time until his arrest he
tried to keep out of sight and Thorrington kept him supplied with
provisions. It is said that Edwards wanted his horse sold so
that he could go to South America.
T. and W. say that William B. Thorrington, "Lucky Bill,"
was a native of Chenango county, New York, and that in 1848
he went from there to Michigan with his parents. In 1850 he
crossed the plains to California and in 1853 became a resident of
Carson valley in western Utah. "His education was a moderate
one, due to the fact that his excessive animal spirits would not
permit close application to study when attending school in his
boyhood. In frame he was large, weighing two hundred pounds,
and with broad ample shoulders, stood six feet and one inch in
height; his head covered with glossy curly hair colored like the
raven's wing, was massive, with a high classic forehead, and
large gray mirthful eyes, looking out from beneath projecting
eyebrows, that indicated strong perceptive faculties. The country
had no handsomer or merrier citizen than Lucky Bill, a name
given to him because of the fortunate result that seemed to attend
his every action. He had become comfortably wealthy. It has
been noted that the Keeses turned over a large amount of property
to him in January, 1855, including their Eagle Valley ranch."
This was for $23000 previously loaned to them. "He became
the successor to Israel Mott in the owner-ship of the Carson
Canyon tollroad and the possessor of valuable ranch property in
the valley. In character he was both generous and brave, and his
sympathies were readily aroused in favor of the unfortunate ; or,
which in frontier parlance would be termed 'the under dog in
the fight', regardless of the causes that had placed the dog in
that position. In addition to his farming and toll road pursuits,
he was a gambler, and a very successful one, his specialty being
the 'thimble rig game.' " (This was virtually the same thing
as the walnut shell game.) T. and W. (Thompson and "West's
history of Nevada) then tell of two or three instances where he
took the part of unfortunate emigrants who were being mis-
treated, punished their persecutors, and then relieved their wants
and sent them on their way rejoicing. The writer remembers of
reading a story written by a woman who said that when she and
r 130 1
THE YEAR 1858
her husband reached Genoa on their journey across the plains,
they were imposed upon by some hard characters. Lucky Bill
happened to notice it and he drove away their tormentors and
helped them to continue on their journey. She ended her story
by calling the vengeance of Heaven down upon the heads of those
who hanged him. D. R. Hawkins says: "To me, as a boy, Lucky
Bill appeared a noble character ; grand in physique, gentlemanly
in deportment, neat in dress, kind in disposition and to his family,
generous and charitable, and the best story-teller I ever heard.
I have sat up all night listening to his humorous anecdotes and
quaint talks and never felt a blush at any crudity in his language
although they were related to a bar-room audience." T. and W.
also say : ' ' Numerous instances of generosity like this are remem-
bered by the early settlers of Nevada of this strange frontiers-
man, many of whose impulses were such as ennoble men. His
associations in life, however, had been with individuals that had
led him to look upon murder or theft as a smaller crime than
would be the betrayal of a person who claimed his protection,
though that man might be fleeing from justice after having com-
mitted either or both of these offences. This peculiarity of Lucky
Bill being known to all, both good and bad citizens, transformed
him into an obstruction, sometimes to the execution of justice
upon criminals, and this characteristic proved his ruin."
To tell it plainly, he was a "sure thing" gambler and a man
who would shelter and protect any one who asked him to do so,
no matter how foul a crime that person was guilty of. Thor-
rington moved from the state of New York to Marshall, Calhoun
county, Michigan. A man named Mott Wells, who knew him in
New York, said he left there on account of a forgery he com-
mitted. Dow and some of the other Honey Lakers knew him, or
knew of him, in Michigan. He was known there as a gambler
and an associate of bad characters. In the spring of 1852 he
went from this coast back to Michigan, and when he returned
he induced three young girls to come with him. They got as far
as Peoria, Illinois, and there were overtaken by the parents and
the friends of the girls. Two of the girls went back to their
homes, but one named Martha Lamb came on out here with him.
The writer has seen several published accounts of the murder
of Gordier and the events that followed it; but none of them
told the facts in the case, and none of them told much about
r i3i i
HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
what took place in Honey Lake valley. The facts in the preceding
paragraph were told by Dow and other men of undoubted
veracity.
When Rough Elliott arrived at Genoa he went to Lucky Bill
and told him that he and Edwards were great friends and that
he wanted to see him. When they met Elliott seemed greatly
pleased to see him and told some plausible story to account for his
being there. He associated with the two men as much as possible
and soon became very friendly with Lucky Bill and his crowd.
A few days after Elliott had gone Gilpin took a fine mare that
belonged to Charles Adams and went down to Genoa, too, and
after he had become a little acquainted he told Lucky Bill that
he had stolen the animal. He stayed there and he and Elliott
together worked up the case. They went to Major Ormsby, a
resident of Genoa and a prominent Mason, and told him about
Edwards and what they were doing there, and he promised them
the help of the Masons when they got ready to act. When they
became acquainted Lucky Bill made a confidant of Elliott and
told him a good many things about himself, and claimed to have
considerable knowledge of what the criminals of this coast were
doing. Elliott wrote all this and also what Edwards told him
and saved it for future use. The news that Gordier had been
murdered and that the Honey Lakers believed Edwards had gone
to Genoa soon reached the Carson valley, and the people of that
section were, many of them, on the lookout for him. J. A. Thomp-
son, the expressman, who wrote to the "Sacramento Union" from
Genoa on June 14th, says: "The notorious Bill Edwards who
murdered Snelling has been seen around here the last four days,
and has been pursued by a number of persons. Yesterday they
found him on the trail above Daggett's and captured his horse.
They shot six or eight times at Edwards, he returning their fire
twice. He fled to the mountains and got away. His horse
proved to be the celebrated race horse 'Bald Hornet.' "
When Elliott had learned what he wanted to know, he made
his plans and sent word to the Honey Lakers to raise a crowd
and come down there. In twenty-four hours after the message
was received the following men were ready to start : Fred Hines,
U. J. Tutt, Mat. Craft, William Dow, Henry Arnold, D. M.
Munehie, Thad Norton, Richard Thompson, Antone Storff, Tom.
McMurtry, John C. Davis, John H. Neale, "Mormon Joe"
[132]
THE YEAE 1858
Owens, John Mote, — Henderson, "William N. Crawford, William
H. Clark, A. G. (Joe) Eppstein, Frank Johnson, William Meyers,
R. J. Scott, Cap. Hill, R. W. Young, — Hughes, Alec. Chapman,
George Lathrop, Thomas J. Harvey, Thomas Watson, John
Baxter, Mark W. Haviland, Capt. William Weatherlow, and —
McVeagh. There is a possibility that instead of Hill another
man went, but it is impossible to tell who it was. Probably the
two members of the committee were the leaders, but there may
have been others who took part in the leadership. Young and
Hughes were from Indian valley. Young says he happened to be
in the valley on business and was at Streshly 's place the morning
that some of the crowd gathered there to make a start. Some of
them were acquainted with him and they wanted him to go along.
He tried to beg off by saying that his horse would not stand the
trip, but Streshly said he would furnish him with a splendid
riding mule and a gun. Young then agreed to go, and Streshly
brought out an old pack mule and a gun about two feet long and
of a very curious make.
Those in the upper end of the valley started in the morning
and as they went along the others fell in with them. The gather-
ing place was at Cap. Hill's ranch a little northeast of where
Milford now stands. The date of starting is uncertain. If they
went through in two nights, as Dow thinks, the start was made
on the 12th of June. If it took them three nights to make the
trip, as Hines thinks, they started on the 11th. Dow says they
started late in the afternoon and at dusk were at the creek in
Long valley about nineteen miles on their way. They rested
their horses a while and that night went on to Peavine springs.
Hines thinks they left Hill's ranch about dark. There was noth-
ing but a trail until they got to the Beckwourth Pass emigrant
road ; and as it was a dark night they had to ride slowly, follow-
ing one another single file along the trail, or picking their way
through the brush. At daylight they reached a place on the
Long Valley creek a little above where the Constantia station is
now. They stayed there that day, keeping out of sight in the
willows the best they could. To the west and not far away was
the cabin of "Whitehead" Ross, the first building they had seen
on the trip. He was not at home at the time, probably being
away on one of his frequent visits to the mines or the towns of
Sacramento valley. Something has already been told about this
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HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
mysterious person. He was a gambler, and some say he was a
desperado and a road agent, or highwayman. Others say he was
a good citizen until his brother was killed by the Mexicans, and
then he went to gambling and took indiscriminate revenge upon
Mexicans and native Californians whenever he had a chance.
He always had plenty of money, but no one knew how he got it.
It is said that he was once arrested and brought before a police
judge on a charge of vagrancy to see if they could not force him
to tell how he made his money. The judge asked him how he
made his living. "Whitehead" reached into his pocket and
pulled out a handful of twenty-dollar gold pieces and said • ' That
is how I make my living." The vagrancy charge was dismissed.
This has been told about Boss while the Honey Lakers were
waiting for the darkness to come on. Weatherlow and MeVeagh
both got sick at this place and went back home.
At dark the thirty remaining Never Sweats started out again
and traveled all night as before. Nothing occured to relieve the
monotony of the journey excepting an accident that happened to
Storff. Not long after they left camp he struck a match to light
his pipe, and when it flared up his horse shied and threw him
heavily to the ground. He was a fat man and was "considerable
shuck up" by the fall; and when they picked him up he looked
at his broken pipe, rubbed the injured part of his anatomy, and
groaned out, "Oh, mein Gott, mein pipe, mein pelly!" They
reached Peavine springs the next morning and stayed there the
most of the day. Dow says that while they were there a brother
of Theodore "Winters came along on his way to Washoe valley.
They didn 't want any one go ahead of them and let people know
they were coming, so they stopped him and took him along with
them. Hines says that while they were camped there a man
came along on foot. He was some kind of a foreigner and knew
very little English. They thought he might be a spy, so they
held him there until they were ready to go on. Hines also says
that in the afternoon another man came to them on foot. He
said he was Theodore Winters of Carson valley and that Elliott
had sent him out to meet the party from Honey Lake. He was
to find out when they would reach Genoa, and then return and
tell Elliott so he could have everything ready when they arrived.
They didn't know anything about Winters and at first thought
they would keep him with them ; but after they had talked it over
[134]
THE YEAR 1858
and looked at the matter in every light, they concluded they
would have to send a messenger to Elliott, anyway, and they
might just as well let this man go back. He said he had left his
horse somewhere on the road to give him a chance to rest, and
when they let him go he immediately took the road to Carson
valley. It turned out that he was just what he represented him-
self to be and went right back and reported to Elliott.
It was a long ride from there to Genoa, so they took an early
start. They had to go to the emigrant crossing — the Stone &
Gates crossing, now Glendale — to get across the Truckee river.
It was out of their way, but there was no nearer crossing. Near
what was afterwards the foot of the grade going to Virginia
City some one had built a stone corral, the second work of man
they had seen since leaving home, and there they stopped and
let their horses rest. In Washoe valley they were joined by a
few men, probably Masons who knew of their coming. They
reached Genoa on Monday, the 14th day of June, just at day-
light, or a little before. Some of the citizens were up and
there were a few lights burning. Major Ormsby told them after-
wards that he and his "Wife sat up all night. At that time
Genoa was a little place of one street on which there was a hotel,
a store, a blacksmith shop, a couple of saloons, a feed stable, and
some dwelling houses. Elliott met them just before they got
into town and told them to tie their horses behind a long barn
near by. Here they were joined by some more Masons. Elliott
then divided up the party and told them what men he wanted
and where to go after them. Hines thinks that the Honey Lake
men made the arrests. The larger party surrounded Lucky Bill 's
house and called him out. Dow says that as soon as he came out
and saw Elliott in the crowd he said "My life is not worth a bit."
He and his son Jerome gave themselves up without making any
trouble. The son was a boy about seventeen years old. E. W.
Young says Mrs. Thorrington plead hard for the boy, but didn't
say anything about her husband. Hines and three others went
to a saloon after two men. They went into a hallway in the
saloon, opened the doors of the rooms where the two men slept,
and told them to get up and come to the doors. They did so
and then Hines brought their clothes to them and they dressed
themselves before going into the street. These two men, Orrin
Gray and John McBride, were gamblers. After the arrests were
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HISTOEY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFOENIA
made a young fellow started to leave town on horseback, but the
Honey Lakers stopped him and held him as long as they stayed
there. They then stationed men all around the little town to
keep any one from going out to warn the other men they were
after. By this time the people of the village had begun to get up,
and when they saw what had happened some of them waved their
handkerchiefs from the windows. The prisoners were put into a
large room in the second story of the Singleton Hotel and kept
under guard while their captors had breakfast. The town was
now pretty well waked up and excited. Many of the citizens
told the Honey Lakers that now was the first time they could
breathe freely for a long time, that the lawless element had them
terrorized, and that they didn't dare say anything for fear they
might be talking to some of the gang. (D. H. Holdridge, who was
seventeen years old at that time and lived in Genoa, says that
his father, Louis Holdridge, had sold a ranch west of the Sierras.
About this time he went over there to get some money that was
due him. Lucky Bill's gang heard about it and planned to kill
him for his money while he was coming home through the moun-
tains. Major Ormsby learned about their plan and wrote to Mr.
Holdridge telling him to wait a while before coming home. He
did so and on that account did not reach Genoa until after the
gang was broken up.)
D. R. Hawkins says that at the time he was a boy twelve
years old. He woke up in the morning and found the town full
of armed men. He and his Father went to the hotel and with
the permission of the guards went up stairs and found Lucky
Bill bound and reclining on the floor in the far corner of the
room. His Father said "Well, Bill, what is all this about?",
and the reply was "Mr. Hawkins, these men have come here
to hang me and I guess they are going to do it." Mr. Hawkins
also says : ' ' Presently I passed down and onto the sidewalk and
saw two men earnestly discussing the situation, and I stopped
to listen that I might learn what was going on. One stood
with his back against the house and his right hand resting on
the muzzle of his rifle while his right foot was held up and
placed against the wall. After standing thus for a while on one
foot he dropped the other and in doing so the bowknot of his
legging string caught on the hammer of the gun and set it off.
Only a small hole was made in the palm, but the whole back of
[136]
THE YEAR 1858
his hand was blown away. Dr. Daggett, who always seemed
present where needed, soon set about dressing the poor fellow's
wound. At a later date I saw Dr. Daggett on the same spot
save the life of Cisco whose wrist was nearly severed by Jerome
Thorrington with a Bowie knife." The man who shot himself
was Tom McMurtry, a cousin to Mrs. Amos Conkey, and the
accident crippled his hand. A short time after breakfast Elliott
took part of the men and went up the river to the ranch of Lute
Olds and arrested him and Ike Gandy and Calvin Austin. Gandy
showed fight, but Elliott stepped up to him with his pistol and
he gave up. They took the men to town and that afternoon the
Never Sweats and their prisoners, accompanied by a few of the
Carson country settlers, went down the river to the Clear Creek
ranch then owned by R. D. Sides, L. B. Abernathy, and J. M.
Baldwin. They went there because there was a hotel where they
could board, and there was a large barn where they could keep
their horses, their prisoners, and themselves. Besides this it
was ten miles away from Genoa and Lucky Bill's friends, and
they expected trouble with them. It was also in an open country
where they could not be surprised.
As soon as they reached the Clear Creek ranch they began
to make arrangements to capture Edwards. They told Jerome
Thorrington that if he would help them get Edwards, they would
let him go free and do the best they could for his father. It has
been told that they promised to let Lucky Bill go, too, but the
Honey Lake men say they made no such promise. It is said that
Jerome didn 't want to betray Edwards ; but his father told him
that Edwards's testimony would clear him (Lucky Bill), and
finally the boy agreed to do what they wanted him to. They told
him to take a basket of provisions and go to the place where
Edwards was camped and tell him that a party of men had come
from Honey Lake after him ; and that his father wanted him to
come that night to Thorrington 's ranch on the river and they
would leave the country at once and stay until the trouble blew
over. Just before dark the boy started for the hills to find
Edwards. About the same time twelve men started for Lucky
Bill's river ranch which was six or seven miles above Genoa.
Elliott, Dow, Gilpin,' Henderson, Theodore "Winters, Marion
Little, who was Sides 's brother-in-law, and perhaps Tom. Watson
were in the party. Between the Clear Creek ranch and the one
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HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
where they were going there was a big bend in the river, but they
went straight across the country and saved both time and travel.
As soon as they reached their destination they stationed Hender-
son out by the river and Dow in a log corral on the other side of
the house. The house had two rooms, the front one being used
as a living room and the back one as a bedroom. Martha Lamb
was living here with her baby. Elliott and Winters stood on
each side of the door with clubs in their hands. Afterwards,
while on their way home, Edwards told Hines that he started for
the ranch without any suspicion, but the nearer he got to it the
more he thought that everything was not all right. Just before
he reached the house he put his revolver into the front of his
shirt where it would be handy, cocked both barrels of his shotgun,
and carried it so it would be ready for instant use. He and the
boy got to the ranch about midnight. Jerome knocked at the
door and the man stationed in the back room asked who was
there. Edwards answered that it was a friend, and the man came
to the door and opened it and stepped to one side. The boy
came in and was followed by Edwards, who was immediately
knocked down; and the same blow, or one from the other club,
broke both barrels of the shotgun from the stock. He was seized
at once, his arms and legs were tied, and the wound on his head
was bound up. Dow says the first words Edwards spoke were
"I deserve it." After daylight Elliott and Gilpin, who were
guarding him, were sitting on a bench counting the money taken
from him — quite a large sum. "While they were doing this the
prisoner drew up his legs so he could reach the rope with which
they were bound and managed to untie it. He then jumped off
the bed where he had been lying, rushed out through the other
room, and ran for a slough not far from the house. The other
men were standing in front of the outside door and when he ran
past them they set up a yell and some of them fired at him, but
didn't hit him. Elliott ran after him, and being a good foot-
racer, gained on him rapidly. When Edwards reached the slough
he jumped into it and Elliott, who was then close to him, jumped
in on top of him. Both men were pulled out of the water and in
a short time they started with their prisoner for Genoa where they
had a blacksmith iron him. Joseph Frey says that the black-
smith's name was G. W. Hepperley, and that the irons, one of
them made from the handle of an old frying-pan, were riveted on
[138]
THE YEAE 1858
and a chain put between them. After this was done they went
on to the Clear Creek ranch.
The news of what had been done must have spread over the
country very rapidly and, of course, all sorts of stories were told.
One was that Edwards intended to assassinate Major Ormsby as
he was going to Placerville, but the coming of the Honey Lakers
prevented it. The whole country must have at once separated
into two factions — those who favored Lucky Bill and those who
did not. Probably the most of those who had once been Mormons
and their friends were on his side. J. A. Thompson in a letter
to the ' ' Sacramento Union ' ' says : ' ' One hundred and fifty citi-
zens met to-day to try the men arrested. There is no excitement
here, and all seem disposed to give the men a fair and impartial
trial." The "Bee" says: "The people of Honey Lake and
Carson valley say that the $1500 offered by the people of Snell-
ing's ranch is no object — they will not deliver him up to stand
the chances of a trial in California and that he shall not leave
their hands alive. The inhabitants of the valleys breathe freer
at present than they have done for two years, knowing that there
was an organized band of robbers and murderers amongst them
and that as they now have got the leaders in their hands it will
be the means of breaking up the organization."
The trial of the arrested men commenced on Tuesday, the
15th of June, and was held in the barn at the Clear Creek ranch.
In the published accounts of what was done here at this time
they call the men who held this trial a vigilance committee, but
it was nothing of the kind. It might be called a People's, or
Citizen's, Court. It was a gathering of men in a country where
there was no law excepting what they made themselves, and they
were trying to do justice and punish criminals.
They went about it in an orderly way. John L. Cary of
Placerville was appointed judge and John H. Neale of Honey
Lake and Dr. B. L. King of Eagle valley were associate judges.
Elliott was appointed sheriff and Gilpin was his deputy. A
jury was regularly impaneled, and the witnesses were all put
under oath. P. and S. say: "The judges, jurors, and spectators
sat in the court-room, armed with guns and revolvers." The
other prisoners were tried before the cases of Edwards and
Lucky Bill were brought up. Candy was found innocent of any
crime and was discharged. With him it was the case of "Old
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HISTOBY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
Dog Tray" — he was caught in bad company. Different stories
are told about the punishment of the others. T. and W. say that
two of them were fined $1000 each and ordered to leave the
country, and the balance were discharged. Joseph Frey says
these two were Olds and Austin and the latter had nothing with
which to pay his fine. The Placerville correspondent of the ' ' Alta
Calif ornian" says "Olds was found guilty of harboring horse
thieves for which he was fined $875 and banished from the coun-
try not to return under the penalty of being shot. Another man
was fined $220 and banished with the same penalty attached."
E. Penrod says that Olds was fined $800 and Austin $200, and
that Olds was held for both fines. The Honey Lakers are quite
positive that the men arrested in Genoa were fined $250 apiece,
that a part of all the fines was paid, and that the money was
taken to pay the bills of the crowd at the Clear Creek ranch.
Tuesday night the report came that "Billy" Kogers was
coming with a hundred men to rescue Lucky Bill. Preparations
were at once made to give him and his men a warm reception,
but they failed to come. Not many of Lucky Bill's friends put
in an appearance at the trial.
Thorrington's trial began on Thursday. In his case there
were eighteen jurors, six of them from Honey Lake, and they,
too, were regularly empaneled. The accused man was allowed
to have Major Reese to defend him. William Dow, Joseph Frey,
Emanuel Penrod, — Williamson, the two Hale Brothers, and —
Taylor were among the jurors. The names of the others could
not be ascertained. Elliott and Edwards were the principal
witnesses. In addition to the other testimony given by him,
Elliott read the memorandum he had made of what Edwards and
Thorrington told him. Thompson and West's History of Nevada
has the following : ' ' The evidence under oath was taken down by
C. N. Noteware, late secretary of state for Nevada ; and the writer
of this has read it all. Not a thing appears there implicating
Lucky Bill in anything except the attempt to secure the mur-
derer's escape. The absence of any knowledge on the part of
the accused of the guilt of Edwards is a noticeable feature in
that testimony; that party, after having acknowledged his own
guilt, swore positively that he had assured Lucky Bill that he was
innocent, and no one else testified to the contrary, yet the jury,
believing that he did know, decided that he was guilty as acces-
[140]
THE YEAR 1858
sory to the murder after the fact, and condemned him to be
hanged." It says nothing about Elliott's testimony or about
Lucky Bill's visit to Honey Lake Valley. Dow says Edwards
testified that while Lucky Bill was in Honey Lake valley he helped
plan the murder of the Frenchman. It was proved that Thor-
rington made a visit to this valley, had that conversation with
Perrin, and stayed while here with Mullen, Edwards, and Snow.
He also fed Edwards after he came to Genoa and tried to help
him get out of the country.
The jury was instructed that twelve of them could bring in
a verdict. They rendered their decision at eight or nine o'clock
Saturday morning, June the 19th, and Thorrington was sen-
tenced to be hanged that afternoon. The Placerville corre-
spondent of the "Sacramento Union" says the verdict against
Lucky Bill was that he was guilty of planning the murder of the
Frenchman and harboring murderers, thieves, and desperadoes.
Edwards was sentenced to be taken back to Honey Lake and
hanged.
Thorrington 's Wife and Martha Lamb were brought to see
him before he died, and the woman showed more grief than the
wife did. Young says that just before Lucky Bill was taken
away to be executed Elliott went up to Jerome, who was standing
near by, and offered him his hand saying " I '11 bid you good-by. ' '
The boy threw his hand back and said he would never shake
hands with any man who helped murder his father. "While the
trial was going on a gallows had been erected about a mile from
the Clear Creek ranch, and here the condemned man was hanged
not far from three o'clock in the afternoon. The wagon was
driven between the two poles and Thorrington stood up in the
hind end of it. John C. Davis, who had been a sailor, tied the
knot in the rope. Lawrence Frey, who was the driver, was to
start the team and drop Lucky Bill out of the wagon, but it is
said that he did not want his neck broken and so he swung him-
self out of it. The Placerville correspondent of the "Alta Cali-
fornian" wrote "He made no confession but took things coolly,
putting the rope around his own neck. His last words were, 'If
they want to hang me, I am no hog. ' ' ' His body was taken to
Genoa and probably was buried there.
It has been published that on account of his execution Lucky
Bill's wife went insane, was confined for many years in the
[141]
HISTOEY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFOENIA
asylum at Stockton and died there, and that Jerome became a
gambler and a drunkard. Perhaps these things occurred, but
they were not entirely the result of his death. Dow says that
after Lucky Bill was sentenced he was guarding him. He heard
him tell Jerome to let whiskey and gambling alone, and added
''That is what has brought me to this." He also told the boy
to take good care of his mother, and intimated that she would
not be crazy when he was gone — virtually saying that his con-
duct had already made her crazy. (Mr. Holdridge says that Mrs.
Thorrington had quite bad crazy spells for some time before her
husband was hanged.)
Sunday morning the Honey Lakers started for home taking
Edwards on the "Bald Hornet" along with them. He was not
tied, and all the way home he rode along and talked just the
same as the others. T. and W. say that Theodore Winters, Walter
Cosser, and Samuel Swager were appointed a committee to go
to Honey Lake and see that Edwards was hanged, but the Honey
Lakers say they never came along with them. The first night
they stayed at the Peavine springs and the next at the lower end
of Long valley. The third day in the afternoon they reached
the Breed ranch about four miles southeast of Bankhead's, and
there they stopped. At first they thought they would hang Ed-
wards right away that day. Some of the men in the company
had been away from their homes all that spring and part of
the summer hunting Indians and outlaws, and they were in a
hurry to get through with it. Edwards begged for time to write
some letters home to his folks in the States, but at first they were
not willing to grant him this privilege. Hines and some others,
who thought they were not treating him right, left the crowd
and went on home. It was finally agreed to let him live another
day and allow him to write his letters. He also left some rings
to be sent to his relatives, but it is said that they were worn out
by the men to whom they were intrusted.
On the afternoon of the 23d he was hanged on a butcher's
gallows that stood near the cabin. He seemed to think that he
had forfeited his life and that it was right to hang him. As he
stood with the rope around his neck he made a speech, and among
other things said that Snow was innocent — that he was only a
hired man and knew nothing about the murder, and that they
never trusted him with any of their secrets. (In spite of this,
[142]
THE YEAR 1858
though, the Honey Lakers always believed that Snow knew all
about it.) They had his grave already dug near by, but he said
j he would like to be buried in the upper part of the valley where
jhe once had some friends. Orlando Streshly stepped up and
I told him he would see that he was buried where he wanted to be.
Edwards told him he would like to be buried half way between
Streshly 's place and his own mine. Streshly complied with his
wish, and as near as can now be told, his grave is about three-
fourths of a mile south of where the Richmond schoolhouse now
stands, on the west side of the road and not far from it.
Elliott received the "Bald Hornet" and the money found on
Edwards for what he did. It was always said that he went to
Merced county and got some of the reward offered there for the
arrest of Edwards. In his old age the "Bald Hornet" fell into
the hands of Cap. Hill who kept him until he died.
As a result of the punishment of these men, quite a number
of hard characters suddenly left this valley and others paid
considerable more attention to their conduct than they had
previously done. No doubt but that it had the same effect in
the Carson country. It also made the feeling between the two
factions there much more bitter than before, and that feeling
still exists in the minds of some of the men who lived there at
that time.
The Salt Lake Mormons who were acquainted in the Carson
valley were greatly angered because of the hanging of Lucky
Bill. In the fall of 1858 Mr. Dow went back to the States and
came back across the plains the following summer. He reached
Salt Lake City in July, and while staying there for a few days
he went down to Coon's ranch on the Jordan river. Coon told
him what had happened to Lucky Bill and said that he got his
information from Major Reese. He then asked Dow where he
was from, and when told that he was from Honey Lake valley
Coon said he must have known something about it at the time.
Dow told him that he heard about it. The other man looked at
him very sharply and asked him if he was sure that he was not
one of the crowd that did the hanging. Dow said again that he
heard about it, but was very busy just then. Dow was satisfied
that if the Mormons had known that he was one of the Honey
Lake party, they would have killed him before he got away from
there. The same year Hines had a trading post on the Humboldt
[143]
HISTOEY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
river. One day a crowd of Mormons came along and stopped at
his place a while. They cursed and abused the Honey Lakers
for the part they took in the hanging of Lucky Bill, but Hines
said it was too big a crowd for him and he kept still.
T. and W. say that an unsuccessful attempt was made to
collect the fines assessed by the court at the Clear Creek ranch.
Concerning this Joseph Frey says: '.'A month or two after the
trial Theodore Winters and some others gathered up the Olds
cattle and put them into the corral of Mott seven miles
above Genoa. They expected a crowd would be raised to take
the cattle away, and so Winters came to me and told me to go to
Washoe valley at once and get all the men I could to come up
there, at the same time telling me what men to get that could
be depended upon. I had just been down to Washoe valley and
back, but I took the same horse I had ridden and started out.
They used my horse to gather up the horses of the men I went
after, and I got fifteen or twenty men and came back with them.
It was estimated that my horse was ridden one hundred and
twenty -tight miles in thirty-six hours. There were thirty or forty
men lying in Mott's barn waiting for a crowd to come and take
the cattle, but they never came. A cattle man named Douglas
furnished the money to pay the fine and probably took the Olds
cattle for security. The next year, during the Virginia City
excitement, Olds came back into the country and was not
molested. When a United States court was established in Ne-
vada he tried to get back the money paid for his fine, but was
told by John Musser, the best lawyer in the territory, that in the
absence of law a People's court was the highest court known."
Gordier brought considerable money, nuggets, etc., to this
valley from the mines of California, and it was always supposed
that some of it was buried near his cabin. But it is not known
that any one found any of it until November, 1877, and then
Miss Mary L. Dunn, afterwards Mrs. S. L. Frazier, picked up
a nugget near where the Frenchman's cabin stood. She sold it
to A. G. Moon for $240, and he took it to the States where it
was made into jewelry. The next day Miss Dunn, George Boyd,
Thomas M. Barham, and perhaps T. J. Mulroney found several
smaller nuggets which were all worth something like $25. If
any more nuggets have been found there since then, the finder
did not take the public into his confidence.
[144]
THE YEAR 1858
The Black Rock Mining Excitement
A little after the first of July, 1858, James Allen Hardin
and a party of men arrived in Honey Lake valley from Peta-
luma, California. They were going to the Black Rock range of
mountains, which was mentioned in the description of the Lassen
Trail, in search of a ledge of carbonate of lead and silver that
Hardin had discovered while crossing the plains in 1849. The
party went on to Black Rock, and although they didn't find the
ledge, they started a mining excitement that raged with more or
less fury for the next ten or twelve years. From this time on
frequent mention will be made of Black Rock, but the whole
story of this excitement will be told in the chapter for the
year 1867.
The Feaseb River Mining Excitement
In 1858 gold was discovered on the Fraser river in British
Columbia. The news spread rapidly, and when it reached Honey
Lake some of the Never Sweats felt their blood warm up with
the old time fever. In July, 1858, William H. Clark, Thomas
Eaton, Ben. Ward, Jonathan Scott, R. J. Scott, Mat. and John
Craft, C. C. Walden, L. N. Breed, "Zack" Taylor, William More-
head, John H. Ferry, and James Fuller started for the new
mines. In the course of more or less time Clark, Breed, Walden,
Taylor, Eaton, Ward, and Fuller came back to the valley, none
of them having accumulated very great riches. R. J. Scott was
killed on the road by Mat. Craft. It has been impossible to find
out what became of the others.
Pursuit of Horse Thieves
William H. Clark relates the following: Some time during
the year 1858 six horses were stolen from the settlers around the
Clark ranch. Two of them belonged to George Lathrop and he
and Peter Lassen raised a party in the upper end of the valley
and went in pursuit of the thieves. They followed them over
the mountain to the west, and some time in the night found them
in a flat on what is now known as Clark 's creek, and below where
Clark once had a dairy. Lassen told the men they would wait
until it was light enough to see the sights of their guns and then
they would take in the whole bunch of thieves. So they sur-
rounded their camp and waited, and when it was light enough to
see to shoot they fired on the sleeping men. They never hit a
[145]
HISTOEY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
man and the thieves jumped out of bed and ran for their lives.
In those days of single-barreled, muzzle-loading rifles there was
no chance for another shot with their guns, and if they fired their
pistols it didn't do any good, and the men got safely away. The
Honey Lakers found all of their horses and saddles and returned
home with them.
Shortly after this two men came into Indian valley with
nothing on but their under-clothes, and said they had been sur-
prised in the night by the Indians and had to get away as fast
as they could, leaving everything behind them. Perhaps they
did think it was Indians, for there is nothing on record to show
that they stopped long enough to look things over very carefully.
The First Flag In the Valley
Mrs. Isaac Coulthurst says that in 1858 a man named Charles
Kingman, who was Richard Thompson's son-in-law, got the
women who lived in the neighborhood of the Streshly place to
make a flag — the first one in the valley — and she put the first
stitches into it. The other women who worked on it were Mrs.
J. P. Ford, Mrs. W. C. Kingsbury, and Mrs. Streshly. (Accord-
ing to later information Kingman was not here until 1859. — F.)
W. P. Hall's First Visit to Honey Lake Valley
In October, 1858, S. R. Hall was taken sick at the ranch of
Dow and Hatch and he wrote to his brother, "Wright P. Hall, to
come to him. Mr. Hall left Howland Flat on the 15th of De-
cember. "When he reached the Presby place in Light's canyon
it began to snow and kept it up for several days. Expressman
"Williams, who was carrying the mail and small articles from
Quiney to Honey Lake, was there, too, and he and Hall stayed
there until the storm was over and then started out on snow-
shoes. "When they got a little this side of the summit it snowed
so hard that they could go no further. They stayed there two
days under the shelter of a big rock and had nothing to eat but
one can of sardines. The second night it cleared up, but the
next morning the valley was covered with fog and they had to
guess at their course. They struck out, however, down the side
of the mountain and about one o'clock in the afternoon reached
the Lanigar ranch on Gold Run. He gave the travelers some
bread and milk and Hall said it was the best meal he ever ate
in his life. They then went on to the Dow and Hatch ranch and
found the sick man better.
[146]
THE YEAE 1858
Conditions at the Close op 1858
Conditions did not differ greatly from what they were at
the close of the preceding year. More settlers had come into the
valley, but they were still few in number and they wTere pestered
by horse thieves and Indians who stole their stock and annoyed
them in other ways. The land was taken up a little more closely
and was considered more valuable, there were more improve-
ments, and people were in somewmat better shape to live, but their
manner of living was still rather primitive. They raised more
grain than they did the year before, but it all had to be thrashed
with a flail, and there wTas no gristmill nearer than Taylorville.
Thos. J. Mulroney said that some time during the summer he
brought a sack of flour from there to the valley on his back. In
the fall William Bankhead and Ralph Neisham, so S. J. Hill
says, took a small load of wheat to Genoa and had it ground.
Grinding wrheat in a coffee-mill wTas still practiced in case of a
pinch.
Some freight was hauled into the valley with teams this year,
but almost everything was still brought in with pack trains. S.
R. Hall says that during the winter of 1858-9 ' ' Kentuck ' ' Thomas
had a pack train of twenty-five Indians that brought groceries
into the valley from Taylorville. They did good work, but it
was necessary to watch them all the time, for if an Indian's load
consisted of anything that was edible, he wTould eat it if he had
a chance. One boy sixteen years old could pack a load that
weighed a hundred pounds.
A good many families were now living in the valley and they
began to think about the education of their children. F. and S.
say that "in 1858 Malcom Scott opened a private school in a
small building that stood on the south side of Cottage street,
about midway between Gay and Lassen streets." It is probable
that during the summer they got their mail as they did the
previous year. In November, 1858, the "Plumas Argus" said
the people of Honey Lake valley and vicinity were very anxious
to have a mail route from Salt Lake City to Marysville via Honey
Lake valley and Quincy. The trip could be made in eight days
and all that wras needed to make a good road was a little w^ork
between Honey Lake valley and Quincy. There is nothing to
show that the route was established. Frank Davis brought some
mail into the valley this year, but perhaps made no regular trips.
[147]
HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
Jonathan (Bully) Williams was bringing in the mail from
Quincy in December and may have carried it all winter. This
fall Hines and Tutt commenced to bring mail into the valley
from the Clear Creek post-office in Shasta county. This post-
office was below where Redding is now, and Judge Bell was the
postmaster. He let them take a United States mail sack and
they got the Honey Lake people to have their mail come that way.
Tutt brought it to Butte creek, probably near the Cinder Cone,
and from there Hines brought it into the valley, sometimes going
as far down as Bankhead's. Of course this and what "Williams
did were private enterprises. They charged from 25 cents to
75 cents, depending upon the season of the year, for bringing
a letter or a paper and people were glad to get their mail at
any price.
The "Plumas Argus" said in November, 1858, "The entire
Plumas assessment for 1858 was $1072926, of which sum $76777
is assessed on property lying in Honey Lake valley. This valley
has a population of two hundred and fifty. ' '
[148]
CHAPTER V
1859. SETTLEMENT
In January W. P. and S. R. Hall located a section of land
seven miles below Susanville, the one first claimed by Dow
| and Hatch, April 3, 1857. Their witness was J. W. Pool. In a short
time Tutt and Wallen recorded their relinquishment of the land.
I A few days after making this location W. P. Hall left the valley
and did not return for almost a year and a half. This piece of
land was in what was known for a long time as the Fuller ranch,
i One or more of the Fuller Brothers located it early this spring
;and sold it to George Fox Kelley in 1866. Some of the Fullers
I were still selling goods in Toadtown this month, and it is said
that both they and Ed. Powers sold goods their this summer, but
not the next year.
Neale and Brother took an irregular tract lying east of their
last claim and on the south side of the river. This must have
given them a claim to the land on the south side of the river
for three or four miles. Malcom S. Scott claimed, "for hay,
grass, and other purposes," 160 acres in a little valley located
one fourth of a mile north of a point in the Shasta road three
and one fourth miles west of Susanville. He also claimed the
waters that flow through the valley to Pyute creek. His witness
was Cyrus Smith. Wm, H. Crane and his partners relinquished
the claim they made the previous October in favor of Armstrong ;
Mary Jane Coulthurst relocated the south half of the section
taken by Henry Gordier in May, 1857 ; John Tucker and J. H.
Anderson took a tract beginning at Coulthurst 's southeast corner,
it being half a mile wide from east to west and four miles long ;
Isaac Coulthurst relinquished the north half of his ranch.
In February Milton Craig claimed 320 acres west of C. Ar-
nold's claim (now Cotts). Probably this was a little over a mile
south of Susanville. Coulthurst relocated the north part of his
ranch and relinquished his wife's claim to the Gordier land in
favor of Smith J. Hill who had bought out the heirs of Gordier.
James M. Armstrong took a claim bounded on the east by Cor-
nelison, on the south by John "Williams, and on the north by
the foothills.
In March W. C. Kingsbury sold to Peter Lassen all his interest
[149]
HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
in the old Lassen ranch south of Susanville, and in payment
received a deed to the west half of the ranch taken by R. J. Scott,
May 10, 1856. His witness was Sarah E. Kingsbury and the deed
was recorded the 21st of March by H. Crane.
In April Thurston Thomas claimed a tract south of the old
Lassen ranch; James Williams filed on the Waters of a stream
that ran through the ranch of Mr. Thomas and emptied into
Lassen's field on the south side. Recorded by F. Yager; Daniel
Dawson took a claim north of the Conkey ranch and his witness
was L. Vary.
Early this spring Frank Drake, perhaps in partnership with
his brother-in-law, Orlando Streshly , started a store at the latter 's
ranch three and a half miles south of Susanville. Their building,
put up that spring, was two logs in length and a story and a half
high and stood on the north side of the road. They used part of
the lower story for the store and the rest of it for a hotel, and
the upper story was used to sleep in. It was also used for a
dance hall when they wanted to dance, and that was very often
in those days. About this time Streshly named the place Rich-
mond in honor of Richmond, Va.
In May Dr. P. Chamberlain came to the valley with his family
and located a place on the lake five miles southeast of Bankhead 's.
He practiced medicine in this valley for many years. His son,
M. P. Chamberlain, followed the same profession here later on.
In June George Lathrop and Thos. J. Harvey located two sec-
tions of land running east and west on the lower end of Susan
river, but they may have been on the land before this. They
built their cabin on the slough farthest to the north and at the
place where the emigrant road from the Humboldt river first
came near it. At first known as the Lathrop place, and after-
wards as the Shaffer place, it was for ten or twelve years a
noted station on this road. Since then it has been owned by
French and Litch, Kelley and Winchel, and now, 1915, it is
known as the Mapes place. Joseph Kitts and Wm. D. Snyder
of Honey Lake valley, Territory of Utah, claimed 1200 acres in
Smoke Creek valley; I. Roop claimed all the water of Susan
river from the Devil's Corral down to his mill for the purpose
of rafting sawlogs; Thomas H. Bryant, W. W. Johnson, John
Bryant, D. A. Sackett, G. Tilford, A. Brown, T. H. Sitton, J. A.
Harden (probably it was Hardin), E. L. N. King, and
[150]
THE YEAR 1859
Quigley located two tracts of land "lying in Long Valley, Ne-
vada Territory." the first tract being a mile above the crossing
of "Buckley's Creek" and the other the one that Lassen sur-
veyed the previous July for Hiram S. Sewell, John Benon, Eathen
Wright, and Aron Wright, exact location uncertain. As J. A.
Hardin was one of the locators they may all have come from the
vicinity of Petaluma.
The first day of June there was born to Richard D. and Mary
E. Bass a son, John Edward. On the 13th of June Smith J. Hill
and Susan Bankhead were married by Squire Stark at the home
of the bride. This was the second wedding in the valley. Some
time this summer Edward (Ned) Mulroney brought his Wife and
his little son, John P., onto his ranch near Richmond. Some time
this year a son, Matthew, was born to Anthony and Amanda Gray.
In July Sylvester R. Ford claimed a section east of Weather-
low and north of Vary. This land was just north of Susanville.
From this time on until November Weatherlow was deputy re-
corder. J. H. Lewis recorded a claim made by him for the Honey
Lake Silver Mining Company to nine square miles of land at the
lower end of Mud Meadows. This was west of the north end of
the Black Rock range of mountains.
The sale of Lassen 's real estate took place in July and Thomas
H. Fairchilds, who was the partner of Fred A. Washburn in a
mine at Rich Bar, came to the valley to buy some of it. He
bought, as he supposed, the Lassen ranch south of Susanville,
but after the sale he was told that he had bought the place where
Milford now stands. Lassen had built a cabin about a quarter
of a mile up the creek from where the main street of the town
is now and near a spring, and Fairchilds and Washburn, who had
also come to the valley, took possession of their ranch and moved
into the cabin. David Titherington bought the ranch south of
Susanville for a little over $600 and soon afterwards John S.
Ward came in as his partner.
In August Joshua H. Lewis and John Frisby located two
sections extending two miles eastward from the Lathrop and
Harvey ranch ; John Tucker relinquished all his claims to other
lands in the valley and took 160 acres south of Titherington and
another quarter section between him and Richmond and east of
the road; T. Powers and W. W. Carpenter. claimed a tract eighty
rods wide and four miles long in the ' ' lower end of Honey Lake
[151]
HISTOEY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
valley." Their northwest corner was forty rods "due north of
the Big Boiling spring." Charles Nixon and Francis Lanigar
claimed a strip eighty rods wide and two miles long extending
up Gold Run from their ranch. They also claimed "said Gold
Run for Manufacturing and irrigating purposes." Henry Ar-
nold claimed one half mile wide and two miles long extending
up Granite creek from the desert; Frank Tilford recorded his
claim to Spring Canyon near Mud Meadows, said claim having
been made the previous January ; Xenophon V. C. Rollins made
a location west of Lathrop and Harvey; E. L. N. King took a
section west of Rollins ; Julian Ort located a claim a little south-
west of King; and George Steel a section west of him. Frank
Thomas and U. P. Furguson claimed one half mile wide on each
side of Susan river and extending two miles up from the upper
end of the Adams ditch. This ditch was taken out of the river
about a mile and a half below where the Big slough leaves it, ran
north of that slough for some distance, and then crossed to the
south side of it and ran straight to the lake. This ditch marked
the southern boundary of the tract of land claimed by the Adams
Brothers. J. W. Doyle located on the north side of the river
below Thomas and Furguson.
In September Dr. T. W. Shearer took a claim in Willow
Creek valley beginning " at a point on Willow Creek where said
creek comes up to the mountain opposite the long point of timber
where there is now a foundation for a house." His claim was to
run down on both sides of the creek far enough to take in a sec-
tion of land. Morgan W. Shearer claimed a mile and a half of
Willow Creek valley beginning at the lower end and extending
up the creek, and John W. Shearer, George W. Shearer, L. D.
Sanborn, and Wm. W. Hill located all the land lying between
the two foregoing claims. It looks as though the Shearer family
had "corralled" a goodly share of that valley. J. C. King and
J. M. Shearer located Round valley lying south of Willow creek.
Charles T. (Tule) Emerson located a claim north of Susan
river and east of Lewis and Frisby. Mr. Emerson says that he
and Colburn Brown, his partner, bought out a man named Bagby
before this location was made. Colburn Brown took a claim
north of the river and west of Lathrop and Harvey. For a good
many years this place was known as the "Tule" Emerson ranch.
Mr. Emerson says that late that fall he and Brown and J. W.
[152]
THE YEAE 1859
Doyle built a log cabin a little below where the Soldier Bridge
was afterwards built and a little shack further to the east. He
also says that previous to this there were only two cabins in that
neighborhood — one of them belonging to the Adams Brothers and
the other to Lathrop and Harvey. Possibly there was one on the
John M. Kelley place. About this time John M. Kelley came in
with a large band of cattle and made a location on the north side
of the Big slough next to the lake. Stephen White came in with
him. This land was claimed by the Adams Brothers, but it is not
known whether he bought the land from them or "jumped" it.
He built a cabin this fall. At this time George Purcell had a
claim north of Kelley. Charles E. Sanders claimed an undivided
one half of the tract located by Powers and Carpenter the prev-
ious August and said that the latter told him to take possession
of his half of the claim. F. Thomas and J. W. Sanbanch took
two claims on the north side of the river west of Lathrop and
Harvey and extending two miles up the river. This covered the
location made by Brown. Col. Hardin, J. J. Grinter, F. Alber-
ding, C. I. Robinson, E. G. Bangham, E. Lynn, M. Campton,
G. Tilford, M. S. Thompson, David Chapman, I. G. Kitts, J.
Kitts, A. Painter, Wm. Utt, and James M. Keller claimed a
piece of land 4200 feet square on a silver lead. In all proba-
bility this was in the Black Rock country.
It has been told that Demming went back into "Willow Creek
valley this spring and improved his place. This fall Otis N.
Johnson and Edwin P. Todd went into the valley with some cattle
belonging to Edward Rice and built a cabin in the upper end
of it just where the creek comes out of the timber. Before winter
set in they left there and went over to Rice 's springs.
The following is an account of the settlement of Long valley
during the year 1859 : In July Ambrose, Noah, and Jonathan
A. Robinson and a brother-in-law, James Morgan, settled at what
has always been known as the "Warm Springs" ranch. Morgan
stayed there that winter and then went to Virginia City. These
men claimed all the land from the Warm Springs to the Hot
Springs ranch. C. ML West, who came in with the Robinsons,
settled about three fourths of a mile from where the Plumas
Junction is now. Alvaro, Allen, and J. Newton Evans and Robert
E. Ross, who crossed the plains this year with eight hundred
head of cattle, came into Long valley and bought out "White-
[153]
HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
head" Ross and Kearns and his partner. Alvaro Evans says
he paid Kearns $75 for his cabin and claim. Eoss's brother,
Albert E., crossed the plains with them and stayed in the valley.
Jacob McKissick also crossed the plains this year with a large
band of horses and cattle. He bought out a man called ''Oregon
Jake" who had hauled a little lumber onto a place just north of
the Evans ranch. John C. Wright and John White took up the
Willow Ranch and that fall or the following winter built a cabin
there. They also claimed the land at a spring near the foot of the
mountain back of their cabin. This fall George Greeno took a
claim in what might be called the extreme northwest corner of
the valley, but did not settle there until the next year. James
Freeman and his family and John Lowe, Jr. came into Long
valley this fall. In 1862 the latter moved to Honey Lake valley.
Marshall Bronson and family lived at the Hot Springs ranch
during the winter of 1859-60.
This year Eber G. Bangham crossed the plains to Honey Lake
valley. In a short time he went back to Granite springs and
traded with the emigrants for a while. Probably Robert Johns-
ton was his partner in this. Late in the year they bought William
Dow 's ranch in Toadtown.
This summer Ross Lewers bought a small steam sawmill in
Indian valley, brought it here, and put it up on the west branch
of what is now known as the Parker creek about a mile and a half
above the road. This was the second sawmill in the valley.
"Uncle Tim" Darcey was his first engineer, but in a short time
Thomas H. Epley took that position and Mat. Lusk and A. M.
Vaughan worked in the mill. Part of the frame of that mill is
in the barn on the F. L. Parker place one and three fourths miles
below Janesville. The mill was run until the next spring and
then it was moved to Washoe valley and put up about two miles
and three quarters due south of Franktown. Lewers says this
was the first steam engine in what was afterwards the state of
Nevada, and Epley, who went with him, says he blew the first
steam whistle. Lewers sold the most of his lumber to people from
Virginia City and got $50 a thousand for common lumber and
$75 for clear. He sold some clear dry siding in Gold Hill for
$250 a thousand. In the fall of 1860 Lewers went to Ireland
and Epley rented the whole outfit for a thousand dollars a month.
That was the day of cheerful prices.
[154]
THE YEAR 1859
Rooptown grew a little this year. A. W. Worm put up a
building near the northwest corner of Gay and Main streets and
opened a store. A. B. Jenison built the first frame house in
town. It was on the south side of Main street near Weatherlow.
F. and S. say: "It was 16 by 30 feet in size, sided up with
planed shakes, and was ornamented with a rustic cornice, making
it a fine residence for those pioneer days. In 1859 the first reg-
ular saloon was opened on the north side of Main street, midway
between Gay and Union, by B. B. Painter and George Mitchell,
and was known as the Black Rock. ' ' Dr. James W. H. Stettinius,
who came into the valley that fall with Col. Lander, taught school
in a frame building on the south side of Main street near Gay.
The same history says : "In 1859, Clark Rugg & Harper opened
a blacksmith shop on the south side of Main street, in a log house
near where Smith's hotel now stands." This was between Gay
and Union streets.
In October Stephen P. and Wiltshire Sanders claimed a tract
half a mile wide and four miles long above the Emigrant ford
on Willow creek; A. C. Hill took a claim east of Susanville be-
tween Bear and Cornelison; T. H. Fairchilds located a section
south of the Lassen land bought by him and Washburn; J. W.
Hodgkins took a claim above the ranches of Ml C. Lake and
William Fuller, these two ranches being in the little valley
claimed by O'Laughlin in 1856; E. L. N. King located a claim
in Willow Creek at the mouth of Round valley ; this year Miller
and Hoffer owned the James Doyle ranch northwest of Milford.
Some time this fall Julius Drake and John Neiswender
started a saloon and a bowling alley at Richmond; Streshly
opened a blacksmith shop with Tim. Darcey as blacksmith for
a while; and Charles Saunders opened a wagon shop. These
were all on the south side of the road and started about the same
time.
In November William Andrews relocated the claim taken by
M. S. Scott the 22nd of the previous January; Salmon Belden
relocated the claims of Ford and Smith which he had purchased ;
M. Doty and James Archy claimed Pyute valley and all the
little valleys running into it. Perhaps this was what is now
called Piute Meadows seven miles northwest of Susanville.
The 18th of this month A. C. Neale and Fanny Brown were
married, the third couple to be married in the valley.
[155]
HISTOKY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFOKNIA
In December P. Taylor & Co. claimed three sections running
north and south, the Big hot spring being just a little south of
their north line; Governor I. N. Roop appointed Dr. J. W. H.
Stettinius his "legally authorized Deputy Recorder in and for
Honey Lake valley"; E. G. Bangham and George Johnston
claimed a half section of land on Susan river — location uncertain ;
A. J. Demming, Z. N. Spalding, and C. P. Sheffield & Co. located
the whole of "Little Antilope Valley"; John H. Banker took a
half section on Gold Run above Lanigar and Nixon ; E. L. Varney
claimed ten acres east of Gov. Roop's sawmill; James Hunter
claimed all the vacant land on Piute creek lying between the
ranches of Roop and Weatherlow, but immediately relinquished
his claim as he found there was no vacant land between them.
The same day he claimed a section lying on both sides of the
river above Governor Roop's claim. This month A. A. Holcomb
kept the Susanville hotel in the Cutler Arnold log house.
During the summer and fall of 1859 and the following winter
a change was made in the Roop, McNaull & Co. sawmill, and the
usual number of stories are told about it. Some say a new mill
was built near the old one, others say the old mill was repaired.
In the spring of 1859 a party from Petaluma, probably led by
J. A. Hardin, passed through the valley on their way to Black
Rock to prospect. One of the party, Col. Lewis, soon came back
to the valley and in company with "Dad" Wyatt, the man who
escaped when Lassen was killed, bought the old sawmill and
repaired it, or built a new one. It is also said that Wyatt was
only a laborer in the mill. One story is that Roop owned an
interest in the mill and another one is that he owned it all and
Lewis was only working for him. Whatever the truth may be
in regard to the ownership, somebody put a sawmill into shape
to run and put in a circular saw. Almost everything about the
mill was made of wood. The motive power was a twenty foot
water wheel with a twelve foot breast. The pulleys were made
of wood with iron axles. The parts of the machinery that could
not be made of wood were brought over the mountains that fall
and winter. In December while they were bringing in the saw,
the first circular saw in the valley, a deep snow came on and
they had to leave it in the mountains. Marcus E. Gilbert, an
' ' emigrant ' ' who had crossed the plains that summer, went after
it. After being told where and how to find it, he took a handsled
[156]
THE YEAR 1859
and started out on snowshoes although he had never traveled on
them before. He was gone a long time, nearly two weeks, but
he finally returned with the saw. Everything being taken into
consideration, it was thought at the time to be quite a wonderful
feat. The mill was ready to run late in the winter or early the
next spring.
Part of this year, or perhaps all of it, L. N. Breed sold goods
and whiskey in a little shack that stood on the east side of
Piute creek and on the south side of the road. One day in the
fall a crowd of emigrants from Missouri came into his place and
a big fellow asked him what he charged for a horn of whiskey,
the term meaning a drink. Breed named his price, probably
twenty-five cents, and the man immediately drew a great ox horn
from beneath his coat and said he would take one. The cheapest
way to get out of it was to treat the crowd and this Breed did
when the laugh had subsided.
During the latter part of the year Dr. Slater and F. S. (Sprig)
Chapman built a large log house about three quarters of a mile
northwest of Bankhead's. It stood on the south side of the road
that goes along the foot of the mountain to Richmond and a
short distance from where this road leaves the main road going
to Susanville. It was perhaps twenty by forty feet and one and
a half or two stories high, and was made of logs hewed square
and dovetailed at the corners — quite a fine building for those
days. It is said that the building was fitted up for a Masonic
Hall and that the Masons met there once, but did not organize.
A dance was given in this building between Christmas and New
Year, 1859, and was called a Masonic dance, that is, given by the
Masons or in honor of them.
It was reported that 1200 wagons and 4000 persons passed
through the Honey Lake gateway during the summer and fall
of 1859. Honey Lake valley received a very large emigration
this year, perhaps the largest in its history.
Of those who came into the county in 1859 the following
lived here all the rest of their lives and every one of them died
here:
Eber G. Bangham, Dr. H. S. Borrette and his daughter
Louise, George Greeno, Marshall Bronson and Wife, Robert
Johnson and Wife, Samuel H. Painter and Wife, David Tither-
ington, Jeremiah Tyler, Ephraim V. Spencer, John White (of
[157]
HISTOEY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFOENIA
Susanville), James Lawson, Loyal Woodstock, Horace Adams,
•Timothy Darcey, Frank S. Strong, Thomas H. Fairchilds, Fred
A. Washburn, William Leith, Otis N. Johnson and Wife, John
Lowe, Jr., *Edward W. Bartlett, * Frank Thomas, *Nathan
Phillips, *Thurston Thomas, Jacob McKissick, Alec. T. Arnold,
Mrs. Evaline Allen (Mrs. Fred Hines), and Luther D. Spencer.
Of the following part of them lived in the county almost a
lifetime and some of them are still living here :
Abraham L. Tunison, A. W. Worm (now Wern), William .
Milton Cain and Wife, Benjamin F. Sheldon, Alvaro, Allen, and I
J. Newton Evans, Eobert E. and Albert E. Ross, F. A. Sloss,
Stephen White, Joseph C. Wemple, J. Bristo and George Rice,
George R. Lybarger, Charles Lawson, Mrs. Belle (Painter) Bond,
Mrs. James Lawson, Mrs. Lucretia Chapman, Judge John S.
Chapman, Lutie Chapman (Mrs. A. A. Smith), Mollie Chapman
(Mrs. F. A. Sloss), and Benjamin E. Shumway and Family.
(The children were Emerson B. and Mary Etta.)
The following lived in the county from two or three to twelve
or fifteen years. Probably the last twelve or fourteen lived here
the shortest length of time excepting T. H. Epley and W. H.
Dakin.
Valentine J. Borrette and Family, Fred A. Borrette, Dr. P.
Chamberlain and Family, F. S. Chapman, *William Corse,
Charles T. Emerson, Judson Dakin, Cyrus Lawson, *Edward
Mulroney and Family, *Hiram Utt, John C. Wright, John White,
A. M. Vaughan, George W. Perry (called Buckskin Mose), C. M.
West, E. R. Nichols, George Johnston, Samuel Marriott, Frank
Drake, A. C. Hill and Family, John C. Dakin, Hugh and Andrew
J. Rutledge, Ambrose, Noah, and Jonathan A. Robinson, A. A.
Holcomb, Jacob S., Edwin C, and S. W. Hardesty, James
Huntington, Jesse S. Hollingsworth, L. D. Sanborn, J. H.
Anderson, John Tucker, John and James Barton, William Ham-
ilton, Joseph Kitts, Marcus E. Gilbert, Peter Cahill, W. F.
Warren, Colburn Brown, John ML Kelley, M. J. L. and Edwin
P. Todd, Matthew Lusk, Fred Morrison, Byron B. Gray, John
Dow, Henry Kingman, C. A. Kingman, Freeman Kingman, Rob-
ert M. Cain, Thomas H. Epley and Wife, and William H. Dakin.
Western Utah Politics. 1859
The Never Sweats did no independent politics this year.
They dodged the Plumas county assessor and tax collector and
[158]
THE YEAR 1859
helped the people of Western Utah in another attempt to get a
new territory formed.
The Gold Hill placer diggings were discovered in January,
1859, and the Comstock Lode the following June. One or two
days before the discovery of the latter, the miners of Gold Hill
met, June 11, 1859, and adopted some rules and regulations for
the government of that district. These rules were recognized but
a short time, for there was such a rush to the mines that every-
thing but mining excitement was forgotten and everything else
swept away.
Movement op 1859
As we have seen, the movement by the people of "Western
Utah in 1857 to have congress create a new territory was a
failure ; but there was a hostile feeling between the Mormons and
the citizens of the United States, and the people of Western Utah
determined to use this feeling to help them gain their end.
Some of the men who were watching for a chance to grind
their political axes, so to speak, took the first opportunity to set
the matter going again. T. and W. say they "gave direction to
the popular feeling by calling a mass meeting for the 6th of
June, that year, at Carson City, to take such action as would
be best calculated to open the territorial question again. That
meeting apportioned Carson county into voting precincts, called
an election for July 14th to choose a delegate to visit Washington,
and provided for a convention to convene at Genoa on the 18th
of July to count the votes for the delegates and give the success-
ful candidate his credentials, and take such other, not well
defined, action as the emergency demanded. They also called a
nominating convention of regularly appointed delegates from the
various precincts to meet at Carson City on the 20th of June,
whose duty was to place in the field candidates to be elected, at
the same time with the congressional representative, as delegates
to the Genoa convention."
This mass meeting was held six or seven days before the
Comstock Lode was discovered, and this goes to show that the
movement was by the settlers of the country instead of a transient
population ; for the influx of such a class after the discovery of
silver swept away this half formed government.
The convention met at Genoa July 18th, 1859, and was called
to order by A. G. Hammack. Col. J. J. Musser was chosen
[159]
HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
temporary chairman and John F. Long secretary. The com-
mittee on credentials was Peter Nye of Walker's river, C. N.
Noteware of Carson, John Neale of Honey Lake, Thomas Ander-
son of Humboldt, and Warren Wasson of Long valley. Neale
was chairman of the committee. Among those whom the com-
mittee reported as entitled to seats in the convention the following
were from the Honey Lake district: W. T. C. Elliott, one vote,
J. Bowdone, one vote, A. F. Chapman, two votes, J. Williams,
one vote, John Robinson, two votes, A. M. Vaughan, three votes,
W. S. Bryant, one vote, J. 0. Robertson, one vote, William
Naileigh (Cap. Hill), one vote, I. Roop, one vote, J. H. Neale,
one vote, and A. A. Smith, one vote. John S. Ward and Lewis
Stark sent proxies. Honey Lake district had sixteen votes out
of a total vote in the convention of sixty. There were six districts
and no other district had more than twelve votes. Some of the
permanent officers of the convention were J. J. Musser, president,
and F. M. Proctor, Peter Nye, Isaac Roop, and J. L. Cary, vice-
presidents.
The convention adopted a "Declaration of Cause for Separa-
tion. ' ' It was ' ' in some respects an exaggerated statement of the
condition of affairs at that time, and causes leading the people to
ask for a separate government. ' ' It was a sort of declaration of
independence by the citizens of Western Utah. They framed and
adopted a constitution to be submitted to a vote of the people on
the 7th of the following September, and an election was ordered
at the same time to fill the offices created by it. They counted
the votes for the delegates to Washington and found that Maj.
F. Dodge had 378 votes and that Crane had 439. F. and S. say
that 84 votes were cast in the Honey Lake district. James M.
Crane was declared elected.
They fixed the boundaries of the proposed territory of Nevada
as "commencing at a point on the Sierra Nevada mountains
where the 42nd degree of north latitude touches the summit of
said mountains; thence southerly with said summit to the 35th
degree of north latitude; thence east on said parallel to the
Colorado river; thence up said river to its junction with the
Rio Virgin; thence up said Rio Virgin to its junction with the
Muddy river ; thence due north to the Oregon line ; thence west
to the place of beginning. " This put Honey Lake valley into the
proposed territory.
[160]
THE YEAR 1859
They adopted a Memorial which amounted to about the same
thing as the one sent to congress by the meeting held here in
1857, only it was a great deal shorter. It was signed by A. L.
Dorsey, Chairman.
They also divided the proposed territory into districts and
those in the neighborhood of Honey Lake were described as
follows : ' ' District No. one shall begin at a point on the summit
of the Sierra Nevada mountains where the 42nd degree of north
latitude crosses the summit, thence southerly with said summit
to the head water of Elysian creek, thence down that creek to the
big bend in said creek, thence in a straight line to the mouth of
Willow creek, thence north to the Oregon line, thence along said
line to the place of beginning. District No. two shall begin at
the mouth of Willow creek, thence along the eastern shore of
Honey lake to the north end of Pyramid lake, thence northeast
to Rabbit Hole springs, thence north to the Oregon line, thence
along said line to the east corner of District No. one, thence south
to the place of beginning. District No. three shall commence at
the head of Elysian creek, thence following the summit to a point
opposite the dividing ridge between Honey Lake and Long valley,
thence down said ridge to Long Valley river, thence on a direct
line to the north shore of Pyramid lake, thence along the south
line of Districts No. one and two to the place of beginning. ' '
It will be observed that this convention made all the necessary
arrangements for the organization of a Provisional Territorial
Government.
The election was held on the seventh of September, but the
returns were not preserved and it is impossible to tell how many
votes were cast. The following persons ran for office: For
governor, Isaac Hoop and John A. Slater, both of Honey Lake
valley. For secretary of state, A. S. Dorsey, auditor, John D.
Winters, treasurer, B. L. King. T. and W. say: "The above,
with the exception of Dr. Slater, were probably elected ; but none
of them were ever called upon to serve excepting Governor Roop.
From a newspaper clipping, found in the Governor's scrap book,
it appears that the majority for the constitution was about 400
votes. The following election certificate tells its own tale :
'I, J. J. Musser, president of the constitutional convention held
in Genoa, in July, A. D., 1859, and chairman of the board of
canvassers appointed by that convention to canvass the votes
[161]
HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA |
cast at the election for officers under the constitution of Nevada
territory, held throughout said territory, on the 7th day of
September, A. D., 1859, do hereby certify, that said board of
canvassers failed to meet at the appointed time and place to
discharge the duties assigned to them. I further certify that the
votes cast at the said election were received by me, and that I
have examined and cast up the vote of said election returns that
came to me unsealed, from which I do hereby certify that a large
majority of the votes cast on that occasion were in favor of the
constitution, and also that Isaac Roop was elected governor of
the said territory by a large majority.' "
"Immediately after the foregoing election, John S. Child
held a session of court at Genoa on the 12th of September, with
P. H. Lovel as his clerk. This was the first legal court held in
Carson county after April 13, 1857, when Charles Loveland
presided, just before the Mormons let for Salt Lake."
Judge Crane, the congressional delegate, died suddenly at
Gold Hill from heart disease, on the 27th of September. Another
election was called for November 12, 1859, to fill the vacancy,
and at that time J. J. Musser was elected and soon afterwards
started for Washington.
x\fter he had gone Isaac Roop subscribed to the following
oath of office :
' ' Territory of Nevada, — ss.
"I do solemnly swear that I will support the constitution of
the United States, and the constitution of the territory of Nevada,
and that I will to the best of my ability perform all the duties
of governor of said territory during my continuance in office.
"Isaac Roop."
"Subscribed and sworn to before me this thirteenth day of
December, A. D. one thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine.
"F. M. Preston,
"TJ. 8. Commissioner, Second Judicial District, U. T."
The Meeting of the Legislature of Nevada
The date set for this meeting was December 15th, 1859.
Governor Roop made the journey from Susanville to the Carson
valley on horseback. It was very cold weather and when he
reached Huffaker's he was almost frozen to death. He rode up
beside the house, but could not get off his horse. Before long the
folks in the house saw him and came out and carried him inside.
[162]
THE YEAR 1859
When they found out his condition they put him into a cold
room, put his hands and feet into cold water, and made him drink
cold water until he was thawed out. He felt no ill effects from
his experience and this treatment probably saved his life.
On Thursday, December 15th, he went from Carson City to
Genoa to meet the members elected to the Council and the House
of Delegates of Nevada Territory. There was not a quorum of
the members of either house present. They knew the conditions
and were in favor of waiting to see what action congress would
take in regard to organizing the territory of Nevada. By staying
at home they saved themselves a cold, disagreeable journey.
Informal Meeting of the Legislature
Those who were present, however, decided to hold an informal
meeting. A report of this meeting was printed in the ''Terri-
torial Enterprise" published at Carson City December 24, 1859.
They convened at the house of James Blake of Genoa, Thurs-
day, December 15, 1859. 0. H. Pierson was elected temporary
chairman and H. F. Thompson, secretary. 3M. S. Thompson of
Black Rock, G. W. Hepperley, and B. Sears of Genoa were
appointed to select permanent officers. This committee reported
for Speaker of the House, 0. H. Pierson of Carson City, for
Clerk, H. F. Thompson of Genoa, and for Sergeant-at-Arms,
John A. McDougal of Genoa, and on motion they were duly
elected.
"On motion of M. S. Thompson, a committee of three were
appointed to wait upon Governor Roop, and notify him that the
House were waiting for his message.
Soon the Governor made his appearance; and after a few
brief remarks, presented his message to the Speaker, which was
read by the Clerk."
"Proclamation To the people of Western Utah included within
the boundaries of the proposed territory of Nevada.
"Having been duly elected by you as Executive of the pro-
visional territorial government of Nevada territory, and deeming
it my duty to address you upon the subject of our separation
from the curse of Mormon legislation, I present to you my reasons
why an organization of the provisional government, would, at the
present time, be impolitic.
' ' At the time we were compelled to assemble, in our sovereign
capacity, to endeavor to rid ourselves of the Theocratic rule of
[163]
HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
Mormonism, we had no protection for life, limb, or property. We
had in vain petitioned congress for relief against the unjust and
illegal attempts of Mormons to force upon us laws and customs
obnoxious to every American. "We had no Courts, no county
organizations,- save those controlled by the sworn satellites of
the Salt Lake Oligarchy. Our political rights were entirely at
the will of a certain clique composed of those who were opposed
to the first principle of our constitution, 'freedom of the ballot-
box.' Under these circumstances, we endeavored to relieve our-
selves from these impositions, and believing that a provisional
territorial government would best assure us protection to life,
limb, and property, we held our election and made all necessary
arrangements for the formation of a temporary Government,
until congress should give us justice and protection.
"Since our election, we have been deprived, by a dispensation
of Providence, of our esteemed Delegate to Congress, James M.
Crane, whose whole energies were devoted to the best interests
of our people, and who carried with him to the grave the kindest
wishes of us all, and who should have inscribed on his tomb-stone,
'An honest man, the noblest work of God.'
"Within the past few months, an attempt has been made by
Judge Cradlebaugh, to establish a United States District court
in this district. Coming among us as he did, with the prestige
of his noble stand against Salt Lake Legislation, we at once
yielded to him and his Court all the respect ever accorded in any
community. But notwithstanding all his endeavors, backed by
all the good wishes of the people, the so-called laws of Utah
territory have proved to him an insurmountable barrier.
"We have now en route to Washington, as Delegate to con-
gress, to represent us and our wishes, John J. Miusser, unani-
mously elected by the people to fill the vacancy occasioned by
the decease of the lamented Crane, in whom we all place the
most implicit confidence.
"The recent discoveries of Gold, Silver, Copper, and Lead
Mines, have caused an influx of population totally unexpected at
the time of our late Convention. The new immigration is com-
posed of the bone and sinew of California, all men who are
disposed to pay all due obedience to Laws which extend to them
reasonable protection.
[164]
THE YEAK 1859
"Under the circumstances, but few members of the Council
and House of Delegates have assembled in accordance with the
call for their election.
"Now, therefore, I, Isaac Roop, Governor of the provisional
territorial government of Nevada territory, believing it to be
the wish of the People still to rely upon the sense of Justice of
congress, and that it will this session relieve us from the numer-
ous evils to which we have been subjected, do proclaim the
session of the Legislature adjourned until the first Monday of
July, 1860, and call upon all good citizens to support, with all
their energies, the Laws and Government of the United States.
"Done at Genoa, December 15th, A. D. one thousand eight
hundred and fifty-nine.
"Isaac Roop, Governor."
After the reading of the Governor's message and its accept-
ance by the Legislature, they adjourned until the following day.
At their next session they appointed a committee composed of
J. Williams, J. K. Trumbo, W. W. Smith, and Governor Roop
to draft a memorial to congress to facilitate the formation of the
new territory of Nevada. They also adopted several resolutions.
The first one stated their faith in the ability, integrity, and
determination of Musser, and their belief that under the cir-
cumstances it would be best to adjourn and trust to the justice
of congress. The second one indorsed the memorial sent to the
Federal government, and again asked congress to grant their
petition. The third indorsed the Governor's message. They
then tendered a vote of thanks to the officers of the Legislature
and to Mr. Blake for the use of his room, and adjourned until
the first Monday in July, 1860.
Mr. Musser failed to get congress to take immediate action
in the formation of the new territory of Nevada, and he came
back to Carson county.
Indian Troubles. 1859
During the year 1859 the Never Sweats had no war with the
Indians. Stock was stolen from the ranges — considerable from
the lower end of the valley — but only once was enough taken at
a time to cause any action on the part of the settlers. John Byrd,
also called "Old Jack," "Uncle Jack," and "Captain" Byrd,
lost more stock than any one else. His ranch was the farthest
[165]
HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
one down the valley, he had more stock than any one else, and
it ranged to the north and east of his ranch where it was exposed
to the raids of the Indians.
Byrd says that this summer the Indians made a raid into
the valley and drove off a large number of his cattle. He imme-
diately got together all the volunteers he could and went in
pursuit. The trail was easy to follow because there were so
many cattle and because the pursuers kept passing weak ones
that had given out and been left behind. The white men rode
as fast as they could and on the second day came in sight of the
Indians. For several miles before this the savages had been
shooting the cattle and this they kept up until the whites were
almost within gunshot. They then abandoned the remaining
cattle and got away without any loss to themselves.
Byrd says that he lost one hundred and twenty American
cattle this time and that the Pi-Utahs were the guilty ones, but
the latter must have been only surmise. He also says that he
raised forty or fifty volunteers, and that among their number
were William Maskelyne, William Hamilton, Thomas Fairchilds,
Judson Dakin, and Jacob McKissick. If this is true, his stock
must have been stolen in the fall, for Dakin and McKissick
crossed the plains this year.
But one thing was done by the Indians this year that caused
an excitement throughout northern California and Western Utah.
This was the murder of Peter Lassen and a man named Clapper
which took place early in the spring on the western side of the
Black Rock range of mountains.
Life of Peter Lassen
The following concerning the life of Lassen was taken from
"The History of Plumas, Lassen, and Sierra Counties," "The
Life of Rear Admiral John Drake Sloat" by Major Edwin A.
Sherman, "The Hesperian Magazine" for August, 1859, "Hutch-
ings' Magazine" for February, 1859, "Fifty Years of Masonry
in California," the writings of General John C. Fremont, the
newspapers and periodicals of that time and since, and from what
has been told by the pioneers of Honey Lake valley.
Peter Lassen was born in the city of Copenhagen, Denmark,
August 7, 1800. At the usual age he was set to learn the black-
smith trade and finished his apprenticeship when he was twenty-
seven years old.
[166]
THE YEAR 1859
In his twenty-ninth year he came to Boston, Massachusetts ;
and after a residence of several months in Eastern cities, during
which time he supported himself by working at his trade, he
moved to Katesville, Chariton county, Missouri. Here he lived
for nine years, carrying on both the farming and the black-
smithing business. In 1838 he formed a military company and
had them ready for duty.
In the spring of 1839, one year after Captain John A. Sutter
left Missouri for California overland by the way of Oregon,
Lassen left Katesville in company with twelve others, two of
whom were the wives of missionaries, to cross the plains to
Oregon. The party fell in with a train belonging to the American
Fur Company which increased their number to twenty-seven, and
they all traveled along together. They left the two women at
Fort Hall which was north of Salt Lake near the Snake river.
In the following September or October they reached The Dalles
and from there went down the river to Fort Vancouver, then a
port of the Hudson Bay Company. From there they traveled
up the Willamette river to Camponit, now Oregon City. Lassen
now found his company reduced to seven men. They could not
settle there to suit themselves and the next spring they decided
to start for California. As their force was too small to cross the
mountains into California they concluded to go by water. They
were fortunate enough to find a vessel ready to sail — the
Lospanna — which had arrived from England in May with mis-
sionaries, or, as another account says, writh supplies for the
missionaries in that district. This vessel intended to touch at
California on her return and they embarked on her. They were
twice in danger of being wrecked, but finally reached Fort Ross
in safety. Here they obtained a pilot and set sail for Bodega,
another Russian post. At this place the Mexican commander
sent soldiers to prevent their landing, but these were ordered
away by the Russian governor. They then wrote to the American
consul at Monterey, telling him that they were American citizens
and desired to land in the country, but had been refused pass-
ports and had been opposed by the government. They had no
money and could proceed no further by ship, and they asked him
for protection and advice. They said they had concluded to land
under the protection of the Russians, and if they did not hear
from him in fifteen days, they intended to start out and protect
[167]
HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
themselves with their guns. After staying at Bodega fifteen
days they were enabled to reach Yerba Buena, now San Francisco,
though another account says that before going to Yerba Buena
they went to Sutter's Fort, now Sacramento, and stayed there
a few days.
Lassen went to San Jose and spent the winter there working
at his trade. In the spring of 1841 he bought some land near
Santa Cruz and built a saw mill which was the first one ever
built and successfully operated in that county. Previous to this
a sawmill had been commenced at Fort Ross, but was washed
away before it was finished and never rebuilt. After cutting
forty or fifty thousand feet of lumber he sold his ranch and mill
to Captain Graham for one hundred mules, intending to return
with them to the United States, but being unable to raise a
company the idea was abandoned. In the fall of 1842 he drove
the mules up to near Sutter's Fort and ranched them while he
worked at his trade for Sutter and took his pay in stock. In the
summer of 1843 while working for Sutter, he, John Bidwell, and
James Burheim pursued a party of emigrants on their way to
Oregon, and overtaking them at Red Bluff took from them some
stolen animals. The upper end of the Sacramento valley was
then unsettled and Lassen was greatly pleased with the country.
After their return Bidwell made a map of it and named the
streams, and from this Lassen selected a tract of land and
applied to Governor Micheltorena for a grant of it. He obtained
his grant, which was called Bosque jo and was on Deer creek in
what is now Tehama county, and in December, 1843, started to
go there with one white man for a companion. On account of
high water he had to camp at the Buttes until February, 1844.
Other accounts put each of the last two dates a year later. The
testimony is about equally divided. Two months afterwards the
white man with him became tired of the solitary life there and
left him. Lassen lived there along for seven months surrounded
by many hundreds of Indians in perfect safety and without
seeing a white man. He had between two hundred and three
hundred head of stock and during his entire residence there not
one was ever disturbed by the Indians. All the labor of building
his house and cultivating his land was done by the Indians. This
was the first settlement north of Cordua, now Marysville. In
1844 Lassen applied for another grant of land in Tehama county,
[168]
THE YEAR 1S59
but failed to get it. Hittell's History says "Merritt, Lassen,
and W. C. Moon quarried and manufactured a lot of grindstones
on Stony creek in the summer of 1845. "When they were finished,
they carried them twenty miles on mules to the Sacramento river
and loaded them into a canoe and drifted with them down the
river, selling them whenever they could."
On the south side of Deer creek Lassen laid out a town which
he called "Benton City" and erected several buildings, part or
all of them being built of adobe. He had a blacksmith shop, a
| gristmill, and a store. In the fall of 1849, so A. Delano says, he
had a little flour and whiskey and a few groceries for sale there.
For several years Benton City, or Lassen's Ranch, as it was
usually called, was the most important point in northern Cali-
fornia. In the spring of 1846 Fremont stayed there for three
weeks with fifty of his men. In April, eight days after he had
left there to go to Oregon, Lieutenant Gillespie of the United
States Navy arrived with dispatches for him. Lassen, Samuel
Neal, M. Sigler, and perhaps another man (Fremont says that
Gillespie had five men with him when he started from Lassen's),
after killing meat enough for the party, started with Gillespie
to overtake Fremont. May 8th Neal and Sigler, who had been
sent on ahead, rode into Fremont's camp on the west side of
Klamath lake and told him that an officer was on his trail with
dispatches from the government, and if he did not receive help
at once, would be killed by the Indians. Fremont immediately
started back with two messengers and a small party of his
Indians and trappers and rode sixty miles that day. Just at
sundown Gillespie reached their camp. That night the Indians
attacked them and killed three of Fremont's Indians. If Gil-
lespie had not found Fremont that night, the Indians, without
doubt, would have killed him and his party, Fremont would have
gone on to Oregon, and the history of the United States might
have been changed. The Mexican War came on soon after this
and Lassen took an active part in it.
In 1847 he crossed the plains to Missouri with Commodore
Stockton for the purpose of getting some emigrants to settle at
his place, and also, if possible, to get the charter for a Masonic
lodge to be established at Benton City. It has been told that he
[169]
HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
came back the next year over the Lassen Trail with the emigrants,
and the history of his charter and lodge will be given a little
later on.
'The Red Bluff Beacon" says: "In the spring of 1850,
Peter Lassen having disposed of one half of his ranch to Palmer,
took several teams of oxen and went to Sacramento City to pur-
chase some provisions and while there conceived the idea of
selling his cattle and buying a steamboat, the most unfortunate
speculation of his life. Mr. Palmer sold his interest in the
concern to General Wilson, and while Peter with his purchase
(the little steamer Washington) was cordelling up the river with
his Indians, other parties were taking away and selling his cattle.
The steamboat project proved a failure — his cattle were all gone
— the parties to whom he sold half his ranch and stock had paid
him nothing, and he had incurred a debt that nothing short of
selling his ranch would pay. He accordingly sold to Henry Gerke
of San Francisco his remaining interest in the place together
with his claim against Wilson which enabled him to pay all his
debts and remove with a few cattle to Indian valley in Plumas
county and afterwards to Honey Lake. Here he still resides
making an occasional visit to Red Bluff for provisions and to his
old ranch where he is allowed to help himself to whatever pleases
his fancy."
It is said that Lassen and Isadore Meyerwitz, a Russian or
Polish Jew, were the first men who went into Indian valley with
the idea of settling there. They were there for a short time
during the summer of 1850 and selected a place to locate. In
1851 Lassen and a man named Burton built a log cabin up to the
roof, covered it with brush, and opened a trading post which did
quite a business with the emigrants that summer. They also
raised a few vegetables, said to be the first ever raised in the
valley. They went out of the valley for the winter, but the next
spring Lassen came back with Isadore and George Edward
St. Felix, or George Edward M. Felix, and took possession of
their old place which was afterwards known as the Hickerson
ranch about three miles north of Greenville. This year they
raised a large quantity of vegetables which they sold at fifteen
cents a pound for all kinds. What Lassen did after leaving
Indian valley has already been told in these pages.
[170]
THE YEAR 1859
Death of Lassen
The following letter was published in "The Mountain Mes-
senger" of Downieville, Sierra county, California:
"Honey Lake Valley, April 30, 1859.
"This valley was thrown into great excitement by the arrival
on Tuesday morning (it should be Thursday morning) of Mr.
Wyatt, one of the Black Rock silver hunters, who narrowly
escaped massacre by the Indians.
' ' The circumstances are as follows : There has been a party
of men stopping in this valley all winter, to be ready as soon as
spring opened to prospect Black Rock Canyon for a supposed
silver mine. This canyon and watering place is about one hun-
dred and twenty-four miles distant from this valley, towards the
Humboldt, on the wagon road. Messrs. Jameson (Probably this
was Jenison.), Weatherlow, Lathrop, and Kitts started on Sun-
day, the 17th inst. ; Peter Lassen, Messrs. Wyatt and Clapper,
following two days later, and were to rendezvous at Black Rock
springs, at which place the prospecting was to commence. Lassen,
Wyatt, and Clapper arrived at the appointed place on Sunday,
the 24th inst., and not finding the advance party, concluded to
await their coming.
"On Monday Mr. Clapper rode on to Mud lake, eight miles
distant, to look for the other party; but not finding them,
returned, and during the day found signs of two white men in
the vicinity of their camping-ground, and believing them to be
those of Captain Weatherlow and Mr. Jameson, one being a large
and the other a small track. They also saw the tracks of shod
horses, which the Indians have not. They then arrived at the
conclusion that the advance party were over the mountain at
another camping place, and concluded to go there the next morn-
ing and see them, having encamped at the mouth of the canyon,
within one hundred yards of some projecting rocks. In the even-
ing they saw an Indian, on horseback, making a circuit of their
camp, then disappearing. After a while he made his appear-
ance in another direction and dismounted. With much difficulty
he was induced to come into camp. He could not speak English,
but Lassen said he spoke Piutah. While he was in camp they
heard the report of a gun, when the Indian immediately said
'Piutah,' and gave the whites to understand there were six of
them.
[171]
HISTOEY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFOENIA
' ' The Indian then left them, and they retired to rest, suppos-
ing themselves safe anywhere in the Piute country. Just at day-
light they were fired upon from the rocks near by, killing Mr.
Clapper in his bed. Lassen and Wyatt sprang upon their feet
and commenced gathering up their things ; and not knowing that
Clapper was killed, seeing he did not rise, supposed him asleep.
Wyatt put his hand on his face to wake him, but found it cov-
ered with blood. Turning him over, he saw that he was shot
through the head. Lassen said, 'I will watch for the Indians
while you (Wyatt) gather up the things.' While doing so the
Indians fired on them again, and Lassen fell, to rise no more.
He spoke but once. ' They have killed me, ' then fell on his face
and gasped but once. Thus fell the 'old pioneer' whose whole
history and life almost is connected with the exciting and wild
scenes of the west ; and when this and other generations shall have
passed away the traveler will look on the snow-clad buttes, and
hear of the fertile meadows that bear his name, and remember
with reverence the venerable voyageur.
' ' When Wyatt saw Lassen fall he dropped everything but his
rifle, caught his horse and fled with precipitancy. He arrived
here on Thursday morning, without having taken food or rest.
A party of twenty men started this morning to recover the
horses and property, if possible, and ascertain the whereabouts
of the other party, Great fears are entertained for their safety.
Another party will follow immediately, with a wagon to bring in
Lassen's and Clapper's remains. The advance party will pro-
ceed, if possible, to trail the Indians to their lurking place and
chastise them. Z. N. Spalding/'
The following is an extract from what was published in the
"San Francisco Chronicle" fifteen or twenty years ago:
"The authority for the following narrative of the killing of
Peter Lassen is Ephraim V. Spencer, who has lived in Lassen
county for thirty-five years. The story was told to him over and
over again by a man named Lemericus Wyatt, who was in Mr.
Spencer's employ for two years, in fact until he died. Though
Wyatt was an illiterate man, his story was well worthy of cre-
dence. He had the reputation of being both truthful and hon-
est. The reasons for his knowledge of the incidents connected
with the killing of Peter Lassen the story itself fully reveals.
[172]
THE YEAR 1859
''Early in the spring of 1859 'Uncle Pete,' with Lemericus
Wyatt and a man who went by the name of Clapper and whose
Christian name Wyatt never knew, set out on a prospecting trip
for silver. They went to what is known as Black rock, in the
northwestern part of Nevada and about 140 miles northeast of
Susanville. They had three horses, two pack mules and a full
prospecting outfit, including rifles. At the Black Rock range
they camped one evening beside a small stream ever since known
as Clapper creek. The camp was in a nook of the canyon, over-
looked by high bluffs on three sides. There was a little feed
for the horses, and the place was a very pleasant, if in those times
dangerous location for a camp.
"While the men were getting supper an Indian came to the
camp carrying a good muzzle-loading rifle. He had neither pow-
der, caps nor bullets, and by dumb show made his wants known.
Wyatt and Clapper strenuously objected to furnishing the red-
skin with the ammunition, but Lassen, who, as usual, was friendly
with the Indian, said that no harm could come of it ; that all the
Indians knew 'Uncle Pete' and would never hurt him, especially
this Indian, as he was a Pah Ute. Much to the regret of Las-
sen's companions, the pioneer gave the Indian a good supply of
all he asked, and the visitor immediately made off.
"They picketed their animals for the night a short distance
away and then made a common bed for themselves on the ground,
Clapper lying in the middle. Just as day was breaking Wyatt
was awakened by the report of a rifle. He sprang to his feet and
called to his companions. He jerked the blankets off Clapper
and caught him by the shoulder. In so doing he turned the man
over. Blood spurted from Clapper's temple, showing that he had
been shot clean through the head. Wyatt started to run, calling
upon Lasesn to do so too. 'Uncle Pete,' however, remained
standing by the bed shading his eyes with his hand and holding
his rifle easily with the other, trying to discover where the shot
came from. While he was still peering into the rocks a second
shot rang out and Lassen fell. Wyatt ran back to Lassen and
partly raised him from the ground, but life was ebbing fast and
nothing could be done. Wyatt looked about for a place of
safety, knowing that he was a target for the same murderer. He
made for the horses, but before he reached the place where they
were picketed he saw that they had pulled their picket-ropes and
[173]
HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
stampeded. lie hurried after them, running for his life toward
the mouth of the canyon and the desert beyond. A sharp re-
minder of the need of haste, in the shape of a bullet, passed
through the leg of the fugitive's trousers, but did not draw blood.
' ' Wyatt was then sixty years old, weighed about two hundred
pounds, and was both clumsy and slow on his feet. "When he
reached the entrance to the canyon his courage fell. Stretching
from the base of the mountain away over the white alkali plain
was a cloud of dust which hid from sight his only hope of safety
— the runaway horses.
"As he peered hopelessly after the retreating cloud he saw
something which made his heart leap into his mouth. Out of
the dust the form of his own fine black pacing horse suddenly ap-
peared. The animal had faced about, apparently struck by some
sudden impulse. For a second or two it seemed to take its bear-
ings, and then on a mad gallop retraced its steps until it reached
the advancing Wyatt, and invited the old man as plainly as signs
could indicate to mount.
1 ' Wyatt rode the whole one hundred and forty miles to Susan -
ville bareback at breakneck speed, without a mouthful to eat and
with nothing but a picket rope to guide his faithful animal."
It must have been a terrible trip. The condition of a man of
his age and weight after riding a barebacked horse that distance
may be imagined. To the physical suffering add hunger and
thirst and the fear of pursuit by the Indians or of meeting an-
other band of them, and an idea can be obtained of the horrors
of that journey. The fact that Wyatt 's saddle horse allowed him-
self to be caught is one of the strangest things of the whole affair.
Wyatt said the horse was always shy and hard to catch, and was
the last one of the horses he had any idea of getting hold of. It
seemed to him almost like a miracle.
Weatherlow and his party got to Black Rock two days in ad-
vance of Lassen and the other two men and camped on the hill
seven miles from Mud lake. Lassen and Clapper were killed only
a mile from their camp. Weatherlow 's party prospected until
their provisions were nearly gone and then started for home,
thinking Lassen had taken another route and could not find them.
On the second day they met the Honey Lakers who were coming
out to see what had become of them, and were told of the murder
of Lassen and Clapper. The relief party got back to Honey Lake i
[174]
THE YEAR 1859
on May the eleventh. Ross Lewers and John H. Neale were the
only members of the party whose names could be ascertained.
The bodies of the murdered men were in an advanced state of
decomposition and were buried where they were found. Every-
thing went to show the truth of Wyatt 's statement. The Indians
who committed the murder were not pursued as they had eleven
days the start.
Captain Weatherlow says: "The killing of Lassen and his
companion caused great excitement in the settlement, and much
feeling against the Indians. Several of the settlers attributed
the murder to the Pah-utes, but from my own knowledge of the
friendly relations between the chief Winnemucca and Peter
Lassen and the high esteem in which Lassen was held by the In-
dians and from the fact that there was no apparent change in
the conduct of the Pah-utes who continued to visit our houses
and exchange civilities and friendship, I did not believe that the
Pah-utes had committed the murder nor that they were at all
cognizant of the fact. I attributed it entirely to the Pitt river
tribe which the whites had fought and defeated and who fre-
quented the Black Rock country in small hunting bands. There
had been no difficulty of any kind between the Honey Lake peo-
ple and the Pah-utes that would have provoked them to so wan-
ton an act of revenge, especially upon Peter Lassen, who had ever
been their firm friend. But the Pit river Indians against whom
we had fought would certainly have exulted in surprising and cut-
ting off any small party of whites, and to them alone did I at-
tribute the murder of Lassen."
"The Grizzly Bear" of May, 1912, says that about a month
later P. H. Lovell sent the following letter to the Placerville
I ' Semi-Weekly Observer ' ' :
"Genoa, May 20, 1859.
"Editor of Observer: Our Indian agent, Major F. Dodge,
has just returned from Honey and Pyramid Lakes, whither he
has been to inquire into the late Indian depredations to the north
of Honey lake. The major is not satisfied that the Indians alone
are implicated in the matter, from the fact that two sacks of flour,
some dried beef, blankets, and part of a keg of whiskey, were
found in the camp of the murdered party — a thing unprecedented
in Indian depredations. Peter Lassen and Edward Clapper were
killed on the spot. Lemarkus Wyatt, one of the survivors of the
[175]
HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
party, with whom the major had an interview, had returned to
Honey Lake. The four others reported killed have also returned
to the lake safe, together with the party of twenty who, it was
reported, went out to bury the dead. The major held a council
with the venerable Piute chief Winnemucca, with about three
thousand of his nation, at Pyramid Lake."
"The Grizzly Bear" also says: "Later, Winnemucca went to
Genoa and reported to Major Dodge that he could learn nothing
further from the Indians regarding the affair. This leaves one
to infer that it was Dodge's opinion that Lassen and Clapper
were killed by the other men."
Weatherlow says: "Major Dodge, the Indian agent of the
Pah-ute tribe, had never visited the valley to my knowledge, but
shortly after the killing of Lassen's party he came to Honey Lake,
remained but one day, and returned to Carson City without hav-
ing had an interview with the chief Winnemucca or made any
earnest inquiry into the causes or the perpetrators of the murder.
Shortly after the departure of Major Dodge there appeared a
statement in one of the newspapers (I think the "Sacramento
Union") with authority from Major Dodge to the effect that he
(Dodge) did not believe that the Indians had killed Lassen at all,
but that he was murdered by white men. This was a charge of
the most unwarrantable nature against the four white men who
were the only ones within hundreds of miles of the place where
the massacre took place, and I as their leader and commander
called Major Dodge to an account personally for the charge. He
retracted his charge and promised to do so publicly through the
press. Whether he did so or not I can not say, as I have not
heard of Major Dodge visiting our valley since. The suspicion
which rested upon the minds of some of the settlers that the
Pah-utes had murdered Lassen apparently died away, and the
same friendly relations existed as before. ' '
The report that Lassen had been killed, and by white men,
spread rapidly over the country. At first a good many believed
it, but in a short time very few put any faith in the story. The
writer, however, has met one or two men who believe it to this
day and they think they have good reasons for doing so. He has
heard these reasons given, but to him they do not warrant any
such belief. Bancroft's History says that in the Sacramento val-
ley there was much hard feeling toward him (Lassen) on the
[176]
THE YEAR 1859
part of those who suffered while going over the Lassen Trail. Ex-
cepting this, there is nothing to show that he had any enemies
among the whites. "The Red Bluff Beacon" told that he was
allowed to go to his old ranch and help himself to whatever
pleased his fancy and Fred Hines told the same thing. During a
residence of almost fifty years in this county the writer has never
heard an old settler say anything against Lassen, or say that he
had trouble with any one. That Weatherlow or his party had
anything to do with the murder is not even to be thought of.
There seems to be absolutely no reason for the belief that Lassen
was killed by white men.
It has often been said that the Indians would not kill Lassen.
It is true that he was good friends with many of them. Hines
says that in 1856 he and Vary were camped at Deep Hole springs.
Some time in the night Lassen came in, turned his horses loose
and went to bed. The next morning they could not be found in
the neighborhood of the camp. Lassen did not worry much about
it and along in the afternoon some Indians brought them in.
Hines knew that on several other occasions the Indians brought
Lassen 's horses to him when they had wandered away. But Las-
sen had enemies among the Indians as well as friends. In 1851
the Pit Eivers killed a party of Indian valley Indians and car-
ried off some of their squaws. Lassen raised a party of thirteen
whites and all the able-bodied Indians in the valley and went in
pursuit. Early in the morning of the third day Lassen saw In-
dians stealing along among the trees and in a short time he killed
three of them. He and his party completely defeated the Pit
Rivers and they never gave the Indians of Indian valley any more
trouble. The foregoing is told in "Hutchings' California Maga-
zine ' ' for June, 1857. Doubtless the Pit Rivers remembered this
and would have been only too glad to kill him. Besides that,
there were many renegate Indians in the Black Rock country who
would have killed him and his party, or any other white men, for
a ragged shirt, or for the fun of it.
"The Hesperian Magazine" for August, 1859, says: "The
news of his death was received with sorrow throughout the state
and many of the Masonic lodges published tributes of respect to
his memory."
At a meeting of the F. and A. M. of Honey Lake valley held
[177]
HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
at Susanville May 22nd, 1859, the following were among the reso-
lutions adopted:
' ' Resolved, That in the death of Peter Lassen the community
has suffered the loss of an enterprising citizen, a warm-hearted
friend, a true and faithful brother, and one of the most ardent
members of the Masonic Fraternity in the State of California.
"Resolved, That we sincerely sympathize with the brethren
of Western Star Lodge, No. 2, at Shasta, California, of which he
was a member. ' '
In November, 1859, Johnson Tutt and perhaps Antone Storff
and Joe Kitts went to Black Rock and brought Lassen 's body to
the valley. On the 27th he was buried with Masonic honors un-
der the great tree where he camped the first night he stayed in
the valley. It is said he often wished that this might be his final
resting place. In 1862 a monument was erected over his grave
and during that year an account of it will be given.
Clapper's body was left where it was buried that spring at
Black Rock and much dissatisfaction was expressed throughout
the valley because it was not brought in, too.
John S. Ward, John H. Neale, and Albert A. Smith were the
administrators of Lassen's estate. It has been told how his
ranches were disposed of.
A few articles once owned by Lassen are still in existence.
Fred F. Kingsbury of Sacramento has a pipe which Lassen
brought from Denmark and which was an heirloom. William C.
Kingsbury, Fred's Father, who was Lassen's partner, was using
it when the latter went on his last prospecting trip. L. M. Fol-
som of Susanville has a clock that is said to have been owned by
Lassen. Orman Folsom bought this clock from some one a good
many years ago and afterwards gave it to his son M. 0. Folsom,
who, in the course of time, gave it to his son, L. M. Folsom.
Lassen's Masonic Charter
Taken from "Fifty Years of Masonry in California"
"Other Masons had arrived from time to time and in 1847
Lassen went back to Missouri with the avowed object of bringing
back to California with him a train of emigrants and the charter
of a Masonic lodge, if possible.
"In Missouri he met Brothers Saschel Woods, L. E. Stewart
[178]
THE YEAR 1859
and others, and an application being made to the grand lodge of
Missouri for a charter to them it was duly signed, and issued
May 10, 1848, as Western Star Lodge, No. 98, duly granted by the
grand master and other officers with the seal of the grand lodge
of Missouri attached, and granted to Brother Saschel Woods as
Worshipful Master, L. E. Stewart as Senior Warden, and Peter
Lassen as Junior Warden, to be located at Benton City, Upper
California. ' '
"Having attained his objects, Brother Lassen returned with
an emigrant train of twelve wagons by the way of Fort Hall, and
at the head of Pit river was overtaken by a party of Oregonians
on their way to the gold fields, and with their aid reached Las-
sen's ranch in safety. Lassen's company had not heard of the
discovery of gold in California until meeting this party from
Oregon, and he was also ignorant of the fact that a Masonic lodge
had been instituted at Oregon City, Oregon, on September 11,
1848, also by a charter from the grand lodge of Missouri, or that
Brother Joseph Hull, the master, and several other Brethren of
that lodge were in the Oregon party; and neither party knew
until long afterward that any of the others were Masons, or that
Peter Lassen had in his possession a charter for a lodge which he
had brought through with him in his train.
"Brother Woods accordingly opened said lodge in Benton
City on October 30, 1849, and proceeded to work.
' ' When it came to the numbering of the charters by the grand
lodge of California at the first Annual Communication in May,
1850, Western Star Lodge, No. 98, was deprived of its seniority.
Its charter was in California before the charter of California
Lodge left Washington to come by the Isthmus of Panama. The
committee on credentials of the convention which formed the
grand lodge of California had been misinformed as to the date of
the opening of California Lodge and awarded that lodge No. 1.
"The gold mining industry changed the condition of the
population at Benton City, and it (Western Star Lodge, No. 2)
was moved to Shasta City in 1851, and in November of that year
sent in its first returns from that place. In 1853 the hall and
records and all the property of this lodge were burned, but they
fortunately succeeded in saving the original charter brought from
Missouri by Peter Lassen."
[179]
HISTOEY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFOENIA
Trouble With the Pit River Indians
In the Dixie valley country there are traces of two battles
with the Indians, but the date at which they took place can not
be learned. One of them, at least, occurred after Fort Crook
was built, and perhaps both of them took place in 1859, or within
a year or two of that time.
Charles F. Hart has this to say about them : ' ' Opposite Muck
valley, at the bottom of Pit River Canyon, are old wagons broken
to pieces. Old settlers say the Indians attacked some immigrants
at Spring Gulch, captured their wagons, and rolled them down
the gulch and over the cliff to the bottom of the canyon. What
became of the immigrants, I never heard.
' ' About one-fourth of a mile below the Horse Creek Crossing
are more ruins — old tires and decayed pieces of various parts of
wagons — where Indians drove off the immigrants, captured their
goods, rolled off the wagons over the cliff ; and were dividing up
and enjoying the spoils when the immigrants returned with re-
inforcements of soldiers from Fort Crook and killed or captured
nearly all of them. Old Indians have it yet that Horse Creek
ran red with their blood into Pit River that time. Fort Crook
was in Fall River valley about thirty miles away, near what is
Glenburn now."
September 3, 1859, the Pit River Rangers attacked the Indians
on Beaver creek and killed about seventy.
Late in the year Gen. Kibbe captured 533 bucks, squaws and
pappooses and their chief, ' ' Shavehead, " of the Pit River tribe.
They were taken to the Indian reservation in Mendocino county.
It is said that a great many of these Indians, if not all of them,
made their way back home across the mountains.
Thomas Brown says that in the fall of 1859 Company A of
the 1st Regiment, United States Dragoons, almost a full com-
pany, under the command of Lieutenant Carr, was stationed at
Fort Crook. Some time during the fall they came to this valley
and camped in the forks of Susan river and Willow creek. They
stayed during the time of the emigration and then went back to
Fort Crook.
Colonel Lander's Road Expedition
In the fall of 1859 Col. Fred W. Lander, Supt. of the U. S.
Wagon Road Expedition, came into the valley from the Hum-
[180]
THE YEAR 1859
boldt river with quite a large body of men — some say one hun-
dred. He was sent out by the United States government to im-
prove the emigrant road. He opened up the springs and built
reservoirs, changed the road in places, dug out the rocks, cut
down the banks of the creeks, etc. He went below for the win-
ter, but came back in the spring and took part in the Indian war
of 1860.
Fast Mail Through Honey Lake Valley and Noble's Pass
In the summer of 1858 the first overland stage line was estab-
lished and part of their route was down the Humboldt river. At
that time there was considerable talk and argument about the ad-
vantages of the different roads to California. There was also
some talk of building a railroad across the plains and some sur-
veying had been done. That fall and winter Hines and Tutt
were carrying the mail between this valley and Clear Creek, near
old Fort Redding. In January, 1859, the overland stage was to
bring the President's message to California as quickly as possi-
ble, and the Never Sweats took this opportunity to show people
that they had the shortest route across the mountains. Tutt put
on relays of horsemen from Clear Creek up to the snow and Hines
did the same from the Humboldt river to Susanville. During
the previous summer Dave Blanchard and Wiley Cornelison had
a trading post on the Humboldt river about twenty miles above
Lassen's Meadows, and Cornelison stayed there the following
winter. He was to take a copy of the President's message off
the stage at his place and the Honey Lakers were to get it to
Clear Creek as soon as they could. Mark Haviland on his race
horse, Honey Lake Chief, was the last man on this end of the
Humboldt line. Hines was to take it from Susanville to Butte
creek and turn it over to Tutt.
When the message reached Susanville Hines started out with
it and when he got to Hog Flat the snow was up to his chin. He
found some limbs sticking up above the snow, and thinking there
might be a log below, he broke off some of the dryest of them
and started a fire on the snow and kept it going until it reached
the log. He then burned the log until the snow was melted away
from it. When night came he put the saddle blanket onto his
horse and gave him a feed of the grain he had brought along. He
then put the madder of his saddle back of him against the snow-
[181]
HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
bank, sat down on his saddle with his feet to the fire, and spent
the night the best he could. The next morning he concluded to
leave his horse and try to make the rest of the way on foot, as
he knew by experience that sometimes the snow was not so deep
from Pine creek west. He tied everything he did not need to the
saddle, turned his horse loose, and started him for home. He then
went on toward Pine creek, but the snow was very soft, and by the
time he had traveled a couple of miles he made up his mind that
he would give out before he could go much further. Being afraid
that he would perish if he persisted in his attempt to reach the
place where he was to meet Tutt, he made his way back to where
he had spent the night and found that his horse had gone only
forty or fifty yards and stopped. He tied the message to the limb
of a tree and went back to Susanville.
I. N. Eoop raised a crowd of fifteen or twenty men and they
broke their way through the snow across the mountains. Some
of the crowd came back at once and some stayed all winter. Roop
got back the next spring and Amos Conkey stayed until the next
fall. Hines never heard anything more about the message, and
it is very probable that the Never Sweats never crowed any abdut
the fast time they made across the mountains with it.
Death of John Mote
Early in the spring of 1859 the remains of John Mote, a half-
breed Cherokee who went with several expeditions from this val-
ley, were found on the side of the mountain between Susanville
and "Willow Creek. One of the Shaffer Brothers found his gun,
coat, and bones. It was an easy matter to tell whose coat it was,
for it was a very large one and had bear's claws for buttons. How
he came to his death was never known.
The Killing op Van Hickey
Some time during the spring of this year a man named Van
Hickey was killed by Thomas J. Harvey. The two men were
partners in some cattle, and a dispute having arisen in regard to
their business, Harvey shot the other man. Accounts of the af-
fair differ, some claiming that there were no witnesses. Van
Hickey seems to have been a disreputable sort of a fellow, who
had made some trouble for the settlers, and there being very
little law in the country, not much attention was paid to the
shooting.
[182]
THE YEAE 1859
Smith J. Hill, who seems to have the best remembrance of the
matter, says that Harvey, Van Hiekey, and George Lathrop were
riding between the Big slough and the point of the Bald moun-
tain, Lathrop being between the other two. Harvey and Van
Hiekey got to quarreling and the former dropped behind Lathrop,
rode up beside Van Hiekey, and shot him. The wounded man
died shortly afterwards. Word was sent over to Dr. Slater to
call a meeting of the citizens. He did so, but only five men were
in attendance. Lathrop was not present and the men who testi-
fied gave hearsay evidence. Harvey pleaded self-defense and
was allowed to go unmolested. Hill says he was the only man
who voted for conviction.
A Common Occurrence in Early Days
In the fall of 1859 J. H. (Jut) Breed and Frank Strong had
a trading post at Smoke Creek. When Alvaro and Newt. Evans
and R. E. Ross came along with their cattle they camped at this
place.
After getting the cattle out to feed Alvaro went down to the
station to get some supplies and inquire about the road ahead of
them. He talked a while and had a few drinks, for in those days
every trader sold whiskey, and then Breed asked him if any one
in his crowd could play poker. Evans, who was an old Califor-
nian, though Breed didn't know it, told him that he thought he
could play a pretty good game himself. They sat down on what-
ever came handy, with a box between them, and began to play,
and before long Evans had all of the other man's money. Breed,
however, was not satisfied and asked Evans to lend him a few dol-
lars so he could keep on playing and he would pay it back when
the game was done. Evans accommodated him and the game
went on in about the same way as before, and Breed soon "went
broke" again and quit. Evans loafed around a while waiting
for Breed to pay the money he had borrowed, but there was
"nothing doing." Finally he asked Breed for it and the latter
replied that he was not going to pay anything to a man who
cheated, and at the same time applied a vile name to him. Evans
started for him and the other turned around and reached for his
pistol, which was hanging on the wall. Evans grabbed up a gun
from among a pile of them near by and covered him with it. Just
then Strong, who was not far away, came running toward them,
[183]
HISTOEY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFOKNIA
shouting, "Don't shoot, don't shoot! I'll pay it!" Evans got
his money and went back to camp. The next time the two men
met nothing was said about this affair and they were on good
terms as long as they both lived in the country. Strong after-
wards told Hines that Evans happened to get hold of his
(Strong's) rifle — a good one — and he also said he believed that
he saved Breed's life.
Row at a Dance at Richmond
Among the men who came into the valley with Colonel Lander
there were many "tough citizens." Three or four of them had a
row at the Powers store in Toadtown and stabbed a Honey Laker
named Adams several times, though none of his wounds were
serious, and kicked another man in the face. The same day the
Lander men who had taken part in this row were badly whipped
by some other Honey Lakers, and this evened up the score to some
extent.
A dance was given at Richmond on the night of the 14th of
October and about fifteen of the Lander crowd went there to have
some fun and break it up. They found what they were looking
for. As luck would have it, there happened to be present at the
dance a bunch of Never Sweats who were always willing to help
anybody look for trouble — Ed., Steve., and John Bass, Sam. Stin-
son, Ned Mulroney, who didn't strike a man with impunity but
with his fist; Alec. Chapman, "Big" John Chapman, Bill Corse
and perhaps some others, and Jake Brown, Jesse Woodward, and
Jim Conant from over the hill — all mighty men with the fist and
all of them ready to fight at any time.
Thomas Mulroney says that during one of the dances a Lander
man kept bumping into John Bass, and when the dance was fin-
ished Bass took him by the nose and threw him down stairs. The
fun then commenced and they began to fight all over the house
and on the outside, too. One of the strangers drew a pistol in the
hall, which greatly frightened the women. Some one grabbed
him and shook him until he dropped it and then threw him down
stairs. Another outsider was knocked down stairs. When he
got up some one else knocked him out onto the porch, and another
blow sent him from there to the ground. The Never Sweats ' ' lit
on that bunch like a hawk on a June bug" and hammered them
until they were satisfied and willing to go home.
[184]
THE YEAR 1859
The next day the bully of the Lander crowd, a big Dutchman,
went over to Richmond to get revenge. "Big" John Chapman
was there and it didn 't take long for the two men to get to fight-
ing. Orlando Streshly says he never saw a man so promptly and
thoroughly whipped as the Dutchman was. "Whenever he went
down he struck the ground so hard that he fairly bounced off it,
and after he had been knocked down six or eight times he begged
the crowd to take Chapman off before he killed him. It is not on
record that the Lander aggregation made any more trouble in the
valley after this.
Honey Lake Valley's Reputation in 1859
You and I, kind reader, know that very few people excepting
good ones lived in the land of the Never Sweats at that time. But
the best of people are sometimes slandered, and evil tongues must
have been spreading false reports about those good folks.
Isaac N. Jones, long a supervisor of this county, crossed the
plains this year. When he reached Lassen's Meadows the train
in which he was traveling consisted of ten or twelve wagons and
perhaps fifty people. They were going to Yreka and the nearest
route to that place lay through Honey Lake valley. People who
claimed to know the country said that if they went through there
they were likely to be robbed or killed, or at least have their horses
stolen. One man in the train, who had been in California before,
said he didn 't believe the Honey Lakers were any worse than the
Indians and he took the road leading to this valley. The rest of
the train went on to Ragtown and up the Carson river. When
they reached Honey Lake Smith 's station the name was enough —
they kept away from him. They went on to Placerville and
Marysville and up the Sacramento river to Fort Redding. Then
they turned back to the northeast and went over the mountains.to
Fall River valley and from there north to Yreka. A glance at the
map will show how much they went out of their way. When
they reached their destination they found that the man who went
through Honey Lake valley had been there three weeks.
In 1862 Jones came to live in the wilds of Honey Lake among
those barbarians, and either because they were good people, or
because he was like them himself he has lived here ever since.
The Winter of 1859-60
From the time when the settlement of the valley began until
this winter the seasons must have been dry. This is evident from
[185]
HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
the fact that in the fall of 1859 the lake was entirley dry. They
went with teams from the mouth of the river across the lake in
every direction.
This winter was always remembered by those who were living
here at the time. The snow was not extremely deep, but it came
on early and stayed until late in the spring and the cold was
steady and severe. Eber G. Bangham says that the first snow fell
on the 21st of November. It was twelve or fourteen inches deep
and kept about that depth until February, when another storm
added a little to it. On the 5th of April, 1860, another storm left
two feet of snow on the ground. It began to go off the next day
and the new snow ran off rapidly, but there were snowdrifts be-
low Rooptown long after that. About the first of December a
heavy cold fog came on, and it was always told by the old settlers
that they didn 't see the sun for six weeks. It was just in the val-
ley. Uncle Tim Darcey told the writer that he spent the winter
at the Lewers sawmill and that it was sunshine there all the time
during the six weeks. The valley below looked like a sea of clouds.
The fog made so much frost on the grass that the cattle could
not eat it, and at that time the range was so good that very little
hay was put up. There were a good many "emigrant" cattle
that were not used to rustling for themselves in the valley that
winter and the most of them starved to death.
Conditions at the Close op 1859
In some respects conditions were better than at the close of the
previous year. The large emigration that came into the valley
this year increased the population considerably, but the country
M-as still very sparsely settled. Some improvements were made
all the time on the roads and the ranches and probably the build-
ings put up were of a little better quality. But a large majority
of the people were poor and had to get along with the least they
could. The first settlers in a country are generally poor people
who come in there to better their condition.
Store goods were more plentiful, though perhaps not much
cheaper. More grain and vegetables were raised, but the grain
was still thrashed with a flail. Not much hay was put up because
there were no mowers and there was such good feed on the range
that stock did not require much feed during an ordinary winter.
Prices were high enough, but there was no market excepting home
[18G]
THE YEAR 1859
consumption and what they could sell to emigrants. Potatoes
and ruta-bagas were five cents a pound and butter seventy-five
cents. Oxen were worth from $175 to $250 a yoke and extra good
ones were worth $300 a yoke. Dairy cows were worth from $35
to $75 a head. Probably a band of cattle sold for $12 or $14 a
head. But the market for stock was no better than it was for
farm produce.
Pack trains still ran into the valley, but more freighting was
done with teams than during the preceding year. J. P. Sharp,
Richard Owens, and Edward Bass hauled freight with ox teams
from Marysville for Drake and Streshly and received seven cents
a pound freight. Fast traveling was done on horseback, but this
year Smith J. Hill brought the first buggy and sulky into the val-
ley. Hines said he used to take the girls out riding on the run-
ning-gears of an ox wagon, but after Hill got his buggy he would
come along and take them away from him, much to his disgust.
The mail was brought in more regularly than before. Hines
and Tutt brought it in from Shasta county during the winter of
1858-9 and the following spring. Williams brought it in from
Quincy the same winter and the summer of 1859 and the follow-
ing winter. H. L. Spargur brought the mail and express from
Oroville and Quincy, coming in on showshoes during the winter
months. His prices were the same as those charged by others,
fifty cents for a letter or a paper, or perhaps more if the weather
was bad. Grant Tilford was the expressman from Carson City
to Susanville in December, 1859. There was no postoffice at Su-
sanville and Governor Roop took charge of the mail that was left
there and distributed it.
It has been told that Dr. James W. H. Stettinius taught school
in Susanville during the winter of 1859-60 and it is probable that
there was some kind of a school at Bankhead's, but it is impossible
to tell where or by whom it was taught.
Dancing was the chief amusement and the winter of 1859-60
A. A. Smith and F. A. Sloss taught a dancing school, Smith play-
ing the violin and Sloss teaching the dancing. In the Bank-
head neighborhood they held their school in the building that Dr.
Slater and Chapman had put up that fall.
[187]
CHAPTER VI
1860. SETTLEMENT
In January R. F. Cahill claimed a tract of land formerly held
by Mullen and Snow. The western part of it was on Gold
Run north of Lanigar and Nixon 's place and it lay southwest and
south of Richmond. William Braton, Antone Storff, Joseph
Lynch, W. C. Kingsbury, John Borrette, Isaac Roop, M. S.
Thompson, A. B. Jenison, E. Rice, 0. Streshly, I. Coulthurst, A.
A. Smith and L. Vary claimed 3900 feet on a "mineral lead"
which had been discovered by the first three of the above named
men about half a mile south of Richmond. This discovery made
quite an excitement and nearly all the men in the valley went
there. They held a meeting and appointed A. A. Smith recorder
and he charged something like $5 for recording a claim. The
excitement died out in a short time, probably because it was found
that the rock was of no value. A tract a mile wide and extending
two miles up "Lake's creek" was taken by J. L. Jelm and W.
Jansen. This was on the creek above the valley located by
O'Laughlin in June, 1856. Lake's creek was the west branch of
Baxter creek and before this was called ' ' Irishman 's creek. ' ' Wil-
liam Andrews, William and Charles West, M. L. Thompson, Theo-
dore A. Lynn and S. B. Lusk located a tract a mile wide and six
miles long beginning at the lower end of Bridge Creek valley and
running west up the valley. Neale and Brother recorded a change
in the boundaries of their land. From this notice it appears that
they claimed the land on the south side of the river from the west
side of the Richard Thompson location in March, 1857, to the
Fuller place seven miles below Susanville. • A. J. Demming aban-
doned his place in Willow Creek valley soon after his brother was
killed by the Indians and this left the valley without any set-
tlers.
In February Isaac Roop, M. S. Thompson, A. D. McDonald,
A. B. Jenison, E. L. Varney and B. Shumway claimed all the
water in Susan river commencing at the upper end of James
Hunter's claim and extending a mile up the river. They intend-
ed to build a dam and improve the river as soon as the spring
high water had gone down. E. Brannon, Fred Morrison and E.
R. Nichols claimed all of Round valley and all the water in the
[188]
THE YEAR 1860
stream running through it as far as Willow Creek valley. No
one remembers that they ever lived on their claim.
In March Francis and Harriet Lanigar and Charles Nixon
claimed ninety-six acres west and southwest of their ranch on
Gold Run. J. E. Shearer located a half section north of Harvey,
Lathrop & Company's claim.
In April Strong, Breed & Co. claimed two sections in Smoke
Creek valley. E. Brannon relocated the section on the south fork
of Pahutah creek that was taken by M. S. Scott in January, 1859,
and "jumped" by Major Andrews the following November.
This spring another step was taken in the digging of the
Buggytown ditch, and it might be called the commencement of
what really was that ditch. The following account was given
by William H. and W. P. Hall.
When this valley was settled the water from Lassen creek
emptied into a slough that ran along close to the foot of the hill
on the south side of the river bottom. Some of the water from
Gold Run found its way into the same slough. As early at least
as 1860 the Neale Brothers started a ditch out of the slough
north of where the Johnstonville schoolhouse now stands, and
carried it around the hill into a slough just north of the house
on the old Isaac Stewart (Charles Ripley) place. This house
was a short mile below the Johnstonville bridge. Water from
this ditch was used on the Stewart place by Asa Adams during
the summer of 1860. That fall or the next spring W. P. Hall
and John E. Bachelder bought what is now the Leavitt place two
miles below Johnstonville from the Neales, and they and the
Neales enlarged the ditch in 1861. The original ditch would
irrigate only fifteen or twenty acres. S. R. and W. H. Hall,
John C. Davis, and James Doyle worked on this ditch. Hall and
Bachelder took water for their use out of the slough into which
it emptied. In the middle of the summer the slough where the
ditch commenced dried up and they tried to get water from the
river into it. They repaired the small ditch said to have been
made by W. H. Crane when he worked for the Neales in 1858
or 1859, but could get no water through it for it ran up hill.
Then they dug a ditch out of the swamp higher up, but the water
soon failed. The next year they went still higher up and got
water out of another swamp.
George R. Lybarger and Dewitt C. Chandler opened a store
[189]
HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
on the road about half a mile east of Bankhead's. At that time
the road ran along the edge of the timber straight to the Thomp-
son ranch, now owned by Ira E. Bailey. They sold goods there
about a year. Smith J. Hill built the second house in what is
now Janesville. It was on the south side of the road a little west
of the creek, was fourteen by twenty-four feet and a story and
a half high, and was built of square hewed logs. It was used
as a dwelling house until 1900 and was pulled down two years
afterwards. The Neale Brothers and John C. Davis opened a
store near the house on the Neale ranch. It was about one fourth
of a mile east of Lassen creek and half a mile from the river.
Probably goods were sold there until the spring of 1862.
This spring Marshall Bronson claimed a place near the sum-
mit between Long and Sierra valleys and lived there for many
years. William Hood and James Goble settled at the Hot Springs
ranch. It is not known whether they bought it from Wasson
or whether he abandoned it. In the spring of 1859 Wasson
sowed five or six acres of wheat there. It was so dry that it
didn 't come up until the following spring and then it grew and
made a crop. This was the first grain raised in Long valley.
William Ross located the Constantia ranch this spring.
In May Jerry Tyler claimed a section south of W. C. Kings-
bury and southwest of Fairchilds and Washburn. Soon after
this he bought out Kingsbury. This month Wright P. Hall
went to Marysville and bought two saddle horses and ten dozen
milk pans and packed them into the valley, he and his Wife
arriving at the Neale ranch June first. Hall and Bachelder made
butter that summer and sold it here and in Virginia City.
When Dr. H. S. Borrette crossed the plains in 1859 he brought
with him a Boyer's patent grist mill. It weighed about two
hundred pounds and was a hollow corrugated steel cone with
another corrugated cone inside of it. It was made on the prin-
ciple of a coffee mill and was made to grind finer by tightening
it up. He ran it by water power at the sawmill above Susanville
during the summer of 1860 and it made good flour and corn meal
and chopped feed. Finally some one let a bolt run through it
and that spoiled it. This was more like a gristmill than anything
that had been in the valley before that time.
This summer W. C. Kingsbury and William Corse, and per-
haps some others, built a sawmill on Gold Run just where the
[190]
THE YEAR 1S60
creek bottom widens out into a valley. Fairchilds and Washburn
commenced a sawmill a little below the place where Lassen had
his gristmill. It was completed in March, 1861, and was de-
stroyed by fire May 5th, 18S3. Colonel Lewis ran the sawmill
above Susanville this summer.
Some time during the summer the crickets made their first
invasion of the valley since its settlement. They came from the
hills north of the valley, crossed the river about four miles below
Susanville, and then went on toward the south. They didn't do
much damage, for there wasn't much in the way of crops for
them to destroy.
William J. Seagraves, who had just crossed the plains, says
that in the fall of 1860 Dr. Atlas Fredonyer had a tent and a
sort of trading post in Mt. Meadows just below the "Narrows,"
two and a half miles from the upper end of the valley. About
this time he located a tract of land a half or three quarters of
a mile up the valley from his camp and above the "Narrows."
Although men had come in with stock before this, Fredonyer was
the first settler in this valley and the first man to spend the
winter there. Probably he stayed there the winter of 1860-61.
In Long valley Wright and White sold the Willow Ranch to
George Robinson and moved into a cabin which they built near
a spring at the foot of the mountain back of that place. Daniel
McKissick settled on the southern part of the Jacob McKissick
ranch. This place was afterwards known as the R. E. Ross ranch.
George Greeno built a cabin on the side of the hill near the road
leading into Honey Lake valley. At that time the road ran
through the pass to the west of the point over which it now
passes. Dr. House lived with Greeno the following winter.
In October Daniel Sclmeeberger claimed a section of land
"lying on Bank Head's Creek beginning about one mile south-
westerly from Bank Head's House." I. Roop appointed E. R.
Nichols his deputy recorder. E. M. Cheney took a claim of 58
acres east of the old Roop sawmill and on the south side of the
river. Jacob Boody came into the valley with his Wife and step-
daughter, Dora Epley, and bought the Dr. P. Chamberlain ranch
on the lake about five miles southeast of Bankhead's.
Besides the improvements already given and those made on
the ranches there was considerable done in Susanville and Rich-
mond. F. and S. say: "The next year (1860) Charles Nixon
[191]
HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
built a one story frame house, 20 by 30 feet in size, in which a
stock of goods was placed. This was the first building erected
solely for mercantile purposes, and still stands (1881) just to
the east of Cutler Arnold's log hotel. During the summer of
1860 Dr. Z. J. Brown came into the valley with a small stock
of drugs, and displayed his healing wares to the suffering public
beneath a canvas tent. In the fall he had so prospered that he
erected a frame building where Smith's Hotel now stands. It
was octagonal in shape, and from this peculiarity the proprietor
was endowed with the title of Dr. Eight Square." This building
stood on the south side of Main street about a third of the length
of the block from Gay street east. A stable built of lumber was
put up for the Cutler Arnold hotel. It stood near the middle
of the lot north of the hotel, and was the first public feed stable
in Susanville.
Michael C. Brannan put up a rather low two-story frame
hotel, called the "Brannan House," near the northeast corner
of Main and Lassen streets. This was the first frame hotel in
town. Brannan ran the hotel a while and then rented it to
David Patterson and Horace McCauley. In its time this building
was used for many purposes. For some years the United States
Land Office was in the upper story and the Masons and Odd
Fellows used it for a hall. The lower floor was used as a store
and a post-office. V. J. Borrette says that this year Governor
Roop owned a log cabin near the southeast corner of Main and
Gay streets and there was a frame building on the southeast
corner of Main and Union streets. It should have been told
above that the "Brannan House" was pulled down in the fall
of 1879 or the spring of 1880 and that in 1880 the Odd Fellows
erected a two-story frame building on that corner.
At Richmond Frank Drake put up a two-story frame hotel,
probably 30 by 60 feet and 18 or 20 foot posts, the largest build-
ing that had been erected in the valley up to this time. It was
on the north side of the road about a hundred yards east of the
log building used as a store and a hotel. The new hotel was com-
pleted in September and they had a dance to celebrate the occa-
sion. There was a big crowd present, for in those days, and for
a good many years afterwards, most of the people in the valley
went to a dance whenever they had half a chance. Ed. A.
Townsend played the violin and after supper Dr. H. S. Borrette
[192]
THE YEAR 1860
played the cornet for the first time in this part of the world,
though not for the last time for twenty years or more. Tickets
for the dance and supper were $5, the price for a regular dance
for twenty years after that. D. I. Wilmans ran this hotel for
the first year or two. In a short time the glory of Richmond
departed and a few years afterwards the hotel was turned into
a hay barn and used for that purpose until it was blown down
by a great wind on the 24th of March, 1908.
This was the first year of Richmond 's greatest prosperity and
it was the live business place of the valley. There were a good
many men working in the mines south of it, it was the end of
the Diamond Mountain trail, and there was considerable travel
to and from Indian valley, Quincy, Oroville, and Marysville.
The greater part of the merchandise brought into the valley was
packed over this trail, and much of it was unloaded at Richmond
and then hauled with wagons out onto the Humboldt road and
traded to emigrants. Frank Drake had a large stock of goods,
there was a blacksmith shop run by Tim. Darcey, and a wagon
shop run by Saunders. F. A. Sloss had a saloon and a bowling
alley and there were several dwelling houses. There was a crowd
loafing around the most of the time and generally there were
enough "tough" ones amongst it to keep things lively.
In November Perry M. (Whack) Craig, son of Milton Craig,
fell out of a boat and was drowned in the mill pond above Susan-
ville. Governor Roop had given the land for a cemetery and this
boy was the first one to be buried in it.
T. and W. give some figures from a census taken in what is
now Nevada in 1860, and they show something of conditions in
all the country along the eastern slope of the Sierras. There
were sixty-six saloons, no preacher, four school teachers, six
printers, nineteen doctors, and no lawyer practicing his profes-
sion. In Long valley there were three public houses, ten miners,
and sixteen ranchers. It was claimed that over 1900 persons
were taken in Honey Lake valley and along the border by the
California marshal that should have been taken in Nevada. Or-
lando Streshly estimated that there were 600 or 700 people in
Honey Lake valley in I860.
"The Grizzly Bear" says: "During the year a record kept
of the emigrants passing Honey Lake gateway into the Sacra-
mento valley, showed 450 wagons containing 277 families. There
[193]
HISTOKY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFOENIA
were with them 135 young women of marriageable age, 376
children, and a total of 1951 people. They had 1200 horses,
4200 cattle, and 7000 sheep."
Of those who came to the county in 1860 the following lived
here all the rest of their lives or are still living here :
James Doyle and Wife, John F. Hulsman, Wright P. Hall
and Wife, Albert S. Wright and Wife, Thomas Montgomery.
L. P. Whiting, John H. Summers, Frank Summers, Kobert Gow-
anlock, Jacob Boody and Wife and Dora Epley (Mrs. Hiram
M. Moe), Philip Boody, Eli Newton, C. C. Goodrich, Daniel
McKissick and Family, John B. McKissick, Hiram L. Partridge,
♦John Cornelison, Charles M. White, Alexander Painter, and
William Ross.
The following lived in the county from ten to twenty-five or
thirty years: John E. Bachelder, E. M. Cheney (Cheney valley
was named after him), Davis C. Hall, and William Hood.
The following lived in the county only a few years: C. P.
Sheffield and Family, John W. Epley, T. C. Purdom and Wife,
Andrew Ramsey, W. J. Ramsey, James E. Ellison, *H. P. Bates,
*Edward A. Townsend, Dr. Z. J. Brown, *E. Brannan, *E. L.
Varney, James Goble, and *Michael C. Brannan.
Pioneers Who Are Still Living
The "Lassen County Pioneer Society" called any one a pio-
neer who settled in the county or was born here before July 1,
1860. The following list gives the names of those who are living
at this date, May, 1915. Probably there are many others still
alive, but they are not known to the writer.
Asa Adams, wTho settled here in December, 1856, was alive not
very long ago and was in San Bernardino County, California.
See end of Chap. 2.
The following were here in 1857 : William Dow, Isaac Coul-
thurst and Wife, Mrs. Smith J. Hill (Susan Bankhead), Hugh,
David B., John W., Agnes J., and Margaret Bankhead, Thomas
Brown, Mrs. Fanny (Brown) Neale, George Arnold, Mrs. Emma
(Arnold) Pritchard, Mrs. Emma (Lanigar) Frazieur, Fred F.
Kingsbury, John W. Stark, Mrs. Eva (Slater) Partridge and
her Mother, the widow of Dr. John A. Slater, Mrs. S. M. (Jones)
St. Clair, and Mrs. Helen (Conkey) Williams.
The following were here in 1858 : Smith J. Hill, William H.
[194]
THE YEAR 1860
Jenison, Mrs. Ellen (Jenison) Spargur, Stephen S. Bass, John
P. Mulroney, Ross Lewers, Mrs. Amanda Gray, T. W. Hughes,
Mrs. Minnie (Gray) Muller, Robert Gray, Mrs. C. H. Archibald
(Mrs. John S. Ward), Mrs. Jennie (Ward) Chapman, and Mrs.
Minnie (Streshly) Long.
The following were here in 1859 : Joseph C. Wemple, William
Milton Cain and Wife, Mrs. James Lawson (Mrs. Morris), J.
Bristo Rice, George Rice, Wade H. Lawson, George R. Lybarger,
Mrs. Mollie (Chapman) Sloss, Charles T. Emerson, Charles Law-
son, Cyrus Lawson, John S. Borrette, Harry Borrette, Fred A.
Borrette, Mrs. Belle (Painter) Bond, John Edward Bass, Mrs.
Arthur Ruggles (Ida F. Spalding), A. W. Worm (now Wern),
Matthew Gray, and Emerson B. Shumway.
The following were here in 1860, but part of them came in
after the first of July: Mrs. Mary J. (Stickney) Hall, Wife of
Wright P. Hall, James Doyle, Wife, and son, Thomas B., George
M. Cain (born in September), Charles Hill, Mrs. Dora (Epley)
Moe, Mrs. Cordelia A. Wright, Mrs. Martha M. (McKissick)
Tipton, Mrs. David C. Hyer (Helena Streshly, born in January),
James H. Jones, born in April, Dora May Epley (Mrs. B. B.
Price), daughter of Thomas H. and Mary Epley, born in Susan-
ville, April 10, 1860, and said by her parents to be the first white
child born in that place, and Mrs. Mary Epley. Edward Mul-
roney, the son of Ned Mulroney, was here before 1861. It may
be that William Meyers (1858) and Mrs. T. C. Purdom, now
Mrs. M. J. McLear (1860), are still alive.
Politics in the Provisional Territory op Nevada. 1860
Very little was done in politics this year. In regard to the
organization of a new territory, they just waited for the action
of congress. Governor Roop still continued to serve, but his
acts were principally in connection with the Indian troubles.
The first of February he appointed M. S. Thompson as his aid-
de-camp. He was to rank as Colonel of Cavalry.
Judge Child urged the people of Carson county to hold an
election, and this they did in August, filling the vacant county
offices and electing members of the legislature. In September
Judge Child held a session of the county court, the first in three
years. T. and W. say: "The Court considered the matter of
the county indebtedness, and ' ordered that all county scrip issued
to this date be declared void and repudiated. ' ' '
[195]
HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
People were too busy with the Indians and with mining to
pay much attention to politics. There was a great rush to the
mines of Virginia City, Gold Hill, and that vicinity. R. L.
Fulton in a Report to the Nevada Historical Society says : ' ' The
mines of the Comstock Lode were discovered in June, 1859, and
the next spring Nevada had 7000 people. Within twelve months
twenty quartz mills were built, and as many sawmills were
cutting lumber in the hills. All the machinery was hauled from
California and the freight over the mountains cost from five cents
to ten cents a pound."
Honey Lake Politics. 1860
In Honey Lake valley political conditions were nearly the
same as those existing in the country to the south of them. Dur-
ing the greater part of the year there was more talk about Indians
than about politics. Plumas county maintained a sort of
authority over them, levying taxes which some of the Never
Sweats paid and some did not. It is said that one fall, perhaps
this one, Rough Elliott refused to pay his taxes and the Plumas
authorities went to his ranch with the intention of taking some
of his stock. Elliott was not at home when they got there, but
his Wife, a sister to R. D. Sides, went out with a shotgun and
stood them off and they went away without taking anything.
There was no danger of her getting hurt, for at that time women
were very scarce and more valuable than horses, cattle, or taxes.
There must have been an election held in the valley this fall
by order of the Plumas county authorities, for V. J. Borrette
was elected Justice of the Peace for Honey Lake township,
Plumas county, at an election held in Plumas county on Tues-
day, the sixth day of November, 1860. John D. Goodwin, clerk
of the county court, issued his certificate of election and he
qualified before Lewis Stark who was then a Justice of the Peace
living in this valley.
Indian Troubles. 1860
During this year there was an abundance of trouble with the
Indians for the settlers on the eastern slope of the Sierras. In
telling of the relations existing between the settlers of Honey
Lake valley and the Pahute Indians after the murder of Lassen
Weatherlow says: "The same friendly relations existed as be-
fore. The treaty was respected on both sides. The Indians were
[196]
THE YEAK 1860
kindly treated and no white man attempted to molest their
squaws or wrong them in any way. This friendly state of affairs
continued until the discovery of rich silver leads in the Washoe
country brought a host of miners, prospectors, and adventurers
of every kind to Carson and Virginia City who were brought in
contact more or less with the Pah-ute tribe, and who knowing
nothing of the treaty the Honey Lake people had made with
Winnemucca, or cared nothing to observe it, frequently treated
the Indians with injustice and cruelty, utterly disregarding the
common rights even of an inferior race. The Pah-utes fre-
quently complained to us of their wrongs and evidently expected
that the terms of our treaty should extend to the whites who
were nocking into the southern portion of the territory. Of
course the people of Honey Lake could offer them no redress nor
interfere in their behalf. "Winnemucca and his people notwith-
standing the misunderstandings they were frequently having
with the people of Virginia City and the prospecting parties
through the mountains still remained in apparent friendship
toward the settlers in our valley, but the same earnest feeling of
confidence in the justice of the whites did not exist. The red
man according to his nature and teaching held any and every
white man in a measure responsible for the wrongs he had re-
ceived at the hands of any unprincipled white man. Still no
threats had been made toward the settlers of Honey Lake, nor
had any overt act of hostility been done toward us by the Pah-
utes until the month of January, 1860."
The Murder op Dexter E. Demming
Told by William Dow and Fred Hines
The first outrage committed by the Indians was the murder
of Demming at the extreme upper end of Willow Creek valley
about eighteen miles by the road from Susanville. In the fall
of 1858 S. R. Hall and A. J. Demming went into Willow Creek
valley and each located a ranch at the upper end of it. They
did not stay there the following winter, but the next spring
Demming went back and built a cabin on his place. That year
his brother Dexter crossed the plains and went on below, but
after staying there a short time he came back and lived with Jack
until he was killed on Friday, January 13th, 1860.
Dow says that Jack Demming came to Susanville on the 12th
[197]
HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
on snowshoes after some supplies with which to make fence rails
and stayed over night, going home the next day. Hines says he
came to Toadtown on the 13th with a couple of axes he wanted
to sharpen. It took him some time to grind them on the small
grindstone that Hines had and he got a late start for home. He
said he wanted something to read and Hines let him have "Lor-
enzo Dow's Sermons" and "Dr. Kane's Arctic Explorations."
He got home just as darkness was coming on, and when he reached
the top of the hill on which his cabin stood he saw by the snow-
shoe tracks and the blood on the snow that something was wrong.
Looking into the cabin he saw that everything in it was gone
excepting the homemade furniture, and further search showed
him that the horses were gone, too. He then thought that his
brother might have been wounded and gave a yell, but he received
no reply. He put what he had brought with him down beside the
cabin door, got onto his snowshoes and started back to this
valley, giving a couple of yells as he went down the hill in front
of the cabin.
It took him three or four hours to get back to Toadtown and
he arrived there just before people went to bed. At that time
E. G. Bangham and Henry Hatch lived in the board house built
by Dow and Hatch in 1857. Hines and Sylvester and probably
Tutt lived almost directly across the road from them. Dr.
Spalding lived on his place just below them and William and
John Dow and A. L. Tunison lived in a little cabin near him.
Daniel Murray was keeping store there and Henry Hastings ran
a blacksmith shop.
The next morning ten men, William and John Dow, Tunison,
Priest, Demming, Luther Spencer, Tutt, Frank Strong,
Bangham, and Dr. Spalding, started for the scene of the murder.
They had no snowshoes and the snow being so deep in places
that they had to break a trail, they made slow progress and it
was late, nearly sundown, when they reached the Demming cabin.
When Jack left home his brother was doing some washing. He
had just made a pair of snowshpes and he said he was going
down to the valley to practice on them as soon as he had finished
his work. Evidently he had done this, and while he was gone
the Indians came and took the two guns that were in the house.
They went into the cabin, or behind it, and waited for him to
come back, and when he was about twenty feet from the door
[198]
THE YEAR 1860
they shot him with a load of buckshot. When it hit him he
gave a convulsive spring and struck twelve or fifteen feet away
from the snowshoes. The Indians dragged his body into the
cabin and stripped it and threw it into a little cellar under the
building. They then took everything that would be of any use
to them, bedding, clothing, etc., and the two horses and went
away. What Jack left beside the cabin door was gone, too, and
this showed that the Indians were close enough to hear him yell
and came back, but he was out of their reach when they got
there. It was a close call for him, for if he had reached home
a little sooner, they would have got him, too.
The first thing to do was to dispose of the dead man's body.
All they could find to work with was a small piece of iron and a
board. They managed to loosen up the ground in the cellar with
the iron and then scoop it out with the board and in this way
dug a shallow grave. They wrapped the body up in a blanket
that one of the party happened to bring along and putting it
into the grave, covered it up as best they could. Demming said
it was all right for he intended to move his brother in the spring.
William Dow wanted to go in pursuit of the Indians at once.
He said they had taken so much plunder that they could not
have gone very far, and if the white men would start right out
after them, they could overtake them that night and then wait
until daylight and take them in. But the rest of the party
thought it was not advisable to do this. The weather was very
cold, the snow was deep, and they were not prepared for such
a trip. Besides this Demming was in no shape, physically or
mentally, to go along, and it would not do to divide the party
and leave some of them with him. So they started back right
away and reached home about five o'clock Sunday morning.
Some of the early settlers say that a while before this murder
was committed Jack Demming was at an Indian dance a few
miles below Susanville. Among those present was a Pit river
Indian who wore a high-crowned Mexican hat. Demming made
a good deal of fun of the hat and finally jammed it down over
the Indian's eyes and the crowd all laughed at his struggles to
get the hat off. The Indian was very angry, but there were so
many white men present that he did not dare to do anything
then. Perhaps it was not known for certain, but the whites
supposed that this Indian had something to do with the murder.
[199]
HISTOEY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
Ben Neuhaus and others say that the Indians thought it was
Jack Demming they were killing and were sorry that they killed
his brother. It is also said that Jack Demming killed a good
many Indians when there was no excuse for his doing it.
Of course the people of Honey Lake valley were greatly
excited and angered by this murder, and believing that it was
committed by the Pah-utes, demanded that Captain Weatherlow
take his Honey Lake Rangers, which he says was a company of
sixty men still in organization, and march against them at once.
The following petition was sent to Governor Roop :
"Susanville, Nevada Ter., Jan. 15, 1860.
"Dear Sir — We, the undersigned, would most respectfully
urge the necessity of your Excellency's calling out the military
forces under your command to follow and chastise the Indians
upon our borders. We make this request to your Excellency from
the fact that we have received information that we fully rely
upon, to the effect that Mr. Demming has been murdered, and
his house robbed, on or about the 13th instant, by Indians,
within the borders of Nevada Territory. Your petitioners, as
in duty bound, will ever pray, etc.
A. D. McDonald, William Brayton, E. Aubrey, E. A. Rower,
W. M. C. Cain, William Dow, N. Purdy, F. Drake, Chas. King-
man, Wm. Hamilton, D. Chandler, G. W. Fry, E. Brannan, Wm.
Hill, J. E. Shearer, Geo. W. Shearer, Jas. Belcher, E. R. Nichols,
Cyrus Smith, I. N. Boswick, S. S. Smith, W. C. Taylor, J. M.
Painter, C. Brown, Fred Morrison, G. W. Mitchell, John D.
Robinson, S. H. Painter, Milton Craig, A. A. Holcomb, Wm.
Hobby, A. D. Beecher, Dr. Jas. W. Stettinias, Dr. H. S. Borrette,
B. E. Shumway, L. Vary, Joshua H. Lewis, Wm. Arullary,
Thomas Bare, Z. C. Dow, Thos. Sheffield, E. G. Bangham, Henry
Hatch, F. H. Moshier, U. J. Tutt, G. W. Lathrop, O. Streshly,
J. Borrette, Dan Murray, J. H. Hollingsworth, E. L. Varney,
Jas. A. A. Ohen (or Cohen), A. L. Tunison, Jas. Huntington,
M. S. Thompson, Clark Doty, Alex. McLoud, Wm. D. Snyder,
S. D. Patten, A. W. Worm, John Altman, A. B. Jenison, L. D.
Sanborn, J. S. Haggett, W. Taylor, C. A. Fitch, F. Long, Mark
W. Haviland, John Morrow, H. Kingman, J. E. Ellison, M. C.
Thaderson (or Shaderson), J. W. Shearer, J. L. O'Donnell,
J. W. Doyle, H. E. Arnold, L. J. Spencer, B. B. Gray, B. B.
[200]
THE YEAR 1860
Painter, P. W. Shearer, James McFadden, J. H. Anderson,
A. Ramsey, J. E. Parker, John Taylor, T. Campbell, F. A. Sloss,
S. Conkey, C. Hall, Antonio Storff, C. T. Emerson."
Captain Weatherlow says : " I told them that the Pah-utes
had always been friendly and as there existed a treaty between
Winnemueca and ourselves which thus far had not been broken
it was better to go and see Winnemueca and ascertain the truth
of the matter. I believed it might have been the Pit river
Indians whose country lay to the north of Honey Lake and who
frequently made hunting excursions as far south as Willow creek.
A meeting of the citizens was then held and its was agreed
that I should send a Lieutenant of my company (Tutt) with
fifteen men to trace the murderers and ascertain if it was the
Pah-ute or Pit river Indians. I did so. The party was out four
days, tracked the Indians through snow, recovered the horses,
and came back and reported that it was the Pah-utes who were
known as the Smoke Creek band which had drawn away in a
measure from Winnemueca 's control and recognized a chief
known as Smoke Creek Sam as their leader."
This is the story of that trip after the Indians as Dow, Tutt,
and Strong told it. Just as soon as they could get ready, in a
day or two, Tutt, William Dow, Priest, Demming, Strong, Lute
Spencer, and another man started out after the Indians. They
found that the night before they killed Demming the Indians
camped at the old Rice cabin about a mile north of the place
where the murder was committed. (This must have been the
cabin built by Johnson and Todd in the fall of 1859.) The
night after the murder they camped at the head of a canyon
only a few miles northeast of there, and if the white men had
followed them as Dow wished, probably they would have killed
all of them. The Never Sweats were on foot and it was slow
work travelling through the snow. The first night they stayed
at the Rice cabin and the second one on the side of the mountain
southeast of Horse lake. The next day they found the Indians
camped at Snow Storm creek. Long before the whites reached
their campoodie the Indians saw them and got into a big rock
pile near by. There they had a good natural fort and they had
the two Demming guns, or perhaps more, and some ammunition,
and the white men were out on the flat without any shelter.
When they got within shooting distance the Indians stood up
[201]
HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
on the rocks and made insulting gestures and dared them to
come on, and when a man came close enough they took a shot
at him. The Honey Lakers stayed there several hours working
every plan they could think of to get at them, and Spencer
showed a great deal of bravery and took some desperate chances
trying to kill an Indian. Finally they came to the conclusion
that the Indians had the best of it and there was no use of
staying any longer. One of the men said that he and Spencer
crawled toward the rock pile and got pretty close to it. Before
long he happened to look back and saw that the others were
going away. He called to Spencer and told him about it and
then jumped to his feet and ran faster than he ever did before
in his life. When he got out of range he stopped and looked
back. Spencer was so angry because the rest of them quit that
he deliberately got on his feet, threw his gun over his shoulder,
and strolled away with his nose in the air as carelessly as though
there was not an Indian within a hundred miles of him.
They went back to the Indian camp and got the things they
had taken from Demming. Among them were the books, the
axes, Demming 's fiddle, and the two horses. They had food
enough for only one day more, it looked as though a big storm
was coming on, and so they started for home as soon as they
could get ready. A little after dark they reached the plateau
east of Pete's valley, and as it was very cold and the wind was
blowing fiercely, they found a big juniper tree and camped in
its shelter that night. The next day they came into the valley.
The reader must remember that this, and probably all the
winter expeditions in pursuit of Indians, was made by men on
foot. Frequently the weather was bitterly cold and sometimes
the snow was deep. They had to get along with few blankets
and food of the simplest kind and they were in luck if they had
enough of that. Of course they had no tents and their only
shelter from the winter storms was what they could get from
brush and rocks and from the trees, if they were fortunate
enough to be where there were any. They wore leather boots
without any overshoes and frostbitten feet must have been a
common thing. Subduing the wilderness may sound romantic
on paper, but in reality there was very little romance about it,
especially that part of it which related to the chasing of Indians
in the winter.
[202]
THE YEAR I860
Lieutenant Tutt made his report on the 24th of January.
Captain Weatherlow says: "Another meeting of the citizens
was held and they again demanded that I should take my
company and march out against the Pah-utahs. I told them
that at that time there were 3000 head of stock at Pyramid
lake protected by only a few herders, there were settlers located
in small valleys remote from each other and distant from the
settlement at Honey lake, and that small parties of prospectors
were scattered through the mountains in every direction all of
whom would be hopelessly exposed and murdered if I made an
attack upon the Indians at that time. It was then agreed that
I should go and have an interview with Winnemucca, inform
him of the murder and demand redress."
On the 28th Governor Roop appointed Captain William
"Weatherlow and Thomas J. Harvey commissioners to visit Winne-
mucca. They performed their duty and on their return made
the following report which, with the correspondence also given,
is taken from T. and W's. History of Nevada.
"Susanville, February 11, A. D. 1860.
"Your Excellency: We, the undersigned, your commission-
ers, appointed Jan. 28, A. D. 1860, to proceed to the camp of the
Pah-ute tribe of Indians, respectfully report that we proceeded
across the country from this place in the direction of Pyramid
lake ; that on the third day of our travel we were met by a band
of about (30) thirty Pah-Ute Indians, well mounted, who, with
a war-whoop surrounded us and prevented us from proceeding
to the main camp. We were detained over night by the same
party of Indians, under a strict guard, the said Indians utterly
refusing to give us any information as to the whereabouts of
their chiefs. On the following morning we were released from
imprisonment and ordered to return to Honey Lake valley.
We travelled two or three miles in the direction of Honey Lake
valley, and there being a dense fog, we came to the determination
to travel across the country to the crossing of the Truckee river,
and follow down said river to Pyramid lake. Arriving at
Pyramid lake we found an encampment of the Pah-Utes, but
from the contradictory reports of the said Indians, we were
unable to ascertain where either of the chiefs could be found.
We then travelled down the lake about ten miles, and found
another encampment, which proved to be the camp of Winne-
[203]
HISTOEY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFOENIA
mucca, the war chief of the Pah-Utes. We represented to the
chief that we were sent to them, by the whites, to ask of the chief
the delivery of the murderer or the murderers of Mr. D. E.
Demming, in accordance with a treaty made and entered into
between the Pah-Utes and the citizens of Honey Lake valley, at
the same time inviting the chief to return with us and settle our
difficulties amicably.
The chief acknowledged that according to the said treaty,
we were warranted in making the demand, but after making
many excuses, he refused to interpose his authority in preventing
depredations upon the whites on the part of his followers. We
then asked him to appoint some future time to visit us. He said
that he would not come at all, and that the citizens of Honey
Lake valley must pay him $16000 for Honey Lake valley. We
have ascertained that he is at this time levying blackmail by
demanding from one to two beeves a week from the herders of
stock, there being two or three thousand head of stock in his
immediate vicinity, herded by so few that they dare not refuse
his demand. We find also that the owners of said stock can not
drive them to the settlements from the great depth of snow
between Pyramid lake and Honey lake, Washoe and Carson
valleys. We believe that the Pah-Utes are determined to rob
and murder as many of our citizens as they can, more especially
our citizens upon the borders. Finding it impossible to bring
the Indians to any terms of peace, notwithstanding the advan-
tages offered them, we determined to return as speedily as possible
and make this our report to your Excellency.
William Weatherlow,
T.J.Harvey."
Probably it was on this trip that the lives of these two men
were saved by a young Indian called Pike who had been raised
by Harvey. As the story is told they had been captured by the
Indians and Pike talked them into letting Harvey go. Harvey
told Pike that Weatherlow was a good man and asked him if he
didn't remember that whenever they two visited him he, Pike,
was given a bed and food and treated as well as any one. Harvey
refused to go away and leave Weatherlow. The Indians held
another council and finally gave the two men their property and
told them to go.
[204]
THE YEAR 1S60
In his statement Captain Weatherlow says: "Who had in-
structed the chief to demand that particular sum ($16000) or
indeed any sum of money from the settlers of Honey Lake, I
can not imagine, but certain it is that up to that time Winne-
mucca was always willing that the whites should occupy the
valley and gave them land freely, his one desire in return seemed
to be to have a house and learn to till the soil and live like a
white man.
"On our return to Honey Lake I stopped at the camps of
the herders at Pyramid lake and informed them of the approach-
ing danger and advised them to remove their stock as soon as
possible. They said the snow was so deep they could not go away
and they might as well remain and take the chances of losing
their cattle by the Indians as to attempt to drive them through
the snow. But they begged me that the Honey Lake people
should make no demonstration against the Indians until they
could remove. I promised to protect them all I could."
The next day after the commissioners made their report
Governor Roop asked assistance from the General commanding
the Pacific department and thoroughly explained affairs in this
part of the country. His letter to General Clark was as follows :
"General Clark, U. S. A.,
Commander of the Pacific Department.
"Sir: We are about to be plunged into a bloody and pro-
tracted war with the Pah-Ute Indians. Within the last nine
months there have been seven of our citizens murdered by the
Indians. Up to the last murder we were unable to fasten these
depredations on any particular tribe, but always believed it was
the Pah-Utes, yet did not wish to blame them until we were sure
of the facts. On the 13th day of last month Mr. Dexter E.
Demming was most brutally murdered at his own house, plun-
dered of everything and his horses driven off. As soon as I was
informed of the fact I at once sent out fifteen men after the
murderers (there being snow on the ground they could be easily
traced) with orders to follow on their tracks until they would
find what tribe they belonged to, and if they were proved to be
Pah-Utes not to give them battle, but to return and report, as
we had some two years ago made a treaty with the Pah-Utes,
one of the stipulations being that if any of their tribe committed
any murders or depredations on any of the whites we were first
[205]
HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
to go to the chiefs and that they would deliver up the murderers
or make redress, and that we were to do the same thing on our
part with them. On the third day out they came onto the
Indians and found them to be Pah-Utes, to which I call your
attention to the paper marked A. Immediately on receiving
this report, and agreeable to the said treaty, I sent Capt. William
"Weatherlow and Thomas J. Harvey as commissioners, to proceed
to the Pah-Utes headquarters and there inform the chief of this
murder and demand redress. Here allow me to call your atten-
tion to the paper marked B. It is now a pretty well established
fact that the Pah-Utes killed these eight men, one of them being
Mr. Peter Lassen. How soon others must follow is not known
for war is now inevitable. We have but few good arms and but
little ammunition.
"Therefore, I would most respectfully call upon you for a
company of dragoons to come to our aid at once, as it may save
a ruinous war to show them that we have other help besides our
own citizens, they knowing our weakness. And if it is not in
your power at present to dispatch a company of men here, I do
most respectfully demand of you arms and ammunition, with a
fieldpiece to drive them out of their forts. A four or six pounder
is indispensable in fighting the Pah-Utes. We have no Indian
Agent to call on, so it is to you that we look for assistance.
"I remain your humble servant,
"Isaac Roop,
"Governor of Nevada Territory.
"Susanville, February 12, 1860.
"P. S. Sir: — If you should forward to us arms, ammunition,
etc., I hereby appoint Col. J. H. Lewis to receive and receipt
for and bring them here at once. ' ' I. Roop. ' '
No attention was paid to this appeal — at least no troops were
sent and no arms and ammunition were furnished.
Cady and Blodgett Killed by the Indians
Told by Dwelley and LeGrow
During the winter of 1859-60 Asa S. LeGrow, Melzer B.
Dwelley, Hank Tufts, — Cady, Joseph Blodgett, and others —
quite a large party — had a camp in the lower end of Long
Valley. Dwelley, perhaps LeGrow, and some of the rest of the
[206]
THE YEAR I860
party belonged in Sierra valley, but that winter they were
ranging their cattle near Avhere they were camped because there
was less snow there than at home.
The Indians had been troublesome that winter and in the
spring the Sierra valley men drove their stock home as soon as
they could get feed there. After several drives had been made,
they got back to camp early one afternoon and Cady and Blodgett
went out to drive up the horses. They belonged to Dr. Weber,
who had cattle running in Dry valley just east of there, and
Blodgett had them on shares. A little dog went with them and
in a couple of hours he came back to camp. The men there
thought that something must be wrong and as soon as they
could, about dark, they started out on the trail of their two
friends. They soon found the trails of other horses running into
the trail they were following, and believing these had been made
by the Indians, they went back to camp. Upon further search
later on it was found that they had both been killed by the
Indians.
The Pah-ute War. 1860
Taken from Thompson and West's ''History of Nevada,"
Captain Weatherlow's Statement, the Newspapers of the day,
and from what was told by the early settlers of Honey Lake
and Long Valleys.
The winter of 1859-60 was the hardest one the whites had
seen in the Great Basin. "The Territorial Enterprise," pub-
lished in Carson City, in December, 1859, when telling of the
arrival of Governor Isaac Roop from Honey Lake said: "The
Indians in Truckee Meadows are freezing and starving to death
by scores. In one cabin the Governor found three children dead
or dying. The whites are doing all they can to alleviate the
miseries of the poor Washoes. They have sent out and built
fires for them, and offered them part of their provisions. But
in many instances the starving Indians refused to eat, fearing
that the food is poisoned. They attribute the severity of the
winter to the whites. The Truckee river is frozen hard enough
to bear up loaded teams." We have seen how near Governor
Roop came to freezing to death on that trip.
The unkind treatment which the Indians received at the
hands of many of the newcomers in Nevada awakened their anger
[207]
HISTOEY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
against the whites, and when the hard winter came on numbers
were led to believe that the Great Spirit was angry because there
were so many white men in their country and in consequence
the storms and cold weather were freezing and starving them.
In the latter part of April and the first of May, 1860, nearly
all the Pah-ute Indians gathered at Pyramid lake to hold a
council. They wanted to decide what to do in view of the fact
that the whites were taking their land and killing off all their
game. There were a good many chiefs there with their forces,
among them the chiefs from Smoke creek, the Black Rock coun-
try, and Humboldt Meadows. Old Winnemucca, whose Indian
name was Po-i-to, was the head captain over all, the medicine
chief of the tribe. He didn't have much to say one way or the
other, but was known to be in favor of war. He was a shrewd
politician and as long as things were going his way he was will-
ing to keep still and make it appear that somebody else was
responsible for what was done. There was, however, one chief
among them who knew enough to foresee the result of a war
with the whites. This was Numaga, whom the whites called
' ' Young Winnemucca, ' ' the war chief. He was not, as the whites
always supposed, the war chief of the Pah-utes. There was
but one general chief, and that was Poito, at Pyramid lake.
Young Winnemucca was the chosen leader of that branch of the
tribe living on the reservation and did not claim any other
authority. He and Old Winnemucca were in no way related
and were never friendly.
Numaga was an Indian statesman of intellect, eloquence, and
courage combined. He had lived in California and could speak
the English language, and understood the superiority of the
white race over the Indian. His power outside of his own band
was only that of a superior mind working to better the condition
of his race. "They knew he was capable, they believed him to
be sincere, and it resulted in giving him influence more potent
throughout the tribe than Poito 's commands, consequently the
whites came to look upon him as the war chief, and he would
have attained that position had he outlived Old Winnemucca,
alias Poito."
Before the council Numaga went to all the Indians and
talked to them and tried his best to keep them from beginning
a war that would result in their destruction. They listened to
[208]
THE YEAE 1860
him respectfully, but their silence told hiin that they were
opposed to him. He then went away by himself and lay face
down on the ground without food or drink for three days. Some
of the Indians told him that he had better go and live among
the whites ; others threatened to kill him and he told them to do
so for he did not care to live.
When the council met the chiefs all got up and told their
wrongs and demanded war. After they had all spoken Numaga
walked in looking like a ghost and poured forth such a torrent
of eloquence as these warriors had never before listened to. He
told them that no doubt they had great wrongs, but the white
men were as many as the stars above their heads and like sands
in the beds of the rivers. If they whipped the white men of
Nevada, those from California would come to help them and
they would cover the land like a blanket. He told them they
would be driven from their homes into the barren rocks of the
north where their ponies would die, and where the old men and
women would starve and they would have to listen to their
children crying for food.
As Numaga was making this last appeal to them to keep from
going to war with the whites, an Indian dashed up to the council
ground on a "foam flecked" pony and he stopped in his talk.
"The newcomer walked into the circle; and pointing to the
southeast, said: 'Moguannoga (He was chief at the Humboldt
Meadows and the whites called him Captain Soo.) last night
with nine braves burned "Williams' station on the Carson river
and killed four whites.' " Numaga then looked sadly in the
direction the warrior had pointed and told them there was no
longer any use for council, they must prepare for war, for the
soldiers would now come there to fight them.
On the seventh of May while the council among the Indians
was going on and the great influence of Numaga was beginning
to make an impression upon the Indians in favor of peace, Cap-
tain Soo's party left secretly, reached Williams' station about
sundown, killed the men and burned the station. This station
was on the Carson river and on the overland road about ten
miles northeast of where Fort Churchill was afterwards built.
Captain Soo was smart enough to know what the result of this
act would be. It was like burning the bridges behind them.
Captain Weatherlow has this to say in regard to the begin-
[209]
HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
ning of the war: "While these events (outrages committed by
the Pah-ute Indians on the settlers in the neighborhood of Honey
Lake) were taking place we neither saw nor heard of the Indian
Agent, Major Dodge. From my knowledge of Winnemucca's
character, his sense of right and justice, and his faithful observ-
ance of the treaty with the Honey Lake people for years, it is
my firm belief as well as the openly expressed opinion of the
citizens of Honey Lake that if the great chief Winnemucca had
been visited in the early commencement of the misunderstanding
between his people and the whites, or even after hostilities had
actually commenced he had been visited by Major Dodge, or
some other authorized agent of the general government who
came with full power to treat and perform the promises of the
government, the whole war with its subsequent massacres and
scenes of blood could have been easily averted. But unfortunate-
ly for the whites as well as for the Pah-utes no such mediator came
and the war with all its horrors raged on."
When the report of what had been done at Williams' station
reached Dayton, Silver City, and Virginia City it created great
excitement and the news was soon carried to the outlying towns.
There were prospectors scattered all through the mountains and
men took their lives in their hands to warn them and the outside
ranchers of their danger. The one thought was to punish the
Indians and companies were organized in Genoa, and in Carson,
Silver, and Virginia Cities. They left the latter place on the
ninth of May and on the tenth reached the scene of the murder
and buried three of the victims. They then took a vote to see
whether they should go back or go ahead into the Indian country.
This force consisted of four companies numbering one hun-
dred and five men, or something like that. Each company had
its own officers, but there was no one selected to command the
whole force although Major Ormsby and others urged them to
do this. They went into the fight without any leader although
Major Ormsby is usually regarded as having been the commander
of the entire party. It was a body of poorly armed, undisciplined
men. Probably the general opinion among them was that the
Indians would not fight, and some of them would have stayed
at home if they had thought there was going to be any fighting
done. Others thought that all there was to do was to capture
some squaws and ponies and run the Indians out of the country
[210 1
THE YEAR 1860
without any danger to themselves. But the most of them were
brave men and boys, some of them heroes when the occasion came,
and with a little discipline and under good leadership would
have made a brave fight.
The Battle of Pyramid Lake, Generally Called
' ' The Ormsby Massacre ' '
This battle, fought on the 12th of May about two miles south
of Pyramid lake, was no battle at all — it was a massacre.
The whites saw a party of Indians about their own number
and thirty of them charged up a little hill onto a plateau. "When
they got up there the Indians had disappeared, but just out of
gunshot, just as before, there wTas a thin circle of mounted
Indians. For a short time it was doubtful whether the Indians
had got them there by design or not ; but that uncertainty
vanished when in front and on both flanks Indians arose from
behind every bush, gave a yell, and poured in a volley of arrows
and bullets. The other members of the command did not come
to the aid of those on the plateau and after staying there about
ten minutes, during which time they only looked after their
animals, some of which bucked the revolvers out of the holsters
and made others drop their guns, they all retreated toward
their already fleeing companions. They at first retreated towards
the timber in the bottom to the west. This was already the
hiding place of Chiquito Winnemucca, a chief from the Black
Rock country. A number of Indians now reinforced those in
the timber, Numaga among the rest, and as the Indians pressed
forward he got between them and the whites, waved them back,
and tried to obtain a parley with the white men. Chiquito
Winnemucca refused to obey the order and ran past him fol-
lowed by the other Indians. Quite a number of times the whites
tried to make a stand but with little success. Many of them
fought bravely, but in the end it turned out a panic and when
they reached the upland it was every one for himself. The
Indians chased them as far as where "Wadsworth now stands
killing them all along the way. When this place was reached
it got so dark that the whites were able to hide so the Indians
could not find them. Major Ormsby and forty-five other white
men were killed. The Indians claimed to have had three war-
riors wounded and two horses killed.
[211]
HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
•On the morning of May 15th the white men on foot got into
Buckland's station and those on horseback reached Dayton,
Virginia, and the towns further back and created a great panic
wherever they went. The news was telegraphed to San Fran-
cisco and soon the whole coast knew about it. The people of the
surrounding country gathered at Virginia City, Dayton, Silver
City, and other towns and fortified themselves the best they
could. "Warren Wasson went from Genoa to Carson to find why
they could get no dispatch over the telegraph line. He thought
that the Indians had cut it. When he got to Carson he found
that the telegraph operator there had paid no attention to the
calls from Genoa, and thus far no Indian had been seen in
Carson or Eagle valleys. T. and W. say: "He also found that
a party was being organized, under Theodore Winters, to carry
a dispatch from General Wright of California to a company of
cavalry supposed to be at Honey Lake valley, ordering that
company to march at once for Carson. Wasson volunteered to
carry the message alone; and mounting a fleet, powerful horse,
rode in fourteen hours through the enemy's country a distance
of one hundred and ten miles to Honey Lake, without a change
of horse, and without seeing an Indian. He delivered his orders
and the company marched south." A. L. Tunison says that a
detachment of twenty-six soldiers came into the valley on the
16th of May and it is probable that those were the ones that went
to Carson.
The War in Honey Lake and Long Valleys
Alvaro Evans says that he was in Virginia City when the
news of the Ormsby Massacre reached that place. As soon as
he heard it, the next day after it happened, he bought a horse
and started for his home in the lower end of Long valley. He
left town about sundown and when between the Truckee river
and Peavine springs he caught up with Cutler Arnold, who
was going home to Susanville, and they went along together.
They reached the Evans ranch about three o'clock in the morn-
ing and found all the residents of that part of the valley col-
lected there excepting the Robinsons. They had also gathered
in all the cattle and had them on the flat east of the house. The
next morning R. E. Ross went up to the Warm Springs ranch
and notified the Robinsons that they were all going to Sierra
[212]
THE YEAR 1860
valley. He found Mrs. Ambrose Robinson, the only woman in
that part of the valley, busily engaged in churning and she said
that she could not go until she had finished that work. That
same day they all went to Sierra valley and took their cattle
with them. The Ross and Evans party took up some land four
or five miles from the Summit, built a cabin on it, and stayed
there all summer, returning to Long valley in the fall. The
Warm Springs ranch house was burned by the Indians that
spring, but the other three houses in that part of the valley, the
Evans house, the McKissick house, and the one on the Willow
Ranch, were not molested that year.
When the news reached Honey Lake it caused great excite-
ment and dismay. As is usual in such cases the further it
traveled the larger it grew. It was reported that there were
1500 warriors in the battle with the Ormsby party and men who
claimed to know said there were at least 1000 Pah-ute warriors
around Pyramid lake ready to fight. It was reported that
twenty head of cattle had been stolen, by the Indians it was sup-
posed, from Antelope valley near Susanville and the settlers
thought it probable that the hills were full of savages who were
likely to make a descent upon them at any time.
There were eighty men prospecting out near Black Rock and
in Susanville the first thought was to warn them of their danger.
The business men offered $150 a day to any man who would go,
but no one wanted the job. When it was found that no one
could be hired to go Ephraim V. Spencer, whose brother Luther
was among the prospectors, made up his mind to go himself.
He had no saddle horse and when he tried to buy one he found
none to sell. Some of the owners of saddle horses wanted them
to leave the country with and others would not sell to him
because they didn 't want him to attempt the trip. They all told
him that no man could elude the Indians and get through to
Black Rock alive. Finally some man told him there was a saddle
horse picketed out on the flat below town. Spencer was head
sawyer in the sawmill above town and that night he shut the mill
down. (This story was told by Mrs! L. P. Spencer, the widow
of E. V. Spencer.)
About midnight he took his saddle on his back, went down
on the flat and saddled up the horse, and striking out down
the valley reached the Lathrop and Harvey place about daylight.
[213]
HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
His horse had not given out, but he was tired and Spencer saw
he was not the horse for such a journey. About a quarter of a
mile from the house there was a saddle horse picketed out and
he went down there and swapped horses. He then went to the
house, called Lathrop up and told him what he was going to do,
and asked him for a cup of coffee and something to eat and some
food to take along with him. While Lathrop was getting him
some breakfast Spencer stood in the door holding the horse by
the rope. Pretty soon a man who had been awakened by the
noise came out of another room. He looked at the horse at the
door, rubbed his eyes and looked again, and then looked at the
horse picketed in the field. The horse Spencer was holding was
a bay and the one he left in the field was a buckskin so it was
very easy to see that the horses had been changed. He then
asked Spencer what he was doing with his horse and told him to
put him back where he found him. The other man replied that
he intended to ride that horse and that if any one interfered
with him he would have serious trouble. The man almost cried
and said he wanted the horse to ride out of danger from the
Indians, but Spencer only answered him by saying that the other
one would carry him to Susan ville. After eating his breakfast
and getting a few provisions Spencer started out and to save
time he cut across corners whenever he could. At that time
A. W. Worm and Thomas Bear were keeping the trading post
at Deep Hole springs and the latter had gone to Susanville for
supplies. "Bige" Adams came along and found Worm alone
and told him the news of the trouble with the Indians. Spencer
must have struck Bear somewhere on the road for they came to
Deep Hole together that night. Worm says that about twenty
of the Black Eock prospectors also came in that night. At day-
light Spencer resumed his journey and succeeded in finding a
camp of five men, his brother being one of them. He had not
seen an Indian during the entire trip. He had been riding for
thirty-six hours without any sleep so he went to bed and those in
camp saddled up their horses and started out to find the other
men. Whenever they found a camp these men joined in the
search and soon they were all together and ready to leave. The
Indians had not molested them, but an old man named Smith
coming into camp one night with a pack mule had been mistaken
for an Indian and killed.
[214]
THE YEAR 1S60
On their return they kept out on the desert and saw no Indians
excepting once when they saw a large band of them near the
edge of the desert. Once, though, when they stopped to water
their horses they found Indian tracks made so recently that
they were not yet filled with water. Some of the prospectors
belonged in this valley and some in the Carson country and when
they got almost to Honey Lake they scattered, four or five of
them coming in with Spencer.
Many of the emigrants who had settled in the valley the year
before immediately picked up and left in haste for the other side
of the mountains. A great deal of stock was driven away for
safety. The people in the upper end of the valley went to
Susanville and used Cutler Arnold 's log hotel for a fort, keeping
the women and children in at night. They had some idea of
hauling logs and building a fort but it was not done. Many of
them stayed there and stood guard at night for a long time.
The settlers in the central part of the valley and the lower
end of it gathered at Bankhead's. They cut down small pine
trees and made a stockade sixty-three by ninety feet and twelve
or fourteen feet high around the log house about three fourths
of a mile northwest of Bankhead's that Dr. Slater and F. S.
Chapman had built the previous December. This was "Fort
Janesville." The stockade was loopholed for rifles and at the
southwest corner, and perhaps at another one though it doesn't
show now, there was a small enclosure set out from the corner
that enabled the men in the fort to send in a flank fire on any
party that came close to the stockade. Dr. P. Chamberlain, D. I.
Wilmans, James Jones, John Bradley, R. D. Bass, Smith J. Hill,
W. M. Cain, Malcom Bankhead, and probably many others, with
their families, took refuge in the fort. Some stayed a night or
two and went over to Quincy, or further, and others went back
to their ranches. Some stayed there all summer. Of the families
that left the valley some stayed away until the danger was over
and others never came back.
Four or five years after this Indian war Fort Janesville fell
into disuse. People helped themselves to the doors and windows
of the building or anything else they wanted. Along in 1866-67
the Indians took the house away, part of it at a time, and used it
to build some campoodies about half a mile to the southwest.
Perhaps the whites carried some of the logs away and soon the
[215]
HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
building was all gone. The writer went to school near there in
1867 and he doesn 't remember any building inside the stockade
at that time. The stockade stood for a good many years and fell
down a log at a time.
During this panic Governor Roop again made application to
General Clark for troops to be stationed in the valley to protect
the settlers, or at least for arms and ammunition to enable the
few settlers who remained to protect themselves and their prop-
erty. Weatherlow's company was reorganized and ordered to
hold themselves in readiness to take to the field at a moment's
warning. About this time Lieutenant Chapman came in from
Fort Crook with a detachment of U. S. dragoons. He stayed in
the valley three days and then received orders to return to Fort
Crook, and this he did without having accomplished anything
here. This left the valley as unprotected as before. Some of the
settlers wanted to raise a company and join Colonel Jack Hays
at Carson and help fight the Pah-utes. Others wanted all the
men to stay at home and protect the few women and children
who remained and also the property. John Byrd raised a com-
pany of twenty men in the lower end of the valley and J. C.
Wemple remembers the following names of those who were among
them: John Byrd, Captain, Dr. P. Chamberlain, Wm. H. Clark,
Wm. N. Crawford, George Greeno, T. H. Fairchilds, Charles
Kingman, Fred. Kingman, Henry Arnold, — Anderson, A. G.
Eppstein, and J. C. Wemple.
On the 29th of May Weatherlow 's company went down to the
Jack Byrd ranch eight miles below where Milford now stands.
Byrd and his company were there and Weatherlow proposed to
him that they join forces and wait for the Indians at a canyon
north of Pyramid lake where, when beaten by Hays, they would
pass in their retreat. He believed that in this way they might
receive a blow that would direct them away from the unpro-
tected settlements. Byrd agreed with him, but the younger
members of his company objected to this arrangement so he
went on the next day. Weatherlow stayed there a couple of days
and jerked some beef and on the first of June set out for Pyramid
lake with his command of thirty-five well armed men, he says,
but Tunison, who was with him, says there were only twenty-six
men when they left the Byrd place.
We will now return to the country around Carson and Vir-
[216]
THE YEAR 1860
ginia Cities. As a result of the Ormsby Massacre hundreds of
people left the territory of Nevada and went to California. Many
of those who remained were so badly frightened that they would
have been of no use in helping to fight the Indians.
In California the news produced intense excitement and every
one was willing to go to the assistance of the people of Nevada.
Within thirty-six hours after the news reached Downieville 165
men were raised, armed, and equipped. In five days they marched
over the mountains to Virginia City. Organized companies came
from Nevada City, San Juan, Sacramento, and Placerville. The
Governor of California sent the men of Nevada for their own
use 500 Minnie muskets with plenty of ammunition. All the
towns of Nevada furnished their share of men and the citizens
contributed to provision the forces.
These forces were organized into eight companies of infantry
and six of cavalry. Colonel John C. Hays was the Colonel com-
manding and the whole force consisted of 544 men. They left
Virginia City on the 24th of May and on the 31st had reached the
place where Wadsworth now stands. There they were joined by
207 United States troops under Captain Stewart. By mutual
consent, Colonel Jack Hays assumed command of both divisions.
The Battle op the Truckee
On the morning of the 2nd of June eighty men were sent
down the river on a scouting expedition. "When they got down
where the land sloped abruptly to the valley part of them stayed
on the upland and the others went on dowTn into the valley. In
a short time those on the hill signaled that the enemy were in
sight. Three hundred Indians were coming and they chased the
whites back to the main body. The Indians kept firing at the
whites with a rifle of long range, probably the one taken from a
man named Elliott who was killed in the Ormsby fight. One
man was wounded by these shots. When the fight began the
Indians had the advantage in the ground. They were on the hill
in a place cut up by gullies and the whites were out on the open
ground. About two thirds of the whites were in the fight and
the rest were held in reserve. The Indians fought for five hours,
but at last were driven from the field. There was a large force
of Indians — no one knows how many — and it was the most stub-
born fight ever made by the Indians on this coast. The whites
[217]
HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
lost three men killed and one wounded. The Pah-utes never
acknowledged the loss of but four killed and seven wounded.
No white man in the fight ever saw more than three dead Indians ;
but Joseph F. Triplett of Elko, who was in the fight, claims that
several of the leading Indians told him soon after the war that
forty-six Indians were killed.
On the fourth of June the command marched on towards
Pyramid lake burying the bodies of the Ormsby men wherever
they found them. The Indian village was deserted and not an
Indian could be found in the country, but the trail led north
and on the fifth the pursuit was resumed. They passed along
on the east side of the chain of mountains between Pyramid and
Mud (Winnemucca) lakes. While going along this range five
men were sent up the side of the mountain as scouts. When they
got near the top one of the men was killed by the Indians. The
cavalry went there as fast as they could, but when they reached
the place the Indians had taken his horse, arms, and clothes and
fled. This was the last hostile act of the campaign.
On the sixth they started to return. On the seventh the
volunteer forces under Hays were disbanded; but the troops
under Captain Stewart remained at Pyramid lake where earth-
works were thrown up that received the name of Fort Haven,
in honor of General Haven of California who had volunteered
as a private in Colonel Hays' command. T. and W. say "After
the battle the Pah-utes remained in considerable force in the
vicinity of Pyramid lake, maintaining a hostile attitude, and
committing depredations, but the punishment given and the
force displayed admonished them to keep the peace." They
also say that Major Frederick Dodge, the Indian Agent, aided
by Mr. Wasson, who had been engaged by Captain Stewart as a
scout, tried to pacify the Indians, entice them to their reserva-
tions, and supply them with provisions, blankets, etc.
Movements of the Never Sweats
J. C. Wemple says it was reported here that the Indians lost
about forty men in the last fight. The Byrd company reached
Pyramid lake two days after the battle took place. They stayed
there a day and a half and then started for home. Nothing of
particular interest took place during the entire trip which lasted
something like two weeks.
r 218 1
THE YEAE 1S60
T. and W. say: "There was a force of possibly thirty men
under Captain Weatherlow from Honey Lake valley, in the
mountains west of and toward the north end of Pyramid lake ;
and the following letter of confident power and prowess tells all
concerning him and his command :
"June 4th, 1860.
' ' Dear Gov. : With my small party I am scouting around Pyra-
mid lake. The last two days have been on the north side of it,
and am now on the west side and within two miles of the lake.
I have not seen an Indian, although I am in view of the ground
on which Major Ormsby fought the Indians. "Would to God
I had fifty men, I would clean out all the Indians from this
region. Thus far I have been waiting for the troops from Carson
to attack them, and then cut off retreating parties, but the
movements of the troops are so desultory that I fear the Indians
will scatter off before anything is done. If there is any more
men in the valley who will come, and can get a fit-out, send them
along for my party is too small to venture much ; yet all are
anxious for a brush with the red-skins. You need feel no alarm
of being attacked in the valley; there is no Indians to make it,
at least on the north.
Respectfully yours, etc.,
Capt. Weatherlow.
Gov. Isaac Roop."
"It would seem that the Captain got out of the wray just in
time, from the north end of the lake, to escape an opportunity of
having the brush his men seemed so desirous of; and if his
courage wras equal to his assertion, it is fortunate that he did not
have fifty men." Weatherlow 's courage was equal to almost
anj'thing, and if he and his thirty men had been lying in wait in
that canyon when the Indians went through it, he might have
fired on them small as his force was.
The first day after leaving the Byrd ranch Weatherlow 's
company went to High Rock Springs. It rained all that day.
The next day they went on to Pyramid lake and occupied the
canyon. Weatherlow says "So much was I impressed with the
necessity of striking the Indians in their retreat north that I
sent a message to Col. Hays asking him to reenforce me. This he
never received, or at least the reenforcement never came. In the
meantime the battle at Pyramid lake did not take place on the
[219]
HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
day fixed for it, and after laying in ambush, short of provisions
and without a fire for fear of showing our position to the Indians
for over three days during a severe sleet storm, I supposed the
fight would not come off and left the position. On the day after
leaving it the Indians passed through the canyon. They had a
fair retreat of over forty miles in open country and escaped
comparatively unharmed. They boast to this day that they have
killed more whites than they have lost men. From the escape of
the Indians without receiving a severe blow the chance of the
speedy close of the war was for the time lost." Weatherlow
scouted on the north and east sides of the lake and then went
home, arriving there on the tenth, without seeing an Indian on
the trip. "On the news of the volunteers having returned to
California reaching our valley a second panic occurred. Nor
was this unreasonable for the Indians who had escaped north
held the country around the valley. A small party of prospectors
who had been driven in by the hostiles had seen them in force
some 400 strong at Wall Springs on the emigrant road.
"The troops removed from Honey Lake had left us entirely
defenseless. At this critical juncture Col. F. W. Lander, Supt.
of the U. S. overland wagon road, arrived in our valley with his
company of some fifty men well armed and equipped. Their
presence was a welcome relief to our unprotected settlement,
for the Indians had grown so emboldened by success that they
entered the valley within a few miles of the chief settlement and
in broad day killed Mr. Adams, one of our most respected and
worthy citizens. Governor Roop with a number of the principal
settlers waited upon Col. Lander and besought him to aid them
in protecting the valley against the Indians."
Among other Indian depredations was the following : In the
fall of 1859 Isadore Goumaz, a brother of Philip J. Goumaz,
who was foreman for the Lee Brothers, with a man to help him,
took a band of cattle belonging to the Lees, 200 or 300 head,
to the lower Hot Springs in this valley. He kept the cattle there
that winter, herding them back to keep them from straying where
the Indians would be likely to steal them, and in the spring
moved them to Mt. Meadows. He left his camp just as it was —
didn't take away anything. Probably he was gone four days,
and when he returned he found that the Indians had paid the
[220]
THE YEAE 1860
place a visit during his absence and entirely destroyed his camp.
They burned what they could not carry off, the wagon being
burned along with the other things.
The Murder of Horace Adams
Told by Wm. Milton Cain and A. L. Tunison.
In 1859 Charles Adams brought another band of cattle from
the States and his brother Horace came to the valley with him.
He was killed by the Indians June 17th, 1860. There was very
little land fenced on the Adams ranch and they kept up a saddle
animal, picketing it out in the daytime and keeping it in the
corral during the night. This morning Horace got up first and
went at once to get the mare and picket her out. Just as he
reached the middle of the corral one of the two Indians who lay
concealed behind it fired at him from a distance of fifteen feet
killing him instantly. "Bijah" Adams, who was the only man
on the ranch besides Horace, had just got up and when he heard
the shot he sprang to the door in time to see his brother go down.
He ran outside at once and fired his pistol two or three times
and then ran back into the house, grabbed his gun, ran out and
jumped onto the mare, and started after the Indians. One of
the Indians fired at him as he came out, but missed him. He
crowded the Indians so hard that one of them dropped his gun
and Adams got it, but the place was covered with sloughs and it
was difficult to get around very fast with a horse and the Indians
got into the tules and he could not find them. Adams then went
back to the house and set some posts on fire to attract attention.
Some one on the south side of the valley saw the smoke and
went over there.
Col. Lander with a pack train and about fifty men, thirty of
whom were armed with Sharp 's rifles and dragoon pistols, arrived
at Susanville about the first of June and camped at the Neale
ranch four miles below there. When the settlers called on
him and asked his aid in protecting the valley from the Indians,
he said he would take part of his force and go out to reconnoiter
the Indian position if the settlers would raise a company to join
him. Lander said he was an Indian Agent and was authorized
to make treaties with them. He said he should only seek an
interview with Winnemucca, but if he found it impossible to do
that or the Indians kept on fighting the settlers or interfered
with his road work, he would fight them.
[221]
HISTOBY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFOENIA
The murder of Mr. Adams was reported to him on the 18th
and in less than half an hour he started with twenty men in
pursuit of the Indians. They rode all night and found the route j
the Indians had taken and probably where they were going.
They then returned to camp after a ride of fifty miles.
The foregoing account of Col. Lander's movements and the
following account of the expedition taken by a part of his
command and Captain Weatherlow 's Honey Lake Rangers was
taken from a letter published in the ' ' Daily Alta Calif ornian ' ' of
July 17, 1860. It was signed by "Knight" who was a member
of the expedition.
Lander and Weatherlow 's Expedition Against the Pah-utes
On the evening of the 19th of June, a few hours after Lander
got back from his scouting trip, Weatherlow with thirty Rangers
and Lander with thirty-five of his men, all mounted, started out
into the country to the northeast of this valley. They made
forced marches for two nights in succession, halting for a few
hours in the heat of the day. When they got out near Madeline
Plains (so called in the report of Lieut. Beckwith's survey) they
found some moccasin tracks and Weatherlow 's scouts saw two
mounted Indians reconnoitering the camp. The next morning
Captain Weatherlow with one company started out for another
scout leaving Lieut. Tutt in command of the Rangers. By sun-
rise the whole command had packed up and started. Col. Lander
and one man went up the hill to the left where he could overlook
a canyon and there saw an Indian in ambush watching their
movements. He at once ordered the train up the hill to cut off
the canyon and approach it from a commanding position. Lieut.
Tutt opposed this style of approach and said that Capt. Weath-
erlow had left orders for the command to go through the canyon.
Lander said that if a large party of Indians was met, the whole
command would be cut off, but as it was a joint command he
would follow the orders Capt. Weatherlow had given. He
claimed the privilege of leading the train and calling up Mr.
Snyder, the commissary of the train, went on with him. When
they entered the rocky walls of the canyon Lander said
"Remember, gentlemen, I do not bear the responsibility."
Fifteen of the best men were sent to the rear behind the
pack train. After they had gone nearly a mile Capt. Weatherlow
[222]
THE YEAR 1860
and his company who, as Lander supposed, turned back to meet
them and would have taken the trail over the rocky side hill in
preference to the canyon, Tutt having misunderstood his orders.
It was too late to remedy this and they went on. "When they
were nearly through the narrow canyon and were just ready to
come out on the open ground, the Indians fired on the head of
the column where Lander and "Weatherlow were riding, mortally
wounding Alexander Painter, a brother of Samuel H. and B. B.
Painter. The bullet entered the body below the heart and lodged
beneath the skin near the spine. He made no outcry, but rode
off a short distance to the right near his brother Benj. B. and
after dismounting said to him, "I am shot — don't wait for me;
leave me my rifle and shot pouch and go on."
The Indians, how many there were of them they could not
tell, kept up a continued fire and the bullets flew thick and fast,
but they did no harm. Lander sent some men with a flag to a
hill on the right and had the pack train sent out of the line of
the fire and told the men to hold the hill at all hazards. He
then took ten men and started out to drive the Indians away.
They ran like scared dogs as the mounted men approached,
going over the rocky hill sides where neither horse nor foot
could follow them. The train then went out to the edge of a
white plain from which the Indians had evidently retreated on
the approach of the white men, perhaps taking their women and
children with them. The force stayed there that night and
were not molested by the Indians.
Lander moved the camp to a long, rocky hill that ran out
from the mountain and then prepared a decoy for the Indians.
They had built defenses of stone along this and he thought they
would come down there and try some long shots at the whites.
About ten o'clock a large number of Indians came down this
hill and hid themselves among the rocks. Lander waited for
them to hide themselves, ten horses were saddled and led around
to the opposite side of the hill, and fifteen men led by Lander
went along the base of the rocks. The plan was to encourage
the Indians with the footmen and let the cavalry cut them off
from the mountain. A skirmish was kept up with a scattering
fire and several Indians were seen to fall. Before the cavalry
got up the hill the Indians saw them and fled precipitately.
Col. Lander now mounted his horse and with a flag rode out
[223]
HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
toward the foot of the mountain, leaving his rifle in plain view
leaning against a cedar tree. Seeing no chance for a fight and
no chance to get in their rear, he thought he might obtain one
object of the journey and have a talk with the chief. The
Indians, instead of coming forward to talk, kept creeping behind
trees toward him rifle in hand. They refused to parley so the
white men advanced toward them again and they fled back
along the side of the inaccessible mountain. Just at dark an
Indian appeared out of the pass leading to Honey Lake — by good
fortune two of their best and freshest horses stood saddled — and
seven or eight men were made ready to support. The Indian
was supposed to be one of the murderers from Honey Lake val-
ley. At a given signal two of the most skillful riders started in
full chase after the Indian and in open view of the enemy on the
hill. As soon as the Indian saw the men in pursuit he threw off
his soldier cloak and made for the hills, but he was too late.
The race was a hard one — his comrades on the hill saw his
danger, but dared not come to his help. They counted thirty-one
Indians come out of the mouth of the canyon, but they dared
come no further. Just then the Indian turned and fired at
the foremost of his pursuers who saw his object and threw
himself over to the other side of his horse and the ball passed
harmlessly over the horse's back. The rider then raised and
fired, bringing the Indian to his knees with a ball from his
pistol. As he rode up the Indian clutched at the rope hanging
from the horse's neck and the rider again drew his pistol and
fired, the ball entering the neck of the Indian, who held his
grip and with his last gasp gave the warwhoop which was
answered by his comrades on the hill who did not dare to come
to his relief. A rope was then tied to his leg and he was
dragged into camp. The dead savage was recognized by the
Rangers as "Big Jim," a noted warrior of the Smoke Creek
band, one of the murderers of Mr. Adams, and the leader of
the parties who had made their incursions into the valley. That
night they buried Mr. Painter under a cedar tree at the foot
of the hill.
That day the Indians were seen to carry off several of their
dead, but the whites didn't know how many of them they
killed. The Pah-ute who was killed at sunset was buried in an
open grave and covered with cedar boughs. They did not
[224]
THE YEAR 1860
scalp or mutilate him. During the night the Indians went
away and in the morning they could see no signs of them. The
whites went on in the direction of Granite springs along the
emigrant road. On reaching it they found that the fortified
point at Wall springs had been abandoned by the Indians whom
they met in a much stronger position in the mountains. Nothing
of interest took place on their road home and they reached camp
on the 30th of June.
There are other accounts of this expedition — Weatherlow 's,
E. V. Spencer's, and one published in the "Territorial Enter-
prise," but in most respects they do not differ greatly from the
one already given. The "Enterprise" says that Governor Roop
and W. L. Jernegan of the "Enterprise" were members of
Weatherlow 's company and that Lander gave the American flag
carried on this expedition to the family of Alexander Painter.
Col. Lander also "publicly complimented Capt. Weatherlow and
his company for their conduct while under fire." It also says
that on several occasions Col. Lander laid aside his weapons and
went toward the Indians and tried to talk with them, but they
always retreated and said they wanted "heap fight." Weath-
erlow says they fought the Indians for five hours and when
Lander tried to talk with them they shot at him. Spencer says
that three or four hundred mounted Indians charged them three
times, but did not come within reach of their rifles. When
Lander tried to talk with the Indians Winnemucca climbed up
on a big rock where they could all see that he was dressed in
white man's clothes and said "If you want to fight, you come
up here. You no want to fight, you go home."
A little explanation will make Knight's story plainer. Mr.
Spencer says they went into the country near the head of Smoke
Creek Canyon. He also says that the canyon where Painter
was killed ran in a northerly direction, was broad, and had
higher, steeper walls on the left-hand side than on the right.
Judging from what is told about that country by W. D. Minckler,
the expedition must have gone from the head of Smoke Creek
Canyon over to the creek that drains Painter Flat and followed
up the canyon through which it flows. The fight took place just
where the canyon comes out into the flat. Painter was buried
on the flat which bears his name about a mile and a half north
[225]
HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
of east from where he fell and "Big Jim" was buried near him.
Mr. Spencer was a member of the expedition.
The last of June Capt. Lance Nightingale came in with
twenty-five men. He stayed here about a week and then went
out towards the Humboldt on an Indian hunt. The third of
July First Lieut. Hamilton came from the San Francisco Pre-
sidio with fifty men of Company I, Third Artillery. These
soldiers stayed in the valley for the protection of the settlers.
On the Fourth of July Col. Lander and his men started out
to work on the emigrant road between Honey Lake and the
Humboldt river. Before leaving he told the people of Susanville
to send, if possible, some friendly Indians to the Pah-utes and
try to get "Winnemucca to come in and make a treaty with him.
The Wagon Road party built some reservoirs at Rabbit Hole
springs and at Antelope springs, and also did some work at Hot,
Buffalo, and Mud springs. These improvements were of much
benefit to the emigrants who passed over the road in after years.
The Pah-utes stole a large band of cattle from Captain John
Byrd this summer. He again raised a party of settlers, among
whom were Asa S. LeGrow, M. B. Dwelley, William H. Dakin,
William Hamilton, Thomas Fairchilds, and Fred Washburn, and
prepared to follow the thieves. He also sent a messenger to
Ft. Churchill, asking immediate attention and assistance. (This
Fort was about twenty-five miles south of east of Virginia
City.— F.)
It was twenty-four hours after the stock had been taken
before the party was ready to start, but they had no trouble in
following the trail. It led to the north through a level country
and the pursuers made good time. The second day, after they
had ridden sixty or seventy miles, they got near enough to the
Indians to see them running away from the cattle. Very fre-
quently during the day they had passed cattle that had been
killed and once in a while an animal had its heart or tongue cut
out. They also saw Indians watching them from the high places,
and probably these signaled to the ones who were ahead with
the cattle. On the approach of the white men the Indians, as
usual, killed all the stock they could and then took to the hills
and watched their enemies from a safe distance.
No Indians were killed. Byrd says he lost one hundred and
[226]
THE YEAR 1860
fifty-four head of good cattle as the result of this raid, and other
people whose stock ran on the same range also suffered loss.
Utt's Escape from the Inddians
Knight's letter from Rabbit Hole springs, dated July 31,
1860, gives the following account of the escape of Hiram Utt
from the Indians about the 20th of July: "One of the Honey
Lake party out prospecting near Black Rock, Mr. Utt, a few
days before our arrival had a narrow escape from massacre by
a party of Indians. He had become separated from his comrades
and was about four miles from camp. A rain storm had come up
and he took shelter with his mule beneath a ledge of rocks at
the mouth of a small canyon; while there he was suddenly sur-
prised by four mounted Piutes, three armed with bow and arrows
and one with a rifle. He leveled his rifle at the later but the gun
would not go off ; he then sprang upon his mule, and dashing the
rowels deeply into its sides started at full run for the camp. The
savages with a yell pursued him and headed him off. The one
with the rifle dismounted, and in order to make sure work of it,
lay down in a little gully, and resting his gun on the bank, was
proceeding to take deadly aim at Mr. Utt. The latter also sprang
off his mule, recapped his rifle, and trusting to luck, fired while
the Indian was still taking aim. The bullet struck the Indian
directly in the forehead and killed him instantly. It was cer-
tainly a lucky shot for Mr. Utt, who again mounted his mule and
rode towards camp. Two of the Indians followed and tried to
cut him off, but he kept them at a respectful distance with his
revolver and thus reached his comrades in safety. We afterwards
saw the body of the dead Indian at the spot where the encounter
took place."
Colonel Lander's Talk with Young Winnemucca
The story of this "talk" was told in Knight's letter written
from Neale's ranch in Honey Lake valley, August 26, 1860.
The Lander party had finished its work on the road from
Honey Lake to the Humboldt river. On the evening of the fifth
of August word came that four Pah-utes had come to a trading
post about two miles up the river, and knowing that Col. Lander
wanted to interview them and have a talk with Winemucca, Mr.
George Butler and two others started out and succeeded in
[227]
HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
capturing them and bringing them into camp. Their arms were
taken away, but they were treated kindly and finding that they
were not to be hurt they were willing to remain in camp until
Lander, who was at Rabbit Hole springs, had been notified that
they were there and came to have a talk with them. They said
that Old Winnemucca was up in the mountains among the
Oregon Indians, that Young Winnemucca was in the Snow moun-
tains near the Truckee river, and that their people were scat-
tered in small bands through the mountains. They promised to
bring one of the little captains, who was in the neighborhood,
Chief Naanah, to have a talk with Lander. After a delay of
two days he came into camp and had an interview with the
Colonel. It was a private talk, but the result was that two
Indians started out on borrowed horses, furnished them by the
Colonel, with the agreement that they would visit their great
chief Winnemucca and tell him that Lander wished to talk with
him and get him if possible to return with them. They agreed
to return in "six sleeps" and meet the train at a certain place
(Granite creek) on the route home. Many of the party predicted
that neither the Indians nor the horses would ever be heard of
again, but the Colonel from his knowledge of the Indian char-
acter had confidence that they were sincere in their promises.
It proved that he was correct, for on the evening of the 21st at
the very place and time agreed on, the Indians came into camp
with the borrowed horses accompanied by Winnemucca and some
six or eight of the leading men of the tribe. After cordial
greetings on both sides and partaking heartily of dinner, prep-
arations were made for a talk.
Young Winnemucca was then about thirty years old, six feet
tall, with a Roman nose and broad chin and a mouth showing
strong will and decision of character. He and Lander lighted
their pipes and smoked some time in silence and then Lander
asked him through the interpreter to talk plain and straight and
tell all that he wanted the great father at Washington to hear.
Winnemucca started in slowly and spoke in a deep guttural
tone, but he soon warmed up and his whole form seemed to
expand with his pent up emotions. He said he was glad to meet
the big captain and take him by the hand and have a good talk.
He desired peace— not for himself for Winnemucca could die
for his people, but for the squaws and papooses who were tired
[228]
THE YEAR 1S60
of hiding away in the rocks ; they were poor and hungry and he
was sorry for them. The white men were coming into the country
and taking up the finest valleys, driving the red men from their
fishing grounds and giving them nothing in return. The white
man dug money from the ground and covered it with one hand
while he held out his other hand empty to the Indian. The white
man had plenty, but the Indians were poor, and when they asked
for flour and meat the white man drove them away. The Indians
were whipped and kicked and ill treated by the bad white men
and they came to him with the stories of their wrongs. He was
their leader, their war chief, and they looked to him to redress
them. He was compelled to fight the white men while they were
yet few in number. Presently they would be so strong that he
could not fight them. He had been a good friend to the whites
for many years. The other tribes, Shoshones, Pannacks, and
Pit River Indians had stolen horses and cattle and killed white
men yet presents had been made these bad Indians. The
Pah-utes had been good yet received nothing. By and by the
white men came to Washoe and they were bad men. They took
the horses and squaws of the Indians and one of the chief's sons
was killed. The Indians were very mad and they made fight,
but now they were willing for peace.
Col. Lander told him that the big father at Washington was
very mad when he heard that the Pah-utes were killing his
people, and he would send his soldiers to fight them for ten
snows or until they were all gone if they killed any more white
men ; but if they were good and would steal no more cattle from
the settlers or the emigrants and kill no more whites, perhaps
the big father would pay them for their lands in Honey Lake
valley and Carson. They might fish at Pyramid lake and hunt
in the mountains and the white men would not disturb them.
Winnemucca listened with great attention to the words of
the Colonel and said it was good, but there had been much talk
by the whites and no good had come of it. He would try the
whites again. He would send his runners out into the mountains
and tell his people not to kill the whites. His people were scat-
tered far and wide and it might take two or three moons to tell
them all, but he would send them word and they would all be
good for one year, maybe two years, and wait and see wThat the
big father would do — whether the white man lied or not. He
[229]
HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
said he had visited the cities of California, all the large ones, and
saw that the white man lived well. He had plenty and his squaw
and papoose sat down in his wigwam and were not afraid. He
also desired to have a big house and teach his people to till the
earth and raise wheat and corn and squashes. The white men
promised to teach them, but they lied. He most positively
denied that his people had any hand in the killing of Peter
Lassen last fall or the murder of Mr. Demming at Willow Creek
during the winter. He said that Lassen was a good man and
his friend. The murder was done by bad Indians under a chief
named Mia-a-cow, living near Goose Lake, who was a great
rascal. Col. Lander told them that Major Dodge would come
and talk with them also and tell them what the big father
would do.
The Indians stayed there that night and in the morning
after they had been given a few presents they got on their
horses and departed. Winnemucca was the last to go, and as
he went away he extended his hand to each one of them and said
' ' Good bye — Goodbye " in a musical voice. Every look, act, and
gesture marked him as the leading spirit of his tribe and a
mighty chieftain.
When they got back to Honey Lake Col. Lander received
information that two Pah-utes who had come into the valley on
the strength of his talk with Winnemucca had been arrested by
the soldiers under the command of Lieut. Hamilton and were
detained in custody. The Colonel, fearing that the arrest of the
Indians would defeat the consummation of a treaty, rode up to
Lieut. Hamilton's quarters. The Lieutenant was absent at the
time, but the officer in command, ascertaining the circumstances
of the case, at once liberated the Indians who came down to
Lander's camp where they remained all night and were kindly
treated. Rumors came into his camp, however, that some of
the citizens of the valley had sworn vengeance against the
Indians and were determined to shoot them on sight, hence the
Colonel was compelled to keep an armed guard for their pro-
tection and at early dawn dispatch them to rejoin their tribe.
He then wrote a letter to Major Dodge, the Indian Agent to the
Pah-ute tribe, and sent it by a special messenger to Carson City.
Lander told him that he had an interview with Young Winne-
mucca and had agreed to do all he could to have the government
[ 230 ]
THE YEAR 1S60
pay the Indians for their lands. This arrangement made with
Winnemucca was agreed to by all the Indians. It enabled the
emigrants to get through unharmed. It would also allow Dodge
to go into any part of the Indian territory and see Old Winne-
mucca, the medicine man, who was now with the Pit Rivers, but
was expected to arrive at the Big Meadows on the Humboldt
river in a couple of weeks. He told Dodge that it was left with
him to have an interview with the Indians and set things to
rights. There was no danger in going among them if they
expected him. The rest of Lander's letter told about the other
things that he and Winnemucca had agreed upon and also told
about the Indians captured by the soldiers in Honey Lake
valley. This letter was left open so the expressman could show
it to the people of Long valley, and it was hoped that it would
prevent them from provoking the Indians to further fighting.
A Meeting of the Citizens op Honey Lake Valley
The following facts in regard to this meeting were taken
from a letter written from Marysville by Knight, September
10, 1860.
Before Col. Lander's party left Honey Lake valley! for
Marysville where it was disbanded, a meeting of the citizens was
held at the hotel in Richmond for the purpose of an expression
of opinion with reference to a cessation of hostilities with the
Indians and the propriety of an armistice as agreed upon with
the Pah-utes. The meeting was largely attended by the principal
farmers and citizens of the valley.
Mr. John H. Neale was appointed chairman and Mr. A. D.
McDonald secretary. The chairman read a letter from Col.
Lander acknowledging a polite invitation to be present at the
meeting, but declined the same inasmuch as the object of the
meeting, as he was informed, being for the discussion of the
propriety or impropriety of his acts in regard to the armistice,
etc., his presence might tend to prevent a full and free expression
of their sentiments which it was desirable should be given, etc.
The meeting was then addressed by Mr. J. H. Lewis who said
that having heard that two Indians who entered the valley,
possibly upon the strength of the armistice, had been threatened
with violence by some of the settlers who swore they would kill
them outright, he had signed the call for the meeting in order
[231]
HISTOKY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFOENIA
to ascertain the real sentiments of his fellow settlers, whether
they were ready to jeopardize the whole overland emigration
and nullify by individual acts of vengeance on the Indians all
that Col. Lander had accomplished by his interview with them.
Messrs. J. S. Ward, Frank Drake, John Byrd, Dr. Spalding,
Col. Lewis, and J. H. Neale, who had been appointed a com-
mittee on resolutions, then brought in their report which was
read and adopted.
The Preamble stated that because of the fact that it had been
the misfortune of the people of the Nevada Territory to be
harassed by the depredations of the Pah-utes and other tribes of
Indians on the frontier for the last three years (supposed to
have been incited by the Mormons of Salt Lake), and for the
last six months to labor under the events of a disastrous Indian
war, they Resolved That they were especially grateful to the
United States government for placing a small military com-
pany in the valley, and protested against the removal of that
company until a lasting peace had been declared; That the
presence of that company was necessary, to keep both the
Indians and the citizens in order during the armistice con-
cluded with the war chief Winnemucca by Col. F. "W. Lander,
Supt. of the U. S. wagon road expedition, and undoubtedly to
be ratified by Maj. Dodge, Indian Agent to this tribe; That
they thought the energy of Col. Lander in protecting the
settlers during the war, carrying on the work he was sent to
do, and obtaining an interview with Winnemucca and making
an armistice with him merited their admiration and respect;
That they heartily agreed to the armistice and pledged them-
selves to maintain it under the terms agreed upon by Win-
nemucca and Col. Lander and that all the persons present
constituted themselves a committee to restrain any one from
doing anything to re-open the war until the action of the
general government could be had in the premises; That Messrs.
Drake, Thompson, and Conkey be appointed a committee to
receive the accounts of those persons who by reason of loss or
expense in the service of the community felt justified in apply-
ing to the general government for redress or pay; That a
certified copy of these Eesolutions be forwarded to the "Ter-
ritorial Enterprise," "Plumas Argus," and "Standard" with
the request that the same be published and the citizens in the
[232]
THE YEAR 1860
southern part of the Territory be requested to hold meetings
to indorse or oppose the action of this meeting.
Great unanimity prevailed, though it was a hard matter for
some of those present to forget their own wrongs or forego
their thirst for revenge. But they all agreed that Col. Lander
had done well in making this arrangement with Winnemucca.
It would have agreed more with the feelings of the citizens,
and probably with those of the Colonel, if the war could have
been carried on until the tribe was exterminated or they had
come in to apply for peace. But as the government did not seem
to be willing to carry on the war, Col. Lander thought it best
for the protection of the citizens to make some provision for
their safety. The armistice would enable the settlers to perfect
their farming operations for the season and stop hostilities until
the government could take some action in the matter.
Young Winnemucca 's Talk with the Never Sweats
Two or three weeks after Young Winnemucca's visit to
Lander he came into Susanville with twenty-four warriors. He
found Governor Roop and told him that he had made a treaty
with Lander and that he wanted to have a talk with the people
of this valley and have it understood that they were to be good
friends from that time on. To make the occasion as formal as
possible the Governor got twenty-four of the principal citizens
and they all went into a large room in the second story of the
Brannan hotel. After the men of the two races had seated
themselves on opposite sides of the room Winnemucca, who could
speak English, again said that he had made peace with the
white government and he wanted the white people to under-
stand that he was friendly and he wanted to smoke the pipe
of peace. They got a pipe and passed it around, each one
taking a whiff, and after that they all shook hands. E. V.
Spencer told that Winnemucca said "Now Injun no more steal
cattle, Injun no more kill white man, Injun no more fight. Injun
good Injun now." Roop said "White man no more kill Injun,
no more fight from this on. We are good friends." Winne-
mucca said that ' ' Smoke Creek Sam ' ' had twenty or thirty men
who killed and plundered the whites and that he had sent! some
men to kill ' ' Old Smoke, " as he called him. If he did send men
[ 233 ]
HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
on that errand, they never found "Old Smoke" and he and his
band did a great deal of mischief after that.
After this meeting in Susanville word was sent all over this
part of the country that a treaty had been made with the
Pah-utes. People returned to their ranches and turned their
stock out on the ranges. The Pah-utes came into the valley as
before and for a number of years both the Winnemuccas came
into the valley occasionally to visit the old settlers.
This is the only war the whites ever had with the Pah-utes
as a tribe, and probably this could have been averted had the
proper measures been taken in time. Perhaps some depredations
were committed by the Pah-utes after this in spite of the efforts
of their head chiefs to keep them from molesting the property
of the white men, for, as Winnemucca once said, "Some bad
Injun. Maybe some time some bad white man." A good many
outrages, which it was afterwards found had been committed by
the Indians of other tribes, were laid to the Pah-utes, and as a
result of these reports one, or both, of the Winnemuccas nearly
lost their lives while visiting Susanville. But this war showed
them the strength of the whites and they never forgot it. A
few years after this when some of the renegade bands of this
tribe were making trouble for the whites, a good many of the
Pah-utes joined the soldiers in hunting them down. They were
afraid that if the whites got angry they would exterminate the
whole tribe, and they looked upon the Indians who were making
the trouble as their enemies, too.
The Soldier's Bridge
This bridge, which gave the name to that section of the
country and to the school district in that neighborhood, was for
many years a useful and noted landmark. It was built across
the Susan river about one fourth of a mile below what is now
known as the Tanner lane east of Standish. Some of the early
settlers think it may have been built in 1859, but Thomas Brown,
whose remembrance of the facts connected with its building is
very clear, is positive that it was built in 1860 and part of his
story is corroborated by the newspapers of the day. Many of
the old settlers who are in a position td know about it think his
account is right, and besides that, during the summer of 1859
the water was very low. The sloughs in that section were all
[234]
THE YEAR 1860
dry and there was so little water in the river that it was not
necessary to have a bridge then.
Mr. Brown says that in the summer of 1860 (Tunison says
the Fourth of July) First Lieutenant Hamilton came into the
valley from the San Francisco Presidio with fifty men and
camped on the river just above where the bridge was afterwards
built. He established a military post there and this bridge was
built in order to help him get his supplies and material across
the river. It was a simply constructed affair — just some timbers
laid across the river on which was a floor of puncheon. George
Lathrop hauled the material of which it was built from the
south side of the valley.
In the fall Hamilton went back to the Presidio with thirty
men. The remaining men were left in command of Second
Lieutenant E. R. Warner and they stayed here through the
following winter at least.
A year or two after the bridge was built the soldiers put up
a building 18 by 30 feet, or something like that, and a stone
corral on the north side of the river near the bridge. This was
for the accommodation of the soldiers whenever they passed
through the valley or stayed there for a short time.
At the February, 1867, meeting of the board of supervisors
J. N. Pine was given the privilege of moving the bridge about a
quarter of a mile up the river. It is not known whether it was
moved that year or not, but some time after that it was moved to
the site of the present bridge across the river in the Tanner lane.
The Shooting of "Big" John Chapman
Early in the spring of 1860 an unfortunate affair took place
which perhaps might have been prevented if a few men had
interfered at the right time and persuaded the principals in the
matter to talk things over a little. This was the shooting of
Chapman by Albert A. Smith. Chapman was from Arkansas,
was a large, powerful man, a fist fighter, quarrelsome, always
looking for trouble and often finding it, and was considered to
be a desperate man. Smith was from the state of New York,
was rather short in stature, and was a quiet man. Both of these
men aspired to the hand of the same lady and Smith was the
favored suitor. It was just before the war broke out, political
feeling was running high, and the two men were on opposite
[235]
HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
sides regarding the great question of the day. It is also said
that there were people who were interested in getting Chapman
into trouble, hoping some one would kill him, and they carried
tales back and forth between the men. Finally Chapman threat-
ened to shoot Smith on sight and this word was at once carried
to the latter. On Wednesday, the 7th of March, Chapman, who
was living at the Squire Stark place, went up to Richmond where
Smith lived. He first went to the store and stayed there a
short time and then went across the street to the saloon run by
F. A. Sloss. Smith was there and was watching the other man's
movements. At this time it is impossible to tell just where
Smith stood when Chapman came through the door, but it is
certain that he fired at least one shot before his enemy saw him
and that crippled Chapman so he never fired a shot. The
wounded man walked out of the saloon and part way across the
street and then went down on his knees. Some one helped him
to get up and go to the store, and there they took him up stairs
and put him to bed and called Dr. Stettinius, who was a fine
surgeon, to attend to his case. He was shot four times, through
the breast, in the jaw, in the wrist, and in the back.
On the 10th the citizens met at Richmond and gave Smith a
trial. A judge, some say it was Dr. Slater, others say Squire
Stark, was chosen and a jury impaneled. It was proved that
Chapman had threatened to kill Smith on sight and the latter
was exonerated. Reliable men say that after the shooting Chap-
man told them that he came to Richmond with the intention of
killing Smith and that he didn't blame Smith for shooting him.
At first it was thought that Chapman would get well, but
he died on Friday, the 16th, at nine o'clock in the morning.
He was buried on the north side of the hill, near the top, about
one fourth of a mile south of east of Richmond. Smith married
the lady about whom the trouble occurred and lived in the valley
for more than thirty years after that. He held several county
offices and was post-master at Susanville. It is said that Chap-
man had a brother living in Plumas county who swore that he
would kill Smith if he ever met him. But the men never hap-
pened to meet and in the course of time Chapman dropped the
matter.
A great many conflicting stories have been told in regard to
the foregoing. What is here related is given on the authority of
[236]
THE YEAR 1860
what was told by F. A. Sloss who was present when the shooting
took place, Orlando Streshly who helped to take care of the
wounded man, and what was found in the diary of A. L. Tunison
who was present at Smith's trial and who wrote the principal
facts in the case on his return home.
A Bear Story
V. J. Borrette says that during the winter of 1860-61 a grizzly
bear paid several nocturnal visits to the people of Susanville
and that vicinity. One night he was prowling around a house
that stood about one eighth of a mile south of where the bridge
now crosses the river. Not very long after dark a boy who was
sleeping there heard a noise outside of the house and went to a
window and threw it up. Just then the bear reared up on his
hind legs in front of the window and the boy found his face
close to that of the bear. He was scared half to death, and
shutting down the window, he ran up stairs and locked himself
into a room and stayed there all night. The next morning when
he went up to the mill and told his adventure he was still pretty
shaky from fright.
Ladue Vary had a claim north of town and his cabin stood
on Weatherlow street a short distance north of Piute creek. A
man named Sam. King was living there and one night shortly
after the boy got his scare he heard something walking around
the cabin — a wild beast he supposed. He loaded an old musket
with buckshot, opened the door a little ways, and fired at some
animal he could dimly see. He then hastily closed the door
without waiting to see the result of his shot. The next morning
he found not far away a dead grizzly that weighed eight
hundred pounds.
Conditions at the Close of 1860
The natural growth and improvement of the country had
gone on during the year and in one or two respects conditions
had changed a little. Farm produce brought good prices, but
there was still no outside market for it excepting that Virginia
City and the mining camps in that vicinity began to take a
little butter, hay, etc. Kough Elliott sold quite a lot of grain
at twelve and a half cents a pound and hay was sold as high as
twenty dollars a ton. One man paid a five dollar doctor bill
[237]
HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
with ten pounds of flour and half a dozen ruta-bagas. Some
grain was still thrashed with a flail, but there were two or three
small thrashing machines in the valley this fall. "Uncle
Johnny" Baxter had one and John F. Hulsman says that Henry
Arnold thrashed around Richmond with a six horsepower
machine. It had a sort of tub power and would thrash three
or four hundred bushels of grain a day.
Because of the improvement of the roads more freight was
brought in with teams. Freight was cheaper and more stores
were opened in the valley. The greater part of the merchandise
was brought from Marysville. Mail was still brought in by
private conveyance and H. L. Spargur brought it from Oroville
and Quincy part of the time this year. The mail that came
across the plains on the overland stage was taken off at Carson
City and brought here, but probably this mail was not very
regular during the Indian troubles of this year.
Wages were low in comparison with other things. A man
got two dollars a day in haying and harvesting and forty dollars
a month working on a ranch. Teamster's wages were $75 a
month and upwards according to the size of the team driven.
Social conditions remained about the same as during the
previous years.
[ 238 ]
CHAPTER VII
1861. SETTLEMENT
It has been told that the "Lassen County Pioneers Society"
fixed the end of the pioneer days at the first of July, 1860.
This may have been the end so far as people were concerned,
but there was a great deal of pioneer work of various kinds done
in the county for many years after that.
There were very few land claims filed this year with Governor
Roop, Recorder for the valley. The most of the land which was
then considered to be of any value had been taken up.
In March Alex Gilman, or Gilmore, claimed an irregular
tract south of the upper end of the Adams ditch on Susan river.
This year the Susan ville sawmill was run by E. V. and L. D.
Spencer who bought it from I. N. Roop.
F. and S. have this to say about Lassen Lodge No. 149,
F. & A. M.: "March 21, 1861, the grand master of California
issued a dispensation to John S. Ward, David Titherington,
Absalom M. Vaughan, Richard D. Bass, D. I. Wilmans, Stephen
D. Bass, and A. D. McDonald, to organize a lodge of Masons at
Richmond, Honey Lake valley. At that time, owing to a mining
excitement, the town of Richmond had sprung up suddenly into
the most important and populous settlement in the county, com-
pletely overshadowing and distancing Susanville. The first
meeting under the dispensation was held April 18, 1861."
In April G. Stacy claimed a piece of land bounded on the
east by the land of Luther Spencer, on the west by that of
M. S. Scott, on the south by "Woodstock & Brannon, and running
north to the bluffs. This land was one half or three fourths of
a mile east of Susanville. This year L. P. Whiting started a
small nursery on the Conkey ranch seven miles south of Susan-
ville on the mountain road. This was the first nursery in the
valley.
J. C. Wemple and Judson Dakin built a board cabin at
Milford. (The place was named this year by Mr. Wemple.)
It was a little north of the creek and a couple of hundred yards
above the road. As soon as the cabin was finished they began
to get out the timbers for a gristmill which was completed the
last of October or the first of November. It was on the creek
[239]
HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
just opposite to their cabin and was run by a large overshot
water wheel. E. V. Spencer had bought the millstones that
Lassen brought up from the Deer Creek ranch and they bought
them from him. They put them into the new mill and they
were used there as long as it was run. This was the first regular
gristmill in the valley. In 1865 Dakin sold out to James M.
Steinberger who carried on the business with Mr. Wemple until
the fall of 1878 and they then sold out to Hiram H. Dakin. He
ran the mill until the fall of 1882 and then he moved to Janes-
ville where he, J. D. Byers, and Hiram E. McClelland had built
another gristmill. The Milford mill was not used any more and
in the course of time it tumbled down.
In June V. J. Borrette and B. B. Gray located a section of
land beginning at the mouth of "Willow creek, extending half a
mile up the river, and having a length of two miles to the
north. They also claimed the waters of Willow creek to be used
to irrigate their land. This year and the next Wiley Cornelison
had a store and a blacksmith shop at the Thompson ranch three
miles southeast of Bankhead's. David Blanchard was his partner
the first year. Timothy Darcey was the blacksmith.
This month when the grain was six or eight inches high a
big lot of grasshoppers hatched out in Antelope valley northeast
of Susanville. From there they went across the valley, passing
through Dr. Spalding's ranch, and doing more or less damage
to the crops where they went.
In July A. Ramsey located 400 acres east of Coulthurst's
lower claim. He also claimed a section lying to the north of his
claim and that of Coulthurst for his son, W. J. Ramsey. Besides
this he gave notice that he had taken possession of the waters of
Willow creek 480 rods above the ford where the emigrant road
crosses it. T. J. Harvey sold his part of the Lathrop and
Harvey ranch in the northern part of the valley to a man
named Bradley. This year C. C. and William G. Goodrich
settled in Mt. Meadows about half a mile below the "Narrows,"
or about two miles and a half below the upper end of the valley.
A man named Duffey, or Guffey, built a cabin about a mile and
a half southeast of them and another one named Manuel settled
a couple of miles south of them. A family, two men, a woman,
and two or three children, lived up the canyon above Duffey.
[240]
THE YEAE 1861
Dr. Robert F. Moody came into Susanville this year and soon
went in with Dr. Brown. He afterwards bought out Dr. Brown
and sold drugs in Susanville for almost forty years. Fred
Hines and L. N. Breed kept the Smoke Creek station this
summer and fall. George W. Perry and Parker had a
blacksmith shop where Rugg and Harper had one the year
before. (See 1859.)
In September several men went into Willow Creek valley to
locate, so Tunison's diary says, but he tells no more and the
writer could find no one who knew anything about them.
B. B. Painter and Chandler claimed half a section south
of Lathrop and Bradley.
The tenth of this month Eber G. Bangham and Louise
Borrette, daughter of Dr. H. S. Borrette, were married. This
was the fourth wedding in the valley.
F. and S. have this to say: "In 1861 he (Dr. Brown) bought
a piece of land from Governor Roop, embracing that on which
Fort Defiance stands, and transplanted quite an extensive
orchard of apple and peach trees, claimed to be the first in the
valley, though Mr. L. Vary is credited with having planted a
number of peach stones some time before this." In 1863 the
trees set out by Dr. Brown bore four peaches — the first ever
raised in the valley. Miss Susan Roop and Mrs. Fuller, the
Mother of the Fuller Brothers, ate all of them — the county's
entire crop of peaches. "The next school (in Susanville) was
taught in 1861-62 by Miss Fannie Long, in a building on the
north side of Main street, where the Black Rock saloon was
kept."
It should have been told before this that Albert Smedley
Wright, who crossed the plains in 1860 and lived a short time in
this valley, early this spring took up a small piece of land in
Long valley near where the county line is now, built a cabin
on it, and put in a garden. The grasshoppers ate up his garden
and that fall he bought in with C. M. (Doc.) West who had
moved a couple of miles to the north of where he first settled.
Osmer Marsh and Robert Ingram came into Long valley this
year.
During the fall U. L. Shaffer, perhaps in company with his
brother, P. J. Shaffer, bought a large quantity of wheat in Indian
valley and had it ground at Taylor's mill. He built a warehouse
[ 241 ]
HISTOEY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFOENIA
at Richmond and packed the flour over there with his own pack
train, though in this he may have been assisted by other trains.
There was a great deal of this flour — some say 300,000 pounds.
That winter and the next summer it was hauled to Virginia
City with teams. It may be that Shaffer brought a lot of flour
into the valley during the fall of 1860.
This year was the last of Richmond's palmy days. Several
more buildings had been put up there — among them, Shaffer's
warehouse and a few dwelling houses. The Masonic lodge met
there for more than a year. It is said that a man named Cragin
taught school there this summer. But this year and the next
the placer mines on Hill and Lassen creeks gave out and the
mining excitement in the country around Virginia City and that
on the Humboldt river, which broke out in 1861, took the miners
away. The travel from the lower country to the Humboldt mines
went through Susanville and that place grew and Richmond
went down. Some goods were sold at Richmond during the first
part of 1862, but the stock was not renewed. The hotel was run
for a few years after this and they had a school there, but no
other business was done.
July 27th Henry E. Lomas and John Nichols reached Rich-
mond, having just crossed the plains. Soon after this they
sold a span of horses to Smith J. Hill and took his note which
was to be paid the first of November. Hill wanted them both to
come to Bankhead's and he wanted Lomas to open a blacksmith
shop there and Nichols to open a harness shop. Instead of
doing this they went on to San Francisco, but when Hill's note
was due Lomas came back to the valley and hired out to him
for a year. He then went to Virginia City and bought the tools
and stock for a blacksmith shop. When he got back they built a
shop right across the creek from Hill's house. Lomas and
Malcom Bankhead went to work in it and that winter they
bought Hill out. Late this year Dave Blanchard built a small
store across the road from the blacksmith shop and near the
creek and began the sale of merchandise. This building, after-
wards used a stable, stood until it was pulled down when the
new Masonic Hall was built in 1911.
Preston R. James says that he came to Janesville this fall.
A man named Cragin was teaching a private school in the Fort.
There were about twenty-five children in attendance, and the
[242]
THE YEAR 1S61
tuition was $5 a month for each pupil. He turned the school
over to James who taught it the remainder of that year and
for some time during the next year. Mr. James taught school
in the valley more or less until the middle 70 's.
Henry E. Lomas says that late this fall the settlement at
Bankhead's was named Janesville in honor of Mrs. Jane Bank-
head, the wife of Malcom Bankhead. Mr. Lomas 's memory is
very clear in regard to this matter and many other old settlers
agree with him, but there is another story about it that will be
told later on.
Late in the fall C. T. Emerson and Colburn Brown built a
house at the point of the mountain about a mile and a half
northwest of the Lathrop and Bradley ranch. This was long
known as the "Tule" Emerson place.
In December M. C. Lake traded his place in the little valley
on the west branch of Baxter creek to C. W. (Bill) Fuller for
a little hotel on the south side of the Truckee river, a toll bridge,
and the land where Reno now stands. Fuller took up this land
in 1859, put up some small buildings, and built a ferry-boat for
the river. He afterwards built the bridge which was a low one
and had to be fastened down when high water came.
During the winter of 1861-62 Thomas N. Long kept saloon
in a little building on the north side of Main street between
Union and Weatherlow streets. The next spring he moved into
the Cutler Arnold log hotel.
The winter of 1861-62 was the wettest one in the history of
California and Honey Lake valley got its share of the water.
The water at Toadtown was higher than it ever was before or
since. The country along the Susan river was flooded and it is
said that there was water from the point of the Bald mountain
across to the foothills on the north side of the valley.
The following named persons who came into the county in
1861 virtually lived here the rest of their lives, or are still living
here : William H. Hall, Robert F. Moody, Arthur K. Long, E. H.
Fairchilds, John C. Partridge, Philip Wales and Family, Edward
T. Slackford, John D. Arnold, William B. Long and Family,
Thomas N. Long, John T. Long, George R. Wales, Archibald
L. Harper, Libbie Hankins, and Mrs. Frances E. (Barnes)
Cornelison.
Preston R. James, Mrs. Hulda (James-Hankins) Holmes,
[243]
HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
and George Hankins lived in the county from eighteen to twenty-
five years.
The following lived in the county from two or three to
twelve or fifteen years: Amos H. Barnes and Family, Henry E.
Lomas, Abraham G. Moon, John Nichols, Daniel W. Bryant and
Family, Mrs. Emma (Bryant) Vance, John Burkett and Wife,
John Bradley, Jacob M. Epley and Family, "William Dicken,
Dr. J. W. M. Howe, R. York Rundel and Family, George W.
Wilson and Family, Sherrill Wilson, Harrison Sain, William
Maskelyne, S. P. Tunnel and Family, Jesse Williams, *William
Rantz, *Vesper Coburn, William Fox, *L. F. Prebble, Warren
Lockman, M. P. Preddy, Richard M. Menifee, William R. Hill,
George James, Amzi A. Holmes, and Mrs. John H. Neale (Sallie
Hollinghead) and Family.
Nevada Territory Politics. 1861
Although J. J. Musser failed to influence Congress to organize
the new territory at once, his visit to Washington was not with-
out results. T. and W. say: "His influence, though, left its
impression, and served to give form and direction to a growing
sentiment in Congress inimical to leaving other citizens of the
United States under the unfriendly jurisdiction that had already,
by the Mountain Meadow Massacre, been demonstrated to exist
in Utah under Mormon control. The subsequent development
of the Comstock mines causing a large increase of population
(R. L. Fulton says there were 17000 people in the mines of
Nevada in 1861) but served to increase that feeling at Wash-
ington, and the breaking out of the southern rebellion culminated
it in the congressional act of March 2, 1861, creating the ter-
ritory of Nevada. ' ' Its boundaries were established as follows :
"Beginning at the point of intersection of the 42nd degree of
north latitude with the 39th degree of longitude west from
Washington (116 degrees from Greenwich) ; thence running
south on the line of said 39th degree of west longitude until it
intersects the northern boundary line of the territory of New
Mexico (now Arizona) ; thence due west to the dividing ridge
separating the waters of Carson valley from those that flow
into the Pacific; thence on said dividing ridge northwardly to
the 41st degree of north latitude; thence due north to the
southern boundary line of the state of Oregon ; thence due east
[244]
THE YEAR 1861
to the place of beginning." This law, however, provided that
if any of the territory covered by this description belonged to
California, it should still be held by that state unless it con-
sented to give it up to Nevada. Honey Lake valley lay to the
east of the "dividing ridge" and so it was taken in as a part of
the new territory while it really was a part of California.
In February, 1861, the county court of Carson county
"declared that Honey Lake valley was within the limits of
Carson county, and appropriated $250 to assist any one in legal
resistance to the collection of taxes within that valley by the
officers of Plumas county, California."
On the 22nd of March, 1861, James W. Nye of Madison
county, New York, was commissioned governor of Nevada ter-
ritory, and on July 8th he reached Carson City. July 11th he
issued a proclamation declaring the government of the territory
established. July 24, 1861, another proclamation announced the
districts for voting purposes. T. and W. say: "One of the
errors fallen into when the territory of Nevada was organized
was that Honey Lake valley, owing to the uncertainty of the
location of the eastern boundary of California, was within the
limits of the territory. It had always taken a prominent part
in the affairs of western Utah, was the home of Hon. Isaac Roop,
governor under the preliminary territorial organization of
1859-60, and when Governor Nye called an election for members
of the first legislature, it was made the ninth council district, and
apportioned one councilman and one representative." It was
called the Pyramid district and included "all the territory north
of Truckee valley, from a point where the Truckee river enters
the mountains below Gates and Gage's crossing (Glendale) and
west of Pyramid lake." It had a population of 1073.
The governor called an election to be held August 31, 1861.
At this election the Union vote was 4300 and the Democratic
vote 985. John Cradlebaugh was elected delegate to congress,
receiving 1806 votes. Four others ran against him for this
office. In the ninth district Isaac N. Eoop was elected to the
territorial council and John C. Wright was elected territorial
representative. In this district a man named Olney received a
majority of the votes for delegate to congress. F. and S. say
that Roop received 62 votes out of 68, Wright received 52 votes
[245]
HISTOEY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFOENIA
out of 58, and that Wright was a resident of Long valley, an
unnaturalized Englishman, and left this section a few years later.
The legislature was summoned to meet at Carson City
October 1, 1861. As the western boundary line of Nevada was
still in doubt, October 25th Governor Nye advised the appoint-
ment by the legislature of Nevada of a commission to confer
with California and obtain, if possible, a running of the Sierra
Nevada mountain line of division between the two sections. By
a joint resolution of the two bodies, passed November 9, 1861,
such a commission was to be named in a joint convention of both
houses, but they failed to make the appointment. T. and W.
say : "In the meantime, Deputy U. S. Surveyor, John P. Kidder,
surveyed the lines as designated by congress, from Lake Tahoe
northerly to Honey Lake, for which he was paid $550." F. and
S. say: "They (the Nevada authorities) had even gone so far
as to have John F. Kidder and Butler Ives survey the line both
north and south from Lake Tahoe, an action which was not
recognized by the California authorities. There was a dispute
in regard to the situation of the town of Aurora, also, it being
at one and the same time the county seat of Esmeralda county,
Nevada, and Mono county, California. The Kidder survey
placed Aurora in Nevada Territory."
By an act approved November 25, 1861, the territory was
divided into nine counties. Honey Lake valley was in Lake
county and its boundaries were as follows: "Beginning at the
northwest corner of "Washoe county and running easterly along
the northern boundary of said county to the mouth of Truckee
river; thence due east to the summit of the first range of moun-
tains east of said river; thence in a northerly direction along
said range and the main granite range of mountains to the
Oregon line; thence west along said line to the summit of
the Sierra; thence south along said summit to the place of be-
ginning." By the act of November 29, 1861, the location of the
county seat was to be decided by the voters of the county at the
next election. By the same act, Hon. Gordon N. Mott of the
Supreme court was assigned to the First Judicial district which
was composed of Lake, Washoe, and Storey counties.
At a joint session of the legislature held November 27, 1861,
for the purpose of selecting commissioners to organize the
various counties, and supervise the election to be held for county
[246]
THE YEAE 1861
officers January 14, 1862, William Weatherlow, William H.
Naileigh, and Daniel Murray were chosen for Lake county. These
gentlemen did not provide for the election as intended, and the
county was not organized until a year later.
Honey Lake Politics. 1861
It has been told that Honey Lake valley was taken into
Nevada territory in a provisional way and that an election for
members of the legislature of that territory was held in the
valley. Plumas county also held elections here this year, and
George E. Hale, Cutler Arnold, and Dr. Z. N. Spalding were
elected justices of the peace. Dr. Spalding did not qualify, but
the other two men qualified as officers of Plumas county. Officers
of the law had their troubles in those days, too. A. L. Tunison 's
diary has the following brief entry: "February 16, 1861.
Helped Court take some potatoes of Jones. Women was armed
with pistols, knives, shovels, and clubs which we had to take
away from them. Three women." Plumas county collected
taxes from those who would pay and occasionally sent officers
into the valley after criminals.
Indian Troubles. 1861
There was no Indian war this year. During the first part of
the year the Pahutes came into the valley as usual and both the
Winnemuccas visited their old friends. Probably they tried to
keep their followers from molesting the property of the settlers,
for they wanted to live in peace with them. But the Indians
were like white men — some of them could not stand temptation,
and the cattle running on the ranges certainly were a temptation
to the hungry Indians. There were a few of the Pit River
Indians left and they never missed a chance to gather in a white
man's property; and many of Smoke Creek's band were not
averse to increasing their wealth at the expense of their white
neighbors, even in time of peace. Henry E. Lomas says that in
the fall of 1861 he was camped out in the Granite creek country.
One day he was out a ways from camp when he saw a big Indian
coming toward him. He was a little frightened, but stood his
ground while the Indian slowly came up to him, and from some-
where in his clothes brought forth a piece of greasy paper nearly
worn out where it was folded. This paper he handed to Lomas,
who read it. It stated that this was Smoke Creek Sam, one of
[247]
HISTOEY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
the meanest and most treacherous and dangerous Indians in that
part of the country, and that it was better to give him a little
of something than to have trouble with him. The paper was
returned to the Indian who folded it carefully and returned it
to his clothes. Lomas then took him to camp and gave him
something to eat and perhaps gave him a little present. The
noble chief went away smiling, and this goes to prove "That
one may smile, and smile, and be a villain."
In the spring the Pahutes ran off quite a lot of cattle at
different times, or at least it was laid at their door. V. J.
Borrette says that in the early part of the year he and
Luther Spencer bought Antelope valley northeast of Susanville
from B. B. Painter and Ladue Vary. One day while they were
building their house they came into Susanville leaving their
provisions, two yoke of oxen, and a lot of traps of different
kinds at the camp. While they were gone some Indians came
down from the hills and took the largest and gentlest yoke of
cattle, packed all the food and whatever else they could find
that they wanted on their backs, and then went their way
rejoicing. To do the packing they used all the ropes and straps
they could find, and took the lines and straps off some harness
that had been left there. They just cleaned out the camp. When
they found out what the Indians had done they tried to raise a
crowd to follow them, but no one seemed to take any interest in
it and nothing was done.
Some of the early settlers say that this summer the citizens
of the valley held a meeting and after talking matters over
concluded to establish a sort of "dead line" between themselves
and the Pahutes. They made the summit of the mountains east
and northeast of the valley their "dead line" and notified the
Indians that they would kill any of them who came nearer than
that. Other early settlers say that nothing of the kind was
done. There is no way of deciding Which is the truth, and
probably all of them told the truth the way they knew it.
The following was related by W. M. Cain and H. E. Lomas.
Not far from the middle of December Dewitt Chandler and his
hired man were killing a beef at the Chandler and Fry ranch a
couple of miles southeast of Janesville. There were some Pahute
Indians camped on the rock pile in the field below Janesville,
and one called Jim, his father, and two or three other bucks and
[248]
THE YEAE 1S61
some squaws went over and stood around while the work was
going on. When it was nearly done the young man who was
helping went into the house for something, and while he was
gone Jim began to help himself to the liver and some of the other
offal. Chandler wanted this for his hogs and he told Jim to let
it alone. The Indian at once faced him and patted himself on
the chest as if to defy him and at the same time made some
insulting remarks. Chandler caught up a stick of hard wood
and struck the Indian on the back of the head and knocked him
down. He afterwards said that he had no idea of killing him,
but he struck harder than he intended to. The other Indians
began to string their bows, but when Chandler called to the
man in the house and told him to bring out his pistol they left
as fast as they could. The squaws soon dragged Jim away, and
if he was not dead then he died in a short time, for his skull
was broken. The Indians took his body to the rock pile where
they were camped and buried it. They killed his dog and burned
it on his grave along with some of his other property, and then
they burned the whole camp and moved away.
This affair caused considerable excitement in the valley for
many of the settlers thought the Indians would take revenge on
them. There was some talk of holding an inquest — some say
that Squire Stark did hold one at Janesville. They also talked
of arresting Chandler and giving him a trial, hoping this would
appease the wrath of the Indians. But nothing was done and
the excitement gradually died away. There were several reasons
for this. Chandler did not intend to kill the Indian and it was
thought that he was justified in protecting his own property.
Jim had always been impudent and offensive and he had a horse
which he said he got by shooting a white man at the Ormsby
Massacre. During the Indian troubles of the previous year
many horses and saddles and other property had been taken
from the whites by the Indians and when peace was made they
were not given up. It was very aggravating to the settlers to
see an Indian riding a horse or a saddle that he might have
killed a white man to get, and besides that the most of the Never
Sweats thought that the only good Indian was a dead one.
Notwithstanding these troubles there was no Indian outbreak
this year although what occurred in 1861 may have had its
effect upon the troubles of the following year. This summer
[249]
HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
and fall there was a large travel on the road between Honey
Lake and the Humboldt mines, but no one was molested by the
Indians. When Tunison came in from the Humboldt in Novem-
ber he camped near Breed's station on Smoke creek and Smoke
Creek Sam took supper with him. There were a good many
Pahutes loafing around the station, but they were peaceful and
this state of affairs continued until the next spring.
The Murder of James Lawson
Mr. Lawson and his family crossed the plains from Missouri
in 1859 and settled in Honey Lake valley. In the spring of 1861
he went to stay for a short time at the Jerry Tyler place about
three fourths of a mile west of Milford. On the 17th of March
he got up at two o 'clock in the morning, this being the first time
he had arisen so early. (Some say that he got up because the
dogs were making a great deal of disturbance and that he went
to the door at once.) After building a fire he opened the door
and stepped out, but before his foot touched the ground he fell
dead with seventeen buckshot and one rifle bullet in his body.
As Mr. Tyler was in the habit of getting up very early in the |
morning, the suspicion at once arose that he was the one whom
the assassins intended to kill.
The news of the murder was sent all over the valley as soon
as possible and early that day a large crowd gathered at the
Tyler ranch. The tracks of three men were found going toward
the lake and these were followed. One of the tracks was made
by a boot of peculiar shape and another was made by a gum
boot. Near the lake they found a place where a horse had been
tied — some say there were three of them. The pursuing party
followed the tracks down along the shore of the lake and after
going a few miles they turned and went straight toward the
mountain. The tracks ended at a cabin that stood just above
the road about six miles below Milford on what was afterwards
known as the Shannon and Bell place. In the cabin three men
were found asleep — W. F. Warren, called "Curley", Peter
Cahill, and Markus E. Gilbert. The men who had followed the
tracks woke them up and then began to hunt around the cabin.
They found the men 's boots under the cabin, among them a boot
of peculiar make and a pair of gum boots, and these fitted the
tracks that had come from the Tyler place. It is said that some
[250]
THE YEAR 1S61
of the men had at once recognized the track of the boot worn by
"Curley" and that the shoes on one of the horses owned by
these three men fitted the track of the horse they had with them.
Gilbert and Cahill had crossed the plains in the employ of
Tyler and during the journey he had considerable trouble with
them. They had lived the previous year at the place where they
were found.
The three men were taken up to the Tyler ranch and when
they were told who had been killed Warren threw up his hands
and said "My God. Have we killed that old man!" When
Tyler approached Cahill he grabbed a big Bowie knife that the
former was carrying and tried to stab him. The men were
separated and a guard was put over each one of them. Warren
was guarded by Frank Strong and is said to have made a con-
fession to him. Rough Elliott, who at that time was looked upon
by many as a sort of leader, wanted to hang the men at once,
but the majority of the settlers present were not willing to do
this and they were sent to Carson City. According to the best
information now at hand they were given two trials at that
place. At the first one they were found guilty and sentenced to
be hanged. They got another trial and their lawyer, E. V.
Spencer, entered the plea that the Nevada court had no juris-
diction in the case — that Honey Lake valley was in California.
This plea was allowed and the prisoners were taken to Quincy,
Plumas county, California. The records of that county show
that Warren made some kind of a confession while at Carson
City.
Through the kindness of Judge J. 0. Moncur of the superior
court of Plumas county the writer is able to give the following
account of the proceedings against them in that county.
The defendants were indicted by a grand jury of which
Lewis Stark was foreman on October 10, 1861, for the murder
of James Lawson on March 17, 1861, at the house of Jerry Tyler
in Honey Lake valley. The witnesses examined before the grand
jury were W. T. C. Elliott, Jerry Tyler, and William H. Clark.
The defendants demanded separate trials and W. F. Warren
was tried first. His trial commenced October 21, 1861, was
completed about two days later, and was held before Robert H.
Taylor, District Judge. Patrick O. Hundley, district attorney
of Plumas county, and Judge Peter Van Clief conducted the
[251]
HISTOEY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFOBNIA
prosecution, and Tom. Cox and John R. Buckbee conducted the
defense. The witnesses examined for the prosecution were
W. T. C. (Rough) Elliott, Jerry Tyler, F. A. Washburn, Samuel
Wood, William Clark, Judson Dakin, and John Dakin; and for
the defendant E. V. Spencer, W. T. C. Elliott, J. C. Wright,
Thomas Fairchilds, William Clark, and William Hill Naileigh.
The jury failed to agree.
Warren was tried again October 25, 1861, before the same
judge. The same counsel appeared as in the first trial. The
witnesses for the prosecution were W. T. C. Elliott, Jerry Tyler,
F. A. Washburn, John Rolfe, John Dakin, Thomas Fairchilds,
Samuel Woods, Stephen White, James Docum, Wiley Cornelison,
John Neale, John Byrd, and John Bass. The defendant's wit-
nesses were E. V. Spencer, J. C. Wright, Jesse Williams, William
H. Clark, R. C. Chambers, Thomas Fairchilds, Smith J. Hill,
and Coleman Brown. The trial was completed October 29, 1861,
and the jury failed to agree.
Warren's third trial commenced about July 22, 1862, was
held before L. E. Pratt, District Judge, and the same attorneys
appeared to prosecute and defend. There is nothing to show
who the jury or the witnesses were. The trial was concluded on
the 25th and the jury returned a verdict of not guilty. On the
same day the other two defendants were discharged on motion
of P. 0. Hundley, the district attorney.
William H. Clark says that during the trial at Quincy
Warren said he made his confession the day after the murder
when he was frightened because he thought he was going to be
hanged. He said that he told what he did because he thought
it would save his life and claimed that it was not the truth.
Mr. Clark also said that the testimony of the witnesses for the
prosecution was contradictory and that public sentiment seemed
to be in favor of the defendants. The friends of the accused
men always insisted that they were innocent and some of them
said the ones who committed the murder intended to kill Mr.
Lawson. After the trial Gilbert, Warren, and Cahill came back
to this valley. The first two did not stay very long, but Cahill
lived here several years. Gilbert was a resident of Sonoma
county, California, for many years and died at Santa Rosa
in 1910.
[252]
THE YEAE 1861
White's Horses Stolen
The following was told by Fred Hines. About the middle of
April, 1861, Charles M. White, who lived where Haviland built
the first house in Toadtown in January, 1857, had a span of fine
horses stolen from his stable by Clark Rugg and John Morrow.
It has been told that Rugg and Harper opened a blacksmith shop
in Susanville in 1859 and Rugg had been there ever since. He
seems to have been a natural thief. Morrow had crossed the
plains to Indian valley in 1856, but came to this valley to live the
next year. He was an industrious man, but was rather slack in
his morals. He was paying some attention to a grass widow who
lived in Susanville and that took him there quite frequently.
During these visits he became acquainted with Rugg and before
long they were great friends. Rugg was not satisfied in Susan-
ville and wanted to go to Salt Lake City and also wanted to take
White's horses along with him. Morrow was a man who would
do anything for a friend so he went along to help him.
The night of the 16th of April they took the horses out of
White's stable and started on the emigrant road for the Hum-
boldt river. They went together as far at least as the Lassen
Meadows on the Humboldt, and there Morrow turned off and
went to Humboldt City ten or twelve miles to the southeast.
Rugg went on with the horses up the Humboldt nearly to
Gravelly Ford, but becoming frightened about the Indians he
turned back. A few days after the horses were stolen L. N.
Breed started from the valley to go to Humboldt City. When
out near Smoke creek he noticed that the tracks of two horses
came into the road and he saw them in the road all the way to
the Humboldt river. He also Morrow in Humboldt City. In a
day or two Breed set out for Honey Lake and not long after
reaching here he heard that White's horses had been stolen. He
hunted up White and told him about the tracks he had seen in
the road and about seeing Morrow. It was late at night, but
White at once rode down to see Hines because Morrow used to
make his headquarters there. Hines told him that Morrow had
been there that afternoon and said he was going over to Neale's
store and then up to Tom. Watson's about half a mile east of
Richmond. Hines had partly undressed to go to bed, but he
put on his clothes, went out and saddled his horse, and the two
men went down to the next place and got William Dow.
[253]
HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
The three men went first to the Neale store and there they
were told that Morrow had been there that afternoon and bought
some tobacco and had then gone on up the road. They went on
up to Watson's, but he had not been there. The before-men-
tioned grass widow had moved down to the Thompson ranch
three miles southeast of Janesville, and for that and one or two
other reasons they concluded that the man they were looking for
had gone down there and they followed him. William Ellison,
called "Blue Bill," lived near the Chandler and Fry place and
from him they learned that Morrow had left his horse with him
and gone away. They reached Thompson's just about daylight
and woke him up and asked him if Morrow had been there. He
said he had not. Just then some of them saw a man on foot out
in the field to the north of them and he was making a circle as if
trying to reach "Blue Bill's" cabin. They headed him off and
found he was the man they wanted. He was very much excited
and drew his pistol, but Hines told him to put it up and not to
try anything of that kind. They disarmed him and took him up
to "Blue Bill's" and put him on his horse. Then they took him
to the Hines and Sylvester ranch and put him in a room up-stairs.
On the 11th of May, or about that time, he was given a pre-
liminary examination at Richmond before Squire V. J. Borrette
and bound over to the higher court. His bail was fixed at $5000,
but he could not raise this and was sent to jail, probably at
Quincy.
A man was sent out to Lassen's Meadows, and Rugg was
arrested as soon as he got back there and brought to Honey Lake
with one of the stolen horses. The other horse had broken down
somewhere on the road. Both men were tried at Quincy and
found guilty. Hines was subpoenaed as a witness, but he did not
recognize the authority of Plumas county and would not go.
Rugg was sent to San Quentin for five years and Morrow for
four years. About a year before Morrow's term had expired
some of the prisoners made a break for liberty while the lieuten-
ant governor was inspecting the state prison. They put the
lieutenant governor in the lead and at first the guards did not
dare to fire on them. When they did shoot Morrow got a bad
wound across the abdomen from a rifle bullet, but he managed to
get up to Indian valley and there was captured by John Young
and sent back to prison. Probably he would never have been
[254]
THE YEAR 1861
captured if he had not been wounded, and Mr. Hines thinks he
got further away from the prison than any of the others who
escaped.
After being released from prison he came back to Honey
Lake and stayed about a year and worked for Hines part of the
time. One day when he was hauling lumber he met Breed on
horseback and the latter said "How do you do, John." Morrow
never said a word, but wound the lines around the brake,
climbed off the wagon, and started for Breed. He didn't wait
for Morrow to reach him, but put spurs to his horse and rode
away in considerable haste. He was afraid of Morrow and told
Hines that he should not have employed him and kept him here
in the valley.
One day Morrow had a fight in Susanville with Old Man
Varney who wore a wig, although his antagonist did not know it.
"When he hit Varney the man went one way and his wig the
other. Morrow looked first at him and then at the wig and said
"God. Didn't I scalp him quick!" Mr. Hines afterwards heard
that Morrow and some others stole some horses near Carson City
and were captured while making their way east with them. For
this they were sent to the Nevada state prison at Carson City.
It was reported that Rugg went to Mexico after getting out of
San Quentin.
Conditions at the Close of 1861
"While some of the conditions remained the same as during
the previous year, the gradual improvement for the better went
on and each year life became more comfortable for the settlers.
The mining towns on the Comstock lode were rapidly filling
up and they made a better market for the Never Sweats. Prices
were high, but as yet they were in no condition to profit much
by it. There were no mowers in the valley and there were not
men enough to cut much hay by hand. There was not land
enough cleared up to raise a great deal of grain, but now that
a better market had come this work went on rapidly. This year
flour had to be brought into the valley again for the gristmill
was not finished until late in the fall. It was usually very high
in price, but once this fall Shaffer sold it at Richmond for $7 a
hundred and that was extremely cheap for flour in those days.
V. J. Borrette bought some seed wheat from Sylvenus Conkey
[ 255 ]
HISTOEY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
this spring and paid ten cents a pound for it. Freight to Vir-
ginia City was five cents a pound and a little more than that to
Marysville. Langdon and Whiting brought the mail and express
into the valley from Oroville and Quincy during the winter of
1861-62.
Probably there was considerable feeling in the valley in
regard to the civil war, but it had not become so bitter as it
was later on.
[ 256 ]
CHAPTER VIII
1862. SETTLEMENT
The days of squatter filings were almost done in the land of
the Never Sweats. Only five filings were made with Roop
this year and these were the last ones ever made.
In January C. Arnold, Henry Arnold, Leroy Arnold, A.
Curtis, and M. S. Scott located a half section just to the north of
the upper Hot spring and three and one half sections south and
southwest of it. This land was bounded on the south by the lake
and the Susan river. "William Long, Arthur Long, and
Gould claimed an irregular tract which contained something
like three sections of land and lay south of the hot springs about
five miles southeast of the preceding claim.
In February U. J. Tutt located a section having the High
Rock spring in the northwest corner of it. This claim was about
twelve miles east of the forgeoing location. Antone Storff, Fred
Borrette, and Alexander and Ezra Moe claimed the creek "com-
mencing from Antonio Storff 's house, and water ditch running
1200 feet up the creek on Ruff Elliott water creek for Quartz
mills and mining purposes." This must have been about a mile
south of Richmond.
During the preceding winter Charles and "Bige" Adams
had put up a water power sawmill above the little valley on the
west branch of Baxter creek. This spring W. M. Cain hauled
the castings for it from the foundry at Gold Hill, Nevada. They
must have commenced sawing very early in the spring for lum-
ber was taken from there to the Humboldt mines in April. Wil-
liam V. Kingsbury, known as "Smoke Creek Sam," and H. P.
Bates built a water power sawmill on Lassen creek about a mile
and a half above where it is crossed by the mountain road from
Susanville to Janesville. It was known as the Bates mill, but the
settlers called it "Bates's Rawhide Mill" because the belts were
made of rawhide with the hair on.
This spring Jarvis Taylor and another man started a butcher
shop in Susanville on the north side of Main street between
Lassen and Gay. This was the first butcher shop in Susanville.
The Neales divided up their ranch and Williaw Dow bought
John H. Neale's part of it.
[257]
HISTOEY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFOENIA
Iii July Malcom Banldiead went over to the Lathrop and
Bradley ranch and put up a blacksmith shop. In the fall he
and Henry E. Lomas divided up their business, the latter taking
the last shop built. Lomas ran this shop until 1865 and then
turned it over to his brother Thomas J. and went to White Horse
valley in southeastern Oregon.
In August G. W. Lathrop and Wife sold half of the Lathrop
and Bradley ranch to U. L. and P. J. Shaffer and on the 8th of
the following month sold the other half of the same ranch to
the same men. The Shaffers opened a store there and kept a
station for travelers, as Lathrop had done, until they sold out in
1868. Old settlers still call it the Shaffer place. While they
lived on this ranch there was a great deal of travel to and from
the Black Rock, Idaho, and Humboldt mines, and from its loca-
tion it was quite a noted station.
At Milford H. C. Wilkins and Everett, who had a
store at the Summit in Sierra valley, built a store across the
creek from the gristmill and nearly opposite to it. Mr. Everett
stayed in Milford and ran the store there.
At Janesville during the winter of 1861-62 H. E. Lomas had
built a stable on the south of Main street perhaps 300 yards
west of the creek. It had never been used and this spring he
sold it to L. N. Breed who made a dwelling house out of it. On
the 17th of May there was born to Susan Hill, the Wife of
Smith J. Hill, a daughter who was named Jane Agnes. This
summer Preston R. James and his brother-in-law, A. A. Holmes,
put up a two story frame building east of the creek and on the
south side of Main street. It stood perhaps 150 feet from the
street and about the same distance from the creek. In the fall
they opened a hotel in this building and ran it two or three
years. P. R. James taught school in the old Fort this fall.
Some time this year Malcom Bankhead and Family moved to
Oakland, California, and the most of them have lived there or
in that vicinity ever since.
Susan ville. Early in the spring John Burkett erected a build-
ing that he used for a saloon and a restaurant on the south side
of Main street the fourth lot west from Gay street. He called
the saloon the "Humboldt Exchange." George Heaps and
Joseph Hale ran a faro game in it this year and perhaps part
of the next. In March John H. Neale commenced a building on
[258]
THE YEAR 1862
the north side of Main street the third lot east from Gay. When
it was completed he put into it the most of the goods that were
in the store on the Neale ranch. Some time during the year
I. J. Harvey and E. D. Hosselkus went into business with him.
It was called Neale & Harvey's store, and they had the largest
stock of merchandise that had ever been in Susanville. They
sold goods here for several years. This building was burned in
the fire of November, 1881, and F. and S.. say that it was A.
Otto's blacksmith shop when it was burned. This spring a man
named Cogswell built a livery and feed stable on the southwest
corner of Main and Gay streets. In July T. N. Long and Al.
Leroy commenced a building on the southwest corner of Main
and Union streets. It was a story and a half frame building,
25 by 45 feet, and in it they opened a saloon perhaps as early as
December. It was called "The Magnolia" and was the most
pretentious building ever put up for a saloon in the town. After
being used a few years for a saloon a stock of merchandise was
put into it, but it was always called The Magnolia Building. It
was burned September 23, 1882, in a fire that burned everything
facing the south side of Main street between Lassen and Union
streets and the old Cutler Arnold log hotel on the corner diagonal
from The Magnolia. This summer Governor Roop sold three
lots on the north side of Main street just east of the Brannan
House to Harry Thompson who built a house on the northwest
corner of them. He could not pay for the lots and Roop took
them back and moved into the house. He set out some trees and
put a couple of fish ponds into the front yard. This was the
Roop residence for several years and used to attract considerable
attention. In after years it was moved away and now, 1915,
stands on the west side of Lassen street next to the house on the
southwest corner of North and Lassen streets. Some years before
this Governor Roop had some timbers hewed to make the frame
for a gristmill. They were then hauled to the river and piled up
on the north side of it near where the bridge south of town is
now. The gristmill was not built and some time this year Roop
used these timbers in building a stable at the rear end of the lot
on the southeast corner of Lassen and Nevada streets. This he
leased to William M. Wentworth who ran it as a livery and feed
stable. This year M. Bienstock and Samuel Peyser had a store
and a tailor shop in a building that stood on the south side of
[259]
HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
Main street between Gay and Union streets and near the east
end of the block. They also used the building as a dwelling
house. This fall V. J. Burris started a butcher shop on the south
side of Main street between Lassen and Gay and near the middle
of the block. William J. Young opened a photograph gallery
on the north side of Main street and perhaps one third of a block
east of Eoop street. This was the first photograph gallery in
the county. In October Governor Roop sold some land at the
northeast corner of Cottage and Lassen streets to the trustees
of the M. E. Church for one dollar. There is nothing to show
that they ever erected a building on it. Probably the first flag-
pole in Susanville was put up this year. It was a small one and
was set up in the middle of Main street near Gay.
In continuation of what was told in 1861 about Lassen Lodge,
No. 149, F. & A. M. the History of Plumas, Lassen, and Sierra
counties says: "A charter was granted in May, 1862, and the
lodge was instituted in due form, June 24, 1862. In October a
dispensation was obtained for that purpose, and the place of
meeting was changed to Susanville. This was done because
Richmond had 'gone up like a rocket, and come down like a
stick,' and Susanville had been left to glory over the decay of
her rival." It is said that Governor Roop was a Royal Arch
Mason and that he installed the first officers of this lodge.
When the Idaho mining excitement broke out in 1862 the
people of this section saw that it would be a good thing to have
the travel to these and the Humboldt mines come this way. The
citizens of Chico wanted to be on the road, too, and they joined
hands with them in the work of getting a short route between
that place and Susanville. Part of what is called the ' ' Humboldt
Road" from Chico to this valley must have been built this year.
The following tells how they tried to show the advantages of
the new route. The "Sacramento Union" of October 30, 1862,
tells that a correspondent writing from Big Meadows about two
weeks before that says that James Berry started from Chico with
the mail at 11:30 P. M., and got to Big Meadows (65 miles) at
five o'clock the next morning. At seven o'clock A. M. A. H.
Barber started on horseback from Big Meadows and reached
Susanville (45 miles) by noon.
October 18th James L. Eastwood located an irregular tract
of land on the north side of Susan river. It extended from the
[260]
THE YEAR 1862
river to the foothills and was about two miles and a half below
where the Johnstonville bridge is now. This was the last filing
in Hoop's Record Book.
This year Thomas J. and Edward Mulroney and "William
Leith bought the ranch that Gordier located on the Baxter creek.
T. J. Mulroney spent the rest of his life on that place and Mr.
Leith stayed in that neighborhood as long as he lived. Miss
Philenda Montgomery taught a private school at the S. Conkey
ranch during the winter of 1862-63. The lake was very high
this year and kept rising every year excepting 1864 until 1868.
Mt. Meadows. William B. Long bought out Fredonyer this
spring, but did not take his family there until later on. A man
named Mc Williams settled to the southeast of the Goodrich
ranch and P. J. Quinn and his Brother claimed the land along
the creek between the Devil's Corral and Fredonyer 's pass.
Willow Creek valley. ' ' Sandy ' ' Young, and perhaps Hy. Good,
came into the valley this year with about a thousand of General
John Bidwell's cattle. They built a cabin on the south side of
the valley just below where Round valley opens into it and kept
the cattle there until 1864. Long valley. William E. (Paul)
Jones came into the valley and located on the creek above the
Hood place. Thomas Smith took up a place just south of the
Willow Ranch and that fall or the spring of 1863 he sold it to
James McDermott. C. M. West and Albert S. Wright built a
hotel at the junction of the Sierra valley and Honey Lake wagon
roads. This was called the "Junction House" and for at least
twenty-five years it was a well known station for the accommoda-
tion of travelers. Edwin Dalton came into the valley this year.
In the fall of 1861 J. H. Breed bought his brother's share of
the Smoke Creek Station and probably got the part that belonged
to Hines a little later on. He stayed there the following winter
and in the spring sold out to I. J. Harvey who had been em-
ployed to buy the property for a United States Army Post.
During the winter of 1862-63 William V. Kingsbury established
a trading post at Smoke Creek and afterwards kept a station, or
hotel, in connection with it. He stayed there until late in the
60 's. The following is his advertisement, which was something
out of the common, as it appeared in "The Sage Brush" of
January 12, 1867 :
[261]
HISTOEY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFOENIA
"WELL-
WHILE YOU ARE ABOUT IT LOOK HERE ! !
"The Celebrated Smoke Creek Station, situated on the
Humboldt, Idaho, East Bannock, Reese River, Salt Lake, Sur-
prise Valley, New York, London, Paris, Japan and China road,
in fact from which point you can go anywhere if you want to, is
still running, commanded by that well known individual,
SMOKE CREEK SAM.
"Owing to the immense travel to the above localities, we
have made arrangements to accommodate it all, in a superior
and gentlemanly like manner. We are endeavoring to induce the
directors of the Pacific Railroad to locate the terminus of the
road at Smoke Creek, it being we think, the most central point
for it. San Francisco may 'buck' a little against it, but geo-
graphical position will tell.
"It is unfortunate for San Francisco to be located so far
away from Smoke Creek but we cant help it now. — Speaking of
'square meals/ torch light processions, baled hay and 'sich'
like, there is where we understand ourselves. We can converse
upon those subjects, in connection with that commercial article
called cash, with the most perfect aplomb and nonchalance.
"We most respectfully invite those going anywhere to call
on us. Kingsbury & Co."
There was a large emigration to the valley this year. It was
the largest one that ever came in excepting that of 1859.
The following came into the county this year and lived here
all the rest of their lives or are living here yet. This does not
mean the children. John P. Garrett, Samuel Hoffman and Wife,
Hiram N. Skadan, Mrs. J. C. Wemple, Abel Parker and Family,
Francis L. Parker, John Fitch, Israel Jones, John D. Kelley and
Family, Hiram Winchel, Isaac Hallett and Wife, Isaiah Hallett,
Thomas Montgomery and Family, Philenda Montgomery, Isaac
N. Jones, John F. Todd, La Fayette Marks, Frank M. Hostetter
and Family, Isaac M. Stewart, John N. Barry and Family,
Patrick Bagin, Otis N. Johnson and Wife, James L. McDermott,
Charles A. Batterson, Amzi Brown, William M. Wentworth,
Kinsey Talbott and Family, John Pickard and Wife.
The following lived here from twenty to forty years. Edwin
Dalton, Hiram H. Dakin, J. M. Parker and Family, Emma
[262]
THE YEAR 1862
Parker (Mrs. H. H. Dakin), Josephine Parker (Mrs. B. F.
Sheldon), Leonard Hicks, Samuel Peyser and Family, John Q.
Newington, and Thomas W. Pickard and Family.
The following lived here from two or three to ten or fifteen
years.
Judson Dakin, Sr., Smith Parker, James K. Belk and Wife,
Thomas Holden, A. A. Dakin, Cyrus Fletcher and Family,
Chandler R. Fletcher, Charles W. Dake and Family, William
Harris and Family, John Harris, *Samuel S. Stinson and Fam-
ily, James L. Eastwood, M. Bienstock, Czar Giddings, H. F.
Thompson, J. L. Wedekind and Family, C. Frank Wedekind
and Wife, George Wedekind, U. L. Shaffer, P. J. Shaffer, Cyrus
Mulkey and Family, Carl Osborn, Asher D. Spalding, Levi
McCoy and Wife, Elisha Pickard, John Campbell and Family,
Griffith G. Miller and Family, Jacob C. Miller, Julius Drake,
William E. (Paul) Jones and Family, Thomas Housen, F. V.
Burris and Family, H. L. Spargur, I. J. Harvey and Family,
Capt. William N. De Haven and Wife, Frank Peed, Thomas
Smith, H. F. Tarrant, William J. Young, E. J. Carpeaux, A. H.
Brown, A. R. Leroy, Joseph Belknap, *William Taylor, James
Thompson, Henry E. Adams, Henry Bolan (or Boland), John
H. Cowan, Jacob Hill, James Arnold, James Hutchings, John
Thoroughman, Thomas Towell, John McDaniel, Thomas J. Bran-
nan, John S. Shook, Cyrus Smith, *S. W. Hammond, P. J. Quinn,
Miles Harper, Matilda Christie (Mrs. Amos Roach), John R.
Lockwood, Mrs. Geo. W. Perry and Son, Mrs. Mary Johnston
and Robert Johnston's three children.
Nevada Politics. 1862
January 14, 1862, elections for county officers were held in
all the counties of Nevada excepting Lake county, the county
governments were organized, and the political machinery of the
territory went to work. The officers elected at this time were to
hold office only until the following September. The reason why
Lake county did not hold an election was given in 1861.
In 1861 the Nevada legislature failed to appoint a commission
to confer with California in regard to the running of the Sierra
Nevada mountain line between the sections. Later on this com-
mission must have been appointed, for the ' ' Sacramento Union ' '
of March 19, 1862, says that a Memorial from Governor Nye of
[263]
HISTOEY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFOENIA
Nevada, dated March 11, 1862, was presented to the legislature
of California on the 18th. It was as follows:
' ' To the honorable the legislature of the state of California :
We your memorialists, duly elected by the governor and the
legislative assembly of the territory of Nevada for the purpose of
representing to your honorable body the reasons why the bound-
ary line between California and the territory of Nevada should
be made to conform to the suggestions in the act of Congress
organizing the same, would respectfully show that the organic
act aforesaid in describing the limits of the territory whose inter-
ests we seek to represent, declares that the southern boundary
thereof should be the 37th degree of north latitude, extending
thereon from the 39th degree of longitude west from Washington
to the dividing ridge separating the waters that flow into the
Carson valley from those flowing into the Pacific. Thence on the
said dividing ridge northerly to the 41st degree of north latitude,
thence due north to the southern boundary line of the state of
Oregon : provided, that so much of the territory within the
present limits of the state of California shall not be included
within this territory until that state shall assent to the same by
an act irrevocable without the consent of the United States."
The Memorial went on to say that the country east of the Sierras
was mountainous and incapable of supporting a very large pop-
ulation, that their interests were with the people of Nevada and
they would always carry on their business with them, that it was
300 miles to the capital of California and nearly 100 to that of
Nevada, that Plumas county had never succeeded in enforcing
their laws there to any great extent, and that their population
would be a great help to the people of Nevada. They gave many
more reasons for changing the line so it would follow the ridge
dividing the waters of the Pacific from those of Nevada, and
then respectfully asked that the legislature of California pass
such an act. The document was signed by James W. Nye, Isaac
Roop, and R. M. Ford.
The "Union" of March 22nd says that on the evening of the
21st a meeting was held in the assembly chamber of the capital
to listen to the Nevada territorial commissioners on the subject
of the western boundary line of Nevada. Mr. R. M. Ford read
the Memorial. Ex-Governor Isaac Roop then spoke setting forth
the advantages Nevada would derive if the strip of land east of
[264]
THE YEAE 1862
the Sierras were ceded to her. He told nearly the same things
that were said in the Memorial, excepting that Plumas and
Shasta counties claimed each a portion of Honey Lake valley,
fifteen miles of the western half of the said valley, the only spot
where revenue could be collected. The citizens all wished that
this strip of land should belong to Nevada, their trade and social
relations were all with Nevada, they had refused to pay taxes
although law-abiding citizens, and they were isolated and reaped
none of the advantages of those who did pay taxes. He unrolled
before the audience a petition from the citizens of Esmeralda
praying for the cession. Governor James W. Nye was received
with great applause. Among other things he said that three
murderers had escaped conviction in Honey Lake valley on the
plea that the territory of Nevada had no jurisdiction over their
cases. A survey at an expense of $1000 was had when it was
found that their crimes had not been committed in that territory.
More than $50000 had already been expended in trying to find
the meridian fixed upon by the constitutional convention of
California.
F. and S. say: "In July, 1862, Associate Justice Gordon N.
Mott came to Susanville to hold a term of the district court for
the First Judicial District of Nevada Territory. The counties
of Storey, Washoe, and Lake (changed that year to Eoop) were
all in one district, and Judge Mott, one of the three supreme
judges, was assigned to this district."
September 3, 1862, a general election was held in Nevada
Territory at which county officers, members of the state legis-
lature, and a delegate to Congress were elected. Twenty-six
territorial representatives and five members of the Council were
elected. Gordon N. Mott was elected delegate to Congress. They
held an election in Lake county this time and elected all the
officers to be voted for. C. Adams (probably Charles Adams)
was elected territorial representative.
When the Nevada legislature met at Carson City in the fall
of 1862 Representative Adams did not take his seat, but Lake
county was represented in the Council by Governor Roop who
held over from the year before. He was the last member from
this region to sit in the Nevada legislature.
For more than a year Nevada had tried, without success, to
have California relinquish her claim to the territory east of the
[265]
HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
Sierras. They had even hired John F. Kidder to survey the
boundary line both north and south from Lake Tahoe. (See
Nevada Territory Politics, 1861.)
This session of the Nevada legislature ' ' passed a joint resolu-
tion asking the California legislature to cede to Nevada such
territory as had been included in the original boundary descrip-
tion by act of Congress. ' ' T. and W. say : ' ' Beyond the election
of officers the county (Lake) still remained unorganized until
after the legislature assembled. Honey Lake valley in which the
wealth and population of the county existed, was claimed by
Plumas county, California, as being within its limits, and this
had retarded the organization of Lake county. "When the legis-
lature met it was determined to fully organize the county, and
maintain the jurisdiction of Nevada over the disputed section.
Accordingly, the legislature changed the name from Lake to
Roop, by act of December 2, 1862. The Governor, on the 14th
and 15th of the same month, appointed and issued commissions
to all the county officers that had been elected in September, also
a commission to John S. Ward to act as Probate Judge. By act
of December 19, 1862, the legislature ordered a special term of
the First District Court to be held in Roop county on the third
Monday in January, 1863."
Honey Lake Politics. 1862
The Lake county people failed to hold their election in Janu-
ary and nothing of importance took place until July when Judge
Mott held court in Susanville. In regard to this F. and S. have
the following : ' ' There had never been any legal practice in this
section, nor were there living here any regularly authorized attor-
neys, nor any one who made any pretense to the profession of the
law, except a young man named Israel Jones, who had read law
for a brief period before coming here in 1862, but had never been
admitted to practice in any court. The men who had acted the
role of attorneys in the valley were Isaac N. Roop, John S. Ward,
E. V. Spencer, Z. J. Brown, and A. D. McDonald, who had con-
ducted causes before the various justice courts and boards of
arbitration, at the request of their friends. The only law books
in the valley were two volumes of Wood 's California Digest, and
the nearest lawyers were in Quincy, too far away to do much
harm.
[266]
THE YEAR 1862
"Judge Mott opened his court in the old Magnolia building,
on the south side of Main street. The first business was the
examination of a class of applicants to become members of the
bar, which consisted of Messrs. Roop, Ward, Spencer, and Jones.
The examination was brief, being confined more to plain, practical
business propositions, such as any intelligent business man could
answer, than to abstruse and technical points of law. The most
difficult interrogation was to define the term corporation. Just
before the court convened, an attorney from Carson City called
Mr. Roop aside and instructed him on the proper answer to this
question, telling him, 'A corporation is a creature of the law,
having certain powers and duties of a natural person.' When
the governor was called upon to answer the question, he said, 'A
corporation is a band of fellows without any soul, of whom the
law is a creature, who have some powers and take a great many
more, and entirely ignore the statutory duties imposed upon
them.' The whole class was admitted." The same history says
that while Roop was serving as district attorney of Lassen county
"the grand jury presented an indictment against a man who had
stolen a horse. Roop drew up the document in a few minutes,
and presented it to the foreman, who read it and remarked : ' Gov-
ernor, I'm afraid this is rather brief. That complaint would not
hold in any court.' 'Why not?' asked Roop; 'I've got whereas
in three times. ' ' ' There is one mistake in the foregoing, though
not an important one. T. N. Long says they did not commence
to build the Magnolia until July, 1862, so Judge Mott must have
held court in some other building or at a later date.
At the election of September 3, 1862, the following officers
were elected for Lake county: Sheriff, William H. Naileigh (Cap.
Hill) ; Clerk, V. J. Borrette ; Recorder, Dr. Z. N. Spalding; Treas-
urer, Frank Drake; Assessor, E. A. Townsend; Collector, Henry
E. Arnold; Surveyor, E. R. Nichols; School Superintendent,
A. A. Holmes; Commissioners, Franklin Strong, Smith J. Hill,
and Joseph C. Wemple.
Plumas county held an election in Honey Lake valley at the
same time. Henry E. Lomas says that at Janesville the election
was held in Blanchard's store, the election for the Plumas county
officers being held in one corner of the room and the election for
the Lake county officers in another corner. Lomas and A. G.
Moon say the Never Sweats voted for both sets of officers. In
[267]
HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
some ways those same Never Sweats were a most accommodating
bunch. B. F. Sheldon and William J. Young were elected jus-
tices of the peace for Honey Lake township, Plumas county, and
qualified at Quincy.
The usual trouble about paying taxes to Plumas county went
on again this fall. The only notice that county took of this section
was to send in the assessor and tax collector, and hold an election
once in awhile. S. J. Hill says that about half the people of the
valley paid taxes to Plumas county and the rest did not. Hill
paid quite a large amount of taxes for a couple of years and
Rough Elliott boasted to him that he paid no taxes at all. When
Sheriff Pierce came to Hill this fall for his taxes the latter told
him that he ought to collect taxes from other people, too, and if
he could get out of paying them by saying he lived in Nevada, he
was going to do it. He then refused to pay any tax and the
Sheriff went away without making any trouble. James D. Byers,
who was Pierce's deputy, told the writer that one fall, probably
this one, Pierce and himself went with a posse to collect Elliott 's
taxes or take away some of his stock. Elliott had gathered a
crowd of men from the lower end of the valley and was waiting
for them at his place below Milford. When the Plumas officers
asked for his taxes he refused to pay them or to give up any of his
stock. Byers said that Pierce and Elliott did the talking and it
was neither gentle nor refined. Pierce was a hard man and on
some occasions Elliott showed plenty of nerve, and in those days
such men were very careless about their language. While the
talk was going on the other men sat on their horses as quietly as
they could, for the first movement that looked like an attempt
to reach for a weapon would have started a fight that might have
resulted in the death of several men. Each party was expect-
ing the other to shoot and neither side wanted to be very far
behind when the trouble began. Some of the "old timers" say
that just when the quarrel was the hottest Mrs. Elliott came out
of the house and asked them all in to dinner. Finally they
accepted her invitation and while they were eating their anger
cooled and some sort of a compromise was effected. But they
didn't get much out of Elliott and he came out ahead once more.
Only once was any property taken from this valley by the
authorities of Plumas county on account of the refusal to pay
taxes. W. W. Kellogg, since 1873 an attorney of Quincy, who
[ 268 1
THE YEAR 1862
was a deputy sheriff under Pierce, says that this fall he and Pierce
came to Susanville and stayed over night. The next morning they
went to the ranch of Robert Johnston and Henry Hatch four
miles below town. Kellogg went into the corral and yoked up
an off ox and called to another one to come under the yoke. One
near by came to him and was yoked up. No opposition wras made
to their taking the cattle and they drove them away. They took
them to Taylorville and sold them after notice of the sale had
been given. L. C. Stiles bought them and in after years used to
joke Kellogg about getting a mis-mated yoke of cattle, for they
were not mates. Fred Hines says that when they got up to his
place Pierce stayed in the road with the oxen and Kellogg came
to the house. He asked Hines to pay his taxes and was told by
him that he paid no taxes to Plumas county. The deputy sheriff
said "I can take your cattle if you don't pay." The other man
said ' ' All right. There the cattle are in plain sight and you can
take them if you want to." Kellogg then told him that he had
better pay up and save trouble and was again told by Hines that
he paid no taxes to Plumas county. He then went back to Pierce
and after talking a few minutes they went on their way without
taking any of the cattle that belonged to Hines.
Byers told the writer that once while collecting taxes in this
valley he went to Bankhead's and found twenty men gathered
there. They told him that if he tried to collect any more taxes
they would hang him. He had a six-shooter and a couple of der-
ringers and while they were talking he climbed up on the fence
and listened. "When they got through he told them that there
were enough of them to hang him, but he would take as many of
them as he could along with him and they might start in as soon
as they pleased. They were pretty well acquainted with him and
didn't start in. During a visit to the valley, probably in 1857,
he was told that a couple of men had threatened to kill him the
first time they saw him. These men were living in a log house
that still stands by the Parker creek about two miles below Janes-
ville. He went to their place, walked into the house without
knocking, and saw the two men sitting on a bench in front of the
fireplace. He walked up behind them, pushed them apart, and
sat down between them, managing to take the larger man 's pistol
out of its holster as he sat down. After some quarreling the
man reached back for his pistol and found that it was gone.
[269]
HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
Byers told him that he had it, and the man asked him if he was
a thief and was answered in the affirmative. They talked for
some time and the two men made a good many threats, but fin-
ally they quieted down and when Byers left them they didn't
want to kill anybody and never molested him in the future.
Byers was sheriff of Plumas county from 1856 to 1858. For
a while E. H. Pierce was his deputy, and when Pierce was elected
sheriff of the county Byers was his deputy for a year or two.
While he was an officer of Plumas county Byers came into this
valley quite often and was well known to the Never Sweats. In
1858 he bought a ranch on Baxter creek two miles east of Bank-
head's and commenced to raise cattle and horses, and this busi-
ness he followed until his death in 1902. He was a tall, raw-
boned man whose nerve was undisputed. He once came over here
with a warrant for a man in Long valley. When he got to the
Byrd ranch eight miles below Milford his horse gave out. Byrd
had no riding horse at hand excepting a full-blooded Spanish
stallion called "Joaquin" — a horse that would buck hard every
time he was ridden as long as he lived. At that time it was cus-
tomary for a man to go to one who had a big lot of horses and bor-
row a wild one to ride for a short time. The breaking of the
horse was considered pay for his use. Whenever a stranger who
seemed to think that he could ride came along and asked Byrd
to lend him a horse, he told him to take Joaquin. Of course the
horse began to buck as soon as the man struck his back, and then
"Old Jack" Byrd would yell "Stick to him, sir. Stick to him,
sir. By Almighty, stick to him. If you do, you are the
first man that ever did ! " As a rule, about that time the rider
jumped a piece of ground in that vicinity. Byers was in a hurry,
so they saddled up Joaquin and he climbed onto him. The horse
bucked a ways up the hill south of the cabin and then Byrd man-
aged to get ahead of him and turn him. He then bucked back
down to the cabin and just as Byers had taken his feet out of the
stirrups, thinking the horse was going against the building, he
stopped and was all right. Byers resumed his journey and for a
few miles all went well. He then noticed that the horse kept
throwing his nose down between his fore legs. He leaned over
carefully and saw that the cinch was very loose. If he had shown
any signs of uneasiness, the animal would have bucked him off at
once ; so he got his rope in readiness, slowly pulled his feet out of
T 270 1
THE YEAR 1862
the stirrups, and threw himself from the horse's back, getting
as far away from him as he could. He then cinched up his saddle
and went on. He found his man in the house and nobody else
was there but a woman. When he arrested the man he showed
fight and the two had a rough and tumble battle around the room.
Finally Byers got him down and told the woman to bring him a
club or something of the kind. She brought him the rolling-pin
and he hammered the fellow over the head with it until he
gave up.
At another time he came into the valley in pursuit of a man
and caught up with him about six miles and a half below Susan-
ville on the Janesville road. He was on horseback and the man he
was after was on foot. When he rode up beside the man and told
him he was his prisoner the other reached back and drew his
pistol. Byers had no time to get his gun so he pulled his foot
out of the stirrup and kicked the man in the stomach. This
doubled him up and he dropped his pistol and surrendered as
soon as he could get his breath.
Generally speaking, there was no personal enmity between the
officers of Plumas county and the people of this section. Mr.
Kellogg says they always treated him well and in after years he
had a friendly feeling for all of them. He and Byers were dep-
uties for Pierce during the "Sage Brush War" and the people
of Lassen county elected Byers for their first sheriff.
Indian Troubles. 1862
During this year the Indians made up for the peacefulness
of the preceding year. From early in the spring until late in the
year they were busy on the northern and eastern borders of the
valley and along the emigrant road to the Humboldt river. Of
course they committed depredations elsewhere, but at the places
mentioned the people of Honey Lake valley suffered the most,
and our story is about them. These depredations were commit-
ted by the Pit river Indians, the renegade Piutes under Smoke
Creek Sam, and other bands of Indians that lived along the emi-
grant road and to the north of it. Possibly some of the mischief
was done by the Pyramid lake Piutes, for their chiefs could not
always keep them in sight and the sub-chiefs were not always
"good Injuns."
Some time during the first part of March Thomas Bear, who
was keeping a trading post and a station at Deep Hole springs
[271]
HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
about sixty miles east of Honey Lake valley, came to Susanville
after supplies, leaving his hired man, Dave , alone at the
station. While he was in the valley a storm came on and delayed
his return. A party came in from the Humboldt and told him
that there was no one at his place when they came along. He and
a man named John Williams at once started out on horseback
and got to the station a little after noon on the second day. Bear
began to get some dinner and the other man went to looking
around the premises. Some say that nothing had been taken from
the station but the guns and ammunition, others say that it had
been plundered of a lot of flour, blankets, etc. It would be a
queer thing if the Indians didn 't take everything they could find
that was of value to them, for they generally did that and burned
the buildings, too. There was nothing about the house to show
that the missing man had been harmed. After some hunting
Williams found a little distance from the house a piece of matting
that Dave used to spread down before the fire to lie upon, and
this had blood stains on it. He soon found some moccasin tracks
and these he followed until he got near one of the springs. When
he got near enough to see into the spring he saw a human hand
rising and falling in the water. The Indians had split his head
open with an ax and then carried him to the spring and crowded
him under the sod that fringed the edge of it. Some say he was
scalped, too. After burying him Bear, or Bare (it is spelled both
ways), Williams, and another man started for Honey Lake.
When they got within five or six miles of Smoke creek they saw
eight Indians coming down the hill toward them carrying a
white rag on a stick. The white men stopped a few minutes to
consult together and the Indians stopped, too. When the whites
came on the Indians advanced to meet them and kept in a bunch
in the road as if to prevent them from going on their way. Bear,
who was a fearless man, took the lead, poked the Indian leader in
the stomach with his gun, and thrust the others aside with it.
Four of the Indians stood on each side of the road and the whites
passed between them without being molested. After they had
gone a little ways they looked back and saw the Indians bring
their guns to their faces as if they were going to shoot at them.
Bear immediately raised his gun and they lowered their weapons,
and this was repeated several times before they got out of range.
Then the Indians started out across the hills as if they were try-
[272]
THE YEAE 1S62
ing to reach the Smoke Creek canyon first and ambush the white
men there. The latter rode as fast as they could and evidently
out-stripped the Indians, for they got through the canyon in
safety and reached the valley without further adventure. About
this time some stock was stolen from the Granite creek station and
some from Deep Hole.
V. J. Borrette had six horses running near the mouth of Wil-
low creek and about the middle of March he concluded to hunt
them up. He and a friend, Byron B. Gray, borrowed some rid-
ing horses and saddles and started out after them. They thought
they knew right where the horses were and that it would not
take very long to find them, so they took neither food nor firearms.
They hunted around all day, but didn't find them, and just at
sundown they got up on the bluff above Willow creek where it
comes out into this valley. Borrette told Gray that they were a
long ways from home, that probably the horses were further up
the creek where they would find them in the morning, so they
would camp there that night. They made a bed out of their sad-
dle blankets, picketed their horses just out of reach of it, and lay
down and went to sleep. They were very tired and slept the next
morning until the sun shone in Borrette 's face and woke him up.
He saw that the horses were gone and spoke to Gray who half
woke up and said he could see them down on the creek. The
other man told him to wake up and look again. They both got up,
and after a little investigation, found from the tracks that five
Indians had come up the canyon from the creek, cut the picket
ropes close to the pins, and led the horses down the canyon. They
followed the trail until it struck the rocks and there they lost it.
Just then Borrette happened to think that neither one of them
had a gun or a knife and it would do them no good if they over-
took the Indians.
Henry Arnold was running some horses and cattle in that part
of the country and had a camp between Willow creek and the
Soldier bridge, so they took their out-fits on their backs and went
down there for help. When they arrived at Arnold's camp he
told them that he had no firearms excepting an old shotgun and
that had been broken the day before. After trying in vain to get
some one to help them they packed their saddles to Susanville
and paid $75 apiece for the borrowed horses. Borrette after-
wards found his horses where they had hunted for them.
[273]
HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
A few days after this Jack Byrd had several head of cattle
run off by the Indians. He found some of them that they had
killed. They had taken only the hearts and tongues and left the
rest of the animal.
The Pursuit of the Indians Who Stole the Cattle of Wil-
liam B. Long and Others
From the narratives of William Dow, A. L. Harper, William
H. Hall, and A. G. Moon, the testimony of William B. Long, and
the diary of A. L. Tunison.
Late in the fall of 1861 James Briden started from the Hon-
cut with a large band of cattle for the Humboldt. On account of
the weather he could get no further than Honey Lake valley
with them, so that winter he ranged them in the country from
Willow creek to the lower Hot Springs. The cattle of William B.
Long and A. K. Wood, son of General Wood, the Neale Brothers,
the Adams Brothers, J. D. Byers, Samuel Marriott, and
Blood ranged this winter in the same locality. During the first
part of the winter the Long and Wood stock was looked after by
Arthur K. Long, brother of William B., and a man named
Thomas Williams, but some time in January A. L. Harper went
there to help them. They had twenty-five head of mares running
near the mouth of Willow creek and very early in the spring the
herders missed them and sent word to Long. He went from
Susanville down there and after some hunting found their trails
going out of the valley, and the moccasin tracks among those of
the horses showed that they had been driven off by the Indians.
He never found the mares nor heard anything more about them.
Some time after this Harper missed some steers and sent word
to Long about it. In the course of two or three weeks Long sent
a message to the herders and told them to gather up the steers
and said he would be down there as soon as he could. In the I
meantime the herders found the carcass of a steer that had been
shot to death with arrows and some others with arrows in their
flesh. These they caught and pulled the arrows out of them.
About the middle of March William B. Long, Briden, Henry
Sidorus, Harper, and probably some others whose cattle ranged
there, began to gather them up and put them into the long can-
yon that runs into the hills a little northwest of the Lathrop and
Bradley place. In a week they had a large band of cattle there,
[274]
THE YEAR 1862
estimates running from 200 to 1000 head. These cattle belonged
to everybody who had any running around there and they in-
tended to take them to Mt. Meadows for safety. On the morning
of the 25th of March Long went over on foot to see the cattle and
found them all gone excepting seven of Briden's Spanish steers.
He followed their tracks for a while, but finding it was of no use
to go on in that way, he went back and got his horse. He then
took the trail and went ten or twelve miles toward Secret Valley.
He found several cattle mired down but not injured and thought
he saw the tracks of five or six Indians. He then came back and
sent men to Janesville to raise a crowd to pursue the Indians and
went himself to Susanville. Governor Roop called a meeting of
the people who lived in that end of the valley and quite a number
of the men agreed to go with Long.
By the morning of the 27th something like fifty men from all
parts of the valley had gathered at the T. C. (Tule) Emerson
ranch about a mile and a half northwest of Lathrop and Brad-
ley's. They elected Dave Blanchard captain and Henry Arnold
and Johnson Tutt lieutenants. Some of those who went on this
expedition were William B. Long, Arthur K. Wood, George Tay-
lor, William Dow, Samuel Shultz, William H. Hall, Lyman Mer-
win, Dave Hare, A. G. Moon, Byron B. Gray, Keefer, A. L.
Harper, Miles Harper, York Rundel, Luther Spencer, John Part-
ridge, A. L. Tunison, Stephen White, Warren Lockman, John
Bradley, George W. Perry (Buckskin Mose), a Spaniard named
Steve Rafael, a young man who worked for Dr. Slater, name
unknown, and some say one or two Chinamen. They had horses
enough to pack their provisions and blankets and a few of the
men, perhaps a fourth of them, were mounted.
As soon as they could get ready they started out across the
hills to the northeast. It had been an extremely wet winter and
the ground was very soft. Where it was the driest the horses
sank into the mud up to their fetlocks and where they crossed
the creeks, for there was water in every canyon, they went in up
to their bodies. Sometimes the pack horses mired down and
their packs had to be taken off before they could get out of the
mud. Where the men could not step on the rocks they went into
the mud ankle deep. They saw the tracks of only eight Indians
and evidently these were too few to handle so many cattle, for
every little ways some of them left the band and they could not
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HISTOEY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFOENIA
get them back. They crossed the creek that flows from Mud
Springs three or four miles east of Secret valley and there they
found about sixty head of cattle dead in the mud, and some live
ones which they pulled out. The leaders of the band had sunk
into the mud and the others had gone over them and mashed
them down so deep that they had smothered. That night they
camped northwest of Mud Springs, having traveled about twenty
miles. It snowed some that night. The next day they went to
the northeast across a mountainous country and at night struck
Smoke creek seven or eight miles above the station. Every little
while during the day they had found a few cattle mired down.
These and all the cattle that mired down or gave out from this
time on were mutilated or killed by the Indians. They knocked
them on the head, pushed an arrow into their bodies, cut open
their sides, hamstrung them, or ruined them in some other way.
Sometimes they took the heart and tongue of an animal or per-
haps a little of the meat and tallow. It snowed on them all that
day and they reached camp, which was where they struck Smoke
creek, cold, wet, and hungry, after a march of about twenty
miles. Here they found a young steer which they killed and ate.
It snowed on them nearly all that night. Harper says they
camped that night within a mile and a half of some of the Indians
they were after. The next day they concluded that they could
get along better without the horses to bother them, so they sent
the pack train and the men on horseback by way of the road to
Deep Hole, probably thinking that the trail they were following
would lead them close to that place. They also wanted to get
some more provisions if they could. That same morning Perry,
Partridge, and a Chinaman took the road back to Honey Lake
because their boots had got stiff and hurt their feet so they could
not travel fast enough to keep up with the others. Their force was
now reduced to thirty-three men, and each one of these took a
pair of blankets and enough food for three or four meals and once
more started out on the trail of the cattle which kept to the
northeast toward Buffalo Meadows. Late in the forenoon Steve
"White saw an Indian on a ridge about three quarters of a mile
ahead and he fell back and told the others. They thought they
had come up with the whole band of Indians and there might be
a good many of them, so they stopped and held a consultation.
Some of the party wanted to wait until night and then attack
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THE YEAR 1862
them and the others wanted to go ahead and overtake them as
soon as possible. Finally the majority decided to go on. They
went to the foot of the ridge on which White had seen the Indian,
sneaked part way up it, and crawled the rest of the way. Long,
Harper, Taylor, Keefer, and some of the older men went up a
little canyon and the others crawled up on each side of it. The
four men named got to the top of the ridge first and though they
found no Indians there they found about forty head of cattle.
The Indians were driving them in two bands and this was the
hind one. Long and Harper went on through the cattle looking
for Indians and left the other two men a little behind. When
they got through the band and looked over the edge of the ridge
they saw three Indians about a hundred yards away. They
sneaked up to within seventy-five yards of them and saw one
Indian standing up and the other two cutting meat from the body
of an animal. Harper drew a bead on one of them, but he didn't
shoot at once, and never could tell why he didn't do it. In the
meantime the other men had come up and just then Long
motioned for them to come on. Taylor, who had his dog Bob
with him, was the first one of them to get where he could see over
the ridge. When he saw the Indians he yelled "There they are.
See the sons of . Sic 'em, Bob!" The Indians dropped to
the ground as quick as a flash and rolled down the steep side hill
into the canyon out of sight, and when next seen they were run-
ning up the side of a hill three or four hundred yards away. A
good many shots were fired at them, but the snow was blowing
and they were so far away that none of them were hit. All of the
men then threw down their loads and started on the run after
them. When they had gone a couple of miles they concluded to
send a party back to bring up the loads so they would not have
so far to come back to camp. Eight or ten men returned and got
the blankets, etc., and left two men to guard the cattle that the
Indians had left on the ridge. The others went on after the three
Indians who followed the trail of those ahead. At the lower end
of Buffalo Meadows, or near there, they came to a place where
evidently the Indians in the lead intended to camp for the night
and wait for the others to come up, but for some reason they had
taken alarm and gone on. Until they reached this place the
Indians had killed only the cattle that could go no further, but
after this they killed all of them that they could. Some of the cat-
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HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
tie left behind by them were found standing up, but they were so
badly mutilated that they had to be killed. The trail went north-
west from Buffalo Meadows. Since losing sight of the three
Indians with the hindmost cattle not an Indian had been seen,
but about half an hour before sundown when they had chased
them ten or twelve miles they saw them a mile and a half away
on the other side of a big canyon. They had seventeen head of
the strongest cattle and they were running them as fast as they
could. Some say there were only five Indians with the cattle,
others tell all the way from that number up to fifteen. Harper
says they saw the tracks of only nine Indians at any time.
It was getting late and there was no hope of catching up with
the Indians that night and they didn't know how far back they
would have to go to find the men who were bringing up the loads
that were left behind. Besides this they had very little food left
and they concluded to give up the pursuit. It was long after dark
when they reached camp. The men sent back had brought the
outfit up to where the Indians intended to camp and they stayed
there that night. They traveled about as far as usual that day.
It snowed all day and during the night nearly a foot of snow fell.
They built sagebrush fires and heated up the ground, and then
spread down brush and made their beds on it. Between the warm
ground and the snow on their beds they were so warm that they
all took colds the next day. That night they stood guard for the
first time since leaving home. Dow, who slept with Hall, stood
guard the first part of the night, and when he came to bed he
crawled in just as he was and with his boots covered with snow.
Hall wasn 't used to hunting Indians and he had undressed when
he went to bed. The snow felt pretty cold to him and he com-
plained to Dow about coming to bed with ten pounds of snow on
his boots. When Dow found that the other man had taken off his
clothes he asked him what he would do without any clothes or
boots on if the Indians attacked them suddenly in the night and
he had to get out of bed and run or fight. Probably that ended the
conversation. The next morning Long, Dow, and Tunison (the
latter says there were ten of them) went across to Deep Hole to
turn back the pack train. The others went back to Smoke creek,
picking up the cattle as they went along, and camped about two
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THE YEAR 1862
miles above the station, being too tired to go any further. It
snowed nearly all that day and night. The next day they moved
down to the station and waited for the pack train to join them.
The Spaniard and the man who worked for Dr. Slater had a
fight that day. There had been some trouble between them before
that and some little thing brought on a row. The Spaniard had
no scabbard for his knife and he had made one by cutting slits,
one above the other, in a piece of rawhide. During the fight he
tried to draw his knife, but the rawhide had dried and shrunk
down on it and he could not get it out and probably that saved
the other man 's life.
That night the pack train and the mounted men came in and
also a party of thirty or forty men under the command of Jack
Byrd. They intended to follow the trail, but after talking with
the men who went back the third day they concluded to follow
the road. The next day, April 1st, they all went to the valley
excepting a few men who stayed to drive in the cattle. Byrd and
his party went on toward home. Some of the Honey Lakers
stayed that night at the Lathrop and Bradley ranch, some at
Emerson 's, and some went on home. It was no trouble for men
like Dow and Tunison to go on to Toadtown after having walked
in from Smoke creek that day.
The Indians had decidedly the best of this affair. Probably
the whites would have killed the three Indians they found on the
ridge if Taylor had not yelled when he saw them. After having
crawled up that ridge they must have been greatly disappointed
at the way matters turned out, and without any doubt he was
chaffed and ''cussed" unmercifully by the other men. For a
long time after that "Sic 'em, Bob" was a common expression
in Honey Lake. As it was, all that the white men had to show
for their trouble and suffering was forty-four or forty-five head
of cattle which they recovered, and four or five of them died on
the road home. Long claimed that he was out 220 head — lost in
this raid by the Indians and before this — and others who had
cattle running in this vicinity lost a good many, too. After they
got back from this trip Long's herders found that the Indians
had camped for a week at the head of the canyon above the Lath-
rop and Bradley ranch waiting for the cattle to be gathered up.
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HISTOEY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFOENIA
Two Indians Killed at the Lathrop and Bradley Ranch
From the narratives of A. L. Harper and William W. Asbury
and A. L. Tunison's Diary.
The Honey Lakers got back to the Lathrop ranch, for that is
what it was called, on Tuesday, April 1st. During the afternoon
of the Sunday before this two Indians were seen coming toward
the house on that ranch. In the house at that time, as nearly as
can be ascertained, were Lathrop and his Wife, Samuel Marriott,
a lame man named Hobbs, and a Chinaman. They thought that
the Indians were spies and they planned to get them into the
house and question them and then tie them and take them out
and kill them. The Indians came into the house and put down
their guns when told to do so, but when questioned would only
say that there were twelve more of them at the Hot springs.
Before long the white men started in to tie them. In the scuffle
that followed Hobbs was left alone with the larger Indian while
the rest of them were wrestling with the other one. The Indian
tried to draw his knife and Hobbs called for help. Lathrop ran
to his aid, caught up an old Minnie rifle that belonged to the
Indian, and told Hobbs to let go so he could shoot him. But Hobbs
was like the man who had the tiger by the tail, he couldn 't let go.
The Indian was big and strong and he kept his adversary between
himself and Lathrop. Once while this was going on Mrs. Lathrop,
who had been put into the back room to keep her out of danger,
looked through the door and told her husband not to shoot Hobbs.
Finally the white man succeeded in pushing the Indian away
from him and Lathrop shot him, the bullet going through his
body and the side of the house, too. Lathrop then helped tie the
other Indian and when this was done he looked around for the
one that had been shot. He had gone out of the house and walked
a couple of hundred yards north toward the emigrant road and
sat down under a sagebrush. Lathrop went out there and when
he got close to the Indian the latter 's eyes turned green with rage
and he cursed the white man and called him vile names. Lath-
rop put his pistol to the Indian's head and killed him. He then
returned to the house and they took the other Indian outside.
The Chinaman wanted to kill him because he knew that the
Indians had killed three Chinamen "a long time ago." Marriott
shot him with a shotgun, but did not kill him dead and they let
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THE YEAE 1862
the Chinaman finish him. They took him out to the other Indian
and buried both of them there. They then put the carcass of a
steer on the grave, put some brush on it, and burned it. The next
day some of them went to Susanville and took the ponies of the
two Indians with them as they did not want to keep them on the
ranch.
In the pouch of the Indian shot by Lathrop they found some
short pieces cut from endgate rods. The Indians managed to get
hold of a few guns, but it was hard for them to get any ammuni-
tion and these pieces of iron were to be used for bullets.
Fight with the Indians at the Lathrop Ranch
This story is a continuation of the previous one. It is said
that a day or two after these Indians were killed two Piutes came
to Lathrop 's ranch and told him they had seen them killed and
buried and that in a few days they were going to kill him and
burn his house and kill all the whites in the valley. "Whether
this is true or not, Lathrop got frightened and sent to Susan-
ville for help and Frank Drake, Fielding Long, and Robert
Johnston went down there. B. E. Shumway was living there at
the time. The afternoon of the 2nd of April the men who were
bringing in the cattle recovered from the Indians reached the
valley. Part of them stayed that night at the Lathrop ranch and
the others went up to the Emerson place. James C. La Tour,
William James, John Hyder, "Texas," Slidell, Osborn,
and George (Dutch) Harris, Shasta county teamsters coming in
from the Humboldt, stayed at Lathrop 's that night. Lathrop,
Bradley, and Tom Harvey were there and perhaps a man or two
more. It is impossible to be exact about their number or their
names.
Drake got up at daylight the next morning, and happening to
look toward the northeast, saw a party of mounted men, Indians
as he supposed, outlined against the sky as they came over the hill.
He awoke the boys and told them that the Indians were coming
and then got on his horse and rode up to the Emerson ranch and
told them about it. The men there went to Lathrop 's as fast as
they could, but being on foot didn't get there until the trouble
was over.
The men awakened by Drake arose and dressed, prepared their
guns, and got out of sight. Just about this time the Indians,
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HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
twelve in number, who had ridden very rapidly, reached the
flat in front of the house and rode around as if looking for some-
thing. Finally they stopped at the place where the Indians were
buried and then two of them rode toward the house. One of
them was "Pike," the young Indian Harvey had almost raised
and who had saved the lives of Harvey and Weatherlow in 1860.
Harvey told this to the other men and said he hated to see the
boy shot and would go out and try to save his life. No one made
any objection and he went out to meet the two Indians. Lathrop
had met them as they came near the house and one of them asked
him what had become of the Indians who came there a few days
before that. He was told that they had gone away. The Indian
said ' ' You heap lie. Me stay out on the hill. See um come here,
no see um go away. ' ' Lathrop made no reply to this, but asked
them to get off their horses and eat some of the food he had
brought out and to ask the other Indians to come there and eat,
too. They motioned for the others to come up and then dis-
mounted. The rest of the band rode up, got off their horses, put
down their weapons, and began to eat. So far things had gone
well for the Never Sweats and it looked as though they were
going to get some Indians this time. While this was going on
Harvey had got out there and told Pike to go with him to the
house and get some coffee. "When they got close to the door the
white men came around the corner of the house and fired on the
Indians. Pike started to run and Shumway shot him in the back
with a handful of five-shooter bullets; but he kept on running
until he got to the corral, and he stayed there until the Indians
came to him with the horses. As soon as the whites fired they
rushed toward the Indians who all ran away, the most of them
taking their guns, but only one getting his horse. They ran out as
far as the grave of the Indians, the white men following and
shooting at them with their pistols. The Indian with the horse,
though the whites were shooting at him all the time, circled
around behind them and drove the ponies out to the other Indians
and they mounted and rode away. One of them was slow in get-
ting on his horse, and Long, Johnston, Harris, and Slidell ran
toward him. He raised his gun and fired at them. Those in front
had swung out to one side and Harris caught the bullet. Slidell
was the only one who had brought his gun along and he snapped
it at the Indian, but it failed to go off. It was a rifle with the
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THE YEAR 1862
hammer on the under side, the cap had dropped off, and he had
no more with him. The Indian kept trying to mount his horse by
getting on a sagebrush, but every time he tried it the bush mashed
down. Slidell kept following him up and snapping his gun at
him until he left his pony and ran away. The whole thing was
over in almost no time. The Indians went out to the corral and
got Pike and rode off to the east where they gathered up some
horses that were running there. Drake rode out toward them and
they invited him to come on if he wanted to.
Thus ended what looked like a good chance for the Honey
Lakers to get revenge upon the Indians. It seems to have been
a very badly managed affair. Harris was mortally wounded and
died on the sixth of April. The Indians left four guns and one
pony. From their actions it was supposed that seven Indians
were wounded and that they died later on, but it was also reported
that Pike got well and no one ever knew for certain that any of
the others died.
John F. Hulsman says that early this spring Winnemucca and
eight or ten warriors came to the Ward and Titherington ranch
(the Lassen ranch south of Susanville). Hulsman gave them
something to eat and let the chief sleep in his bed. Winnemucca
said they could kill no game with their bows and arrows and they
must have something to eat. He said that if the white men would
give him some ammunition, he would see that it was put to a good
use. The Indians would kill game with it and would not have to
kill the white men's cattle. Ward and Titherington hitched up
and went to town and with the help of Roop and some others got
a lot of blankets and ammunition which they brought out and
gave to the Indians. They at once packed this on their ponies
and went away, the chief saying that they would do no mischief
and would not bother anybody.
On the 5th of April a man out hunting stock was chased by
three Indians. He was within a hundred yards of them when he
first saw them, but he had a good horse and soon was out of their
reach.
This spring a few soldiers were stationed at Smoke creek,
probably under the command of Lieutenant Wells. They stayed
there until the following spring and then a much larger force was
sent to that place.
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HISTOEY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFOENIA
Hall's Trip to the Humboldt
April 8th "William H. Hall and fifty-four others left Lath-
rop 's ranch for the Humboldt mines, there being a great mining
excitement in that section. On the third day out they fell in with
Thomas Bare, who traveled along with them, and the next day
they reached the station at Deep Hole. Here a sad spectacle met
their view. The Indians had returned and dug up the body of
Dave , whom they had killed about a month previous to that
time, and pieces of it were scattered around. This sight drove
Bare almost crazy and he swore that henceforth he would kill
every Indian he could, no matter where he was.
It rained the following night and they could not cross the
desert on account of the sticky mud, so Hall and James Bailey,
the Father of William R. Bailey of Janesville, this county, went
out hunting for mountain sheep. They could not find any and at
eleven o'clock they started for the station. As they were going
along about half a mile from camp Bailey said "You go over the
hill and I will go around it, and we may strike something here. ' '
When Hall reached the summit of the hill he saw a pile of rocks
seventy-five yards ahead of him and there was an Indian's head
sticking up above it. The Indian stood up and they both took aim
and fired at the same time. The bullet from the Indian's gun
struck the ground about three feet behind Hall, but the latter 's
gun failed to go off. He saw another Indian holding a couple of
horses on the side hill below him and he turned and ran down the
hill toward the station. He says that he was not afraid himself,
but he wanted to get help so they would not kill Mr. Bailey. He
must have been in earnest about "getting there," for it is said
that he stepped twelve or fifteen feet at a time while he was going
down the hill. When he reached camp a dozen men got on their
horses and went around the hill to Mr. Bailey and then chased
the Indians. But they had too much of a start and the white men
never got anywhere near them.
When they resumed their journey Bare, who was also going
to the Humboldt, went along with the crowd. He was a little
ahead of the rest of the party when they got to Antelope Springs,
and captured an Indian whom he found trying to get into the
house there. He told the others that he was going to take his cap-
tive to the Humboldt river, but instead of going along the road
he took him up a trail behind a ledge of rocks. He was punching
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THE YEAR 1862
him with his cocked gun to make him go and the Indian turned
around and caught hold of the muzzle of it and tried to take it
away from him. In the scuffle he got the muzzle of the gun
against his body and Bare pulled the trigger and killed him
dead. When the party reached the Humboldt river everybody,
Indians and all, seemed to know about the affair, and Hall says
the Indians in that section kept up a war for three years on
account of it.
The Burning op the Mud Flat Station
Told by A. L. Harper
Along in December, 1861, Samuel Marriott started for the
Humboldt with four or five ox teams loaded with freight. On
the evening of their arrival at Rush creek they unyoked their
cattle and drove them down on the flat below to feed. When they
got back to the wagons they found some Indians plundering
them, but they ran away as soon as they saw the teamsters com-
ing. The next morning it was raining and snowing by spells
and this weather continued for three or four days. When the
storm was over the cattle were scattered and all of them could
not be found, but Marriott used what he had, and by taking part
of a load at a time, managed to get his freight back to the Mud
Springs Station and store it in one of the buildings there.
Hobbs, Robert Ross, and two men coming in from the Hum-
boldt stayed there that winter. About the middle of March
Hobbs came out to Honey Lake valley. Early one morning a
few days after he had gone Ross heard the dog bark and a shot
fired. An Indian had crawled up behind a bunch of willows
until he was only fifty or sixty yards from the house. The
dog discovered him, and not liking Indians, made an attack on
him and the Indian had to shoot him in self defense. The bullet
struck the dog back of the head and went the whole length of
his body just under the skin. Ross thought that the Indians
might be around and he jumped out of bed, grabbed his gun,
and went out without putting on his clothes, for he wanted to
get there before the Indian had time to reload his gun. The
dog was still fighting the Indian and Ross got a shot at him.
He ran a little ways and then dropped his bow and arrows and
a rabbit skin cloak. He succeeded in going a short distance
further and there was met by two other Indians who helped him
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HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
mount his horse. He hung to his gun and carried it away with
him. The blood on the ground showed that he had been
severely wounded.
In some way the Honey Lakers heard about the shooting of
the Indian, and thinking there might be trouble about it, they
hitched up five ox teams and went out there after Marriott's
freight. When they got there they loaded it as rapidly as
possible and left the place — the men who had been staying there
going along with them. A night or two afterwards the buildings
at the station were all burned. H. L. Spargur was coming in
from the Humboldt and intended to stay there that night, but
he saw the buildings burning and struck across the hills leaving
the station to one side. This must have occurred during the
first week in April.
Horses and Cattle Stolen by the Indians from Susanville
Told by John T. Long
One night in the latter part of May eight or ten Indians, as
near as could be told from their tracks, came into Susanville.
They went into Mr. Jenison's chicken house and walked along
the street past the few houses then in the place. When they
went away they took a work steer belonging to Milton Craig
out of a corral near the Roop cabin. This was one of an extra
fine yoke of cattle. They also took six horses owned by William
B. Long from the little flat just north of the cabin. They stayed
on the Antelope hill the next day and the people in town could
see them walking around a fire. From the signs left there they
built a fire and had a feast and jerked what was left of the
steer's flesh. Nobody went out after them, it being the only
case on record where the Never Sweats stood anything of that
kind from the Indians without giving them a fight if there was
any chance to do so.
That same spring a man named William R. Hill lived with
his family in the little valley on Piute creek about half a mile
northwest of Susanville. One evening as they were milking their
cows near the house a band of Indians came into the corral.
They didn't try to hurt any one, but drove the cattle out of the
corral and went off to the northeast with them toward the
Antelope hill. One of the Hill boys ran down the canyon to
Susanville and gave the alarm and several men took their guns
[ 286]
THE YEAR 1862
and set out toward the hills. They succeeded in heading the
Indians off and fired on them when they came along. They
never returned the fire, but left the cows and departed in great
haste. It is hard to understand why they were so inoffensive.
"While the men were gone the rest of the people living in town,
not knowing what would happen next, gathered at Arnold's
hotel.
On the fifth of June eighty soldiers (cavalry) came into the
valley, but they stayed only a few days.
The last of June or the first of July a party of men were
coming along the emigrant road from the Humboldt river to
Honey Lake valley. Dr. H. S. Borrette was with them. Near
Deep Hole an Indian joined the crowd and rode along with
them. Among the men there was one whose brother had been
killed by the Indians and he had sworn vengeance on them.
This man worked around until he got on the right hand side of
the Indian so his gun, which he carried on the saddle in front
of him, would be pointed toward the red man. He rode in this
way beside the Indian until he managed to get him out on the
left hand side of the crowd where there was no danger of hitting
any one else. Then he aimed his gun the best he could while
it was in that position, fired and killed the Indian. It is very
probable that some other white man had to suffer to pay for this.
The Murder of James Bailey and William Cook
It has been told that Mr. Bailey went out to the Humboldt
mines in April. He settled up his business in Star City and in
company with his partner, William Cook, started with five yoke
of cattle and a wagon for their homes in Shasta county. On the
night of the eighth of July they reached Antelope Springs
fifteen miles west of Lassen's Meadows on the Humboldt river.
Appearances indicated that they got there late at night, and
after turning their cattle loose, they made their bed a short
distance from the wagon and went to sleep. Early the next
morning Cook took a little keg and a dipper and went to a
spring not far away. It looked as though Bailey was rolling up
the bed when some one slipped up behind him and struck him
on the head with his own ax. This did not kill him and he fought
his way to the wagon and tried to get his gun, but he failed to
do it and was killed a short distance from the wagon. There
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HISTOKY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFOENIA
were some bushes on the point of a hill between the wagon and
the spring and the tracks showed that ten or twelve Indians had
been concealed there. When Cook heard the noise of the fighting
at the wagon he started to help Bailey, but the Indians who
were in the bushes rushed out to meet him and killed him. It is
not known whether any Indians were killed or not. Cook had a
pistol and probably he gave a good account of himself before he
died. Both men were stripped of their clothes and mutilated
and left where they fell. The Indians took their weapons and
the cattle and everything the wagon contained excepting some
ground coffee which they scattered around the ground. They
carried away quite a sum of money which the men had with
them. They left the yokes and chains and did not burn the
wagon. That night John C. Dow and John Prichard, who were
coming from the Humboldt mines, reached the scene of the
murder. They rolled the bodies of the men in some blankets and
buried them where they found them and they still lie there.
When the news reached the Humboldt mines ten men, Captain
Weatherlow, William Jackson, and John Pool being among the
number, started out on the trail of the Indians and followed
them to the northwest into the Queen's river country. They
found a camp of nine Indians and succeeded in surrounding it
and killing eight of them. The ninth one, who was a big fellow,
got into the rocks, and thinking himself safe, climbed out onto
a point and began to yell and make insulting gestures. Jackson
borrowed Weatherlow 's gun, a Sharp's rifle, and taking careful
aim, shot the Indian through the body killing him instantly.
One of the Indians had on a pair of Mr. Bailey's trousers and
in one of the pockets was a promissory note for $50, but it was
so badly worn out that the name of the maker could not be
read. A. L. Harper says that the Indian killed by Jackson had
the gun that Peter Lassen was carrying when he was murdered.
It was taken to Susanville and the people there recognized it
because it had a black walnut stock the whole length of the
barrel. It was given to Governor Koop and Mrs. Arnold says
that Harper's account is correct.
The following story was also told by Mr. Harper. The last
of July seven or eight Indians came into Star City with some
fine nuggets. The people of the place were much excited about
it and two or three parties tried to hire the Indians to tell
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THE YEAR 1862
where they found them. Finally, after they had tried all sorts
of plans, such as shutting them up, feasting them, etc., the
Indians agreed to show them the place, but they wanted a good
many blankets for doing it. But they kept coming down with
their price and at last four of them said they would go with a
party of twelve or fifteen white men and show them where they
found the gold. For their pay they were to receive a few ponies
and some provisions and their board while they were on the
trip. They went up the east side of the Humboldt river, but
after they had traveled a few days two of the Indians left in
the night and before long another one did the same thing.
Harper doesn't know whether the other one got away or they
killed him. The party then started back toward Star City.
"When they got down to Gravelly Ford they ran across a band
of Indians who were fishing camped by the river and they killed
a lot of them, perhaps ten or twelve, and scalped them. They
brought the scalps into Star City with them and some of the
crowd wore them on their belts around town. There were a good
many tame Indians who frequented the place, and probably
some wild ones, too, and they all knew where the scalps came
from. The sequel to this will be told later on.
Early in September a man coming to this valley from Eed
Bluff with a load of fruit had three arrows shot into him by
the Indians. About the same time an emigrant train camped in
the valley and they reported that they had buried fourteen men,
women, and children on the Humboldt. They supposed that
the Indians had killed them. A week afterwards a man was
killed at Fredonyer's house in Mt. Meadows, twenty arrows
being shot into him.
Two Indians Shot Near Bankhead's
September 26th two Washoe Indians came into Lomas and
Bankhead's blacksmith shop in what is now Janesville. James
Doyle of Milford says they had a couple of old guns and they
wanted Bankhead to fix them. They were of no account and
he threw them down on the ground and said he could not fix
the old things. The Indians didn't understand English
very well and they went around the place saying " old
things" until the women got frightened. H. E. Lomas tells the
rest of the story. He says the Indians were very impudent
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HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
while they were in the shop, and because there had been a great
deal of trouble with the Indians that year, it made him a little
nervous. Their actions frightened the few women who lived in
the place. A man named Tunnel was in the shop at the time
and he felt himself insulted by what they said and did. When
they started off up the road Tunnel and another man went
around and got in ahead of them and lay behind a log by the
side of the road at the top of the hill about half a mile west of
Fort Janesville. When the Indians came along they fired on
them killing one and wounding the other. The wounded one,
wiho was lame, ran straight up toward the mountain and escaped.
He went down the valley where some one dressed his wounds and
he got well. The men who did the shooting put the body of the
dead Indian on a log and burned it.
This affair was not very creditable to the whites, but there
was some excuse for it from the fact that they had been driven
almost to desperation by the Indians that year. Besides the
stealing and murdering done by them, for Which they escaped
punishment the most of the time, they would come into the
valley with property taken from the whites and sometimes
boasted of it. The young bucks delighted in being as mean and
impudent as they could and seemed to think that the whites
dare not resent it. There is a limit to what men can stand, and
between fear of invasion by the Indians and anger at what they
had already done, the Honey Lakers had reached that limit.
Four Men Attacked by the Indians Near the Shaffer Ranch
Told by H. E. Lomas and the "Quincy Union."
On the 28th or 29th of October Mr. Lomas was putting a
roof on his cabin at the Shaffer Ranch (Lathrop and Bradley
had sold out to the Shaffer Brothers) when a man came to the
station from the emigrant road. He was very much excited and
said that four of them had been attacked by the Indians not
far out on the road to the northeast. There were two teams, one
an ox team and the other a mule team, and they were going from
the Humboldt to Red Bluff. The ox team was somewhat behind
the other one, and when they were about two miles from Shaffer's
fifteen Indians rose up from among the sagebrush some thirty
yards away and fired on the teamster and a passenger that he
had. While the latter was trying to get his gun out from under
[290]
THE YEAR 1862
some blankets he was slightly wounded in the wrist by an Indian
more brave than the others, who had come close to the wagon.
He got the gun, however, and handed it to the driver who fired
at the Indians. One of them fell, but soon got up and ran off.
Several shots were fired by the passenger, who had a revolver,
but upon the nearer approach of the Indians they were com-
pelled to leave their wagons and go to Shaffer's. They came in
one at a time, and as each one arrived he was received like one
risen from the dead by those of the party already there. They
raised a small crowd and went back to the scene of the fight and
found the coast clear of Indians. They recovered the wagons
and the teams, but the ox wagon had been plundered of the
driver's trunk which contained $250.
An Attack by the Indians on Mud Flat
From the narratives of A. L. Harper, William R. Bailey,
William W. Asbury, William Pool, H. E. Lomas, A. L. Tunison's
diary, and from what was written from SusanviUle to the
"Quincy Union."
The last of October a party started from the Humboldt mines
to go to Honey Lake valley. There were eleven of them, John
Green, George H. Dobyns, Joseph Block, "Bobby" Jordan, John
Spencer, John McCoy, Theodore C. Purdom, G. Loomis Kellogg,
and perhaps Dr. Baker. The names of the other two can not
be ascertained. Purdom and Kellogg belonged in Honey Lake
and the rest of the party, so far as is known, were from Shasta
county, and all of them were on the way to their homes. Some
of them had been in business in the Humboldt mining towns and
the others were prospectors and teamsters. Dobyns had a four-
horse team, Purdon and Kellogg, who were partners, had
another one, and there was some kind of lighter rig drawn by
two horses or two mules. Stories regarding the details of the
affair are conflicting, but the writer has been able to get the
truth in regard to the principal facts.
The Indians were troublesome, but large parties felt secure
from attack by them. The night of the last day of October the
i party stayed at Smoke creek. One of them showed three Indian
scalps, said to be some of those taken from the Indians killed at
Gravelly Ford the last of July, and said he wanted more of
them. He had a Sharp 's rifle and two revolvers and he thought
[291]
HTSTOEY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFOENIA
he could whip all the Indians they could bring to him, and he
wanted some brought. When the fight began his horse ran
away with him and so the red men escaped with their lives.
The next morning all the men excepting Green rolled their
guns up in their blankets because they thought they were out]
of danger of an attack by the Indians. Green said he was
going to stick to his gun until he got home and was ridiculed,
for his timidity. When they came down off the bluffs onto the
east end of Mud Flat, about nine miles from Shaffer's, a band
of Indians, estimated at from fifteen to fifty, rose up from
behind some sagebrush that had piled up a short distance from
the road and poured a volley into them. Purdom was shot just
under the shoulder blade. It was a serious wound and he fell,
from the wagon. The horses then swung around and tipped
the wagon over. Green, Spencer, McCoy, and another man
were on horseback and a little distance ahead of the wagons, but ;
the three first named immediately turned and rode back to
them. (Lomas says that Spencer was in one of the wagons.)
In the fight that followed Kellogg was shot through the heart
and instantly killed. McCoy was shot through the hip and
Spencer was struck between the shoulders, almost on the neck,
but either the bullet had not much force or he had on a good
many clothes, and it only raised a big lump. It is said that
Block ran toward the Indians, some say making Masonic signs,
others that he offered them money to spare his life, but they
killed him before he got very far. It was not much of a fight on
the part of the whites, and the man they had laughed at that
morning for his cowardice did the most of the fighting. He
fired at the Indians several times and killed one of them at
least. (Another story is that not an Indian was killed.) He
got between them and the white men, a correspondent of the
"Sacramento Union" writing from Susanville says he got off
his horse and threw rocks at them, and kept them back until
his companions, part of them, . got into the light rig and drove
off. Harper says they were going to leave Purdom there on the
ground, but Green made them come back and get him. McCoy's
wound made it very difficult for him to ride and Green held him
on his horse until they reached a place of safety. Lomas says
he came to the station across his horse face down. George R.
Dobyns says that his Father cut his horses loose from the wagon
[292]
THE YEAK 1862
and got Jordan on one of them, then mounting a race mare, he
took his blacksnake whip and drove the other horses toward
Shaffer's as fast as he could. Another story is that Jordan
hung onto the hind end of the light wagon for three or four
miles before they would stop and let him get in. The Indians
pursued them for some distance, but they reached the station in
safety. The two dead men were left behind where they fell.
The next day five or six men took Shaffer's wagon and
brought in the bodies of Kellogg and Block. The former was
not mutilated a great deal, but Block was scalped and badly cut
up. Purdom and Kellogg 's team had been taken away and the
two wagons plundered. It was known that Block had $500 in
money on his person and the Indians got that. They took from
Dobyns' wagon an express box containing some jewelry and
considerable money, and from the other wagon a sack in which
was all the money Purdom and Kellogg had received for their
Humboldt mines. Mrs. M. J. McLear, who was Purdom 's wife,
says it was a goodly sum. Lomas and another man made some
boxes and buried Kellogg and Block out in the sagebrush north-
west of the Shaffer station. It was north of the road to Susan-
ville and west of the Humboldt road, perhaps twenty or thirty
rods from each one of them. They were never moved from
there. Purdom recovered to some extent, but two years later he
died in San Francisco from the effects of his wound. McCoy
was crippled for life.
The Pursuit of the Indians
This murder caused great anger in Honey Lake valley. On
the third and fourth of November meetings were held in Susan-
ville for the purpose of raising a company to pursue the Indians.
The following account is from the diary of A. L. Tunison who
went with the expedition.
There were twenty-six well mounted men under the com-
mand of Captain John Byrd and nineteen soldiers under Major
McMillan and they started from the Shaffer ranch on the 12th.
Excepting Byrd, William Dow, and Tunison the names of none
of the men were given. They went to Smoke creek, Painter
Flat, the east end of Madeline Plains, and then northwest and
camped in one of the north arms of the Plains. The next day
they went north and camped on a branch of Pit river. That
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HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
afternoon they went out on a scout and again at night, and the
last time they saw one camp fire and one blind or signal fire.
"November 17th. Twelve of us went to Tula valley on branch
of Pit river ten or twelve miles on foot to form on one side of
a supposed camp of Indians, and twenty-one mounted men went
on horseback to come up on the other side of the supposed camp,
but before getting there saw a trail of Indians and followed
them. Came up with them and killed seven Indians, and squaws
and papooses." They then returned to Tula valley, went from
there northeast across two branches of the Pit river, and then
east towards Surprise valley. They went into that valley and
down it to within three or four miles of Wall lake. ' ' November
22. Traveled thirty or thirty-five miles in a southeast direction
without water. Left one pack mule which tired out. Camped
on Deep Hole creek. Went on to Deep Hole, several soldiers
got pretty tight here. Indians stole six head of cattle from
here four days ago." November 26th they arrived at Shaffer's
and Tunison went home the next day. A short time previous
to this the Indians robbed a camp at the Big spring fifteen miles
west of Susanville.
It was thought by some that the attack on the whites at Mud
Flat was made by Smoke Creek Sam's band. Others claimed
that the Indians who made it had followed the party from the
Humboldt river and were taking revenge for the killing of the
Indians at Gravelly Ford.
A Complaint prom Susanville about the Indians
From the "Sacramento Union" of November 20, 1862
Their Susanville correspondent says in part : ' ' The only aid
we have received from any one is when the government sends a
few soldiers in the summer during emigration when we do not
need them, excepting when Lieutenant Warner with twenty men
stayed here one winter. A fort was established at Ft. Churchill
but that was too far away to do Honey Lake any good. There
is a barrier of snow to the west several months in the year, and
not knowing whether we are in California or Nevada, the Indians
steal our stock and murder our people. We are abandoned by
California except when her officers collect taxes which they do
not fail to demand. Last winter and spring we were constantly
harassed by the Indians. At last Captain Price with part of a
[294]
THE YEAE 1862
company was sent here, but he stayed only a few days and
then he returned to Ft. Churchill and reported everything quiet
in the valley. At the time Captain Price was in the valley the
Indians were stealing all along the Humboldt road and it was
not safe for a company of less than ten or twelve armed men to
travel that road. Is it possible that Governor Stanford and
Governor Nye and General "Wright are so ignorant of Indian
character as to think they would find bands of Indians prowling
around the valley when we were ready to receive them ? On the
first day of November eleven men were attacked by fifty or
seventy-five Indians when within eight miles of the valley and
two men killed and three wounded. The Indians got several of
their animals, some provisions, and several hundred dollars in
money and escaped. Last week Captain Byrd was chased by
five Indians while he was looking after some horses. All these
depredations are looked upon with apathy by those whose duty
it is to protect us. Soldiers are stationed on the road from
Carson to the Humboldt, and people can travel along the road
with safety. Thousands of people from northern California
travel through here on their way to the Humboldt mines, and
risk their lives and property in doing so. If the governor of
Nevada could see anything outside of Storey and Washoe coun-
ties, things might be different. This condition of things should
be remedied at once."
Soldiers Promised to Honey Lake
The "Sacramento Union" of November 22, 1862, says the
following letter was received by Governor Nye of Nevada Ter-
ritory from General Wright :
"Headquarters of the Pacific,
Sacramento, Nov. 13, 1862.
' ' Governor : I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of
your Excellency's communication of the 9th inst. Rest assured
that I shall afford all the protection in my power to the settlers.
I have received a petition from the settlers of Honey Lake
valley asking for the presence of United States troops and I
have given orders for a detachment of cavalry to take post at or
near Susanville, and in the spring I will make arrangements for
a permanent post in that section of the country.
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HISTOEY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFOENIA
"With great respect, I have the honor to be your Excellency's
obedient servant, G. Wright,
Brigadier General, U. S. A., Commanding.
"To his Excellency J. W. Nye,
Governor of Nevada Territory, Carson City."
The last of November the Indians stole ten head of stock
from Deep Hole springs. This closes the long list of their depre-
dations for this year.
Fredonyer's Talk Against Time
Dr. Atlas Fredonyer's name has been given several times
among those who filed squatter claims on land in this valley.
Mention has also been made of the pass between this valley and
Mt. Meadows which he claimed to have discovered. He was the
first actual settler in Mt. Meadows, the high mountain between
Eagle lake and Horse lake was named after him, and on some of
the old maps a road that circled around in California and
Nevada sixty or eighty miles north of here was called
"Fredonyer's Route."
F. and S. have the following : "Atlas Fredonyer was indicted
May 7, 1862, for an incestuous and criminal assault upon the
person of his own daughter. His case came on trial May 12,
before the court of sessions, Judge E. T. Hogan presiding.
Patrick O. Hundley, being then district attorney, prosecuted
the case; while the prisoner volunteered to conduct his own
defense. The evidence was conclusive and damning. Mr.
Hundley made a strong argument, which carried conviction to
the mind of every juror. Fredonyer then opened his case, and
by subterfuge and windy argument, endeavored to prolong the
trial and gain time. All this while a young man from Honey
Lake valley, who was confined in Fredonyer's cell for horse
stealing, was making a laborious effort for liberty. Fredonyer
held the court for four days, while the young man sank a shaft
and tunnel under the floor of the jail. "Just as he got the avenue
of escape completed, and while Fredonyer was still talking
against time in the courtroom, three other prisoners, confined
in different cells, told the sheriff that a fresh, earthy smell came
from Fredonyer's apartment. An examination proved the cor-
rectness of their impressions, and the plot was frustrated just
in the nick of time, for the birds would have flown that night.
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THE YEAR 1862
When the matter was related in the courtroom Fredonyer closed
his argument very suddenly, and for his pains received a sen-
tence of six years in the state prison. Subsequently, James
Duesler, always interceding for the good, bad, or indifferent,
started a petition, and had Fredonyer pardoned; but he never
returned to Plumas county. ' ' Many of the best men among the
settlers of this valley believed that Fredonyer was innocent and
that it was a "put up job" on him.
Lassen's Monument
On June 24th, St. John's Day, the Masons had a celebration
at Richmond and erected a monument over the grave of Peter
Lassen. This monument is still standing, but it shows the effects
of the elements. It stands ten feet north of the great tree and
is quite an elaborate piece of work. It is constructed from
native volcanic ash rock, is two feet and seven inches square at
the base, and ten and one half feet high. On both the north and
the south sides of it is the following inscription : "In Memory
of Peter Lassen, the Pioneer, who was killed by the Indians
April 26, 1859. Aged 66 years." Under the inscription is a
gun crossed by an arrow and a powder horn hangs from a gun.
Besides this a number of Masonic symbols are carved on the
monument.
That night there was a ' ' Grand Ball ' at the Richmond Hotel.
The First United States Mail Routes in the County
In January, 1862, the U. S. government advertised for pro-
posals for carrying mail on all the routes in California from
July 1, 1862, to June 30, 1866. Among them were two newly
established routes into this county. One of them was from
Oroville, by Cherokee Flat, Butte Mills, and Longville, to
Susanville in Utah Territory, 106 miles and back, once a week.
The other route was from Red Bluff, by Lost Camp and Pine
Grove, to Susanville, 135 miles and back, once in two weeks.
Dean and Harbison of Plumas county were given the contract
on the first route at $2500 a year. They must have sub-let this
contract to the Davis Brothers, for Edward and Frank Davis
ran a two-horse stage and carried the mail between Oroville and
Susanville during that summer and fall. When the roads got
bad A. L. Harper carried it on horseback until the snow stopped
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HISTOEY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFOENIA
that. During the winter it was carried on snowshoes, George
Baker bringing it to Humbug valley (Longville) and Harper
from there to Susanville. The first post office in the county was
established at Susanville. Governor Roop was appointed post-
master and he held the office until his death in 1869. His office
was always in a little building on the north side of Main street
about the middle of the street between Lassen and Gay.
Previous to July the mail and express were brought from
Oroville to the valley this year by a man named Fargo.
Rough Elliott's Fight with Douglas
Told by Joseph C. Wemple
In the summer of 1862 Rough Elliott brought to his ranch
below Milford the first reaper ever seen in that part of the
country. It was a combined mower and reaper. Mr. Wemple
and John C. Dakin rented the Fairchilds and Washburn ranch
that year and Elliott let his hired man, Hobbs, come over with
the reaper and cut some of their grain. Wemple and Elliott
did not agree in their measurement of the land cut over, the
latter making it seven acres more than the other man did, and
he wanted to bet $100 that he was right. Wemple had only $90,
but he went over to the store and bet that with him, putting the
money into the hands of the storekeeper, Mr. Everett. Each
one was to select a man to decide the matter. Wemple selected
a man of some education named Douglas, who worked for Fair-
childs, and Elliott took Hobbs. They agreed that Wemple was
right and the stakes were given to him.
Elliott felt injured over the matter and tried to work some
plan to get even on the money he had lost. A few days after
this he and Hobbs, who was a footracer, were in Milford and
they proposed to run a race to see who should buy the drinks
for the crowd. They ran and Hobbs won. Elliott then wanted
to make a match with him for $250 on a side, the race to be
run in two weeks, and Hobbs agreed to run. He and Douglas
had come to the country together so Hobbs asked him to put up
the money for him (Hobbs). Douglas thought that the other
man was honest so he put up a note that he held against Fair-
childs. Elliott and Hobbs pretended to have a row and the
latter came to Wemple and asked him to board him while he
was training for the race. This was done as a blind to avoid
[298]
THE YEAR 1862
suspicion. Elliott did not train at all and that did not look
just right. Just before the race Wemple bet him $10 that he
would be beaten because Hobbs was a good runner and was
training well. On the day of the race Elliott had plenty of
money and tried to get Wemple to bet more, but the latter told
him that he had ten dollars of his money and would get no
more. When the race was run Hobbs kept a sideways watch on
Elliott and dropped back so as to let him come in ahead. The
fraud was so apparent that Douglas immediately said "Mr.
Elliott, you can not draw that money down. My friend Hobbs
has gone back on me. He has thrown the race." He then went
to the stakeholder and told him to give back to Elliott his own
money, but not to let him have the note. Several times after
that Elliott abused him shamefully, calling him a coward, etc.
The next time he began to abuse him Douglas said he would not
stand it any longer, and if he was not armed they would go
outside and settle it. Elliott said he was not armed and that he
did not need any weapons for his kind, and they went out in
front of the store to fight. Douglas struck the other man and
knocked him back six or eight feet, but he threw his hands
behind him and did not go entirely down. He jumped up and
drew a knife from the back of his neck and struck Douglas on
the left side of the neck just missing the jugular vein and cutting
a gash four inches long. Several men caught hold of Elliott
and kept him from killing the other man. A. M. Vaughan, who
was one of Elliott's best friends, was there and it looked for a
while as if there would be a general row, but they soon quieted
down. Wemple walked up to Elliott, put his hand in his face
and called him a dirty coward, and he never resented it.
They carried the injured man down to Wemple 's house and
tried to stop the bleeding of his wound, but with such poor
success that it looked for a time as though he would bleed to
death. Finally Wemple stopped the bleeding by putting some
damp cotton covered with pulverized gunpowder into the cut.
While they were doing this Elliott took to the woods and did
not come back for a week, or at least until it was sure that
Douglas would not die. As there were no courts here then,
nothing more was said about it and Elliott escaped punishment.
Ever since the Carson valley affair he had been looked upon by
many as a sort of leader. He was thought to be a desperate
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HISTOEY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
man and was feared by some, and in one way and another had
quite a following. After Douglas got well he worked a while
longer for Fairchilds and then went over to Dogtown (Magalia)
and hung out his shingle as a doctor.
CORNELISON AND RAFAEL SHOT
October 9th, or a little before that, the people in that part
of the valley gathered at Fort Janesville for a social dance.
Some time during the night Wiley Cornelison got into a row
with a Spaniard named Steve Rafael and struck him. The
Spaniard drew his pistol and shot Cornelison in the side, the
bullet passing around and lodging in the muscles of the small
of the back. Rafael was then shot in the arm by A. M. Vaughan
and ran outside followed by a crowd, but they failed to catch
him and he mounted his horse and rode away. He stayed in the
valley for some time after this and was not arrested because
many thought that he acted in self-defense. It was reported
here that he went out into the Humboldt country and some
time afterwards was shot for stealing stock. Dr. Slater probed
Mr. Cornelison 's wound and found the bullet, but he did not
dare to remove it and Cornelison carried it the rest of his life.
The writer has been told several stories about the foregoing ;
but they were so conflicting in regard to the cause, exact location,
and result of the difficulty, that he has confined himself to the
known facts in the case
William Fox Shot by Dr. R. F. Moody
This affray took place in Susanville on the 15th of June.
Fox, who was a quarrelsome man, had threatened the doctor's
life and this time drew a pistol on him. Moody, however, got in
the first shot and gave his antagonist a flesh wound that disabled
him. Probably the doctor could have killed him just as easily,
but he wanted to save himself without killing the other man. It
is said that this cured Fox of being a bad man and he gave
Moody no more trouble. Doubtless he thought he had good
reasons for pursuing such a course.
Seaman Killed by Hyde
On the 21st of December Charles W. Seaman was shot in
Susanville by George Hyde. John T. Long, who was then a
small boy, says he stood on the southwest corner of Main and
[300]
THE YEAR 1862
Gay streets and saw Hyde come out of a saloon just west of
him, probably the one called the "Humboldt Exchange." Sea-
man was standing on the other side of the street almost exactly
opposite talking to some men. Hyde walked across to the group,
drew his pistol, and shot him once in the breast. He died a few
days afterwards from the effects of the wound. The shooting
was caused by Seaman's attentions to Hyde's wife.
The next day Hyde was brought before William J. Young, a
justice of the peace living in Susanville. Squire Young's docket
shows that he was held to answer for the crime of "assault with
a deadly weapon with the intent to commit murder" and was
admitted to bail in the sum of $3000. But there is nothing to
show that he was ever brought to trial and those who lived here
at the time say that he was never punished in any way.
Conditions in 1862
This year the really good times for the Never Sweats began.
Until they had a market for what they could raise it had been
"purty pore pickin' " in this section, as has been related. For
quite a number of years after the valley was settled it was said
to be an easy matter to tell a Never Sweat wherever one saw
him, for his rig was largely patched out with rawhide, bale rope,
and wire. It is also said that whenever one of them drove into
a feed corral in Virginia City, Marysville, or any other town
where they were known, the owner of it began to pick up his
curry combs and brushes, feed boxes, and such little things, for
fear that when the poor Never Sweat went away he might make
a mistake and put them into his wagon. Ruta-baga turnips
were said to be Honey Lake currency. Orlando Streshly used
to tell a story something like this : One day he was plowing in
a small field and it began to rain. The traces of his harness
were made of rawhide or buckskin and the rain softened them
so they began to stretch. In a short time when he started his
team on one side of the field the traces stretched so much that
the plow stood still while the team went across to the fence on
the other side. He took off the harness and hung them over the
fence stakes and left them there still attached to the plow. When
he went there the next day he found that the traces had dried
and shrunk, and being unable to get away from the fence stakes,
had pulled the plow up to them making a furrow clear across
[301]
HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
the field. As a rule, it is hard times for poor people who settle
on the frontier in any country, and in some ways it was worse
than usual for those who settled in the remote mountain valleys.
Mr. Lomas says that when Surprise valley had been settled only
a year or two a man from there stopped at Shaffer's. He was
ragged and patched beyond anything that Lomas had ever seen
before and the men present laughed in spite of all they could
do, although they were sorry for the poor fellow. When he
noticed it he said ' ' Boys, I know what you are laughing at ; but
if you laugh at these clothes, I wonder what you would do if
you saw me with my working clothes on. " It is needless to tell
that this remark made every man in the room a friend to him.
But now a time of greater comfort and prosperity had come
to the people of this section. There was a gristmill and several
sawmills in the valley and a U. S. mail at last. Although it
came in but once a week in the summer time and was rather
uncertain in the winter, it was an improvement on former days.
Some of them had to go twenty-five miles to get to the post
office, but that was not very far then. According to the various
documents recorded at the time Susanville was in California,
Nevada Territory, Utah Territory, or no territory at all; but at
Virginia City, Carson City, or Marysville, they knew where
Honey Lake valley was and a letter addressed to that place
reached its destination.
Although some grain was still cradled, Rough Elliott, Nich-
olas Clark and Son, Mauley Thompson, A. T. Arnold, C. T.
Emerson, J. S. Hollingsworth, and perhaps some others, brought
in combined mowers and reapers this year. Edward Mulroney
brought in a thrashing machine of the latest make and Nicholas
Clark and Son and Robert Hamilton brought in another one.
Improved machinery meant less hard work and a greater pro-
duction of hay and grain. The land was new and fertile and
much of it was easily made ready for cultivation. Good grain
was sometimes raised on unbroken land.
In Virginia City and the adjoining towns and in Unionville
and the mining towns of the Humboldt where there had been
a rush of people during 1861-62, there was a demand for every-
thing one could haul there — even jack rabbits — and the prices
would satisfy almost anybody. The best years for this section
were 1861 and the three subsequent years, but prices were high
[302]
THE YEAR 1862
until the Central Pacific R. R. reached Reno in 1868. This
spring Shaffer sold flour at Richmond for $16.50 a hundred and
what he hauled to Virginia Ctiy brought $28 a hundred when
it first arrived there, but in a few days it fell to the trifling
price of $22. In June flour sold in the valley for $14 a hundred.
In Virginia City that spring barley was 15c a pound, hay $200
a ton, and potatoes 12y2e a pound. W. M. Cain, T. N. Long,
York Rundel, and others who teamed it, got five cents a pound
freight from here to Virginia City this year. In 1863 ranchers
from the Carson valley came here for seed wheat and paid lie
a pound for it. Abel Parker, the grandfather of the writer, got
9c a pound for barley at Milford. S. R. Hall sold potatoes at
the Humboldt for 12y2c a pound. He bought some clear, un-
planed lumber on Gold Run for $30 or $35 a thousand, hauled
it out there, and sold it for $250 a thousand. The previous year
William Dow delivered some common lumber at Unionville for
$200 a thousand. Freight to Virginia City was S1^ a pound.
Charles Lawson says that in 1864 he bought all the crop of
barley raised by the Washburns at 8c a pound loose, and they
wouldn 't even help him sack it. He sold it in Virginia City for
13c a pound. In 1865 grain got down to four cents a pound
in the valley and freight was a little lower. During these years
cattle and good work horses greatly increased in value, but for
a long time a good broken plug saddle horse could be bought for
$35 or $40. The nearer the railroad got to Nevada the lower
prices of farm produce were on the Comstock, and when it got
to Reno the people of this section had to compete with those of
Sacramento valley, and prices went to the bottom compared
with what they had been in the early 60 's.
Excepting in a few respects social conditions remained the
same in the county for more than thirty years after its settlement.
Ministers of the Gospel came into the country and in the course
of time a few churches were built. Of course schools increased
in number as the population increased. In the latter 60 's the
most of the men discarded their pistols and Bowie knives and
there was less drinking and gambling. Dancing remained the
principal amusement and in the early days they made a stren-
uous business of it, so to speak. Mrs. E. V. Spencer told of a
dance she attended in the early 60 's where they danced all night
and after breakfast the next morning pulled down the curtains
[303]
HISTOEY OP LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFOENIA
and danced all the forenoon. In the afternoon they moved to
another ranch and danced all night again. Some time in the
80 's there was a dance somewhere in the valley every night
during the holidays, and four or five couples who lived near
Milford went to every one of them. Those pioneers were a tough
lot, physically at least. If any one would throw up his hat and
yell ' ' We are going to have a dance, ' ' a good crowd would gather
on very short notice. For a long time women were scarce and
in order to make a dance a success all of them had to attend it.
The married ones brought their children and sometimes the
beds in the house where the dance was held were full of sleeping
little ones. There were no wallflowers and the women used to
go away and hide so they could get a little rest. A dance in
those days was in many ways a different affair from what one
is now.
The large emigration which came here in 1862 greatly
increased the population of the county, and the high prices
obtained for what they had to sell brought on an era of prosperity
that caused the country to improve rapidly.
[304]
CHAPTER IX
1863. SETTLEMENT
There were no squatter filings made here this year nor
hereafter. The old order had passed away. About the
middle of September E. Dyer, a government surveyor, came into
the valley and began to survey the land. The first land surveyed
was that where Janesville stands and to the north and east of it.
He next surveyed the Township north of that, and then the one
in which Susanville is situated. All the settled part of the
valley was surveyed this year.
After the land was surveyed it became necessary to file on it
at a U. S. Land Office, and the government gave the preference
to the men who were living on the land. A man was allowed a
certain time, probably six months, in which to file on any
quarter section that he already claimed, and if he did not file
within that time some one else could take it. Then the trouble
commenced. The most of the ranchers claimed more than a
quarter section and, very naturally, they hated to give it up.
Some of them hired men to file on land for them and in this
way obtained a title to all the land they claimed. Others tried
to hold by force that part of the land not allowed them by law,
and when some one filed on it, "jumped it," as it was called,
they took weapon in hand and drove off the intruder if they
could. Sometimes this worked, but not always. Public senti-
ment was against the "jumper" in most cases, for the majority
of the people were in the same boat, and very often, as of old,
the neighbors turned out and helped drive off the man who was
"jumping" land. Quite a number of shooting scrapes occurred
over these affairs and several men were wounded. Another
source of trouble was the fact that the fences were not on the
surveyed lines and some of the ranchers wanted to put them on
those lines to the detriment of their neighbors. This condition
of affairs lasted for several years before people seemed to under-
stand that a man owned only the land that he held by a good
title.
Susanville. George Heaps and Joseph Hale bought the
"Humboldt Exchange" saloon from John Burkett and changed
the name to "Pioneer" saloon. These two men ran this saloon
[305]
HISTOEY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFOENIA
for many years and it was a favorite place of resort. From that
day until this there has always been a saloon of that name there,
and though several buildings have been burned another one has
always been built in its place. F. and S. say: "In 1863 a
schoolhouse was built on the site of the present building (south-
west corner of Cottage and Weatherlow streets. ) It was a frame
structure, one story in height, and 20 by 30 feet in size. This
building was used until 1872, when the school becoming too
large to be accommodated in it, the old house was moved away
and a fine, two-story frame school building was erected. A
fireproof store building, the first in town, was built of stone, by
Andrew Miller and Rufus Kingsley, over the front door of
which they placed a stone tablet bearing the inscription ' 1863. ' ' '
This building was on the south side of Main street about the
middle of the block between Lassen and Gay, and was con-
structed by J. W. Hosselkus and Joseph Roop, brother of
I. N. Roop. The schoolhouse referred to was begun in the fall
of 1862 and finished during the following winter. In 1900 the
second building was moved away and a large two-story brick
building erected on the site of it. During the summer the first
bridge was built across the river south of town. Some time
before this a large log hewed flat on the top had been put across
the river for a footbridge. Once a man led his horse across it,
and at another time it was crossed by a wild horse that ran
away with the man who was riding it. Joseph Strauss had a
brewery on the south side of Main street, just east of Piute
creek, which may have been put up the previous year. This fall
H. K. Cornell, who had bought the place, rented the brewery
to Charles Bader. This fall W. J. Young sold his picture
gallery to Townsend. Besides the places already told
about there was a barber shop near the southwest corner of
Main and Gay streets, Cutler Arnold had a store a little west
of that, and Nathan Phillips had another one still further to the
west. Meyer Asher and Meyer Greehn opened a store this year,
and P. D. Hurlbut and Lewis Knudson ran a shoe shop during
the winter of 1863-64. In the spring or early summer H. C.
Stockton brought a sawmill from near Horsetown in Shasta
county and set it up on Susan river a mile and a half above the
Devil's Corral bridge. It was a water mill and was run until
almost the end of the century.
[306]
THE YEAR 1863
Mrs. Matilda Montgomery, the Wife of Thomas Montgomery,
taught a private school this summer and E. P. Grubbs taught
the public school the following fall and winter. In June Mrs.
A. T. Arnold and Dr. Spalding organized the first Sunday school
in the schoolhouse. The town raised the money to buy an organ
and some books. At that time an Englishman named Carberry
was preaching here, the first preacher in the valley, but he was
not a regularly ordained minister. Late in 1864 he left here to
go to Surprise valley and was never heard from after that. His
fate is unknown.
Janesville. Smith J. Hill put up a frame building on the
north side of the road between Blanchard's store and Bank-
head's house, and his brother, Jacob Hill, used it for a saloon
and a shoe shop. In the spring of 1867 this building was moved
about three quarters of a mile to the northwest, just beyond the
Sloss creek and on the south side of the road to Susanville. It
was used for a schoolhouse more than twenty years before it was
burned down. Thomas H. Epley says that U. L. and P. J.
Shaffer built a steam sawmill on the creek just above Janesville
during the winter of 1862-63. In January, 1867, this mill was
sold to D. R. and L. F. Cate and in September Mr. Epley and
Oscar Hood bought them out. They ran the mill with B. H.
Leavitt for a head sawyer until the spring of 1869 and then it
burned down. Wiley Cornelison built a blacksmith shop across
the road from Bankhead's house and ran it for a year or two.
This building was used for a blacksmith shop by him, James M.
Wiggin, A. Otto, E. W. Vance and H. H. Wienckie, and others,
for more than twenty years. Amos H. Barnes and Family moved
into the Bankhead house. He built an addition to it and opened
a hotel which he kept until he moved to Reno in the early 70 's.
Soon after he left the house was pulled down and a two-story
frame hotel was built where it stood. Bascom D. (or Henry
Bascom) McColm taught school in the Fort this fall and A. M.
Vaughan finished out his term.
Smith J. Hill and his Wife say that in May, when their
daughter Jane Agnes was a year old, Hill and L. N. Breed
named the place where she was born ''Janesville" in her honor.
They and some others are positive that this is right. H. E.
Lomas and many other early settlers are equally positive that
his story is right. All of them are reliable people and the reader
[307]
HISTOKY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFOBNIA
is left to judge for himself which " Jane" the place was named
after.
This fall Libbie Hankins, a girl fourteen or fifteen years old,
the daughter of Mrs. A. A. Holmes, died in Janesville. Her
death was the first one in the place and her funeral the first
one ever held there. The funeral sermon was preached by a
woman named Harding who was a Spiritualist.
Toadtown. Daniel W. Bryant tells the following: In 1863
P. W. Cunningham and Fred S. Johnson agreed to move a
gristmill belonging to Dr. John Briceland from Cow creek near
Millville in Shasta county to Toadtown (Johnstonville). Cun-
ningham and Johnson wanted a gristmill and they started out
to look after one. Briceland 's mill had been undermined by
the stream and was about to fall into it, and he wanted to find a
place to which he could move. He agreed with the two Honey
Lakers that they should move the machinery of the mill to this
valley and have a one half interest in it. They moved the most
of it over that year and put up a building where the Toadtown
gristmill now stands — that part of the mill that extends north
and south. In March, 1864, Mr. Bryant went from the Baxter
ranch three miles northeast of Janesville to superintend the
putting in of the machinery. Johnson P. Ford, with the help
of Cunningham and William Sanders, put in a breast wheel.
It took until the spring of 1865 to get the mill ready to run.
It was a mill of the kind in common use at that time, and had
only one set of millstones. Mr. Bryant ran the mill about three
years. Probably in the early 70 's it was sold to Samuel R. Hall
and in a few years he sold out to William H. Hall and Henry
Snyder. These two ran the mill until 1907 and then Hall sold
to Snyder.
Milford. Fairchilds and Washburn divided up their prop-
erty, the former taking the sawmill and the latter the real
estate. Washburn at once went into partnership with his
brother, Freeman C, and this year they built the first black-
smith shop in Milford. It was on the south side of the road
a little east of the creek and Charles Batterson was the first
blacksmith.
This year and perhaps the next J. N. Pine and H. W. Wal-
bridge kept a sort of store near the Soldier bridge. John D.
Kelley and Hiram Winchel claimed a tract of land near the lake.
[308]
THE YEAR 1863
It was the northern part of the location made by John M. Kelley
in 1859. H. E. Lomas s&ys that there was at Shaffer's this year
the station and its buildings, his cabin and blacksmith shop, and
a house that belonged to D. I. Wilmans and John Bass. Some one
laid out a town there and its future looked promising. They
came to him and wanted fcim to choose a name for the place.
He told them that it was usually spoken of as "Lathrop's," so
why not call it "Lathrop." Instead of calling it that they called
it "Lathrop City" and he thinks the name was too much for it,
for the place died a natural death. In December Daniel C.
Wheeler and two Germans whose names he has forgotten located
a section of land where Amedee now stands and to the south of it.
During the winter of 1861-62 the high water had carried a good
many fence rails down the river into the lake and these had
drifted over to the east side of it. The next spring they hired
a man to haul these rails and with them they fenced their land
on three sides, the lake making a fence for the other side. After
the fence was completed Wheeler traded his part of the property
for some other land that the three of them owned together. In
1868 he came back to this county with sheep and in a few years
bought a ranch three miles south of Susanville. Ever since that
time he has been a prominent sheep owner of this county and
western Nevada. The Germans improved the land on the lake
and then sold out to Pearson and Sutherland.
Toadtown. Under this head it should have been told that in
the fall of 1863 a small schoolhouse was built on the site of the
present one and that the first school in Toadtown was taught
there by Daniel Murray during the winter of 1863-64.
Long Valley. David Cameron bought in with Hood on the
Hot Spring ranch. Frank Williams located a tract something
like a mile and three quarters northeast of the above ranch and
three and a half miles south of the Warm Springs ranch. Osmer
Marsh bought the Warm Springs ranch, but the Robinsons kept
the land they claimed to the south of it, including what was
afterwards known as the James Miller place. Some claim that
Williams and Marsh went into the valley the previous year.
John W. Doyle and Henry Berryman came into the valley and
the former took up a ranch to the north of the Jacob McKissick
place. Albert E. Ross bought the place where the Kearns cabin
was, about one and three fourths miles east of the Evans ranch.
[309]
HISTOEY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFOENIA
Willow Creek. During the summer a party crossed the plains
under the leadership of a man named hie. He had several sons-
in-law, and they and the old man laid out a town in the upper
end of the valley. It was on the south side of the creek about a
hundred yards below where it comes out of the timber and was
called "Leesburg." They built four or five cabins and lived
there nearly a year, but no boom struck the place and they
departed for a warmer climate. Li the fall P. D. Hurlbut and
Lewis Knudson claimed some land on the north side of the valley
and three miles from the lower end of it, but probably they made
no improvements this year.
The only change in Mt. Meadows was that the Quinns sold
out to a man named Seaman who lived there with his wife for a
year or two.
Tunison says that several parties went into Surprise valley
this year to settle. If they reached there, it is doubtful if they
stayed the following winter or made any improvements.
The following settled in the county in 1863, and the length
of residence applies to those whose names are given and their
wives.
The following lived here all the rest of their lives or are living
here at present. Clinton De Forest and Family, Alvin E. De
Forest, Thomas J. French, "William S. Brashear, John Decious
and Family, Adam D. Elledge and Family, Francis M. Elledge,
David Johnston and Family, James Haley and Wife, H. N.
Haley and Family, Antone Bantley, P. D. Hurlbut and Family,
John W. Hosselkus, Mrs. Sarah Laird (afterwards Mrs. C. T.
Emerson and Mrs. J. W. Hosselkus) and Family, Mrs. Mary
Harris and Family, George H. Dobyns and Family, James R.
Cain, Henry Berryman, James Trussell, Samuel Trotter, Mrs.
Samantha Fletcher (Mrs. Jeremiah Tyler) and Family, Isaac
S. Wright, Samuel Johnson, Lewis Knudson, C. W. Wooton and
Family, Henry C. Stockton and Family, John W. Doyle, William
Greehn, Jeremiah Baldwin and Family, Mrs. Frances Shaw
(Mrs. J. P. Garrett) and Family, and Rufus Kingsley and Wife.
The following lived in the county from twenty years to almost
a lifetime. H. K. Cornell and Family, James L. Haley, Mrs.
Amos Conkey, David Cameron and Family, James M. Stein-
berger and Family, Lorenzo H. De Forest, Joseph W. Decious,
William I. Decious, and James Ridgeway and Family.
[310 1
THE YEAE 1863
The following lived in the county from two or three to fifteen
years. Andrew Miller, Matthew McCulley, John McCulley, *Lee
Button, Franklin Dewitt and Family, James Christie and Family,
Andrew J. Downing, George W. Downing, Alfred Hill, *John
Malise and Wife, Thomas Harris, James M. Wiggin, Chappel M.
Kelley, Robert Briggs, S. K. Shannon, John D. Putnam and
Family, John Lambert, Henry Tussler, Elijah Tussler, Daniel C.
Wheeler, J. D. Peer and Family, *Frank Williams, John Mc-
Naughten, Samuel McNaughten, J. M. McNaughten, *Bascom D.
McColm, Richard Withy, H. W. Walbridge and Wife, J. N. Pine,
W. H. Van Alstyne, Mark Stewart, W. W. Clemmons, Mrs. Jane
Bryant (Mrs. M. C. Lake) and Family, George W. Long, J. I.
Steward and Family, *Henry H. Wright, Amos Roach, *Robert
McBeth, Nathaniel Winn, *Lawrence Fritz and Wife, *William
Waterland and Family, *J. B. Ball (Ball's Canyon was named
after him), Mathias Glazier, *E. Fitzgerald, Henry H. Reppert,
Daniel Reppert, John Reppert, Hiram Teft and Family, Samuel
Latten and Family, Samuel Read and Wife, S. J. Eldridge,
Sarah E. De Forest (Mrs. Cyrus Lawson), Andrew J. Hunt, and
Austin Byrd.
Nevada Territory and Honey Lake Politics. 1863
Judge Mott came to Susanville and on January 20th admin-
istered the oath of office to the county officers elected the pre-
vious September. He also held a term of the district court, but
there were no cases to be tried and court was adjourned until
the next regular term.
The Sage Brush, or Boundary Line, War
The following was written from the narratives of William
Dow, Fred Hines, V. J. Borrette, Dr. H. S. Borrette, William W.
Kellogg, Allen Mead, John W. Stark, John S. Shook, Mrs. A. T.
Arnold, A. L. Tunison's diary, Thompson and West's History of
Nevada, and the History of Plumas, Lassen, and Sierra Counties.
The names of some others who furnished information are given
further on.
Roop county was promptly organized by the newly appointed
officers, and it was not long before trouble commenced with the
authorities of Plumas county. Hon. John S. Ward, probate
judge of Roop county, issued an injunction restraining William
[311]
HISTOEY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFOBNIA
J. Young from acting in his official capacity. Young, who lived
in Susanville, had been elected a justice of the peace for Plumas
county the year before. He paid no attention to the injunction
and Ward fined him $100 for contempt of court. Then Hon.
E. T. Hogan, county judge of Plumas county, issued an order
restraining John S. Ward and William Hill Naileigh (Cap.
Hill), sheriff of Roop county, from exercising jurisdiction in any
way in Honey Lake valley. They refused to obey this order
and Judge Hogan issued warrants for their arrest. This was on
Wednesday, the fourth of February, and the next day Sheriff
E. H. Pierce and his deputy, J. D. Byers, started for Susanville
to serve them. On Friday an injunction issued from Judge
Ward's court was served on him by William K. Parkinson, a
deputy sheriff of Roop county. This injunction restrained Pierce
from exercising jurisdiction over any portion of Roop county. It
must have been while the two Plumas county officers were here
this time that Byers snatched a warrant from the hands of a
Roop county officer just as he was about to serve it. He was
arrested upon the charge of having obstructed an officer in the
discharge of his duty and was defended by Israel Jones, a young
lawyer who had taken the Plumas county side of the controversy.
He secured the release of Byers by bringing the warrant into
court and showing that the Roop county judge had, in his haste,
neglected to sign it. Pierce paid no attention to Ward's injunc-
tion, and on Saturday he arrested Cap. Hill and sent Byers to
Ward's residence to arrest him and bring him to the Lanigar
ranch about four miles south of Susanville, and this Byers did.
There they had to wait a short time for a horse for Ward to ride,
and Pierce, Cap. Hill, and two witnesses started ahead, leaving
orders for Byers to come on with Ward as soon as the horse came.
While this was going on the Never Sweats had not been idle.
Governor Roop with six men followed the Plumas county officers,
but before they had gone very far they met John Dow on horse-
back with an ax on his shoulder and he went with them. It is
impossible to tell who all the men with Roop were. G. R. Lybar-
ger says he knows positively that Robert and George Johnston
were with him and John Dow certainly was. There is a proba-
bility that the other four were among the following: C. C. Wal-
den, Dave Blanchard, Luther Spencer, Joe Hale, Henry Arnold,
and Alec Brown. Before they got to the Lanigar ranch Roop
[312]
THE YEAR 1863
halted his men and went on ahead. Byers and Ward were still
.there, but were just ready to leave, and when the latter attempted
to mount his horse Hoop stopped him. Roop and Byers then had
a row and their talk had almost reached the shooting point when
(so Freeman Lanigar says) Francis Lanigar, who was standing
near, said "Gentlemen, remember that you are both Masons."
They then cooled down and Byers and his prisoner started up
the trail toward Indian valley. Roop went back and got his men,
started in pursuit, and overtook them at the foot of the moun-
tain. They surrounded them and Byers, seeing it was useless to
resist, made some jesting remark about being unable to fight
men armed with axes and gave himself up. Roop started back
with his prisoner and when they got to the Lanigar ranch Byers
sent a man after Pierce with a note telling him what had hap-
pened. The Honey Lake people say that Byers was taken to
Susanville at once. Byers told the writer that he went to Rich-
mond and stayed there until the next day, holding Ward as his
prisoner all the time, but finally released him on parole. Hines
says he was at Richmond the next day (Sunday) after Byers
was captured and both men were there then. Perhaps the others
forgot about that part of it. There was no place in Susanville
where Byers could be kept in confinement, probably they didn't
want to do it anyway, so they put him in charge of Miss Susan
Roop who had come to Honey Lake from the East the first part
of January. He was to board at Roop 's and report to the young
lady once in a while. He was allowed to go around town where
he pleased, so he visited with his friends and acquaintances and
waited for the next move in the game.
When Pierce got Byers 's note he released Cap. Hill on parole,
and forcing his way through the deep snow on the mountain,
went to Quincy as soon as he could. Without any loss of time
he raised a posse of, Stark says, 93 men in American valley and
fifteen or twenty more joined them in Indian valley. Two or
three days after the first posse started twenty men more fol-
lowed them with a small cannon. Mr. Stark, the son of Squire
Lewis Stark, who with a Mexican helper and eight or ten mules
packed their outfit, says they went from Taylorville to the Presby
place, seven miles from the upper end of the North Arm of
Indian valley, the first day. Allen Mead of Taylorville, who was
one of the posse, says some of them stayed at the Presby place
[313]
HISTOEY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
and the rest stayed at the James Ford ranch in the upper end of
the North Arm. William W. Kellogg, who was with the party
as one of Pierce 's deputies, says that the crowd met at the James
Ford ranch instead of Taylorville. N. B. Forgay of Greenville
says that there were only 45 men who left Taylorville, that there
was no second posse, and that they started from Taylorville at
two P. M. and reached Honey Lake the next morning at six
o 'clock. Mr. Forgay also came over with the Plumas men. This
shows how men who are trying to tell the truth differ in their
stories fifty years after an event has taken place. They must have
had a hard time getting over the mountain. Stark says they
stayed a day or two at the Presby ranch breaking a road through
the snow so they could get over the mountain in one day, and they
almost ate Presby out of house and home. They got to the Lan-
igar ranch on Friday, the 13th, and camped there for the night.
Pierce with three or four men immediately went to Susanville
and arrested Ward and Cap. Hill again, but released them with
the understanding that they should give themselves up whenever
he wanted them. He then returned to camp.
The news that Ward and Hill had been arrested again spread
rapidly and about nine o'clock that night some men from Toad-
town went to Susanville and there were joined by others until
there was a party of thirteen men. A. L. Tunison, Byron B.
Gray, Luther Spencer, Captain Weatherlow, V. J. Borrette, Dr.
H. S. Borrette, and Charles White were among them, and it is
probable that Henry Arnold, Thomas Bare, either John or Wil-
liam Dow, Dr. Z. N. Spalding, and Frank Strong were there, too.
These men took Ward and Hill into the cabin on the east side of
Weatherlow street that Roop had built in 1854 and stood guard
over them that night.
The next morning about ten o'clock, or a little later, Pierce
and his men reached town. They crossed the river at the ford a
couple of hundred yards above where the bridge is now and came
along Weatherlow street until they reached Main street. They
found a line drawn across Weatherlow street on the north side of
Main and four or five Never Sweats standing near it. It is said
that Bare was one of them and that he told Pierce if they came
any nearer they would be fired on from the fort, i. e., the Roop
cabin. Stark thinks it was Cornelison who did the talking. Pierce
and his men then went up Main street and camped at Went-
[314]
THE YEAR 1S63
worth's feed stable near the southeast corner of Lassen and
Nevada streets. Nothing was done that day but to parley a little.
Ward and Hill said they could not give themselves up because
their friends would not let them, and the men in the fort posi-
tively refused to let Pierce have them. There was no trouble of
any kind that day and no doubt the Plumas men went where they
pleased. They went to the ponds in the yard of the Eoop resi-
dence on Main street to water their horses. One of them, "Wil-
liam Bradford, asked Miss Roop how many men there were in the
fort and she told him that there were a hundred. He said they
could not stay there long and she replied that he need not fool
himself for they had plenty of provisions. After the fight was
over and he knew how many men there were in the fort at first,
they talked about it again. He reminded her of what she had
told him, and she asked him if he thought she was "emigrant"
enough to tell him all she knew about it. (In early days a person
was an "emigrant" until he had been in California a year, and
was supposed to be "green" in mind and body. It was even
claimed that he could not do so much work as a Calif ornian.)
Susanville had grown to be quite a little town. It extended
from Weatherlow to Lassen one way, and from Nevada to Mill
the other. On Main street there were a few buildings on two
blocks still further west and four dwelling houses on the south
side of Mill street between Weatherlow and Gay. There were
two hotels and a restaurant, two saloons, five stores, one of them
a drug store, or rather a store where patent medicines were sold,
a gallery where pictures were taken, a barber shop, one or two
shoe shops, two livery and feed stables, and thirteen or fourteen
houses and cabins, and from its location it seemed as though in
time it would be the principal town in this part of the country.
The Sage Brush War was a queer one. Honey Lake valley
at this time had quite a population and only forty or fifty men,
or something like that, were fighting Plumas county. Many of
them were old time Never Sweats, men who came into the valley
during the first days of its settlement. For reasons heretofore
given they had been fighting Plumas county ever since and were
going to keep it up until the end. Only half a dozen of those
who took part in the fight had come into the valley after 1860.
This applies to those who went into the fort. A good many peo-
ple in the valley were in sympathy with the Plumas county
[315]
HISTOEY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFOENIA
authorities, and others would have nothing to do with the trouble.
The ''war" was a good deal like two men fighting in the street,
and while some few people looked on and took sides in the matter,
travel along the street and business went on as usual. It has been
told that the people of this valley had little or no personal feel-
ing against the officers of Plumas county. In a letter to the
writer Mr. Kellogg says "I will add that during all of the time
of the trouble with Roop county, etc., Mr. Pierce and myself
were personally treated most gentlemanly by the people there.
We were very friendly. Nothing was said or done to mar any
friendship." It was the same in the case of the other officers.
The posse was largely composed of men who had relatives, friends,
or acquaintances here. They came with the belief that there
would be no fighting and that the people here were just "run-
ning a bluff." "When they got here and found that the Honey
Lakers were in earnest and that they would have to shoot at
people whom they liked, they were sorry that they were here.
Perhaps they were also sorry because those people were going to
take a shot at them.
That night the Honey Lakers sent out for assistance. A. W.
Worm says he rode all night looking for recruits. On the morn-
ing of the 15th there were something like thirty men at the fort,
and not many more than that at any time during the day. Ross
Lewers says there were only thirty-two. These were the hundred
men that Pierce told about in his report. Some of them were in
the fort, some at the south end of it behind some logs they had
piled up there, and some in a log house about sixteen feet south
of the fort. This log house had been built a few feet high and
then left. The fort was 16 by 24 feet on the inside and eight
feet high at the corners, and would not hold a hundred men if
they were cut up and packed into it. As nearly as can be told
at this time the men at the fort the day of the fight were Rough
Elliott, Captain Weatherlow, Cap. Hill, William Dow, Fred
Hines, John Dow, A. L. Tunison, John S. Ward, Frank Strong,
Henry Arnold, V. J. Borrette, Dr. H. S. Borrette, E. G. Bang-
ham, Dr. Z. N. Spalding, W. K. Parkinson, Robert Johnston,
A. B. Jenison, B. B. Gray, John S. Shook, Charles White, Luther
Spencer, Thomas Bare, S. J. Hill, J. W. San Banch (Buckskin),
E. L. Varney, Al. Leroy, Alec. Brown, Amzi Brown, Joseph Bel-
knap, Wiley Cornelison, Dr. P. Chamberlain, Samuel Marriott,
[316]
THE YEAR 1863
Dave Blanchard, and Ross Lewers. Governor Roop was at the
fort part of the time during the day. The rest of the time he
was trying to effect a compromise and stop the fighting. No one
but Mr. Forgay seems to be able to remember the names of many
of the Plumas men. He gives the following list: D. Chapman,
H. Carrol, Amos Reeves, Jack Cunningham, Levi "Wilcox,
Miller, Horace Bradford, Jack Kensey, Ob. Fields, Jackson,
Jasper Palmer, Al. Boyd, N. B. Forgay, Robert Varner, Ben.
Payne, R. Grabel, John Pope, "Ken tuck" Harris, Oscar Peck,
Ely Campbell, Edward Davis, Jacob Jordan, John Pettinger,
John Ratliffe, Alex Moore, Samuel Grass, Thomas True,
Winchen, and Leroy Jennings.
Captain William N. De Haven was one of them and the names
of some of the others are given in the narrative.
The Honey Lakers elected Rough Elliott captain, and he acted
in that capacity during the fight, though he consulted with the
other men. They took up the floor of the fort, set some posts a
little ways from the walls, and nailed the planks to them. They
then filled the space between with earth, and this protected them
from bullets as long as they kept behind it.
Between nine and ten o'clock Sunday morning, the 15th,
Pierce with part of his men came down and took possession of a
frame barn that stood just north of the Cutler Arnold log hotel.
This barn was about the middle of the lot at the southeast corner
of Union and Nevada streets, and was between 150 and 160 yards
southwest of the fort. As the inch boards with which the barn
was covered were a poor protection against bullets, they pro-
ceeded to fortify themselves by pulling up the floor of the barn
and nailing it against the side next to the fort. There were some
long hewed timbers about a foot square not far from the barn
and they concluded to use them in their fortification. There was
a little snow on the ground and Kellogg with seven men, he says,
went out with a rope and tied it to one of them, intending to
snake it on the snow to the barn. Some say they got one stick
and had gone back for another one when Elliott stood up on the
logs at the south end of the fort and told them if they tried to
take that timber to the barn they would be fired on. They paid
no attention to what he said and started with it. Several men at
the fort shot at them and William Bradford fell with a bullet in
his thigh. They went on with the timber and Kellogg went back
[317]
HISTOEY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFOENIA
after Bradford. Some say that they took two sticks of timber to
the barn and piled them up in front of it, and others say they
never got the second stick to the barn. When the Honey Lakers
fired the Plumas men returned the fire and the battle was on.
The shooting continued for four hours or more, but the most of
it was at random. As a rule, the Never Sweats fired at the barn
and the other side fired at the fort. Both sides were well pro-
tected, if they kept behind their fortifications, and the men in
the barn were so careful to do this that none of them were hurt
during the fight. There was one man, however, on the Plumas
side who did not shoot at random. A man whose name was Arch.
Little, Stark says, lay behind something at the northeast corner
of the barn and shot to kill. Hines and Strong were behind the
logs at the south side of the fort and whenever this man saw
the spaces between the logs darken he fired at that place. He
did such good shooting that he drove those two men away from
there and they went to the north side of the fort. While they
were there he, or some one else, fired a bullet that either grazed
Strong's shoulder, or tore off a piece of a log that struck him on
the shoulder making it black and blue. There was a window in
the side of the fort next to the enemy and a door opposite to it.
Whenever the door was opened the men in the barn could see
through, and they shot at the window when it looked as though
there was somethng between it and the door. Dr. Borrette's
coat was hanging near the door and several bullets went through
it. Charles White was sitting in the fort and a bullet came
through the window or between the logs and went through his
leg just above the knee. It was only a flesh wound, but he went
on crutches for a while. V. J. Borrette was standing up looking
at the barn through a crack when a bullet knocked some of the
chinking out from between the logs and hit him in the stomach.
He "doubled up like a jackknife" and it was some time before
he could get his breath. While Hines and Strong were at the
north end of the fort they saw Byers going toward the rear end
of Neale and Harvey's store. Hines told the other man to take
a shot at him, but he refused to do it. Hines told him they had
brought men in from Plumas to shoot them and he could not see
why it was not right for the Honey Lakers to shoot at any of
them, and he was going to shoot at him anyway. It was a long
shot for a gun of those days, for the store was on Main street
[318]
THE YEAR 1863
almost at the upper end of the block above the barn, but the
bullet tore up the ground just behind Byers who got into the
store without any loss of time. A year or two after this when
Byers was sheriff of the county, he was passing along the road
where Hines was building a fence. As he passed he sighted
along the fence and said ' ' Fred, that is a straight fence. A man
who can build a fence like that ought to be able to shoot pretty
straight. " Hines laughed and told him that at one time he thought
he was a pretty good shot. Probably some one had told Byers
where that shot came from. The men at the fort saw John H.
Neale, who was a friend to the Plumas county authorities, going
from his house south of the Arnold hotel toward the store. Some
one said "Let's scare him a little and make him hurry up." A
few of them fired at the ground close to his feet and he took con-
siderable interest in getting out of the way, much to their amuse-
ment and very little to his own. At that time some of the towns-
people used to come for water to a spring on the north side of
Main street and south of the fort. While the shooting was going
on the men in the fort would dodge out to the unfinished cabin
and then along under the hill to the spring, and find out from
the people who had come for water what was going on in town.
Ward was just going out there when Hines stopped him and
told him about the man who was doing the good shooting on the
other side. He also told him to be very careful to stoop low
when he went from the fort to the cabin. Ward heeded the
warning as he was going out and got under the hill in safety, but
coming back he didn't keep down and a bullet struck him. It
went under the collar bone and made quite a bad wound. Brad-
ford had been taken to the Brannan hotel and Miss Roop, who
was somewhat experienced as a nurse, was taking care of him.
Ward was taken to Roop's residence and she took care of him,
too. A. W. Worm started for Janesville after Dr. Slater and was
captured by Kellogg, but when he told his errand he was allowed
to go his way.
During all the time the fighting was going on Roop had been
going back and forth between the fort and the town. He talked
with the Plumas county officers and tried to make peace. Pierce
was angry and was very rough, but Byers rather stood up for
the Honey Lakers and told him that they thought they were
fighting for their rights and deserved some consideration. Fin-
[319]
HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
ally it was agreed to suspend hostilities for a while, and Drake,
Lewers, and Streshly carried out a white flag and stopped the
fighting for three or four hours. During the truce Tom. Bare,
who was a lame man, went limping past the barn. Some one in
it asked him if he wouldn 't like to buy a sound leg. He replied
that he would, and if any of them had one when the fight was over
he would buy it from him.
"While the battle was in progress things were going on in the
town and throughout the valley just about the same as usual.
Probably the Plumas men who were not in the barn went where
they pleased, and no one has ever told that there was a single
row between them and the men of the valley during the day. The
place was full of men who had come into town to ' ' see the fun. ' '
T. N. Long says he did business all day at the Magnolia while
his partners were in the fort. H. E. Lomas walked up from
Janesville and reached there in the afternoon during the pause
in the hostilities. He went to the hotel for his dinner and men
from both parties were there eating together with no show of
ill feeling between them. Some of the citizens who didn't like
to see trouble were trying to get the leaders of the two parties
to compromise, and finally they and Roop succeeded in doing it.
When the truce had expired no agreement had been reached
and it was extended until the next morning. The Honey Lake
men now went to work in earnest. If Pierce and his posse wanted
to do any more fighting, they were going to see that they had all
they wanted of it. It always seemed to the writer that, so far,
they had only "put up a bluff" and stood off Pierce's men.
Hines went down through Toadtown and set all the women to
baking bread. Bangham went to Janesville after powder and
men. There was a dance going on at that place and he had hard
work to get men to leave it, but about midnight he left there with
what powder he could get at the store and fifteen or sixteen men.
During the night reinforcements for the Honey Lakers came in
from all parts of the valley. S. J. Hill says he sent a wagon up
from Janesville with several armed men and four extra shot-
guns. The Honey Lakers went across the street north of the
barn and dug some rifle-pits. They also took possession of the
log hotel to the south of the barn. In the upper story of it there
was some flour and this they piled up on the north side of the
room as a protection against bullets. They made some holes
[320]
THE YEAR 1863
through the same side of the room, and if the fighting was
resumed the next day, they intended to heat some iron ramrods
and shoot them into the hay that was overhead in the barn. When
the fire drove the men out of it they would be at the mercy of
those in the hotel, the rifle-pits, and the fort. Probably that
caused Pierce to come to terms, for he saw that a good many of
his men might be killed if he commenced to fight again.
The following from "Thompson and "West's History of Ne-
vada and the "History of Plumas, Lassen and Sierra Counties"
tells how the trouble was settled. The reports sent to the gov-
ernors of California and Nevada repeat some things already told,
but they could not be left out and tell the whole story. "The
record of the meeting of both parties at which the compromise
was effected was forwarded, with the statement of the committee,
and was as follows : " A state of war existing between the author-
ities of Plumas county, California, and the authorities and citi-
zens of Roop county, Nevada Territory, a committee of citizens
of Honey Lake valley, and the leaders of the belligerent parties,
convened at Susanville for the purpose of making some arrange-
ments for the establishment of peace, and to stop the further
shedding of blood. Prank Drake was appointed president, and
H. U. Jennings, secretary. Mr. Pierce, sheriff of Plumas county,
made the following proposition, to wit: Both parties to suspend
hostilities and disband their forces, he taking his men home with
him, and report the case to the governor of California, request-
ing him to confer with the governor of Nevada Territory, that
the question of jurisdiction may be settled peaceably; pending
such settlement, neither party to claim jurisdiction; also that
the citizens of the valley shall draw up a full statement of the
case, and forward the same to the governors of California and
Nevada Territory, requesting them to settle the difficulties peace-
ably and as soon as possible.
"Mr. Elliott thought the proposition a fair and honorable
one, and that it would lead to a speedy settlement of our present
difficulties. He was therefore in favor of Mr. Pierce's propo-
sition.
"Mr. Pierce (sheriff) moved the appointment of a committee
of four citizens (two of each party), to make the statement to
each of the governors. Carried.
[321]
HISTORY OP LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
''Mr. Elliott moved that we adopt Mr. Pierce's proposition
for a settlement of our difficulties. Carried, unanimously.
"The chairman appointed upon the committee of correspon-
dence, Messrs. Roop, Murray, Jones and Young. On motion
meeting adjourned.
"Frank Drake, Chairman.
"H. U. Jennings, Secretary.
"The above proceedings is an agreement of settlement be-
tween the contending parties of Roop and Plumas counties.
"E. H. Pierce,
"Wm. Hill Naileigh."
Sheriff Pierce's statement recited a few preliminary pro-
ceedings and continued as follows : "On the fourth day of Feb-
ruary, in my official capacity as sheriff of Plumas county, I
received warrants for the arrest of the said John S. Ward, county
judge, and William Hill Naileigh, sheriff, of the so-called Roop
county, Nevada Territory, issued by the Honorable E. T. Hogan,
county judge of Plumas county. On Thursday, February fifth,
I proceeded to Susanville, Honey Lake valley, for the purpose of
serving the said warrants, and on Friday, the sixth instant, an
injunction was served on me, purporting to issue from the court
of the First Judicial District in and for Nevada Territory,
signed by John S. Ward, probate judge of Roop county, and
served by Parkinson (William K.), a deputy sheriff of said
county, restraining me and all other Plumas county officers from
exercising jurisdiction in or over any portion of the so-called
Roop county. This injunction I refused to obey. On Saturday,
the seventh instant, I arrested William Hill Naileigh, and sent
my deputy, Mr. Byers, to the residence of Mr. Ward to arrest
him, and to meet me at Lanegar 's rancho, which he did. Having
to wait a short time for a horse for Ward to ride, myself, Naileigh,
and two witnesses started ahead, leaving orders for Byers and
Ward to follow as soon as the horses arrived. As Ward was
about to mount his horse, Isaac Roop interfered, and said that
Ward could not go, and took hold of Ward to prevent his leaving,
which caused a tussel between Roop and Byers, ending in Roop
desisting for a time and allowing Byers to proceed. Roop then
went back to a point half a mile down the road, where he had
seven men on horses, posted and armed with shot-guns. With
this addition he again followed Byers, overtaking and surround-
[322]
THE YEAR 1863
ing him, drawing their guns, again demanding the surrender of
Ward. Byers, seeing resistance was useless, concluded to return
to the rancho, still retaining possession of his prisoner. From
this point he instantly sent a messenger after me with a note,
informing me of all that had occurred since I left.
"The great depth of snow on the mountains made it impos-
sible for me to proceed, and as I had turned, satisfied that I could
not cross the summit, I was met by the messenger. On reading the
note, I told Naileigh he was at liberty to go where he pleased on
his giving me his word that he would be forthcoming at any
time I demanded his presence. This he agreed to. I then re-
turned to the ranch where Byers had taken his prisoner, and
discovered that I would have to cross the mountains, at all
hazards, for assistance. This I done, and summoned a posse of
ninety men, in American and Indian valleys ; returning, reached
Honey Lake valley on Friday, the thirteenth of February. On
reaching Susanville, I found the mob fortified in a log house that
had been built and used as a fort against the attacks of the
Indians (this was the old log cabin built by Roop in 1854, and
since this event has been called Fort Defiance), numbering from
seventy-five to one hundred men, all armed and prepared for a
desperate resistance, having by their own admission six hundred
shots in the fort. They sent out a white flag, and laid off their
lines. All of this day was spent in endeavoring to adjust mat-
ters amicably.
"On Sunday, the fifteenth, with a force of forty men, I took
possession of a barn within a distance of perhaps two hundred
yards of the fort. They then gave me notice that if I did not
vacate the barn at once they would fire on it. I then proceeded
to fortify the barn, and put it in as perfect state of defense as
the nature of the circumstances would permit, by using the floor
and sleepers for breastworks.
"Deputy Sheriff Kellogg (William W.) went out with a
detachment of five men, taking with them a rope to draw in a
large stick of hewed timber, which laid about one hundred feet
from the barn. After making the rope fast, they were told from
the fort that if they moved the stick they would be fired on. Tak-
ing no notice of this order, they commenced moving the timber,
when ten shots were fired from the fort, one of which took effect
in the thigh of William Bradford, shattering the bone at a dis-
[323]
HISTOKY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFOENIA j
tance of five inches below the hip joint. Bradford fell ; the rest
went on with the stick to the barn. Kellogg returned at once
to the assistance of Bradford, and, while bringing him in, was
fired on five times. At this, my men instantly returned the fire
from the barn, which was kept up by both parties for about four
hours. Deputy Sheriff Byers, while passing through the town,
was fired on five times.
At two o'clock P. M., a deputation of the citizens from the
town, with a white flag, came to the barn and requested permis-
sion to pass to the fort, to see if they could not get a cessation of
hostilities until five o'clock, with the hope of settling matters
without further bloodshed. This armistice was agreed to by both
parties. Failing to agree when the hour expired, the time was
extended until nine o 'clock the next morning. During this time
the mob were continually receiving reinforcements from all
parts of the valley. I received word about this time that I would
be reinforced by one hundred men in about ten days. At twelve
o'clock, midnight, I was waited upon by a committee of citizens
of the town, with a petition signed by sixty-five of the residents
of Susanville, imploring me to suspend operations, as the mob
threatened to burn the town in the event of my not yielding to
their dictations. I agreed to stop all further proceedings on
these conditions: That they, the mob, should immediately dis-
band, and all parties cease to exercise jurisdiction until the mat-
ter could be properly laid before the governors of California and
Nevada Territory. This was mutually agreed to. My reasons
for making and agreeing to this proposition, were simply these :
That I thought the fight too great a one for the county of Plumas
to carry on, and had I gained my point, perhaps at the expense
of forty or fifty lives, the question of jurisdiction would have
still remained unsettled. Their loss already, as reported to me,
was one man killed and four wounded, one of which latter was
Judge Ward.
' ' The above is a narration of facts precisely as they occurred.
All of which is respectfully submitted.
"Sacramento City, March 2, 1863.
"E. H. Pierce,
"Sheriff of Plumas County."
Mr. Kellogg says he wrote the foregoing statement. It will
be noticed that he says there were ninety men in the posse. That
[324]
THE YEAR 1863
is the number given by Tunison and other men who were there
and probably is not far from right.
The committee appointed for that purpose by the people of
Honey Lake presented their statement of the case to Governor
Stanford and Governor Clemens of Nevada Territory. It told
the principal events that occurred and differed from Mr. Pierce 'a
statement in only a few immaterial points. It called the men in
the fort the ' ' Nevada forces ' ' and the ' ' Nevada party ' ' instead of
calling them a "mob" as he had done. It said that the warrants
for the arrest of "Ward and Naileigh were issued upon the com-
plaint of William N. De Haven; that Naileigh, sheriff of Roop
county, issued a proclamation calling on all able-bodied citizens
to arm, and hold themselves in readiness to aid in the execution
of the laws, and put down insurrection, etc. ; that Pierce came
into town at the head of a hundred men armed with deadly
weapons ; that the Nevada forces warned the Plumas county men
three or four times before they fired on them ; and that only five
or six shots were fired by the Nevada party at that time.
In conclusion it said : ' ' Without wishing to blame or excuse
either party, the committee would state that in all probability
each party thought itself justified by law in all its actions. The
eastern boundary of the state is not definitely known ; some are
of the opinion that it is east of us, and others that it is west. For
the sake of our schools it is necessary that we should know where
to apply for our school money. When we are assailed by Indians,
as we frequently are, it is necessary that we should know where
to apply for assistance. For very many important reasons, it is
absolutely necessary that the question should be settled, and that
as soon as possible. ' ' It was signed by ' ' Israel Jones, Dan Mur-
ray, Isaac Roop, Wm. J. Young, Committee."
A cannon was brought from Plumas county to Susanville
and a good many stories are told about it. It was packed into
the valley by Charles F. Stark and also by John R. Perkins. It
was left in the snow on the mountain and it was brought to
Susanville. Pierce took it home on his return, it was taken home
the next year, and it was left in Susanville. It was burst in Tay-
lorville the next Fourth of July, that event took place several
years later, and it was burst in Susanville on the Fourth of
July, 1864. Almost as many stories are told about the man who
did the good shooting for Plumas county. Stark thinks his name
[325]
HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
was Arch. Little and that he lay behind some hides hanging on a
fence that ran out from the barn. Forgay says that his name
was Jack Kensey and that he shot from inside the barn. Mead
doesn't remember his name, but says that he lay behind the two
sticks of timber that had been dragged up to the barn. It is just
a question of memory.
The following is the truth about the cannon as near as can
be learned. "When Pierce found that the Never Sweats were in-
trenched he sent Ben Payne across the mountains after reinforce-
ments and a small cannon that belonged in Taylorville. He
raised fifteen or twenty men and returned with them and the
cannon. Stark says his brother, Charles F., packed it over on a
mule. Pierce sent some men with a wagon to meet them at the
foot of the mountain above the Lanigar place, and the cannon
was put into the wagon and hauled to town. When it arrived
there the trouble was over and there was no use for it. The
Plumas men all insist that it was taken back to Taylorville and
burst there, but they do not agree as to the time.
The Honey Lake people say that it was left in Wentworth's
corral in Susanville. T. N. Long, Lafayette Marks, and others,
say that on the Fourth of July, 1864, Jarvis Taylor, Jeff. Davis,
and A. D. Elledge took it over on Gay street just north of Main.
They put in a large charge of powder, tamped wet sand on top
of it, and then touched it off and blew it to "smithreens." The
Steward House was then being built on the northwest corner of
Main and Gay streets. A piece of the cannon hit one of the
porch timbers projecting out in front and almost cut it in two.
Another piece came down through the roof of the schoolhouse
which stood near where the brick school house does now — the
southwest corner of Cottage and Weatherlow streets. One piece
struck west of the schoolhouse and another went clear across the
river. Mrs. A. T. Arnold has one piece of it and the family of
Mr. Elledge has another one. Which story is right? Quien
sdbef The Honey Lakers have the relics.
F. and S. say: "William J. Bradford, the man so badly
wounded, was given the warrant for $1000 which Lassen county
issued to Plumas under the provisions of the Act organizing the
county. This action was taken by the supervisors of Plumas
county in pursuance of the Act of the legislature of March
31, 1866."
[326]
THE YEAR 1S63
Orion Clemens, the territorial secretary, was acting governor
of Nevada at this time, and also on January 14, 1864, when he
made his report to the Nevada legislature in regard to the
Boundary Line War. In this report he said that hostilities
ceased when the agreement was made to refer the subject to
the governors of California and Nevada for settlement ; but the
excitement was still great and was beginning to extend beyond
the immediate locality of the disturbance, and it was possible
that serious consequences might ensue. He therefore telegraphed
to his Excellency, Leland Stanford, governor of California, in
relation to the affair, and sent Hon. J. K. Lovejoy to Susanville
to investigate the facts, and who submitted a written report
upon his return. Shortly after this, a special messenger, William
K. Parkinson, Esq., arrived, bearing the statement from William
Hill Naileigh, sheriff of Roop county. Mr. Naileigh stated the
facts, asked the advice of Mr. Clemens, and promised to obey
his direction in the matter, a promise which he faithfully kept.
Judge Robert Robinson, of Sacramento, was appointed by Gov-
ernor Stanford to confer with Mr. Clemens and agree upon a
basis of settlement. Judge Robinson went to Carson City, and
after finding out that the California authorities would not
consent to the summit boundary, they drew up an instrument
relating to the running of the line between California and
Nevada Territory, and the judge went back to Sacramento to
report. The foregoing is from T. and W.
F. and S. say: "The basis of settlement agreed upon was:
That California and Nevada should each appoint a represent-
ative to run the boundary line. That until the line was estab-
lished, Plumas county should have jurisdiction as far west as
the eastern end of Honey lake, at which point the 120th degree
of longitude was located upon De Groote's map. That provi-
sion be made by both legislatures to transfer judgments, and
sustain all acquired rights whenever it was found that the survey
removed any person or property from the jurisdiction of one
government to that of the other. That until the eighth of April,
1863, Governor Clemens would exercise no authority over the
disputed territory east of the line surveyed by John F. Kidder,
placing Aurora within the limits of Nevada Territory, but after
that date he would proceed to organize Esmeralda county, and
exercise jurisdiction over the disputed territory east of that
[327]
HISTOEY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFOENIA
line. This declaration of Governor Clemens was made for the
reason that Commissioner Robinson would not consent to recog-
nize the Kidder line as a compromise line until the completed
survey was made.
"The commissioner's report, and all the documents relating
to the controversy, were submitted to the legislature by Governor
Stanford, with a special message urging immediate action. This
resulted in the Act of April 27, 1863, directing the surveyor-
general to survey the eastern boundary line of the state, com-
mencing at the intersection of the 120th degree of west longitude
and the 39th degree of north longitude; and appropriating
$25,000 to defray the expenses of the survey. John F. Kidder
was appointed by the surveyor-general to undertake the work,
and Governor Clemens appointed Butler Ives (May 16, 1863) to
accompany him, on the part of Nevada Territory."
That summer and fall these two ran the line from Lake
Bigler (Tahoe) north to the Oregon line. The line they surveyed
passed to the east of Honey lake and settled the fact that the
disputed territory in Roop county was in California. A. T.
Arnold says that when the surveying party got to the Fort Sage
mountain (State Line Peak) they were frightened by the Indians
and sent a young man to Susanville to get more men to go with
them. Mr. Arnold, Henry Arnold, Joseph Hale, Al. Leroy,
James Phillips, and James Huntington went with them to the
Oregon line. A long strip of land about thirty miles wide on
the eastern side of Roop county was left in Nevada. For a long
time it appeared on the map as Roop county, but being com-
paratively unsettled it was put under the jurisdiction of Washoe
county. Finally it was merged into that county and Roop
county went out of existence.
The line between California and Nevada was also run from
Lake Bigler to within one degree of the southern end of Nevada
and there the work was stopped on account of cold weather.
This passed several miles to the west of Aurora, leaving that
town and a rich mining district in Nevada. The rest of the
line was surveyed in 1865. In 1876 Von Schmidt surveyed the
eastern boundary of California and his survey moved that part
of the line north of Lake Tahoe a few miles to the east, giving
the border counties of California a little more territory.
[328]
THE YEAR 1863
The long fight was done and the Never Sweats had lost. In
spite of all they had done against it they were in California and
there was no longer any hope that they were not. But there
was still a chance to keep out of Plumas county and, as we
shall see, they went about the accomplishment of this as soon
as possible.
Before the matter was settled conclusively the people of this
section, as citizens of Eoop county, Nevada, held an election
September 2, 1863, to choose men to represent them in the
Nevada legislature. William V. Kingsbury was elected to the
council, John C. Partridge to the house of representatives, and
Hiram L. Partridge to the constitutional convention. T. and W.
say: "When the legislature met on the 12th of January, 1864,
the boundary question had been settled, and as Honey Lake
valley, the residence of these gentlemen and the section they
represented, had ceased to be considered a portion of the ter-
ritory of Nevada, they were not permitted to take their seats
in that body."
Plumas county must have collected taxes in Honey Lake
valley this fall about the same as usual. Hiram H. Dakin tells
the following in regard to it. In the fall of 1863 he was working
for Rough Elliott. One day along the first of November Pierce
and Byers came to the ranch and stayed about an hour. They
talked with Elliott for some time and while the conversation was
going on Dakin sat on the corral fence. There were some horses
and cattle in the corral and Pierce told him to open the gate
and let them out. He replied that he was working for the
other fellow and didn't let them out unless Elliott told him to.
Elliott then told him that he could sit on the fence or go away,
just as he pleased, but not to open that gate. He then turned
to the Plumas county officers, and after referring to their canine
parentage, told them if they wanted serious trouble to just turn
that stock out. The two officers went out to one side and talked
a while, and then got on their horses and rode away without
saying anything more to Elliott.
As soon as the Never Sweats found they were surely in
California they went to work to have themselves set off into a
new county. It was an easy matter to see that the people of
this section ought to have a county of their own because, at
that time, for several months during an ordinary winter it was
[329]
HISTOKY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFOENIA
almost impossible to get across the mountains to Quincy except-
ing on snowshoes. It was a question whether or not there would
be taxable property enough in the new county to support a
county government, but the people themselves were willing to
try it. The people of Plumas county didn't want to lose any
of their territory, but they didn't want to do an injustice to
the Honey Lakers, many of whom had lived in Plumas county,
so they made little objection to the formation of the new county.
Indian Troubles. 1863
Comparatively little trouble was made by the Indians this
year. Probably more or less stock was stolen from the ranges
by the hungry red men, but no travelers along the Humboldt
road were attacked by them, no one was killed in Honey Lake
valley, and only one man, so far as is known, was killed in this
section.
Miss Susan Roop arrived at Carson City from the East
December 26, 1862. Governor Roop was there as a member of the
legislature from this section, but as the session was to last only
a few days longer, he and his daughter went to Virginia City
the next day. They had not been there long before they met
Old Winnemucca on the street and he was so glad to see Roop
that he threw his arms around him and hugged him vigorously.
Roop said to him, "I have told you that I had two boys and a
little girl. This is the girl. ' ' The chief said ' ' I thought you got
um mahala. " Roop told him that he must go home to Honey
Lake in a few days and did not want to be bothered by the
Indians. The chief said that if he would wait five days he
would not see any Indians. Roop then said that he did not
want the man who took him home to be molested when he came
back, and the reply was that the Indians would not trouble him
either. They left Carson City on the fourth of January and
reached Susanville without seeing any Indians. Amos Conkey
went back with the man who brought them here and they had
the same good fortune. A few days afterwards the Indians
killed a man in Red Rock valley. A party went in pursuit, but
failed to find any of them.
One night about the middle of January the Indians stole
two horses from Isaac Coulthurst's corral and shot one of his
hogs with arrows. They also tried to catch C. T. Emerson's
[330]
THE YEAR 1863
mules, but they broke out of the corral and got away from them.
On the night of February eighth they had better luck and suc-
ceeded in stealing one of them. The last of February two men
who were in Willow Creek valley saw a couple of Indians and
shot at them, wounding one, as they supposed. The Indians
left their ponies and took to the rocks. A short time after this
the Indians stole four head of cattle from Deep Hole.
This spring a permanent military post was established at
Smoke Creek, thus making good the promise of General Wright
the fall before, and during the summer buildings were put up
for the officers and the soldiers. Troops were kept at this post
for several years afterwards, and when under the command of
Captain Smith (shortly after going there he was promoted to
Major) did some good Indian fighting. Some time during the
year Captain Hassett camped with twenty-five or thirty soldiers
at the foot of the bluff above Susanville, and stayed there all
winter and perhaps longer. There was about the same number
of soldiers at the Soldier bridge this fall. For several years
after this whenever there was an excitement about the Indians a
few soldiers came into the valley and camped at one or the other
of these places for a short time.
One op Old Winnemucca 's Escapes prom Susanville
Some time during this year, as near as can be told, Winne-
mucca paid a visit to his old friends in Susanville. The Indian
troubles of the previous year had left in the minds of the people
of Honey Lake a feeling of ill will toward them greater than
usual. He had not been in town very long before it began to look
as though it was dangerous for him to stay there, and his friends
thought it best to get him away as soon as possible. William H.
Hall says he came to Susanville that day and soon met Cap.
Hill with whom he was great friends. Cap. said he wanted him
to help get a Masonic friend out of trouble. He knew he was
a Mason because he had given him the Masonic sign of distress.
He then said it was Winnemucca and that the citizens of the
town, some of them, wanted to hang him. He wanted to keep
the chief from being hurt, but wanted as few people as possible
to know that he had anything to do with it. Cap. Hill surely
must have thought that Winnemucca was a Mason, for he, like
other men in the valley at that time, had lost relatives in an
r 331 1
HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
Indian massacre and, also like them, killed a redskin whenever
there was any excuse for doing it, and sometimes just because
there was a good chance to do it. Hall said he was willing to
help the chief get away and they made up a plan for doing it.
Hall, John Robinson, and three other young fellows rode out to
the north side of town and Hill brought the Indian out there
with as little fuss as possible. He started off down the old
emigrant road on the north side of the river, the young men
following him. In a short time he began to run his horse and
they struck out after him yelling and firing their pistols. They
did this in order to keep between him and any one else who
might pursue him, and also to make people in town think they
were trying to kill or capture him. They kept up the chase for
a couple of miles, and then seeing that no one else was coming,
fired a final volley and scattered. None of them said anything
about it and the matter was dropped.
Telling that an Indian knew Masonic signs may sound rather
fishy, but this is not the only time it has been told. Governor
Roop said that Old Winnemucca gave him Masonic signs the
first time he saw him. George "W. Harrison of Susanville tells
the following: His father, Judge W. R. Harrison, and family
crossed the plains in 1858. They had reached Box Elder creek
above Fort Kearney, and that afternoon the Judge, as was his
custom, went on a little in advance of the train to select a camp-
ing place for the night. Not far ahead was an Indian camp and
as he drew near it an Indian came out to meet him. Not know-
ing what might happen, several men of the train hurried on and
caught up with him just as the two met. The Indian imme-
diately threw his arms around the white man and some of the
latter 's friends, thinking that he was going to be hurt, drew
their pistols. As soon as he could the Judge told them to put
up their weapons, for he understood it and it was all right.
The Indian was a Sioux chief called "Black Bear" who with
his braves was on the warpath against the Pawnees. Judge
Harrison said the chief gave a Masonic sign as soon as they met,
and when he returned it the Indian threw his arms around him.
The whites camped close by and that night Black Bear and his
warriors came over and smoked the pipe of peace. The next
morning he presented the Judge with a war club which was made
by putting a stone into the end of a split stick and wrapping it
[332]
THE YEAE 1863
with rawhide, and the Judge in return made him a present of
his sheath knife. The chief's wife brought a lot of jerked meat
to .Mrs. Harrison and was given some sugar and coffee. The
chief told the whites that they need not fear trouble with the
Indians as long as they were in his country and that his runners
would go along and keep them in sight until they came to the
territory of the next chief. The war club is now in the pos-
session of one of Judge Harrison's daughters who lives in Iowa.
In the early 60 's a Susan ville man named Frank Peed made
a business trip to Fall River valley. He had not been there long
before a Pit River Indian told him he had better get out of that
section as soon as he could for the Hat Creek Indians were
watching for a chance to kill him. Before the Indian told him
this he made Peed understand that he knew something of
Masonry. It is also told that when he got part way home he
suddenly came upon a band of Indians. He was afraid to go up
to them, and when they saw him he made a Masonic sign. They
then motioned for him to come on, and when he hesitated they
unstrung their bows. He went to them, and after talking a while
they told him they were on a fishing trip and that he could
proceed on his journey without any danger from them. Per-
haps he thought they might change their minds, for when he
got out of their sight he caused his beast to strike a lively gait
and to keep it up until he reached Susanville.
"Fifty Years of Masonry in California" tells the following
concerning the man who was master of the lodge opened under
the charter brought to California by Peter Lassen. It says that
Brother Woods with a small party of men were captured by
the Indians on the road back to St. Louis from Santa Fe. While
the Indians were making ready to burn them Woods got his
arms loose and gave a Masonic sign. The chief immediately
sprang to him and cut him loose and eventually they were all
set free. This was just before he met Lassen.
Lafayette D. McDow crossed the plains in the early 50 's and
while on his journey he fell in with some Indians who evidently
knew something of Masonry. It is said that the head men of the
Hudson Bay Company taught the rudiments of Masonry to the
chiefs of all the tribes with which they came in contact.
[333]
HISTOEY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
The Winter of 1863-64
This winter was the driest one ever known in this valley.
T. N. Long says that the road from here to Oroville was open all
winter to people on horseback, and nearly all winter for teams.
Mrs. A. D. Elledge says there was only one storm in Susanville
this winter and that was a small one. It snowed a little, but
left no snow on the ground. It rained in the spring and people
put in their grain, but although it rained during the summer,
there was little or no crop on dry land that had no water for
irrigation. Mr. Long says that twenty-six people died in or
near Susanville that winter of a sort of mountain fever. They
were nearly all adults. Amzi Brown was among those who died.
George Kelley was the only one who was seriously ill and
recovered. The second story of the stable at the southeast corner
of Lassen and Nevada streets was used as a hospital. Until this
time there had been only three people buried in the cemetery at
Susanville, and none of them had died a natural death. They
were Perry M. Craig, Charles W. Seaman, and a man who fell
on a pitchfork while working on a ranch near Susanville.
The First Death at Milford and at Janesville
From the time that Isadore and his wife lost their lives in
the lake in 1856 no one else was drowned there until 1863. On
the eighth of July Elbern G. Kelley, a boy eight years old, the
son of John D. Kelley, and another boy who was older (J. Bristo
Rice) went swimming at the sandbar in the lake east of Milford.
The Kelley boy got into deep water, and being unable to swim,
he began to drown. The other boy ran for help, but he had a
long ways to go and assistance came too late. This is the first
death that took place near Milford.
On the 24th of July Dr. John A. Slater died of congestive
chills at his home about a mile northwest of Janesville. His
death was the first one in the neighborhood of that place.
An Attempt to Recruit for the Confederate Army
In July a man named Elkins, perhaps John, came to the
valley from Shasta City. After staying around at different
places for a few days he went to Susanville. Shortly after his
arrival at that place he went into the postoffice and found the
postmaster and Cap. Hill there. He entered into a conversation
[ 334 ]
THE YEAR 1863
with Roop, and after some talk, showed him a list of the names
of southern men who lived in Shasta county and told him they
were southern sympathizers. Roop knew several of these men,
and in the light of what took place afterwards, it is probable
that some of them had told Elkins that he was also a southern
man and in favor of the South. Elkins asked for the names of
the men in the valley who were friendly to the southern side,
and finally asked the other two men if they would "take salt."
They were used to having a man ask them to take a drink, but
never before had they been asked to take salt and they didn't
know what it meant. But the question had aroused their curi-
osity, and having a desire to know what his business was, they
told him they would. He said if they would come to his room
that night and bring some of their friends, he would fix things
up with them. He got very drunk that afternoon, and when
Roop, Hill, Ward, and another man or two went to his room in
the second story of the Brannan House, he was unable to talk
to them and they went away no wiser than when they came.
About two o 'clock Miss Roop heard , some one groaning, but
probably she thought it was somebody who was drunk, and paid
no particular attention to it. The next morning Elkins was
found dead in the street with a broken neck. It was supposed
that his whiskey gave out in the night and that he intended to
go down stairs after more. He made a mistake and went onto
the front porch and walked off that into the street. The papers
found on him showed that he was a recruiting officer and that
he had come into the valley to raise a company for the Southern
Confederacy. He was buried in the cemetery at Susanville and
Roop wrote to his friends in Shasta county, but they never
moved his body. There was a great deal of excitement about the
war and the Union men were sorry that he died before more
was learned about his plans.
The Knights of the Golden Circle
Charles Barham says that in the summer of 1863 he and
another man came from the Sacramento valley to Honey Lake
to initiate men into the order of the "Knights of the Golden
Circle." This was an order composed of southern sympathizers
who lived in the northern states. They had lodges throughout
the North and their object was to aid the cause of the Southern
[ 335 ]
HISTOEY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFOENIA
Confederacy. At a meeting held in the log house in Fort Janes-
ville he initiated twenty-two men, and not long afterwards he
initiated five more in Last Chance back of Milford. The man
who came to the valley with him went on out into the Humboldt
country to carry on the work there. In this part of the country
the order must have "died a bornin','' for there is nothing to
show that they ever did anything here.
The Union League
This fall or the next spring one or more lodges of this order
were organized in the valley. This was an order composed of
Union men, and its object was to aid the government in putting
down the rebellion and also to counteract the influence of the
"Knights of the Golden Circle." Probably no more came of it
here than from the other organization just mentioned, but it
shows how the people of the land were divided against each other.
A Cutting Affray at Janesville
Told by David B. Bankhead
One day this fall Davie Lowrie came to Janesville and got
drunk, something that was a common occurrence with him. He
was a large, dull-witted Scotchman, one of the pioneers of Cali-
fornia, and was thought to be a harmless sort of an old fellow.
While he was in this condition he sat down on the steps of the
Holmes Hotel and Mrs. Holmes, who wished to get rid of him,
motioned to three boys near by to try to get him away. These
boys were David Bankhead and John Phillips, each about fifteen
years old, and Malcom Bankhead aged ten. They threw some
little clods of dirt at him and in a few minutes he got up and
started across the street towards Blanchard's store. In the
middle of the street he met Ed. Phillips, John's brother, who was
a halfway vaquero and not very bright. He either spoke to
Ed. or struck at him, and the latter threw him down and ran
away laughing. John said "Look at my fool brother run away
from that man," and then picked up a bar of iron and told
Lowrie that if he said anything to him he would hit him on the
head. Lowrie got up and went into the store and shortly after-
wards the three boys went over there, too. As they stood in the
door David Bankhead noticed that Lowrie, who was standing
near the right-hand counter with his arms folded, had a knife
[ 336]
THE YEAR 1863
in bis hand. John went into the other side of the store for a
match to light his pipe. Lowrie came past the other two boys,
and as he did so David pushed his little brother back saying
''He has got a knife." Lowrie walked up to John, and without
saying anything, cut him across the upper part of the chest
making a wound two and a half inches long. The boy struck at
him two or three times before he found out that he was hurt.
He then said that he was killed and called for his brother to
take him home. It was a bad wound and the blood gushed out
every time he breathed, but with the assistance of two men he
walked to Bankhead's and there his wound was dressed. He
seemed to get over the effects of it, but seven years afterwards
he died in Surprise valley, and it was thought that his death
was brought on by this injury. Lowrie afterwards told the
narrator that for doing this he was arrested and taken to Quincy
and locked up for five or six months. He lived in the valley
more than twenty years after this, but never hurt anybody else.
Twelve or fifteen years after this "Uncle Tim" Darcey slashed
him with a knife cutting off the lower part of his ear and
making an ugly gash almost the whole length of his jaw. Darcey
gave him but little more warning than he had given the boy.
[337]
CHAPTER X
1864. SETTLEMENT
Susanville. During the spring and summer J. I. Steward
built a two-story frame hotel on the northwest corner of
Main and Gay streets. It was called the ' ' Steward House ' ' and
was much the largest hotel that had ever been built in town.
Mr. Steward ran it for two or three years, and it was used as a
hotel until it was burned in the big fire of July 18, 1893, while
owned by D. Knoch. The stable on the lot at the southeast corner
of Lassen and Nevada streets was given by Governor Koop to
the Masons, and early in the summer they moved it across the
street to the northwest corner of Main and Lassen streets. The
following fall and winter it was repaired a little and early the
next year the Honey Lake Rangers used the lower story for an
armory and the Masons occupied the upper story. In the fall
of 1865 work was begun on it and continued until the next sum-
mer. The building was re-covered and the upper story was
fitted up in good shape. The ground floor was used for various
purposes, but the second story was always used as a Masonic
Hall until the fire of 1893, and perhaps a little longer. After
that fire it was moved and put on the north side of Main street
about midway between Lassen and Gay. It was burned in the
fire of March 19, 1895. In the fall Jacob W. Smith began the
erection of a brewery on the south side of Main street, the third
lot east of Gay. This building was burned in the fire of March
17, 1865, before it was finished. He then put up another build-
ing in the same place and in it followed the business of brewing
until 1872. H. K. Cornell and William S. Hamilton built the
first warehouse in the place on the north side of the road just
east of Piute creek. In it they stored flour which they hauled
from Millville and sold here. Some time during the year D.
Goldstein and William Greehn opened a store, Griffin and Wil-
liams opened another one, and Philip H. Meyers and W. W.
Clemmons started a blacksmith and wagon shop. In March Wil-
liam Brockman and Jorgen Jensen opened a blacksmith and
wagon shop on the southwest corner of Main and Lassen streets
and continued in the business for almost two years. Shortly
after this each one bought a ranch about two miles below Susan-
[338]
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THE YEAR 1864
ville. Jensen spent the rest of his life there and Brockman still
lives on his ranch. In the latter 60 's Meyers bought a place a
mile south of town on which he lived about fifteen years. The
Susanville public school was taught this fall by W. H. Van
Alstine.
The public school at Richmond was taught this fall by Miss
D. K. (Kitty) Funk. School was held in the building put up
by Shaffer for a warehouse.
Toadtown. The first school in the Susan River District was
taught this fall by Mrs. Caroline A. Johnston, the wife of David
Johnston. A few months later on the school was taught by
E. W. Pratt.
Janesville. In the spring, possibly the previous winter,
L. N. Breed bought Dave Blanchard's store and stock of goods.
During the following summer he built a one-story building right
across the street from it, and here he kept a store for the sale of
general merchandise until 1873. He then put up a two-story
building on the same site. He sold goods in the lower story of
this and the second story was used for a lodge room by the
Masons and the Odd Fellows until 1911 when each of these
orders built a two-story hall in the town. Breed was the mer-
chant of Janesville for seventeen or eighteen years. It is impos-
sible to tell positively who taught school this fall. Some think
it was taught in the Fort by A. M. Vaughan.
In February Thomas H. Epley and Family returned to the
valley and bought the place on the lake originally taken up by
Isadore. The Lake District built a schoolhouse on the south side
of the road and on the eastern slope of a little hill about four
and a half miles southeast of Janesville. William A. Hatcher
taught the public school there in the fall.
Milford. W. (Bogue) Adams built a saloon on the west side
of the road running up to the gristmill and just below the rock
pile. In the fall E. T. (Bert) Fairchilds put up a two-story
frame hotel just above and adjoining the saloon. These were
the first establishments of the kind in the place. Fred A. Wash-
burn filed on 160 acres of land covering the Milford townsite,
and all the titles to the lots in that place come from him. This
summer the crickets went across the upper part of the valley
again.
[339]
HISTOEY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
Long Valley. Andrew W. Dinwiddie and Family went onto
the place taken by Frank Williams the previous year, probably
bought it. Ambrose and Noah Eobinson were killed when the
steamboat Washoe blew up on the Sacramento river. This year,
or shortly afterwards, Andrew J. Wilkerson came into the valley
and rented the Willow Eanch, and Anton Rager located a place
above that ranch. Robert M. Dooley took up a ranch about two
miles south of the Willow Ranch. J. P. McKissick came into
Long valley this fall and Edwin Ferris went to the Summit
close to the Lassen county line.
Willow Creek. This spring Hurlbut and Knudson returned
to their ranch and commenced to improve it. Knudson lived
there the rest of his life. A. L. Tunison had been going back
and forth between Honey Lake and Willow Creek since I860,
but had settled on no land in the latter place. This spring he
and William H. Hall made a location just below Hurlbut and
Knudson. In the fall Hall sold his part of the claim to Tunison
who lived there for many years. David Hursher and Brother
brought in cattle from Yolo county in charge of Henry Didlot
and kept them there until the next year. Mr. Barnes of Yolo
county brought in quite a large band of horses in charge of
Frank Stetson. Barnes and Hursher built a joint cabin on the
south side of the valley on the lower end of the Tunison ranch.
That fall Barnes moved his horses back to the Sacramento valley.
During the summer and fall a good many people went into the
valley, and the following winter there was quite a settlement in
and around Leesburg. Eli W. Harris, Mrs. Jennie Harrison's
stepfather, and Family and his partner, James Scott, crossed
the plains this year and spent the winter at Leesburg. Griffith
G. Miller and Wife, Jacob C. Miller, his brother, a man named
Jordan and Family and his partner, Henry Wright, also lived
there. Thomas W. Pickard and Wife, and perhaps Henry
Davis, were on the old Demming place, and James Haley and
Wife, and part of the time their sons, Nelson and James, were
on a place joining Pickard on the east. Robert Gowanlock and
Richard Quilty lived somewhere on the creek in the timber above
Leesburg, and James Mariot Parker had a ranch on the south
side of the creek about two miles below there. Thomas Pearson
lived in a little valley that lies south of the lower end of Willow
Creek valley.
[340]
THE YEAR 1864
Mt. Meadows. John H. Seagraves, who had bought an interest
in the Long ranch, lived there this year.
Surprise Valley. There was a large emigration into the
valley this year and a great deal of stock was taken there.
Because of the lack of rain during the previous winter stock
was dying off in the Sacramento and San Joaquin valleys, and
the owners of it would allow any one to take as many cattle as
he pleased and give him half of what he could save. A great
deal of the stock driven into the valley this year was taken in
that way. Thomas Price of Butte City, California, says that late
in the fall Thomas Bare built a cabin in the lower end of the
valley on what was then called Wood creek. This was the first
building erected in the part of Surprise valley that is in Lassen
county. W. H. McCormick of Eagleville, California, says that
a little later, perhaps the next year, two men who had come into
the valley this year, John Bordwell and Hill, settled in
that part of the valley. Their claims went into the Bare ranch
which was afterwards bought by the Gerlach Land and Stock
Company. The first soldiers stationed in Surprise valley went
in there this summer.
Frank Murphey and Marion Lawrence (Comanche George)
claimed the Buffalo Salt Marsh in northwestern Nevada this
summer.
Those whose names are given in the following lists settled in
the county in 1864. The length of residence does not apply to
the children.
The following lived here all the rest of their lives or are
living here yet. Thomas M. Barham, Mrs. Cynthia Broadwell,
Jacob W. Broadwell, Lucy Broadwell (Mrs. G. R. Lybarger),
Abner McMurphy and Wife, Harper H. McMurphy and Family,
John R. Dunn and Family, J. Oscar Hemler, William S. Ham-
ilton and Wife, Benjamin H. Leavitt, John R. Perkins, Charles
Barham and Family, Judge W. R, Harrison and Family, S. N.
Harrison, W. R. Harrison, L. C. Stiles and Wife, William M.
McClelland and Family, Jorgen Jensen, William Brockman,
Elliot Winchester, Nicholas Lute, Bernhard Neuhaus, Henry
Didlot, Mrs. William Leith, William Leith, Jr., Alzina Leith
(Mrs. E. T. Slackford and Mrs. P. Lynch), John H. Glasscock
and Wife, Vincent B. Glasscock, Jerry M. Leaky, J. P. McKis-
sick and Family, * Charles League and Family, Jefferson Hart
[341]
HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
and Family, L. M. Crill, Mrs. Nathan Phillips (Mrs. Frances
Sanders), Jacob W. Smith and Family, Charles Cramer, Golette
Dubois and Family, Robert M. Dooley and Family, Charles B.
Clark, Andrew "W. Dinwiddie and Family, and Harry F.
McMurphy.
The following lived in the county fifteen or twenty years or
more. Silas McMurphy and Family, Elliot Winchester, Jr.,
Frank David, Thomas J. Glasscock, John W. Glasscock, Joseph
D. Smith, Hiram B. Parks, Josiah Sherer, William Reilly, Isaac
Broadwell, Philip H. Meyers and Family, Thomas Meyers,
Charles Meyers, Cyrus Meyers, E. P. Soule and Family, Henry
Tyrrell, Tro E. Ward, and Kitty Funk (Mrs. A. W. Worm).
The following lived in the county from two or three to twelve
or fifteen years. Marcus Barham, Grove Tyrrell, Robert St.
John, D. Goldstein, William Hatcher, *James G. Hutton, Elias
Hart and Family, Harper Hart, Alice Hart, John Sailing,
Daniel Samis and Family, Thomas J. Lomas, George W. Funk,
Michael McGuire, L. L. Glasscock, E. D. Bowman, M. W. Pratt,
Finney Rutherford and Wife, A. A. Kneisley and Family, John
Purcell and Family, Judge A. T. Bruce, Frank Dinwiddie, James
Lyon and Wife, George Lyon, Joseph Lyon, *Cephas Tuttle,
*B. J. Robinson and Family, *S. Friedman, Jane Funk (Mrs.
J. E. Coalman), Fanny Funk (Mrs. Luther D. Spencer), A. J.
Wilkerson, Mrs. Judson (Christie) Dakin, and Thomas H. Epley
and Family.
Lassen County Politics. 1864
When the California legislature of 1863-64 met, James D.
Byers, who after the Sage Brush War had lived on his ranch
about two miles northeast of Janesville, was sent to Sacramento
to help get a bill passed by the legislature creating a new county
east of the mountains. After thoroughly discussing the matter
a bill was passed, April 1, 1864, organizing a county out of the
eastern part of Plumas and Shasta counties. It was named
Lassen county in honor of Peter Lassen. Mr. Byers told the
writer that the men in charge of the bill offered to name it Byers
county, but he told them to give it the name it now bears. There
is every reason to believe that before he left Honey Lake there
was an understanding among some of the leading men, Byers
among the number, that it should be called Roop county, the
[342]
THE YEAR 1864
name it had borne while it was considered to be a part of Nevada
Territory. Although Roop and Byers were on friendly terms,
probably the latter held a grudge against Roop for his capture
while taking Ward to Quincy and took this opportunity to get
even. According to the census of 1860 the territory covered by
the new county had a population of 476 white people and in
1864 must have contained a thousand.
The organic Act, in brief, is as follows: Section 1. There
shall be formed, out of the eastern portion of Plumas and the
eastern portion of Shasta Counties, a new county, to be called
Lassen County.
Section 2. The boundary of Lassen County shall be as
follows : Commencing on the boundary line dividing Sierra and
Plumas Counties, at a point on the summit of the ridge which
crosses said boundary line, and which divides Long Valley from
Sierra Valley ; thence following the summit of said ridge (north-
westerly), which separates the waters of Feather River from
those which flow into the Great Basin and Honey Lake Valley,
to a point due south from the Town of Susanville; thence due
south to the summit of the ridge separating the waters which
flow into the East Branch of the North Fork of Feather River,
running through Indian Valley, from those which flow into the
North Fork of Feather River, running through Mountain Mead-
ows; thence following the summit of said ridge to a point due
south from a point where the old and present traveled road from
the Big Meadows, via Hamilton's Ranch, first crosses the said
North Fork of Feather River; thence due north to the southern
boundary line of Shasta County; thence west along said bound-
ary line to a point due south of the Black Butte Mountain;
thence due north to the southern boundary line of Siskiyou
County; thence east along said boundary line to the eastern
boundary of the State ; thence south along said State line to the
south-east corner of Plumas County; thence west along the
boundary line of Sierra and Plumas Counties to the place of
beginning.
The governor of the state was to appoint a county judge for
Lassen county, whose term of office was to continue until January
1, 1866, and until his successor was elected and qualified. There
was to be an election for county officers and for the location of
the county seat on the first Monday of May, 1864. At this
[343]
HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
election the qualified voters of the county were to choose one
district attorney, one county clerk, who was to be ex-officio the
auditor, recorder, and superintendent of public instruction, one
sheriff, one county surveyor, one county treasurer, one county
assessor, one coroner, who was to be ex-officio public adminis-
trator, three supervisors, and two justices of the peace and two
constables for each township in the county.
Frank Drake, H. C. Stockton, and L. N. Breed were appointed
Commissioners to designate additional precincts to those already
established in the county, and they were to have the powers of a
board of supervisors. They were to divide the county into
supervisor districts, and were to canvass the election returns and
issue certificates of election to those receiving the highest number
of votes at this election. They were also to declare the place
receiving the highest number of votes the county seat of the
county. The Commissioners were to meet at Kingsley and
Miller's store in Susanville, Honey Lake township, on the second
Monday in April, 1864, and after being duly sworn by some
officer qualified to administer oaths, they were to perform the
duties imposed upon them by this Act. They were to choose
one of their number as chairman and another as clerk, who was
to keep a record of their proceedings and deposit that record in
the office of the county clerk as soon as the clerk should have
entered upon the discharge of his duties. They were to prepare
for the election by designating the places of voting, appointing
judges and inspectors, and giving the necessary notices. The
returns of the election were to be sent to Kingsley and Miller's
store on or before the Monday following the election, and the
Commissioners were to be there to receive them. After can-
vassing the votes they were to issue certificates of election signed
by the chairman and secretary, and each person elected was to
qualify and give his bond within ten days after receiving the
certificate of his election.
Section 11. All other county officers elected under the pro-
visions of this Act, except Supervisors, whose terms of office are
hereafter provided for, shall hold office for two years from the
first day of March, eighteen hundred and sixty-four, and until
their and each of their successors are elected and qualified ;
[344]
THE YEAR 1864
provided, that Justices of the Peace and Constables shall hold
office for two years from the first day of January, eighteen hun-
dred and sixty-four.
Section 12. The County Judge shall reside and keep his
office in the township where the county seat is located, and shall
receive a salary of eight hundred dollars per annum, which shall
be paid quarterly, as other county charges. He shall hold the
Courts required by law to be held by County Judges, the same
commencing on the first Monday in March, June, September, and
December; provided, however, the County Judge may call and
hold special terms of Probate Court whenever public necessity
may require.
The District Attorney shall receive a salary of four hundred
dollars per annum, to be paid quarterly, and such other fees as
are allowed by general law. All other county and township
officers not specified in this Act shall receive as compensation the
fees allowed by law in Plumas County in this State.
The regular meetings of the Board of Supervisors were to be
held at the county seat the first Mondays in March, June, Sep-
tember, and December of each year. The President of the Board
might call special meetings if no more than two of them were
held in any one year. The Supervisor elected from District
Number One was to be President of the Board and was to hold
office one year from the first day of March, eighteen hundred and
sixty-four. The one elected from District Number Two was to
hold office two years from that date, and the one from District
Number Three was to hold office three years from that date ; and
after that each Supervisor was to hold office three years, and the
one holding the oldest commission was to be President of the
Board. Their compensation was to be twenty cents a mile both
ways and three dollars a day while in attendance upon the
regular meetings of the Board.
Section 15. Lassen County shall be a portion of the Second
Judicial District, and the District Judge shall hold one term of
Court in said county, commencing the second Monday in October,
eighteen hundred and sixty-four, and every year thereafter two
terms, commencing on the first Monday in June and the second
Monday in October.
Section 16. For Assembly representative purposes, Lassen
County shall be attached to the County of Plumas ; for Senatorial
[345]
HISTOEY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFOENIA
representatives purposes, to the Twenty-Fourth Senatorial Dis-
trict, and for Congressional representative purposes, to the Third
Congressional District.
The Commissioners were to appoint three qualified electors
of Lassen County, one from each of the Supervisor Districts, who
were freeholders in their respective districts, to select two sites
which they should deem the most suitable for the county seat,
and after making the selection they were to report to the
Commissioners the sites they had selected.
All assessments for the current legal year were to be made
by the Assessor of Lassen County, and all taxes were to be col-
lected by the Sheriff, who was to be the ex-officio Tax Collector.
The Board of Supervisors were authorized to levy and collect
an annual tax for State and County purposes not to exceed the
sum of two dollars and fifty cents on each one hundred dollars
of taxable property in the county.
The County Recorder of Plumas County was required, upon
the application of the Recorder of Lassen County, to cause to be
made and delivered to him suitable books of record, containing
certified copies of the records of all deeds, patents, mortgages,
claims, powers of attorney, mechanics' liens, and other instru-
ments recorded in the Recorder's office of Plumas County, and
affecting property situated in Lassen County; and the books
containing the certified copies were to have the same force and
effect as the original records in Plumas County. Lassen County
was to pay for the books and the copying of the records.
All actions of any kind pending in any of the Courts of
Plumas County at the time of the organization of Lassen County
in which the defendants were residents of Lassen County, or the
property involved was situated in Lassen County, were to be
removed for trial to the proper Courts of Lassen County, except-
ing those that had been commenced for the collection of taxes
and licenses.
Lassen County was required to provide for the payment of
its proportion of the indebtedness of Plumas County at that
time. The Treasurer of Lassen County was required to draw
from the Treasury of his county and pay to the Treasury of
Plumas County the sum of one thousand dollars on the first day
of January, eighteen hundred and sixty-six ; and also the further
sum of one thousand five hundred dollars on the first day of
[346]
THE YEAR 1864
January, eighteen hundred and sixty-seven ; and on the payment
of these sums the Treasurer of Plumas County was to give a
receipt in full for the payment of the indebtedness specified in
this section of the Act.
Lassen County was required, within eighteen months after
its organization, to cause that part of its western boundary line
which ran due north to be surveyed, and to give to the Super-
visors of Plumas and Shasta Counties timely notice of when such
survey was to be made; and all expenses of the survey were to
be paid by Lassen County.
Section 24. All Acts and parts of Acts in this State are
hereby repealed, so far as they conflict with the provisions of
this Act.
Section 25. This Act shall take effect and be in force from
and after its passage.
The Organization of Lassen County
Taken from the records of the County
In pursuance of an Act of the legislature of the state of
California entitled "An Act to create the County of Lassen, to
define its boundaries, and to provide for its organization"
approved April 1st, A. D., 1864, the Commissioners appointed to
organize said county met according to the requirements of said
Act at Miller and Kingsley's store in the village of Susanville in
Honey Lake Township on Monday, the 11th day of April, A. D.,
1864. John S. Ward, acting Justice of the Peace in and for said
Township, administered the oath of office. The Commissioners
then organized by electing Frank Drake chairman and L. N.
Breed clerk. On motion of L. N. Breed they adjourned to the
Masonic Hall for the transaction of business.
Board met at Masonic Hall and proceeded to divide Lassen
County into three supervisor districts, as follows : District
No. 1. — "All that portion of territory belonging to Lassen county
situated and lying w^est of a line commencing at the summit of
the mountains on the line between Plumas and Lassen counties,
south of a large pine tree that stands near the monument of
Peter Lassen, and running north to said tree; thence to the
western boundary of Hines' ranch; thence to the lower end of
Willow Creek valley; thence due north to the Siskiyou county
line." District No. 2. — "All that portion of territory belonging
[347]
HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
to Lassen county situated and lying east of the boundary line of
District No. 1, and between that line and another line com-
mencing at the summit of the mountain on the line between
Plumas and Lassen counties, south of the eastern boundary of
Clark & Hamilton's ranch, and running north to the eastern
boundary of said ranch; thence in a north-easterly direction to
the Hot springs, situated about four miles east of Shaffer's
ranch; thence east to the boundary line between California and
Nevada Territory." District No. 3. — "All that portion of ter-
ritory belonging to Lassen County situated and lying south and
east of the eastern and southern boundary line of District No. 2."
The Commissioners then created the following townships :
Susanville Township. — "All that portion of territory embraced
and situated in District No. 1." Janesville Township. — "All
that portion of territory embraced and situated in District No.
2." Honey Lake Township. — "All that portion of territory
embraced and situated in District No. 3, and north of the ridge
dividing Honey Lake valley and Long valley, where the present
traveled road crosses said ridge. " Long Valley Township. — "All
that portion of territory embraced and situated in District No. 3,
and south of the boundary line of Honey Lake township."
They then established the following precincts and selected
the place in each one at which the election should be held :
Precinct
Junction,
Summit,
Susan River
Susanville,
Devil 's Corral,
Fort Crook,
Long Valley,
Place of Voting
Junction House.
Byrd 's Ranch.
Lathrop City.
Susanville.
Stockton's Mill.
Precinct
Milford,
Toadtown,
Janesville,
Mud Springs,
Mt. Meadows,
Willow Creek,
Place of Voting
Milford.
Schoolhouse.
Janesville.
Mud Springs.
Goodrich 's.
Lee 's Burg.
Ross & Evans.
The following Inspectors and Judges were appointed:
Precinct
Junction,
Long Valley,
Summit,
Milford,
Janesville,
Susan River,
Toadtown,
Mud Springs,
Susanville,
Mt. Meadows,
Devil 's Corral,
Willow Creek,
Fort Crook,
[348]
Inspector
Paul Jones,
W. S. Ross,
Shannon
Joseph Wemple,
Lewis Stark,
U. L. Shaffer,
E. G. Bangham,
Jenkerson,
P. Chamberlain,
Goodrich,
A. Seaman,
Lee,
Judges
M. Bronson and Wright.
A. Evans and J. McKissick.
L. P. Whiting and Thomas Fairchilds.
A. H. Barnes and N. Clark.
J. N. Pine and Dr. McCollom.
A. C. Neale and Z. N. Spalding.
Tunnel and T. Robinson.
Frank Peed and W. C. Kingsbury.
George Long and
H. H. Reppert and P. J. Quinn.
James Haley and
THE YEAR 1864
The Commissioners then appointed Rufus Kingsley from
District No. 1, James D. Byers from District No. 2, and A.
Evans from District No. 3 as a committee to select two sites for
the county seat of Lassen county to be voted for at the election
to be held on the second day of May, 1864. The Board adjourned
until Saturday, the 16th day of April, A. D., 1864.
Board met at the Masonic Hall pursuant to adjournment and
the committee appointed to select two sites for the county seat
of Lassen county presented their report, which was received by
the Board, declaring Susanville and Janesville as the sites
selected for that purpose. The Board then ordered that the
proper election notices be posted, and adjourned to meet at Miller
and Kingsley 's store on Monday, the ninth day of May, A. D.,
1864.
Board of Commissioners met pursuant to adjournment —
present Drake and Breed. They proceeded to open the election
returns and canvass the votes of the different precincts. They
counted the votes from Junction, Long Valley, Milford, Janes-
ville, Susan River, Mud Springs, Toadtown, Susanville, Willow
Creek, Mt. Meadows, and Devil's Corral. No returns were
received from Summit precinct. The Board disagreed as to
counting the votes from Fort Crook, Surprise Valley, and Willow
(Creek) precincts. Breed wanted to throw out the vote of these
precincts without opening the returns, but Drake objected, and
the Board adjourned until the 12th day of May. When they
met at that date all the members of the Board were present.
They called in E. R. Nichols and A. A. Smith as witnesses to
inform them as to the location of the Fort Crook and Surprise
Valley precincts, and after some voting the returns from the
disputed precincts were rejected. The Board then proceeded to
estimate the vote of the county. Susanville having received
the highest number of votes for county seat was declared the
county seat of Lassen county. They also declared the following
gentlemen duly elected the first officers of Lassen county:
E. V. Spencer, District Attorney; A. A. Smith, County Clerk
and ex-officio Auditor, Recorder, and Superintendent of Public
Instruction; James D. Byers, Sheriff; E. R. Nichols, County
Surveyor; E. D. Bowman, County Treasurer; A. H. Brown,
County Assessor; Z. J. Brown, Coroner and ex-officio Public
[349]
HISTOKY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFOENIA
Administrator; H. C. Stockton, Supervisor, District No. 1; E. G.
Bangham, Supervisor, District No. 2; A. Evans, Supervisor,
District No. 3.
The following were declared elected Justices of the Peace :
Long Valley township, William Ross and C. M. West ; Honey
Lake township, B. F. Sheldon ; Janesville township, S. W. Ham-
mond and J. P. Ford; Susanville township, William J. Young
and George L. Wedekind.
The following were declared elected Constables:
Long Valley township, F. H. Mosier and J. Robinson ; Honey
Lake township, Charles Batterson ; Janesville township, William
Hamilton and George Johnston; Susanville township, W. H.
Crane and F. Wedekind.
The Board then ordered that a certificate of election be issued
to each person elected at the election held on the second day of
May, 1864; that the Chairman of the Board keep the election
returns in his possession until the County Clerk enters upon the
duties of his office ; that the Chairman of the Board make out a
statement of the election returns, and file the same with the
County Clerk when he enters upon the duties of his office; that
the Chairman of the Board make an abstract of the election
returns, a statement of the persons elected, certify to its cor-
rectness, and transmit the same to the Secretary of the State
of California as soon as practicable. The Commissioners having
finished their business it was ordered that they adjourn sine die.
L. N. Breed, Clerk. Frank Drake, Chairman.
In May Governor Low appointed I. J. Harvey of Susanville
as County Judge. His term of office was to last until after the
judicial election to be held the following year.
Proceedings of the Lassen County Board of Supervisors —
First Meeting — June, A. D., 1864
The Board met according to law Monday, the sixth day of
June. E. G. Bangham was the only member of the Board pres-
ent. Stockton came on the ninth and the Board adjourned until
the next day. Evans arrived on the 14th. On the tenth the
Board levied a tax of $1.25 an each $100 of taxable property in
the county for county purposes, and $1.25 on each $100 for state
[350]
THE YEAR 1S64
purposes. (The Assessment Roll for 1864 showed the value of
improvements on land to be $239558, and the value of personal
property to be $439301. The tax on this would be $16971.47.)
All the roads of the county traveled by the public at that
time were declared public highways. The county was laid off
into seven Road Districts, and the following road overseers
appointed : District No. 1 — Loyal Woodstock ; District No. 2. —
Henry Hatch; District No. 3. — A. Kniesley; District No. 4. —
F. A. Sloss ; District No. 5. Ross ; District No. 6.
Lee ; District No. 7. — J. N. Pine.
The following School Districts were laid off: Susanville Dis-
trict, Susanville and down the river for a couple of miles ; Rich-
mond District, the country south of the Susanville District;
Susan River District, down the river from the Susanville District
to the lake and country to the north ; Janesville District, that cor-
ner of the valley and down to within a couple of miles of the
lake ; Lake District, from the Janesville District down along the
lake to Long valley ; Long Valley District, all of Long Valley. In
August the Lake and Long Valley Districts were consolidated.
On the eleventh the Board ordered notices to be posted stat-
ing that until the 18th proposals would be received by the Board
for selling to the county a suitable site in the town of Susanville
for the location of the county buildings. On June 18th Isaac
Roop's gift of a block of land in Susanville for a public square
was accepted. At the meeting of July second the Board ordered
notices posted stating that until August eighth proposals would
be received for the building of a county jail. On August eighth
the following proposals were received and opened: (1) Ed.
Carpeau proposed to build said jail for the sum of $7000 — to be
built of stone. (2) R. L. Ingram offered to build it of stone for
$7826. (3) Westley (J. W.) Hosselkus offered to build it of
brick for $6850, or of stone for $8000. (4) Thompson and Gid-
dings offered to build it of stone for $3950. The last bid was
accepted on the condition that Thompson and Giddings give the
county a $5000 bond for the faithful fulfillment of the contract.
The First Grand Jury
The first Lassen county grand jury served during the Septem-
ber term of the County Court. Its members were A. Kneisley,
William R. Hill, Charles Adams, S. S. Stinson, Samuel Latton,
[351]
HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
D. Chandler, Thomas Epley, Frank Drake, E. M. Cheeney, Smith
J. Hill, S. P. Tunnel, Paul Jones, C. M. Kelley, William Craw-
ford, M. Craig, P. A. Sloss, E. Bronson, N. Pine, and John C.
Wright. Jerry Tyler was excused from jury service. Frank
Drake was foreman.
The First County Court
The first County Court of Lassen county was opened by
Judge I. J. Harvey on Monday, June sixth, but it is probable
that there were no jury trials before the County Court until
the September term, for not until then is there any record of
paying trial jurors for this court. The trial jurors for this
term (September) were Loyal Woodstock, Robert Johnston,
George Wilson, John Borrette, J. P. Jones , H. Sain, George
Johnston, John H. Cowan, Charles E. Alvord, Frank Strong,
Z. J. Brown, L. Spencer, Fred Hines, William Course, Warren
Lockman, F. Long, Frank Drake, Charles White, S. J. Eldred,
Tro E. Ward, and A. G. Moon. See * after the opening of the
District Court.
September 17th William Hill Naileigh was appointed Cor-
oner to fill the vacancy caused by the failure of Z. J. Brown to
qualify. The salary of the Superintendent of Schools was
ordered to be $200 per year.
F. and S. say that the first term of the District Court was
opened at Susanville, October 10, 1864, by Hon. Warren T. Sex-
ton of Butte county. Present were the Judge; A. A. Smith,
County Clerk; James D. Byers, Sheriff; and E. V. Spencer, Dis-
trict Attorney. The first case entered on the record was that of
John G. Newington vs. C. M. Kelley et al.
*Besides those given under the head of "The First County
Court" the following were also summoned as trial jurors and
answered to their names : Lew. Leith, John R. Lockwood, Charles
M. Drum, Samuel Weatherlow, M. W. Pratt, and Jesse Williams.
At the December meeting of the Board of Supervisors the
name of the Toadtown precinct was changed to Johnstonville.
It was also ordered by the Board that any one could pay one
half of his county tax in county warrants, or one fourth of his
state and county taxes in the same way.
When Lassen county was organized it was supposed that there
were about a thousand people in it. The amount of taxable
[352]
THE YEAE 1864
property was small, and even with a high rate of taxation, not
enough revenue could be raised to pay the expenses of running
the county and erecting the necessary public buildings. War-
rants were given for the payment of the county debts, but there
was no money in the treasury to pay them, and before long they
were of little value. Jurymen, witnesses, etc., paid gold coin
for their expenses in Susanville and in return for their services
received county warrants. Enos W. Fairfield, the Father of the
writer, served about a week on the grand jury in the spring of
1867. He traded the warrant he received for a pair of halters
and thought he made a good trade. In seven years the county
debt amounted to $31,000.
The following from the "Humboldt Register" of July 30,
1864, tells how the Lassen county officers helped out the county
revenue and what their neighbors thought about it.
"A Set of Land Pirates in Armor of Brass"
"Honey Lakers, for the purpose of more effectually preying
upon the rest of the world, last winter got up a county organi-
zation. They had no legitimate resources for the revenue neces-
sary to conduct a county government and they knew it. But
they have tax collectors and other officers, and these lie in wait
for teams passing to and from Humboldt, and come upon the
teamsters for taxes upon their property. Teams owned here and
upon which taxes are regularly paid here, are obliged to submit
to this outrage and measures should be taken to stop it. Civil-
ized men fare better passing among the Indians."
Probably they told the truth about taxing teamsters in Sus-
anville. For several years after this a teamster was compelled
to pay taxes on his team in Virginia City, Reno, Oroville, Chico,
perhaps any town in Nevada or California, unless he had a re-
ceipt to show that he had paid the taxes on it somewhere else that
year. It is said that Chinese miners paid taxes to almost every
man who came along. Every white man was to them a tax col-
lector of some kind, and when traveling they were supposed to
pay taxes at every county seat they went through, and some-
times between those places. Men who lived here at the time say
that Sheriff Byers's deputies used to hold up the emigrants
who passed through Susanville and make them pay taxes on their
[353]
HISTOEY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
teams. Roop said that poor men who were coming into the
country ought to be helped instead of being robbed, and put a
stop to it.
There was a presidential election this fall and political feeling
ran high. Tunison's diary tells that October 20th there was a
Union meeting in Susanville. The Home Guards (Honey Lake
Rangers) paraded and Maj. John Bidwell, Republican candidate
for congress, spoke at night. There was another Union meeting
at that place the night of the 22nd. October 26th the Democrats
had a meeting and a barbecue in the timber just back of Janes-
ville. The way Tunison has it in his diary shows the feeling at
that time. "October 26. The copperheads had a barbecue at
Janesville yesterday. To-day they marched up to Susanville.
I saw them promenade the street of Susanville." The last day
of October the Union men of the neighborhood raised a flagpole
at the Toadtown gristmill. It was 106 feet high and was dressed
eight square to within 15 feet of the top — dressed with a plane.
November second there was a Union meeting at Janesville. Judge
W. R. Harrison was the speaker of the day and he was followed
by John R. Buckbee. Three hundred and twenty-two men and
women were in attendance — a very large crowd for the time and
place. There was a dance that night at the Thompson ranch
and nearly one hundred couples were present.
Indian Troubles. 1864 .
The people of Lassen county seem to have had a peaceful time
with the Indians during this year. Probably they stole a few
cattle from the ranges, but did no other damage.
How the "Tule Confederacy" Got Its Name
In 1859 John M. Kelley located a section of land on the north
side of the Big Slough near the lake. When the land was sur-
veyed he could not hold it all — could hold only 160 acres and had
to live on that. William S. Brashear, Chappel M. Kelley, and
Robert Briggs crossed the plains in 1863, and Kelley wrote to
them to stop in this valley and file on the land he claimed. They
came here and each one filed on a quarter section of the land, but
they had to skirmish a little with some other men who wanted it.
The next year John Sailing crossed the plains and claimed some
land near them, and Joshua E. Briggs, who had also crossed the
plains that year, stopped with him to rest his team. All of the
[354]
THE YEAR 1864
above named men excepting John M. Kelley had been in the
Confederate Army. In the fall of 1864 E. R. Nichols, the county
surveyor, was doing some work for them, and when told this fact
he said it was a regular Southern Confederacy. This led to some
joking in regard to it and finally Nichols suggested that it was a
' ' Tule Confederacy ' ' and the name has been applied to that part
of the valley ever since.
The Killing of Wales and Boody
In June an unfortunate affair occurred which resulted in the
death of Philip Wales and Jacob Boody, two men who were
neighbors and who lived about half way between Janesville and
Milford.
A short time before the tragedy occurred Boody took a wagon
to Wales, who was a carpenter and wagon maker, to have it
repaired. When the work was done he went after his wagon, but
Wales refused to let him have it until he paid for the work, and
it was left there. On the sixth of June Boody went to Milford
and came home late, reaching the Wales ranch after dark. It is
told that that about this time Wales heard a noise at the barn,
and thinking that some one was meddling with his horses, took
a pistol and went out there to see about it. There are a good
many surmises as to what took place after he reached the barn,
but nothing is definitely known about it. When the neighbors
first got there, perhaps two hours afterwards, Wales was in the
house on the bed. He was dead and there was a bullet hole in
his breast. Boody was dead, too, and was lying in the road with
a bullet hole in the upper part of his leg and a charge of shot in
his back and side.
The next day the people of that vicinity gathered at the
Wales ranch, and Dr. P. Chamberlain held an informal inquest.
The bodies were examined and those who were supposed to know
anything about the matter were questioned, but no further infor-
mation was gained. No arrests were made and the county author-
ities took no more notice of the affair. To this day there is
nothing to prove how or by whom the two men were killed.
The Honey Lake Rangers
In the spring of 1864 the Union men of Honey Lake valley
concluded to organize a company of Home Guards. There were
several reasons for taking this action. About the time the Civil
[355]
HISTOEY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
"War began the Southerners had tried to get possession of the
United States forts, vessels, etc., at San Francisco, hoping by
means of these to overawe the Union men of California and hold
the state for the South. What was done in this valley by south-
ern sympathizers in 1863 has already been told. The issue of the
war was still in doubt, southern sympathizers were active, and
there were many rumors flying about. One of them was to the
effect that at any time the attempt to capture the state might be
renewed. Of course this was only a rumor, but the Union men of
the valley thought it would be well to be prepared for trouble
if it came. Besides this, in case the Indians should again become
hostile such an organization would be useful in fighting them.
Through the kindness of H. B. Van Horn the following was
obtained from the office of the Adjutant-General of the state
of California.
The citizens of Lassen county petitioned County Judge I. J.
Harvey to apoint some one to open a book and enter thereon
the names of volunteers for the organization of a volunteer com-
pany in Lassen county. On July 4, 1864, the Judge appointed
Frank Drake, a resident of the county, to open such a book.
This he did and posted notices in four conspicuous places in the
county. In a short time notice was given to the volunteers that
a meeting would be held at the schoolhouse in Susanville on
Wednesday, the 20th of July, 1864, at two o'clock P. M., for the
purpose of electing officers and organizing said company. They
met pursuant to the notice, and the meeting was called to order
and presided over by Frank Drake, A. T. Bruce being Secretary
pro tern. Fifty-six names were on the muster roll and forty men
were present and answered to their names. They decided by
vote to organize a cavalry company under the name of "The
Honey Lake Rangers. " They then proceeded to elect their
officers, and after this was done a committee was appointed to
draft a constitution and by-laws for the government of the com-
pany. The members of this committee were W. N. De Haven,
John S. Ward, and William J. Young.
This organization was mustered into the service of the state
of California September 28, 1864. It was a cavalry company
and was called Company A, Fifth Brigade, National Guard of
California, Brigadier General John Bidwell, Commanding. It
was also called "The Honey Lake Rangers." It was equipped
[356]
THE YEAR 1864
with .54 caliber rifles, Star pistols, and artillery sabres and scab-
bards. Uniforms were also furnished and saddles and bridles,
but the men had to furnish their own horses.
Following is given the first muster roll of the company. The
officers were the ones elected at the meeting of July 20, 1864.
Officers
Frank Drake,
Naileigh, William Hill,
Sanders, Wilshire,
Burke, Thomas C, Junior
De Haven, "William N.,
Clemmons, William W.,
Nichols, E. Kichard,
Giddings, Czar,
Brannan, Emanuel,
Gray, Byron B.,
Perry, George W.,
Arnold, Leroy,
Bruce, A. Taggart,
Borrette, Henry S.,
Clark, Charles,
Arnold, Henry E.,
Arnold, Matthew,
Arnold, Alex. T.,
Alvord, Charles E.,
Borrette, Valentine J.,
Byers, James D.,
Bowman, Ed. D.,
Barnes, Trueman B.,
Bangham, E. G.,
Brown, Alex. H.,
Course, William,
Crane, William H.,
Chamberlain, Marcus,
Chamberlain, Philander,
Cowan, John H.,
Conkey, James,
Captain, Commanding,
First Lieutenant,
Second Lieutenant,
Second Lieutenant,
First Sergeant (Orderly),
Second Sergeant,
Third Sergeant,
Fourth Sergeant,
Fifth Sergeant,
First Corporal,
Second Corporal,
Third Corporal,
Fourth Corporal,
Bugler,
Farrier.
Privates
Campbell, Samuel,
Dow, William,
Davis, John C,
De Haven, Henry A.,
Funk, George W.,
Ford, Johnson P.,
Gilbert, Mark,
Hulsman, John F.,
Hill, William A.,
Huntington, James,
Hines, Fred,
Harrison, Socrates,
Harrison, William R.,
Judkins, Asa B.,
Jones, Newton,
Kingsley, Rufus,
[357]
HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
Kneisley, A. A.,
Lockwood, John R.,
Lockman, Warren A.,
Lyons, George,
Long, William B.,
Labarte, Edward B.,
Lybarger, George,
Lyons, Joseph,
Moon, Abram G.,
Maguire, Michael J.,
Neale, Adam C,
Peed, Frank,
Parks, Hiram B.,
Phillips, Nathan,
Priddy, Maurice,
Roop, Isaac N.,
Rundel, York,
Sparger, Henry L.,
Spencer, Luther,
Spalding, Z. N.,
Spencer, Ephraim V.,
Smith, Albert A.,
Sodtrough, F.,
Straus, Gotleb,
Strong, Frank,
Stockton, H. Clay,
Thompson, Henry F.,
Tunison, Abram,
Ward, John S.,
Wilson, Sherald,
Wilson, George,
White, Charles,
Wentworth, William.
The following is from a muster roll dated September 25,
1865. There were eighty names on it, the same number as on
the previous roll. Some of the privates dropped out and new
ones took their places. The names of the officers and those of
the new privates are given.
Officers
Frank Drake,
Naileigh, William Hill,
Smith, A. A.,
Bangham, E. G.,
De Haven, William N.,
Clemmons, W, W.,
Crane, W. H.,
Rundel, R. Y.,
Brockman, William,
Gray, Byron B.,
Perry, George W.,
Judkins, Asa B.,
Roop, I. N.,
Borrette, H. S.,
Strong, Frank,
Captain, Commanding,
First Lieutenant,
Senior Second Lieutenant,
Junior Second Lieutenant,
First Sergeant (Orderly),
Second Sergeant,
Third Sergeant,
Fourth Sergeant,
Fifth Sergeant,
First Corporal,
Second Corporal,
Third Corporal,
Fourth Corporal,
Trumpeter,
Farrier.
[358]
THE YEAR 1864
Privates
Campbell, Sylvester, Partridge, John C,
Brown, Thomas, Pursell, George M.,
Johnston, George, Pratt, Miller W.,
Johnston, Robert, Ward, Tro. H.,
Kingsbury, William C, Woodstock, Loyal,
Leroy, Albert R., Wright, Henry.
This Company was re-organized under the Act of 1866 and
again mustered into the service of the State on August 1, 1866.
The muster roll of the Company as re-organized shows the
officers to be exactly the same as on the roll of September 25,
1865. Comparison with the original muster roll of the Com-
pany shows the following changes:
Names Dropped prom the Original Roll
Arnold, Leroy, Long, William B:,
Bruce, A. Taggart, Labarte, Edward B.,
Burke, Thomas C, Priddy, Maurice,
Brannan, Emanuel, Peed, Frank,
Clark, Charles, Sodtrough. F.,
Chamberlain, Marcus, Straus, Gotleb,
Cowan, John H., Wilson, Sherald,
Hill, William A., Wilson, George,
Kneisley, A. A., White, Charles,
Lockman, Warren A.,
New Names on the Roll
Brown, Thomas, Kingsbury, W. C,
Cunningham. P. W., Leroy, A. R.,
Davis, Nathan, Miller, John G.,
Elledge, Adam D., Miller, William T.,
Hutton, James, Partridge, John C,
Hamilton, William S., Pursell, George M.,
Hammond, S. W., Pratt, M. W.,
Hart, Jackson H., Smith, Cyrus,
Harrison, George, Ward, Trobridge,
Johnston, George, Woodstock, Loyal,
Johnston, Robert, Wright, Henry.
Several muster rolls were sent in, and the changes in officers
and men will be given.
[359]
HISTOEY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFOENIA
On the next roll there were thirty-one names. Naileigh
was Lieutenant, Commanding, E. R. Nichols was Fourth Ser-
geant, and John C. Davis was Farrier. New names since
re-organization were Benjamin F. "Wilson, J. W. M. Howe,
E. W. Vance, Stephen J. Eldred, Leroy Arnold, and C. F.
Williams.
On the roll of September 1, 1866, there were seventy-eight
names. Frank Drake was Captain, Commanding. New names
were as follows:
Brashear, William S., Long, William B.,
Broadwell, Isaac, Peed, Frank,
Chapman, John F., Pine, John N.,
Hall, Samuel R., Steward, Joseph I.,
Hughes, S. B., Vary, Ladue,
Hauff, Earnest, Wildner, John,
Johnson, Samuel, Wright, Albert,
James, Preston R., Wright, A. S.,
Kingsbury, William V., Worm, A. W.
On the roll of October 12, 1866, there were forty-two names.
Naileigh was Lieutenant, Commanding, E. R. Nichols was
Third Sergeant, and W. H. Crane was Fourth Sergeant. New
names were A. T. Bruce, Albert Conkey, William H. Hall, Joseph
Todd, and William H. Van Alstine.
The following notice appeared in ' ' The Sage Brush ' ' of Janu-
ary 12, 1867 :
"Honey Lake Rangers,
"Take Especial Notice.
"You are hereby commanded to return your arms to the
Company Armory on or before the last Saturday of the month.
"A demand for a part has been made by the State, and
every member of the Company failing to comply with this call
will be chargeable with such arms as he has withheld.
"Wm. Hill Naileigh, Lieut. Com.
"Honey Lake Rangers.
"W. N. De Haven, Orderly."
[360 1
THE YEAE 1864
The muster roll of September 9, 1867, shows sixty-one names.
Albert A. Smith, Captain, Commanding,
Naileigh, William Hill, First Lieutenant,
Bangham, E. G., Senior Second Lieutenant,
Crane, W. H., Junior Second Lieutenant,
Gray, Byron B., First Sergeant (Orderly),
Nichols, Elton R., Second Sergeant,
Brockman, William, Third Sergeant,
Partridge, John C, Fourth Sergeant,
Dow, William, Fifth Sergeant,
Perry, George W., First Corporal,
Vance, E. Walter, Second Corporal,
Arnold, Leroy, Third Corporal,
Conkey, James, Fourth Corporal.
New names were John Borrette, G. H. Dobyns, Frank L.
David, Thomas H. Holden, Charles League, Warren Montgomery,
Charles B. Moore, Benjamin B. Painter, Jerry Tyler, and M. G.
White.
The last muster roll was dated June 30, 1868. At roll call
there were only nine men present. They were A. A. Smith, Cap-
tain ; William Hill Naileigh, First Lieutenant ; William H. Crane,
Junior Second Lieutenant; Alpheus T. Bruce, George Funk,
Albert R. LeRoy, Isaac N. Roop, Z. N. Spalding, and John S.
Ward. On this roll was written "Charles League killed by the
Indians November 3, 1867. Rufus Kingsley, Died December 26,
1867."
In October, 1867, Jeremiah Bond hauled a part of the Com-
pany's equipment to Oroville and turned it over to George B.
Perkins. In the beginning eighty officers and men were fully
equipped. On the last muster roll was the following report of
the equipment : "29 sabers, 5 rifles, 20 cartridge boxes, 18 belt
plates, 23 cartridge box belts, 24 waist belts, 22 waist belt plates,
4 gun slings, 12 cap boxes, 12 saddles, and 6 bridles." The
writer was unable to learn what became of them.
The Honey Lake Rangers were mustered out of service June
30, 1868, and this ends the history of Lassen County's part of
the National Guard of the State of California. As an organiza-
tion this Company never saw any active service, although A. A.
Smith was in command of a party that went in pursuit of some
[361]
HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
Indians in the spring of 1868 and some of the Rangers were with
him. They drilled once in a while, and paraded a few times at
Union meetings and at Fourth of July celebrations. Though
they did no fighting, perhaps the fact that there was a body of
men here armed and ready served a good purpose.
The Prices of Merchandise in Susanville in 1864
The following prices were taken from the books of a firm
that did business in Susanville this year. Of course the prices
of these things were higher previous to this, especially before the
60 's. It will be noticed that tobacco and whiskey cost about the
same as at the present time. In comparison to the wages paid
the cost of living was much higher then than it is now.
2 lbs. Butter $ 1.50
350 Cigars 29.25
2 lbs. Tobacco 1.00
41/2 Gals. Whiskey... 13.50
2 Cans Oysters 2.00
2 lbs. Crackers .50
8 yds. Calico 3.20
1 Pr. Buckskin Gloves 2.50
1 Paper Needles .50
50 lbs. Flour 4.50
5 gals. Coal Oil 11.87i/2
1 Box Candles 10.00
4 lbs. Putty 1.00
13 yds. Sheeting 6.50
2 Deep Dishes 2.00
2 Sauce Dishes 1.00
2 Plates 75
6 Tin Plates 1.25
2 lbs. Coffee 1.00
2 Gross Screws 2.00
6 Sticks Braid 2.25
1 Doz. Eggs 75
1 Can Peaches 1.25
1 Spool Linen Thread .25
1 Pr. Socks 1.00
1 lb. Raisins .50
1 Linen Handerchief.
1 Lamp Chimney ....
3 lbs. Nails
1 Neck Handkerchief
5 lb. Sack Salt
1 lb. Tea
1 Door Lock
6 doz. Agate Buttons.
1 Comforter
4 lbs. Prunes
1 Can Lard
10 lbs. Dried Apples . .
1 lb. Tobacco
1 Paper Pins
1 Pt. Turpentine ....
1 Overshirt
1 Box Blacking
1 Vest
1 White Shirt.
1 lb. Pepper
1 Bottle Whiskey.
5 lbs. Sugar
14 lbs. Potatoes . . .
1 Gal. Coal Oil...
1 Broom
1 Pencil
0.50
.75
.48
2.00
.62
1.25
2.00
1.00
5.50
2.00
3.50
2.50
1.00
.25
.62
3.00
.50
8.00
3.00
.50
1.00
1.50
.70
2.50
1.00
.25
[362]
THE YEAE 1864
1 lb. Saleratus $ 0.37
1 Gal. Syrup 2.50
i/2 Gal. Vinegar 75
1 Ax Helve 75
2 Spools Thread 25
ZYo lbs. Peaches $ 1.00
2 lbs. Starch 1.00
271/2 lbs. Bacon 9.62
1 lb. Ginger 50
In the fall of 1865 the writer saw the clerk in the store at
Milford refuse to sell a little boy a common slate pencil for ten
cents. He wanted twenty-five cents for it. Probably the
' ' freight ' ' was the cause of this high price.
The Never Sweats
"The Humboldt Register" of April 30, 1864, says "That is
the trite sobriquet given here to the people of Honey Lake val-
ley. It is so easy to get a living there, that people acquire
indolent habits, we suppose. "Well, that will do to introduce
our anecdote, anyhow. A man advertised for three able-bodied
men. People who advertise get everything they want and in a
few days three men — stout fellows — came in company and
applied for the place. 'Ready to commence to-morrow,' he
asked. 'Yes,' said the spokesman of the trio. 'O, I forgot!
Where have you come from?' 'From Honey Lake,' they replied.
'Honey Lake be d d' said he as he walked off, 'What do you
suppose I want ? I want men to work. Honey Lake, ' and he would
not hear another word. ' '
[363
CHAPTER XI
1865. SETTLEMENT
Susanville. Susanville 's first big fire took place this year
on the 17th of March. It started in Wentworth and "Wil-
son's livery stable on the southeast corner of Main and Gay
streets and burned that, and then going east burned the following
buildings in the order in which they are given : Friedman 's
saloon, Jacob Smith's dwelling-house and brewery, Dr. R. P.
Moody's eight square drug store, Samuel Peyser and M. Bien-
stock's building, which was used as a dwelling-house, a store,
and a tailor shop, and H. F. Tarrant 's store. Everything on the
south side of Main street between Gay and Union streets was
burned excepting the Magnolia building. At that time the citi-
zens of the place had nothing to fight the fire with and could do
very little toward stopping it. The loss was about $20000, with-
out any insurance.
The first of July, or not far from that time, the first number
of "The Sage Brush" was published in Susanville. This was
the first paper published in the county. It was a four-page, six-
column paper, published every Saturday morning by A. C. Long-
more — subscription price $5 a year. Longmore's office was on
the north side of Cottage street a little west of Lassen. F. and S.
say that Longmore sold out to A. T. Bruce whose name appeared
as editor on August 10, 1867. September 5, 1868, John C. Par-
tridge bought the paper and changed the name to "Lassen Sage
Brush." Some time after this he sold a half interest in the
business to Daniel C. Slater, his brother-in-law. January 1,
1873, they changed the name to "The Lassen Advocate." E. A.
"Weed, who then owned the paper, changed the name to "Lassen
Advocate" in October, 1878.
David Knoch opened a store on the north side of Main street
between Lassen and Gay and a little west of the center of the
block. In a year or two he moved across the street and for many
years was one of the leading merchants of the town. E. D. Bow-
man and John R. Lockwood commenced the business of selling
goods on the south side of Main street between Lassen and Gay
near the center of the block. They followed this business only a
few years. Some time this year A. C. Neale opened a drug store
[364]
THE YEAR 1865
a little to the west of the Steward House. It was the best estab-
lishment of the kind that had ever been in the place. Neale
could not put up prescriptions and this work was done by Dr.
Spalding. J. W. White, a Methodist preacher, came to the val-
ley this year. He was the first ordained minister to preach here.
This year the Richmond School District built a schoolhouse.
Mrs. Orlando Streshly, assisted by Mrs. Frank Drake, raised
enough by subscription to put up the building, some giving money
and others materials. This building is still used as a school-
house in that district.
Milford. L. P. "Whiting, who had moved to Milford in 1862,
this year started another nursery a short distance northeast of
town and followed the business of raising trees and fruit nearly
all the rest of his life. The Milford School District built a school-
house on the south side of the road in the western part of town.
Miss Philenda Montgomery (Mrs. E. V. Spencer) taught the
school there that fall and the writer was one of her pupils.
The Soldier Bridge School District extended east from a line
drawn north and south across the mouth of Willow creek. A
schoolhouse was built about two miles in a southerly direction
from Shaffer's station, and in the fall a school was taught there
by Miss Lurana Walker (Mrs. James P. Sharp), who had crossed
the plains this year. A private school had been taught in the
neighborhood before this.
In February Patrick Bagin sold the Mud Springs station to
Charles B. Clark. In a year or two Clark ran the Steward
House, too, for a while.
Long Valley. A. S. Wright sold out to C. M. West and came
to Honey Lake valley to live. Anton Rager sold to Joseph Rager.
Willow Creek. In the spring Thomas Summers and Wife
came into the valley and lived at or near the Hurlbut and Kund-
son place. Richard Quilty took a place on the south side of the
creek between Parker and Leesburg. Gowanlock located about
three miles northeast of Leesburg and built a cabin on the side
of the hill north of the valley. Harris and Scott claimed some
land and built a cabin between him and Leesburg. John Camp-
bell and family came into the valley this year. John Wright came
in with a band of horses and settled in the little valley left vacant
by the death of Pearson. People called him "Coyote Jack," and
since his time the valley where he lived has been called "Jack's
[365]
HISTOEY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFOENIA
valley. ' ' In October Bernhard Neuhaus located at Leesburg and
lived there almost all the rest of his life.
Very few people crossed the plains to this section in 1865 or
any other year after that.
Those whose names are given in the following lists settled in
the county in 1865. The length of residence does not apply to
the children. The following lived here all the rest of their lives
or are living here yet : Collins Gaddy, Enos W. Fairfield and
Family, Asa M. Fairfield, Justus R. Bailey and Family, Philip J.
Goumez, David Knoch and Family, George W. Harrison, James
Dunn, and Charles P. McClelland.
The following lived here almost a life time : Lurana Walker
(Mrs. J. P. Sharp).
The following lived here from two or three to ten or twelve
years: Lafayette Wiggin and Family, E. "Walter Vance, John
Samis, Howard Putnam, *W. J. Matney and Family, T. R.
Tierce, William Gamble, and James Watts and Family.
Lassen County Politics. 1865
At the March meeting of the Board of Supervisors two new
School Districts were set off — Milford and Soldier Bridge. The
Board ordered the County Surveyor to survey the west line of
the county from a point on the mountain due south of Susanville
to the northwest corner of the county, and thence east to state
line. This work was done during the following summer and fall.
The second grand jury called in Lassen county met March
sixth and adjourned on the tenth. They found eleven bills.
Seven men were indicted for gambling and one for hurrahing
for Jeff. Davis. When the cases came to trial before the County
Judge every bill was broken and thrown out of court because the
District Attorney had not made the papers out right. At the
June meeting of the Board William J. Young, J. P., handed in
his resignation and William R. Harrison was appointed in his
place. The Board ordered that after that date all state and
county taxes must be paid in gold and silver coin. Probably the
county was getting too much of its own money in payment of
taxes.
On the Fourth of July there was a grand celebration at
Susanville. Prayer was offered by the Rev. Patterson and an
oration was delivered by Captain William N. De Haven. The
[366]
THE YEAB 1865
Honey Lake Rangers paraded and the ladies of the county pre-
sented them with a splendid silk flag.
An election for county officers was held on September sixth
and 489 votes were cast. Frank Drake was elected Sheriff ; A. A.
Smith, County Clerk and ex-officio Auditor, Recorder, and Su-
perintendent of Public Instruction; E. D. Bowman, County
Treasurer; I. N. Roop, District Attorney; Elton R. Nichols,
County Surveyor; James Hutchings, Coroner and ex-officio Pub-
lic Administrator ; William C. Kingsbury, Assessor ; and Thomas
H. Epley, Supervisor of District No. 2.
At the September meeting of the Board Dr. J. W. M. Howe
was appointed County Physician, the first one appointed in the
county. At the special Judicial election held October 18th J. D.
Goodwin was elected Joint Assemblyman for Lassen and Plumas.
William R. Harrison was elected County Judge. The following
Justices of the Peace were elected: Susanville, C. E. Alvord and
C. C. Goodrich; Janesville, H. E. Lomas and James Hutchings;
Long Valley, J. McKissick and M. Bronson; Milford, J. C.
Wemple.
At the December meeting of the Board the County Auditor
was ordered to draw a warrant for $1000 on the General Fund
in accordance with the organic Act. E. S. Dennison was allowed
to build a toll bridge across what was known as ''Grease creek"
in the southern part of Surprise valley. C. Giddings was allowed
$209 for finishing the jail and for wood furnished the county.
It is impossible to tell exactly when the jail was completed, but
probably it was some time in November. It cost about $4800.
Indian Troubles. 1865
There was a great deal of trouble with the Indians this year
throughout northeastern California, northwestern Nevada, and
probably in those part of Oregon and Idaho adjoining these sec-
tions; but only those events which took place in the country
where the Never Sweats lived and traveled will be related.
The latter part of January it was reported that the Indians
had robbed a camp and killed some stock in Secret valley, and
about a month later they drove off some more stock from the
same locality. This was the third time in about a month that
they had taken stock from there and Smoke Creek. They also
[367]
HISTOBY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFOENIA
drove off some of Jack Byrd's stock. George Thayer, the express-
man, was killed north of Smoke Creek while on his way from
Honey Lake to Surprise valley.
The Murder op Lucius Arcularius
During the winter of 1864-65 the Granite Creek station on
the emigrant road between Shaffer's and the Humboldt river
was owned by Andrew Litch, who afterwards lived many years
in Honey Lake valley, and Lucius Arcularius. The latter, known
to both white and red men as "Lucius," was a man who was
liked by everybody. The only fault ever found with him was
that he was too kind to the Indians. He hired them to work for
him and loaned them guns and ammunition with which to hunt
rabbits; and Mr. Lomas says "All this was quite at variance
with Honey Lake gospel." Not far from the first of March
Arcularius started from the station on horseback and alone to
go to Susanville. Lafayette Marks says that two or three days
after he started some one going toward the Humboldt stopped
at the station and the men he had left there inquired if they had
met him on the road. The traveler replied that he had seen
nothing of him. Some of them then went to the Smoke Creek
station and were told there that he had not passed that place.
Lomas says that W. V. Kingsbury, who kept the Smoke Creek
station, came to Shaffer's and made inquiries about Arcularius.
Harper says that some one went to Susanville and told the story
of the missing man and that Joe Hale and Nick Curran, and
perhaps others went out to look for him. However this may have
been, a party started to follow his tracks after he left Deep Hole
springs. They had no trouble in following them to Wall springs,
but from there they were hard to trace. Finally, after hunting
for several hours, they found his body with two bullet holes in
it about three hundred yards from Wall springs. It would seem
from appearances that two Indians lay in ambush and shot him.
His horse turned sharply to one side and ran about a hundred
yards and then he fell off. The Indians stripped him of his
clothes and threw him into a bunch of grease brush. They took
away everything he had, and as his horse was not found, prob-
ably they got that, too. The party went to the Granite Creek
station and fixed up a box and came back and buried him.
[ 368 ]
THE YEAR 1865
The Massacre at Granite Creek Station
Soon after the middle of March Litch left the station in
charge of A. J. Curry, Cyrus Creele, and Al. Simmons. A
week or ten days after he was gone an Indian who used to come
there quite often came into the house and said in a tantalizing
sort of way, "Where Lucius? Where he gone? When he come
back?" A fellow called "Puck" Waldron, who happened to be
there, grabbed up a gun, and putting it into the Indian's face,
told him to look into it. He then pulled the trigger and killed
the Indian dead. Probably there was another Indian or two
outside who saw them take the body out and bury it, and these
must have gone away after more Indians and come back as soon
as they could. The following from "The Humboldt Kegister"
(Published at Unionville, Nevada) of April 15, 1865, tells the
sequel.
' ' The Butchery at Granite Creek Station
"On the 7th, a small party, composed of W. R. Usher, Fox
of Jesse, M. S. Bonnifield, Col. L. A. Buckner, and John Wood-
ward left Unionville for a reconnoissance of a portion of the
Honey Lake road. They overtook and joined another party,
thirteen men from settlements along the river, out on the same
mission. On the ninth the party reached Granite Creek station,
eighty-five miles from here, owned by Andrew Litch and Lucius
Arcularius. Arcularius had been killed by the Indians at Wall
spring a month ago, and Litch was here for authority to act
as administrator. The house, furnished with five guns and a
good supply of ammunition, was left in charge of A. J. Curry,
Cyrus Creele, and Al. Simmons. On the first of April a large
column of smoke was seen rising from the vicinity, and the
supposition is the station was that day attacked by the Indians.
The walls of the house occupied by the men were built from
thick pieces of sod. They had made ten loopholes for their
rifles on the side attacked. The attack was made from a stone
corral about thirty paces off, in front of the house. (To the east
and lower than the house.) The whole front of the corral is
bespattered with lead of the bullets fired from the house. By
appearances the fight is supposed to have lasted about half a
day. Curry was killed by a shot through a loophole — a body in
the house having been recognized by persons acquainted with
him. The legs from below the knees were missing.
[369]
HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
"The Indians must have exhausted their ammunition, for
they fired long missiles before leaving, made from the screw ends
of wagon bolts, cut about an inch long and partially smoothed.
Two of these were found — one in a bellows near the house, and
the other planted two inches deep in wood. Near the lodging
place of the latter was a blood stain, and it is supposed the mis-
sile had killed a dog belonging on the place — a savage animal,
intolerant of Indians. His skin was tanned, but left on the
ground.
"The Indians gained possession of a storehouse adjoining the
dwelling by tearing out a wall. (The station house was on a
little flat above the desert and faced toward the east. It was
built of sod and had a shake roof. Ten or twelve feet back, or
west, of it was a stone building, perhaps ten feet long and six
feet wide, which was used for a storeroom. The Indians dug
through the back wall of this building.) This enabled them to
reach and fire the roof (of the larger building), and then it is
supposed that Creele and Simmons resorted to flight, taking that
desperate chance in preference to burning. (They took their
guns, but didn't carry them very far.) Creele struck out across
the flat towards Hot Springs. The flat is all alkali, very wet,
and the tracks are left plain. Three Indians, two on horseback
and one on a mule, pursued him and captured him ; brought him
back to the house, and all the conditions attest that he was
burned to death. A portion of the skull, a jaw-bone, and some
small pieces of bone were found; the other portions of the body
having been reduced to ashes. At the point where the arms
would be, were large rocks piled up, everything indicated that
he had been thus weighted down ; and then a large pile of sawed
lumber was built up over this — stubs of the sawed lumber near
these marks were found — and the poor fellow thus burned up.
"Simmons took the road to Deep Hole station. He ran about
thirty or forty rods, and there the mark of a pool of blood de-
notes that he fared not quite so badly — having been shot down.
The body was dragged off a short distance and much mutilated.
The remains of all the men, such as were found, were buried by
this party on the ninth."
In the foregoing narrative the explanations made in the paren-
theses were given by Lafayette Marks who says that he was at
[370]
THE YEAR 1865
the scene of the massacre not long after it took place, and whose
account of it agrees closely with the above. He says the men at
the station seem to have expected trouble and prepared for it.
They had plenty of arms, ammunition and provisions, and had
a barrel full of water in the house. The marks of bullets on the
corral, which he and Charles Lawson think was about sixty yards
away, showed that they wasted their ammunition and that the
most of it was gone when the end came. Marks and others think
the siege must have lasted two or three days. Alvaro Evans says
that when the Indians got into the storeroom they picked up an
old mattress that was lying outside, set fire to it, and put it
against the roof of the house.
The "Register" continues: "The party then went to Deep
Hole station to see how its occupants had fared. This place was
occupied by three brothers named Partridge and a Chinaman.
(If there were three men by the name of Partridge there, two
of them may have been brothers.) They were entirely ignorant
of the fate of the Granite Creek station, though only ten miles
off ; and had not apprehended danger. They had seen the smoke
on the first, but thought it nothing serious.
' ' The party from here spent a day — the tenth inst. — helping
the Partridge Boys to cache goods they could not bring away,
and on the eleventh started with them, bringing their live stock
for this side of the county. At Granite creek they stopped and
made further observations. The place with all its property, had
been worth not less than $400. (Probably $4000 was meant.)
All was burned. A large wagon was destroyed, the spokes being
sawed out of the wheels. A large lot of good lumber was piled
up on the haystacks and fired. The stove was broken up, and
the bottoms of the pots broken in. Nothing escaped but a keg
of syrup which had been overlooked. A reaper, haypress, and
other tools were demolished.
"Everything showed that the boys had made a gallant and
protracted fight. They would have held the house, it is believed,
if it had not been fired. Curry's body having been recognized,
and the skeleton of Simmons being easily recognized by pecul-
iarly marked teeth, the ashes, the piled rocks, the stubs of the
burned lumber denoted that it had been Creele's fate to breathe
[ 371 1
HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
his last in flames and smoke. Charles Kyle and family with their
stock, and all other settlers thereabouts left their homes and came
this way.
"There is a sorrow ripening for the redskins, and as it is
known that all tribes furnish fiends for these marauding parties,
conviction is gaining ground that it is not good for the country
to encourage the breeding of Indians. Men who have lost friends
by the hands of these miscreants promise an early and a fearful
vengeance."
The last of May, 1865, Captain Byrd started for Idaho with
1100 head of cattle and 165 horses. Besides himself and his son,
Austin Byrd, there were twenty men to handle this stock. In
the party were Thomas Harris, Thomas Votaw, William J. Sea-
graves, William H. Dakin, John S. Howard, Alex. Hostetter.
Wheeler, Belt, L. Gillespie, "Nigger" George, an
Indian named Humphrey, and a Frenchman. Andrew J. Hunt
joined them at Cow Creek.
They went across the countiy until they struck the emigrant
road to the Humboldt river and then followed that. In two or
three days Votaw and Harris went back to attend to the Byrd
stock left in Honey Lake. In the Black Rock country there was
a long drive across the desert without any water and the stock
got very thirsty. When they were near enough to the Rabbit
Hole springs so that the horses could smell the water they out-
traveled the cattle. Byrd told Austin to let the horses go and
keep up with them, and to stay at Rabbit Hole until the rest of
the stock came up. The horses reached the springs some time
during the night, but the water was so far down in the holes
that they could not get any of it and Austin let them feed along
toward the foothills. About daylight he heard an "Indian yell"
and then another one, and the horses all stampeded up the can-
yon with the Indians after them. Young Byrd stampeded on
the back track down the canyon for fear they would be after
him, and kept it up for five or six miles until he met the rest
of the party. Jack Byrd took Dakin and several other men and
followed the trail of the horses until he was satisfied that they
had been driven off by the Indians. He did not go any further
because he thought it was best to stay and take care of the
cattle. He claims that the band stolen here consisted of one
hundred and twenty-seven well-broken saddle horses.
[372]
THE YEAE 1865
They resumed their journey and on the third of July reached
Cow Creek, Owyhee county, Idaho, without further mishap.
This was a mile and a quarter below Camp Lyons, a military post
then occupied by a part of five companies of the First Regiment
Oregon Volunteers. As the feed was good there and they thought
they were close enough to the Post to be safe from attack by the
Indians, they concluded to stay for a while and Dakin, Hunt,
Howard, Hostetter, and Wheeler were hired to take care of the
stock. The night of the 15th of August the Winnetts, a band of
the Snake river Indians, stole twenty-three head of their saddle
horses. Austin Byrd went to Camp Lyons for help and was
told by the officer in command that he could not aid him at that
time. His men were so badly scattered that he could hardly take
care of the Post and the Indians had stolen some of his horses.
Byrd, Howard, and Dakin then followed the trail of the horses
toward the Malheur mountains as far as they dared to go. It
was not very safe for a few white men to be out that way just
then. Shortly after this a few soldiers got out and rode around
a little, but they found no horses and killed no Indians. While
the three men were following the horses the Indians drove off
some of their cattle. The soldiers saw it done, but were afraid
to interfere. Byrd and his men followed them as far as they
dared to go and then came back and made preparations to take
the cattle to a safer place. While they were getting ready the
Indians killed a good many of their cattle. A band of them
would get on a bluff and occasionally a few would dash down
among the cattle, kill several, and then run back. About the
first of September they got fourteen men together and took the
stock across the Snake river and four miles up the Boise. When
they rounded them up they found they were out about one hund-
red head. The next year Captain Byrd drove all his stock out
of Honey Lake and left this section for all time to come.
In 1891, while living in Walla Walla, Washington, Byrd filed
a petition in the Court of Claims of the United States asking for
$41,950 to pay for stock taken from him by the Indians in 1859,
1860, and 1865. He died the next year after he filed this claim,
and in the course of time Austin Byrd fell heir to it. Harry
Peyton of Washington, D. C, was his lawyer. The claim was
cut down to about one half of what it was at first, but he never
recovered any damages from the United States. The foregoing
[373]
HISTOEY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFOENIA
was told from testimony given by the two Byrds, William H.
Dakin, and others, who were witnesses for the Plaintiff.
William J. Seagraves was a witness for the United States
Government and in many respect his testimony differed mate-
rially from that of the other witnesses. He testified that the
loss of Byrd's stock was caused by carelessness and incompet-
ency in handling it. He also testified that at Rabbit Hole he
was put in foreman of the drive and held that position until
they reached Idaho. Austin Byrd made another affidavit after
this in which he denied almost everything that Seagraves said.
On the 14th of March Captain Wells with a company of
cavalry surprised at daylight a camp of Pah Utes on the banks
of Mud lake within the Pah Ute reservation, and killed every
Indian found in camp. Major McDermit reported to Governor
Blasdel that thirty-two Indians were killed.
On the night of the 30th of May two men, George Shortridge
and Bissell, were killed in the lower end of Surprise
valley. Olin Ward says they lived at Lake City in that valley
and had been to Susanville for flour. That night they camped
near Thomas Bare's cabin and the Indians killed them. Some
man coming down the valley found them the next day. A man
who had camped at Duck lake came along the next morning
and never saw them. He went on up the valley a ways and
met some men who had heard of the killing and were going
down there, and turned and went back with them. For a long
time people suspected that he did the killing. The "Grizzly
Bear" says that the two men "were ambushed and killed, Short-
ridge being scalped. The Indians stole six horses and all the
supplies that they could find, and made their escape. It was
afterwards claimed the murder and robbery were committed by
white men disguised as Indians."
On the seventh of August Col. Charles McDermit was killed
while returning to Camp McDermit, then known as Quinn's
River station, from a scout on Quinn's river. He was shot by
an Indian lying in ambush and lived only four hours after
being wounded. (In early days Quinn's river was called
"Queen's river" and probably that is what is was originally
named. — F. )
September 12th Captain Payne and Lieutenant Littlefield
with eighteen men of Company E, First Nevada Cavalry, had
[374]
THE YEAE 1865
a fight with the Indians at Willow creek in Queen's River valley.
About twenty miles northwest of Buffalo Springs they reached
the top of the mountain overlooking Queen's River valley, and
from there saw Indian camp fires. They separated, each officer
taking half of the force, and about daylight each party got to
within a mile of the Indian camp and charged it. The Indians
ran, but kept up the fight, and one soldier was wounded. Thirty-
five Indians were killed right there, and they thought that fifty
must have been killed in all. The soldiers captured a lot of
guns, ammunition, bows, arrows, provisions, and some things
that the Indians had taken from the whites they had murdered.
The Murder of Belle w
On the fourth of November three or four ox teams that were
hauling goods from California to the Humboldt over the Honey
Lake road, were approaching Cedar springs, thirteen miles from
Rabbit Hole springs. One of the teams had gone some distance
in advance of the others and was captured by the Indians. The
driver, a man named Bellew, was killed and mutilated and the
wagons plundered and set on fire. The Indians went off toward
Black Rock.
''Black Rock Tom" and his band went on the warpath about
the middle of March, and were joined by the Indians living in
the mountains to the north and northeast and by renegade Sho-
shones and Bannocks, and they kept up hostilities in Paradise
valley and on the northern frontier. In May Charles Adams, a
Honey Laker, started a colony in Paradise valley. In a fight
there with the Indians the following July M. W. Haviland, a
member of the colony and another of our Honey Lake acquaint-
ances, was wounded. The peaceably disposed Pah Utes were
afraid that the warlike attitude of this band would bring the
anger of the whites upon the whole tribe and cause their destruc-
tion. Because of this, Captain Soo, the chief of the Humboldt
river Pah Utes, determined to aid the soldiers in killing off the
hostile Indians, regardless of tribal relations.
The news of Bellew 's murder was taken to Dun Glen and
Lieutenant Penwell was ordered out with twenty-six men in
pursuit of the Indians. Captain Soo, who had been the leader
in the Williams massacre in 1860, acted as their guide. When
he examined the signs about the scene of the murder he came to
[375]
HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
the conclusion that Black Rock Tom was the guilty party, and
the command moved north in pursuit. On the ninth of Novem-
ber they overtook the Indians, and found them intrenched upon
a mountain west of Pah Ute Meadows. After an unsuccessful
attempt to dislodge them, they fell back about seven miles into
the valley and camped for the night. The next morning they
started for Dun Glen without having killed any Indians or lost
any men themselves.
On the 13th of November Lieutenant E. A. Hosmer of Com-
pany B, Second California Cavalry, with sixty soldiers, four
citizens, and Captain Soo with fourteen of his warriors started
from Dun Glen to make another effort to punish the bold outlaw.
On reaching the sink of Queen's river a hundred miles north-
west of Dun Glen, the wagons were left in charge of fourteen
men and the rest continued the march. At daylight on the
morning of the 17th, after having passed through the swampy
sink of Queen's river during the night, Captain Soo declared,
as the summit of some low hills was reached, that he could see
the smoke of the enemy 's camp fires some nine miles away to the
northeast. He also insisted that the smoke came from the camp
fires of Black Rock Tom. The march was continued, and when
they got to within five miles of the point where he said he could
see the smoke, it could be seen by all. The Indians did not see
them until they were about two miles from them, when Lieu-
tenant Hosmer said "Come on, boys, we can't go around. The
best man will get there first." The command then struck out,
every man for himself, for a two mile charge. Captain Soo,
who was riding on an old McClellan saddle given him by the
soldiers, finding that some of the whites were likely to pass him,
reached down and cut the girth of his saddle with a knife and
threw out the saddle from under him. He kept on barebacked,
and was the first to charge in among the enemy who were doing
their best to escape. A skirmish battle that extended over sev-
eral miles of country followed. Along the last of it Captain Soo
used an old cavalry saber with good effect. Only one prisoner
was taken, and that was a squaw whom a citizen was trying to
kill, but was prevented by a soldier. Only six Indians and five
squaws escaped, among whom was Black Rock Tom. David
O'Connell was killed and Sergeant Lansdon and another man
were wounded. The bodies of fifty-five Pah Utes were found, but
[376]
THE YEAR 1865
this does not account for all the Indians killed. Many of them
must have remained hidden on the battle ground which extended
over an area of possibly three square miles and which contained
many gullies and quantities of sage brush.
After the battle was over a corporal was called by a comrade
as he was coming down the side of the mountain. He went to
him and found him trying to stop the blood that was flowing
from the wounds of an Indian mother. Beside her lay an infant
that had been struck by an accidental shot and near by was
another child about two years old. The private wanted the
corporal to help him carry the squaw down to the camp, for he
thought it was too bad to let her die and the children starve.
The corporal said he was in a hurry and told him to call a citizen
near by to help him. Soon after reaching the foot of the hill
he heard several pistol shots in the direction of where he had
left the two men and the squaw, and looking up that way saw
the soldier coming down alone. When he came up the corporal
said "Where is that squaw?" "That was a fine specimen you
called to help me," was the reply. "The bush-whacker
shot the whole lot of them, babies and all, before I knew what
he was up to."
A part of Company B from Dun Glen and Company I from
Camp McDermit, both of California regiments, met at Kane
springs in December for a scout under Captain Conrad. Black
Rock Tom had gathered in the scattered families of his fol-
lowers, and joined by those of other bands that were committing
depredations, had rendezvoused at another place on Queen's
river. The snow was lying on the ground at the time, and one
night while out the command was forced to lead their horses in
a circle to keep from freezing. They were allowed to build no
fires to keep the Indians from knowing that they were there.
Finally the Indians were discovered on, or near, Fish creek and
surrounded before daylight. One squaw, a boy, and an old man
were captured, and the balance, about forty in all, were killed.
None of the white men were killed. This ended organized hos-
tilities on the part of any band of the Pah Ute tribe, but some
of the more desperate went in with the Shoshone and Bannock
renegades and kept up the fight the following year, some of them
going into Paradise valley.
[ 377 ]
HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
The Death of Black Rock Tom
Black Eock Tom, who was absent when his band was de-
stroyed, went down to the sink of the Humboldt and gave himself
up to Captain Soo. "The Humboldt Register" of December
30th has the following:
"Black Rock Tom all Right''
"Several messengers have come lately from Captain Soo to
citizens here, asking them to come down to the Big meadows
and be put in possession of the notorious cut-throat known as
'Black Rock Tom.' Those who have been accustomed to attend
to such business were busy, and Tom remained on the meadows
doubtless each day feeling more secure. "When Captain Street
came that way Tuesday, Soo notified him of the opportunity to
capture this leading marauder. Street took him in charge."
Some citizens then went to Tom and told him that the people
were going to take him away from the soldiers and hang him,
and that he had better make his escape if he wished to live.
Street put him in charge of a squad of soldiers and gave them
particular orders not to allow him to escape. Probably the
soldiers knew what the citizens had told Tom and they gave him
a chance to get away. He took the opportunity and the soldiers
shot and killed him.
The following is also from the "Register" of December 30th.
"Black Rock Tom's Pale Horse
All hunters of Indians who came to an engagement any-
where between this and Owyhee, and almost all parties attacked
on that road during the past season, remarked a white horse of
extraordinary qualities, the rider of which seemed to take great
pride in his efforts 'to witch the world with noble horsemanship.'
The white horse was ever spoken of as a wonder of strength and
fleetness. The rider — a stalwart Indian — delighted to dally just
out of musket range from the white men, caricoling most pro-
vokingly, and darting off occasionally with the fleetness of the
wind. The rider was Black Rock Tom. He has quit this vale
of tears, but the horse has not been taken. Tom did not bring
the pale horse on his last trip, and the much-coveted animal is
still in Indian hands."
[378]
THE TEAR 1865
A part of the foregoing was told to show how northwestern
Nevada was freed from the marauding Indian bands that
infested it. Many of these Indians were desperadoes and rene-
gades from the neighboring tribes and would have preyed upon
the travelers and outside settlers of that section as long as they
were allowed to live. They were like wild beasts and were
treated like them — followed to their hiding places and exter-
minated. This had to be done sooner or later, and it saved life
and property to do it as quickly as possible.
The Death of Pearson
Between Christmas and New Year, 1864, a man named
Thomas Pearson left his home near the lower end of Willow
Creek valley and came over to Honey Lake. He started for
home on New Year's Day when the sun was about two hours
above the mountain. It rained that afternoon and night, and
it is supposed that when darkness came on he got lost and
wandered around until he was tired out and lay down where
his body was found. According to Tunison's diary he was
found ten or twelve days afterwards about half a mile from his
own cabin. He had a six-shooter with him and all of the loads
but one had been fired, probably with the hope of attracting
some one's attention. It is said that he was buried near his
cabin, but if that is true, he was afterwards moved to the
cemetery at Susanville.
Walker Killed by Brunty
Early in the year William Walker came into this valley and
went to work for James Doyle on his ranch about a mile north-
west of Milford. Mrs. Walker was working at Janesville in
the family of John Brunty whose wife was sick. After Walker
had worked a few days Mrs. Doyle became ill, and he told her
husband that he would go and get his wife to come there and
work until Mrs. Doyle was well. On the ninth of March Doyle
let him have his revolver and an ox team and he went to Janes-
ville. Mrs. Walker refused to go away from Brunty 's, and of
course her husband was very angry on account of it. Some
time during the day he and Brunty met in a saloon that stood
on the south side of the street perhaps a hundred yards east of
the Barnes Hotel. Walker seems to have been quarrelsome, and
[379 1
HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
the two men soon got into a row about something, probably about
Walker's wife. Brunty struck at "Walker and the latter drew
his pistol. The bar tender, Billy Hamilton, then stepped be-
tween them, but Walker put the pistol over his shoulder into
Brunty 's face. Before he could shoot Brunty caught the pistol
around the cylinder with his left hand, and the hammer came
down upon that instead of the cap. Brunty then drew his own
pistol and reached around Hamilton and shot the other man
through the body. The wounded man lived only a few hours.
Brunty was arrested and brought before Squire James Hutch-
ings. M. W. Pratt says that Brunty hired him to plead his case.
While he was talking to the Court he held the defendant's pistol
in his hand, and cocked it without thinking what he was doing.
In trying to show what was done during the fight, he threw
down the pistol and pulled the trigger and the bullet went just
a little above the Squire's head. He was a Republican and
Pratt was a Democrat, and some of the Republicans accused the
latter of trying to thin out the opposite political party. Brunty
was exonerated on the grounds of self-defense, but it was a
needless killing. There were men enough present to stop the
fight before Walker could do any more shooting, and Brunty
was in no danger. He lived in the valley a while after this, and
in company with a man named Barrington ran a saloon in
Milford.
Spencer's Trouble with the Gamblers
When Lassen county was organized there was a hard crowd
in Susanville and had been for some time. In fact there were a
good many "tough citizens" throughout the county, and the
reasons for this have been given in the previous pages. There
were a lot of gamblers in Susanville, and it was thought that
some of them did a little work on the outside in the way of
holding up stages and travelers. Occasionally some of them
would leave town and shortly afterwards reports of stage rob-
beries would come in. After a while the gamblers would come
back with plenty of money and say they had been to Carson or
Chico or some other town, and had "made a winning." There
were several faro games running in town, and as this was
against the law, the first district attorney elected in the county,
E. V. Spencer, thought it was his duty to stop them. At that
[380]
THE YEAR 1865
time there was a great deal of gambling done in the country
and few people thought it anything out of the way. Probably
an older lawyer would have said nothing about it; but Spencer
was young and inexperienced, and he thought there was nothing
else to do but to stop the games. When the grand jury met on
March 6th, 1865, he called their attention to these cases and
seven men were indicted for gambling by them. Six of them
were George P. Heaps, Joseph Hale, Charles H. Drum, William
Van Kirk, Joseph Baker, and John Anderson. The name of
the other one could not be learned. The grand jury made its
report on the tenth and bench warrants were at once served on
the indicted men, but they were allowed to go free until their
trials came off. That night Baker and Anderson left for parts
unknown.
Spencer's office was on the ground floor of the Steward
House on the west side of the building, and one night some
time previous to this he happened to be standing in front of his
office leaning against one of the posts that held up the porch.
The light from the house shone on him, and before long there
was a flash and the report of a pistol across the street in front
of the Pioneer saloon, kept by Heaps and Hale, and a bullet
buried itself in the post near his head. He stepped into his
office, put on his pistol, and went over to the saloon; but he
found no one who seemed to know anything about it. One
evening not long afterwards he went into the dining room of
the Steward House to get his supper. He had his pistol on him
when he started, but he thought it looked out of place, so he
went back to his office and left it there. He found no one in
the dining room but some gamblers who were all sitting at the
same table. He sat down at another table facing them and in a
few minutes a large coffee cup thrown by Joe Baker struck him
a glancing blow on the forehead, cutting a gash that left a per-
manent scar. He did not see where the cup came from, but he
rose up and looked into the muzzles of six pistols in the hands
of the men at the other table. They did not shoot, however,
and he walked out to his office and got his pistol. He then
returned to the dining room, but no one was there. Probably
the affair was arranged with the idea that Spencer would get
up with his pistol in his hand, and they would shoot him and
claim that it was done in self-defense. The fact that he had
[381]
HISTOEY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFOENIA
his pistol drawn would make it look as if they told the truth.
His getting up without any pistol spoiled their plan.
Before their trials came on the gamblers sent word to
Spencer by some of his friends that if he went on with the
prosecution he would be shot down in the court room. Frank
Drake was one of the men by whom word was sent, and he and
others advised Spencer to let the matter drop. The District
Attorney, however, could not see it in that way and insisted on
going on with it. Heaps afterwards told him that for ten days
before the trial the best saddle horse in the county, owned by
him and Hale, stood in the barn with the saddle on ready to
carry away the man who shot Spencer.
The cases were to be tried before Judge I. J. Harvey, and
when court opened Luther Spencer, A. G. Moon, Frank Drake,
and a lot more of Spencer's friends came into the court room
well armed, and ready to shoot if necessary. Spencer himself
came in and sat down at the end of a table where he could see
both the Judge and the spectators. He then placed two revol-
vers on the table in front of him and told the Judge he under-
stood that he was to be shot down in the court room if he prose-
cuted the gamblers; but he proposed to do it, and if there was
any shooting done, he intended to take a full hand. The Judge
nodded his assent, and did not rebuke him or tell him to take
away his weapons. When the cases were tried, owing to the
fact that Spencer was inexperienced in making out legal papers
and that three or four able lawyers were opposing him, the
indictments were set aside. Heaps, Drum, Baker, Van Kirk,
J. I. Steward, Anderson, and Hale were discharged, but their
cases were to be submitted to the next grand jury. Steward had
been indicted for a misdemeanor. Of course these proceedings
amounted to nothing in the cases of Baker and Anderson. The
grand jury of the following June indicted Hale, Drum, Heaps,
Steward, and Van Kirk. "When their cases came to trial they
all pleaded that the jury which indicted them was not a legal
one because one of its members, Antone Storff, was not a citizen
of the United States. This was found to be true, and the
indictments were again set aside. The cases of Hale, Drum,
Heaps, and Steward were to be submitted to the next grand
jury. Another grand jury was at once summoned, but it failed
to indict any of them and the matter was allowed to drop. The
[382]
THE YEAR 1865
most of the above was taken from what was told by Mrs. Philenda
Spencer and from the county records.
There is another story told in regard to this. Abraham G.
Moon, who for twelve or fifteen years was a well-known citizen
of this valley, writes as follows : ' ' At that time I was rooming
with E. V. Spencer in the rear of his office in the Steward
House, and I probably was as intimate with and knew as much
about Spencer's affairs as any one. I do not know of any shot
having been fired at him. The story of the cup-throwing is as
you have it. I had it from Eph. himself. He said when Baker
threw the cup he ran. "When he (Spencer) got to his feet
Baker was going through the door and Van Kirk was standing
on the opposite side of the table with his hand in his vest pocket.
Eph. came directly to our room, buckled on his six-shooter,
removed the pistol from its holster, and stuck it in the belt in
front in plain sight. He said that was no concealed weapon.
When on the street he wore it in that way until the legal farce
was over.
"Of course there was talk, threats, on both sides. I don't
know of any direct communication from the gamblers to Eph.
I was in the Courtroom when the cases were called — was sum-
moned as a juror — was not wanted — did not see any guns on the
table — did not hear any shoot talk. I know there was one gun
in the room and have good reason to believe there were a good
many more.
"The gamblers employed J. R. Buckbee of Quincy. The
indictment was quashed. Another grand jury found bills —
they followed suit. Another jury followed. By a small majority
they chucked the whole thing into the scrap. I don't think there
were fifty voters in the county that believed there could have
been a conviction if there had been a trial." Other early
settlers tell the story almost the same as Mr. Moon does.
The Road from Chico to the Humboldt and Idaho Mines
Mention has been made in the foregoing pages of the fact
that in 1857 an attempt was made to construct a wagon road
from Oroville to Honey Lake and that the first stagecoach that
ever came into the valley brought in some men who were inter-
ested in that project. It has also been told that in 1862, on
account of the travel from Sacramento valley to the Humboldt
[383]
HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
and Idaho mines, a road was built part of the way from Chico
to Susanville and was called the Humboldt road. The following
from the "History of Plumas, Lassen, and Sierra Counties"
tells when and how this road was completed.
"The Overland and Idaho Routes
"The manner in which a large stream of emigration was
turned in the pioneer days from the Carson and Truckee routes
to pass through this county and Noble's pass has already been
detailed in the early history, as also has the exploration of a
route for an overland railroad by Lieutenant E. G. Beckwith,
in 1854. A few years later the war department decided to lay
out a military wagon road across the continent, following from
the Humboldt river the line laid out by Lieutenant Beckwith
and terminating in Honey Lake valley. It was while engaged in
laying out this road, in the summer of 1860, that Colonel F. W.
Lander arrived at the valley, and was enabled to render such
valuable assistance in terminating the war with the Pah-Utes.
The particulars of an attempt made in 1857 to construct a road
from Oroville to Honey Lake, to connect with the military road,
will be found on page 58.
"When the Idaho excitement broke out, in 1862, the people
of this section realized the advantages of establishing a route for
the transportation of passengers and goods to the new mines by
the way of Noble's pass, and began to take steps to secure such
a route. (The reader will remember that Noble's pass was on
the road from Honey Lake to Shasta City, and far north of the
road from Chico to Susanville. — F.) By the Act of April 14,
1863, the legislature granted a franchise to John Bidwell, J. C.
Mandeville, R. M. Cochran, and John Guill, to construct a toll
road from Chico to Honey Lake, on the eastern boundary of the
state. They incorporated the following year as the Chico and
Humboldt Wagon Road Company, and completed their road to
Susanville. Early in the spring of 1865, parties went from
Susanville to Ruby City and return, going by way of Shaeffer's,
Mud Springs, Deep Hole, Granite Creek, Soldier Meadows,
Summit lake, Mint springs, Gridley springs, Pueblo, Trout creek,
Willow creek, White Horse Creek, Crooked river, Castle creek,
Owyhee river, Jordan creek valley, and Wagontown to Ruby
City, a distance, as measured by a rodometer, of 332 miles. The
[384]
THE YEAE 1865
same spring Pierce & Francis, backed by General Bidwell, started
a weekly saddle-train from Chico to Idaho, by this route, to
carry passengers and mail. ("The Grizzly Bear" of April,
1915, says: "The first saddle train from Chico to Idaho, via
Susanville, left Chico on April 3d (1865) in command of
Captain Pierce, an old pioneer of the mountains of the Pacific
Coast. Passengers riding on the hurricane deck of a mule paid
a fare of $66. This included the use of a roll of blankets to
sleep under and the carrying of a supply of provisions. There
were forty passengers in the first saddle train.") Later in the
year Major John Mullen became manager of the enterprise.
Several stages were constructed, the route was stocked, and on
July 11, 1865, the first stage from Chico to Ruby City passed
through Susanville. I. N. Roop was advisory agent of the line,
and "W. N. De Haven local agent. This trip occupied sixteen
days, because of the newness of the road and the hostility of the
Indians. This latter difficulty was so exaggerated by the news-
papers that the new route met with but little favor from the
traveling public.
"On the seventh of July, 1865, a convention of 300 teamsters
was held in Sacramento, at which a committee was appointed to
investigate the Susanville trail. The committee reported it the
best route yet found, and the consequence was that many loads
of freight passed over the road that fall. In September a meet-
ing was held in Susanville, subscriptions were taken, and the
money so obtained was expended in improving the road. The
government stationed a few troops along the road, but not enough
to be of much use in case the Indians were determined to make
trouble. On this account, and because the road was not well
prepared for winter travel, the stage line was discontinued in
the fall. This, and the natural suspension of freighting during
the winter, greatly discouraged the citizens of Honey Lake
valley.
"Major Mullen went to Washington that winter, and with
the assistance of General Bidwell, who then represented his
district in Congress, and the delegate from Idaho, secured a
tri-weekly mail route from Chico to Boise City, which was let
for $45,000 per year. The same influence secured the passage
through the House of a bill appropriating $50,000 for a military
road from Susanville to Ruby City; but the bill was referred
[385]
HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
back again to the committee, and died a natural death. The
discovery of the Black Rock mines about this time (their first
discovery was in 1849 — F.), and the great rush to that region,
also increased the importance of the Susanville route. In May,
1866, the Sage Brush said :
" 'The immigration to Idaho and Montana has commenced.
Every day trains of men, mules, horses, and sometimes jack-
asses, pass through our town on a weary pilgrimage to the distant
mining camps.' In another article is the following: 'We must
pause in our account of the discovery of the Black Rock mines,
in order to give some account of the town of Susanville — a town
which, by reason of these discoveries, and its situation on the
great thoroughfare leading from California to Black Rock, Idaho,
Montana, and Humboldt, bids fair to become, next to San Fran-
cisco, the most important town on the Pacific Coast. '
"In May, also, the California and Idaho Stage and Fast
Freight Company was incorporated, with a capital stock of
$200,000. John Mullen was president. About midnight, July
1, 1866, the first stage left Chico, and arrived in Ruby City in
three days and five hours, a distance of 427 miles. Susanville
soon acquired considerable importance as a staging center.
Eight stages per week arrived there from Chico, Red Bluff,
Oroville, Virginia City, and other points. The reports of the
fabulous richness of the Black Rock and Owyhee mines drew a
constant stream of travel through this section, and it was nec-
essary to increase the facilities of the stage line. This was done,
a daily stage was put on, and James D. Byers was appointed
general superintendent of the line. They ran daily till winter
set in, and then the deep snows so interferred that only about
two trips a week could be made.
"When the contract expired the next year, the Central Pacific
had completed its track east of the Sierra nearly to the big bend
of the Humboldt, reducing the distance to be staged by one-half.
For this reason, the government refused to renew the mail
contract, freight and travel were diverted to the new route,
and Susanville was compelled to relinquish its dream of rivaling
San Francisco in wealth and importance."
The History from which the foregoing is quoted also has the
following :
[386]
THE YEAB 1865
"Hanging of Charles Barnhart
"A case of summary justice occurred June 25, 1865, at Mud
flat, beyond Granite creek, in a party headed by Captain Pierce,
of the firm of Pierce & Francis, proprietors of the Idaho stage
line. This party had started out with a number of wagons and
pack animals to work upon the road. On the morning in ques-
tion Captain Pierce sent William Rogan to Charles Barnhart
for a rope to be used in packing. Barnhart refused to give him
the desired article, and when he laid his hand upon the rope to
take it, drew his revolver and killed Rogan on the spot. There
were present thirty citizens and ten soldiers, and they at once
formed a court, tried the murderer, and sentenced him to death.
During the hour of life granted him, Barnhart behaved in a
most reckless manner, exhibiting that bravado that men of his
class are pleased to call courage. A gallows was improvised
from wagon tongues, the prisoner was placed in position with a
rope around his neck, and was then asked to prefer a dying
request. He said he wanted them all to get in front of him, so
that he could take a good look at them before he left. His
request was complied with, and he left immediately afterwards."
It is said that the murderer and his victim were both buried in
the same grave.
Biddle Killed by Williams
About the first of April a fight which resulted in the death
of one of the men took place in Susanville. John Williams and
George Biddle had a quarrel in the Pioneer saloon and soon
came to blows. Biddle was partially intoxicated and it is very
likely that Williams had been drinking, too. Williams was
young, stout, and active and the other man was past middle age
and not very strong. The fight was over almost as soon as it
commenced, for the other men in the saloon stopped it as quickly
as possible, but the younger man had struck or kicked his oppo-
nent in a vital spot. He had no intention of doing him serious
harm, and when he saw that Biddle was badly hurt he was very
much frightened. Williams lived with his parents two or three
miles west of town and he went home as fast as he could. It is
said that he never came back to town and left the country at
once. There is nothing on the records to show that the author-
[387]
HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
ities took any notice of the case and probably that is the reason
why they did not. Biddle died a few days after the fight.
High Water
Tunison says that November 22nd the flats around Toadtown
were all covered with water. He helped to drive some horses
out to high ground. They were standing in the water and there
was water for four hundred yards on either side of them. On
the night of the 21st the water wheel of the gristmill floated out
of its place, the bridge just below the mill was carried away, and
a great deal of fencing went down the river. The same night
David Johnston, Daniel W. Bryant, J. P. Ford, and George W.
Perry, who lived along the river, had to move their families out.
[388]
CHAPTER XII
I 1866. SETTLEMENT
This year the government established the first United States
mail route between Susanville and Virginia City. Gran-
ville Woods had the contract which began in July. He ran a
stage line and carried the mail until that fall or the next spring,
and then Charles Cramer bought the line and ran it until July,
1870. In 1869 he had a partner named Kline. About this time
a post office was established at Janesville with L. N. Breed as
post master, one at Milford with Charles Batterson as post
master, and another at the Evans ranch in the north end of
Long valley. Alvaro Evans was post master at the latter place
for a couple of years, and then the office was moved to the ranch
of John W. Doyle who was the post master for a great many
years. For perhaps a year or two previous to this a man named
Keating had carried the mail and express between Susanville
and Virginia City, and the stores at Janesville and Milford took
off the mail for their neighborhoods and distributed it for the
accommodation of the public.
Mrs. A. T. Arnold says that as early as the spring of 1866
J. D. Carr ran a stage line from Susanville to Surprise valley.
The first year or two his trips were very irregular on account of
the Indian troubles, and he went only when he could get some
one to go with him. As time went on and the road got safer
they became regular, and in February, 1869, he advertised to
make a trip from Susanville to Ft. Bidwell and back every week.
Carr may have run this line until 1871.
At the March meeting of the Board of Supervisors the
Janesville School District was divided, the line between the two
districts running north and south through the center of the
section west of that in which Janesville is situated. The school-
house in the Janesville District was half a mile below town and
fifty yards north of the road. Francis L. Parker taught school
there that summer. The schoolhouse in the other district, the
Stark District, was near the edge of the timber about half a
mile west of where the two branches of the Baxter creek unite.
"Puss" Stark taught their school that year.
[389]
HISTOEY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFOKNIA
Willow Creek. Henry Davis bought out James Haley, and
in the fall or the following spring Pickard abandoned his place.
Mt. Meadows. George W. Long bought Seaman's claim —
the land along the creek between the Devil's Corral and Fre-
donyer's Pass. S. B. Hughes and his Wife lived on the Long
place in Mt. Meadows this year and probably for the next two
years.
Those whose names are given in the following lists settled in
the county in 1866. The length of residence does not apply to
the children. The following lived here all the rest of their lives
or are still living here : Jeremiah Bond, George N. Bennett and
Family, George Fox Kelley and Family, Clarence Kelley, Frank
A. Kelley, Charles Moore and Family.
The following lived here from fifteen to twenty years or more :
Andrew Litch, George W. Glasscock and Family, William Wil-
liams, Leroy Perkins, George Payne, Charles W. Moore.
The following lived here from a year or two to twelve or
fourteen years: Jonathan Lovell and Family, George B. Hill,
Frank Murphey, Judge William T. Ward, *Simeon Crane and :
Family, C. H. Sleyton.
Lassen County Politics
In April the Board of Supervisors ordered that the report of
T. H. Epley and S. J. Hill as road viewers be accepted, and
the road as recommended be declared a public highway. To wit :
Beginning at the village of Janesville and running parallel with
the main street in a northwesterly direction about five hundred
yards, thence in a northerly direction to the east side of the
Sheffield (Pullen) ranch, thence running in a northeasterly
direction about five hundred yards, thence running in a north-
westerly direction to the summit of the Bald Hills and con-
necting with the Toad Town road. It was also ordered that a
public road be opened from a point near the Lassen Flouring
Mills on Susan river to a point at or near the northwest corner
of Joe Todd's (Davis) ranch, in as direct a line as possible and
keep the same on good ground. In June Preston James was
appointed Constable of Janesville to fill out an unexpired term.
The resignation of B. F. Sheldon as Justice of the Peace of
Honey Lake Township was accepted. In December the Board
[390]
THE YEAR 1866
appointed Dr. Z. N. Spalding County Physician. The first
named road is still traveled as then laid out.
Indian Troubles. 1866
This year was another busy one for both Indians and whites
in northeastern California, northwestern Nevada, and the ad-
joining portions of Oregon and Idaho. In a year or two the
citizens and soldiers together had killed off the most of the
Indians who, from the beginning of their settlement, had com-
mitted depredations in the valleys of northeastern California
and along the roads from Honey Lake valley to the Humboldt
and Idaho mines.
January 12, 1866, Captain G. D. Conrad of Company B,
Second California Volunteer Cavalry, with thirty-five soldiers,
nine citizens, and twelve Piutes had a fight with the Indians
near where Fish creek runs into Queen's river. The first night
out they were joined by twenty-five men from Company I, same
regiment, under Lieutenant Duncan. Dr. Snow, a citizen doctor,
went with him. The night of the eleventh they had to run in a
circle on the desert to keep from freezing. The Indians got into
a place covered with rye grass and tules and full of gullies.
They used poisoned arrows and fought bravely for two hours
and a half. Their leader was Captain John, a chief of the
Warner lake Shoshones, who killed Colonel McDermit and a
soldier named Rafferty the previous year. Captain Rapley shot
him through the head. Thirty-five Indians were killed and two
squaws were killed by mistake. Seven soldiers were wounded.
One Indian was wounded in the back. It was said that every
Indian died rather than surrender. The Indians' camp and
their supplies were destroyed.
Fight with the Indians in Guano Valley
During the winter of 1865-66 the Indians had been making
raids into Paradise valley and bothering the settlers in the
country to the west of it. Major S. P. Smith, stationed at Smoke
Creek, an officer who generally found Indians when he hunted
for them, organized an expedition to follow a band that had just
wounded a settler and driven some stock from Surprise valley.
The Humboldt Register" of March 17th says that on the
second of February Major Smith left Smoke creek with Lieu-
[391]
HISTOEY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFOENIA
tenant Robinson and thirty-six men of Companj^ D, Second
Cavalry, California Volunteers. At Ft. Bidwell they were
joined by thirty-two men of the same company and regiment
and nine men of Company F of the same regiment. The next
day they were joined by Major Mellen and Captain Starr with
ten men of Company F of the same regiment. Nineteen citizens
of Surprise valley went with the soldiers. On the fifteenth of
February they found the Indians in Guano valley in the extreme
northern part of Washoe county, Nevada. The Indians were
at the mouth of Rock Canyon on the east side of the valley. The
soldiers got onto a table-land where they could have a fair fight,
and when within a mile of the Indians Major Smith divided his
command giving Captain Starr with twenty men the left, Major
Mellen and Lieutenant Robinson with twenty-one soldiers and
nineteen citizens the center, and sent six citizens to the extreme
right to hold the mouth of the canyon. He also left a guard in
camp with the pack animals. (Something wrong in that count
of the citizens., Bancroft's History says there were fifty-one
soldiers and thirty citizens in the expedition. — F.) At half past
nine the order to charge was given; and the boys broke through
the Indian ranks, scattering and shooting down everything that
wore paint. The Indians fought sullenly and asked for no
quarter, but at length they took shelter under a bluff of rocks.
The men then dismounted and marched up to the rocks under
fire and brought down every Indian that would show himself.
They fought seven hours, but could not kill the whole band
because a good many of them were in the rocks where they
could shoot without being seen. It was thought that there were
two hundred or two hundred and fifty Indians in the fight.
There were eighty warriors and thirty-five squaws killed. The
squaws were dressed the same as the bucks and were fighting,
and they had to kill them to tell whether they were men or not.
The whites recovered sixty horses, one a valuable animals belong-
ing to a lady in Surprise valley. They captured and turned
loose nine squaws and ten children, and destroyed three tons of
dried beef. The whites lost one private killed and Major Smith
and six privates wounded.
This fight was a little out of the range of the people of
Lassen county unless some of the Indian depredations were com-
mitted in the lower end of Surprise valley. It is given here
[392]
THE YEAR 1866
because it is said to be the last fight ever made by some of our
old Indian acquaintances. W. H. McCormick and C. T. Sharp,
both among the very first settlers in Surprise valley, say that
the Indians engaged in the battle were Smoke Creek Sam and
his band and that he was killed. Probably they had been joined
by other Indians. McCormick says that out in that country the
chief was known as "Smoke Creek Jim." He also said that he
was piloted over the battle ground by a trooper who was in
Major Smith's command. The soldier said that during the
fight, after both his legs were broken, Sam would pull himself
up with his gun and yell to encourage his men. He died soon
after the fight, having been wounded fourteen times. In 1912
Sharp told "William T. Cressler, to whom I am indebted for the
information, that he was among the settlers who went with
Major Smith, and that he was the only one of them who was
alive at that time. He said that Joseph Marks, Samuel Matney,
C. C. Rachford, himself, and four or five other settlers were in
the Guano valley fight, and that Matney, known as "Tuledad,"
scalped Smoke Creek Sam. Probably this Indian and his band
did more devilment in a small way than any other band in this
section, and their destruction saved the lives and property of a
good many white men.
Along the last of March the Indians drove some stock out of
"Willow Creek valley.
Streshly, Mulroney, and Hough's Mules Stolen
by the Indians
The following narrative was taken from the testimony of
Streshly, Hough, and others. In the spring of 1866 Orlando
Streshly, a Honey Laker, went to Idaho with three six-mule
teams loaded with freight. Two of the teams had reached Silver
City and the other one was at Osborn 's ranch twenty miles west
of there, and about a mile and a half from Camp Lyons where
there were two companies of soldiers. The team camped at the
Osborn ranch not far from the first of April. The next morning
half the mules were gone — stolen by the Indians. The three
left were in the yard close to the house ; the ones taken had gone
down on a flat about a hundred and fifty yards away. Streshly
followed the tracks of the mules as soon as he discovered their
[393]
HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
loss, and they led him to Camp Lyons; but there he lost them,
for the herd at the Fort had been turned out before he got there
and they had trampled out the tracks he was following. He
went back to the Osborn ranch and got Asa Adams, also from
Honey Lake, and they both went back to Camp Lyons. They
could not follow the tracks any further so they went back to
camp. The next day Adams went down to Inskip's ranch, six-
teen miles below there, where the pack train of Edward Mul-
roney, another Honey Laker, had camped the previous night.
When Mulroney 's packer got up that morning he found that his
mules were all gone, but he immediately started in pursuit and
got part of them and also one of Streshly's. This animal was
slow and she had been whipped unmercifully by the Indians to
make her keep up, but failing to do this they left her. The
packer said he saw the tracks of the other Streshly mules. They
were large animals and had on heavy work shoes, and their
tracks could easily be told from those of the pack mules. He
thought the Indians rode Streshly's mules when they stole
Mulroney 's, for their tracks were behind those of the others
when they were driven off.
Three weeks after this Levi F. Hough of Indian valley lost
twenty-eight pack mules, a bell mare, and two saddle horses on
Jordan creek six miles from Silver City. They followed the
animals sixteen miles southwest, and there they turned and
crossed a lava bed about five miles wide where it was impossible
to track them on the rocks. They went to the other side of the
lava and there found the tracks again. Streshly and Hough and
three or four of their hired men and six soldiers from Camp
Lyons followed them to the lower crossing of the Owyhee river,
between twenty-five and thirty miles west of Camp Lyons, and
there they could see the tracks of the two shod mules going into
the water behind the pack mules. It was of no use to go any
further, so they returned to camp.
Not long after this Mr. Streshly was in Boise City, and there
he learned from a stable keeper that some Bannock Indians had
brought in two mules that answered the description of the ones
he had lost, and sold them to a party that was going to Montana j
to prospect. This was in the country of the Bannocks, so it was I
supposed that they stole the animals lost by the Honey Lakers ]
and Hough. These Indians were at peace with the whites, and!
[394]
THE YEAR 1866
at that time the government was feeding a great many of them
in that section. The stealing appears to have been done by
small parties of Indians, perhaps without the knowledge of
their chiefs. They took the stock of travelers and teamsters, but
did not molest the large bands of horses and cattle running in
that part of the country which belonged to people living there.
Cattle Stolen from Honey Lakers at Soldier Meadows,
Nevada
From the testimony of Robert Johnston, Samuel Swearingen,
Henry Talbert, E. V. Spencer, and A. L. Tunison's diary.
The second of May, 1866, a train of twelve ox teams reached
Soldier Meadows, west of the Black Rock range and about 180
miles from Susanville, and camped near the station at the lower
end of the Meadows. Six of the teams belonged to Robert John-
ston and the others belonged to Jesse Williams, Henry Wright,
James Walters, and A. L. Tunison. They stayed there the next
day and let their cattle rest. When they got up the morning of
the fourth they found that seventy-three or seventy-five oxen out
of one hundred and fourteen had disappeared. They had been
feeding on the flat close by without any guard. There were
twelve or fifteen men in camp, and Johnston, Samuel E. Swear-
ingen, Lee Button, Henry Reppart, " General" Weiler, a man
called "Curley" and another one called "Alex" at once fol-
lowed the tracks of the cattle which led them in a northwesterly
direction. After going a short distance, two or three miles, they
saw a band of Indians on the rocky side of a large mountain.
Some of them were on foot, others on horseback, and Johnston
estimated their number at twenty-five or thirty. They got within
a quarter of a mile of the nearest Indians who abused them and
told them to come on. The white men were on foot and not
very well armed, so they did not accept the "invite," but went
back to camp. Along the trail they found seven or eight head
of cattle shot to death with arrows. At that time there was a
military post at Summit Lake, twelve miles north of where they
were camped, and a few soldiers were stationed there under the
command of Captain Mehers. Johnston immediately sent a man
to him and requested that some soldiers be sent in pursuit of
1 the Indians.
[395]
HISTOEY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFOENIA
E. V. Spencer, a young lawyer named Martin, Henry Talbert,
Henry Parish, James Elliott, and Edward Labott, who had
been prospecting west of there in the High Rock canyon, were
camped on the east side of Mud Meadows about two miles below
the Johnston camp. Johnston went to them, told what had hap-
pened, and asked them to go after the cattle. The six prospectors
got ready as soon as they could and started on horseback after
the Indians. Swearingen and perhaps another man went with
them but the former said he went only part way. Probably
there were no horses with the ox teams, or more men would have
gone with them. The trail led to the northwest, and after leaving
the valley it went up the side of a steep mountain. From there
on it followed a sort of rocky table-land very much cut up by
deep canyons, and over which it was impossible to travel very
fast, even if there had been no trailing to do. "Where the ground
was soft the trail was easy to follow, but the Indians often drove
the cattle over rocky ground where they left little or no trail,
and it took time to hunt it up on the other side of the, rocks.
Besides this, the cattle were driven through places where it
would seem impossible for them to go. They judged from the
pony and moccasin tracks that there were about a dozen Indians,
and they appeared to be getting away as fast as they could. The
first day out the pursuers found an ox that had been killed with
arrows and a little piece had been cut out of the brisket. They
made about twenty-five miles that day, and camped because
they could not follow the trail during the night. The next day
they followed the trail, still going toward the northwest, over
almost the same kind of a country as that of the previous day.
They began to wonder why the soldiers did not overtake them,
and debated the question whether it was safe for them to go
any further. They knew that Captain Mehers had only a few
men and there was nothing certain that he would send any of
them. The night of the second day they were about fifty miles
from camp, probably near the head of High Rock canyon, and
might run into a large band of Indians at any time. They had
taken only two day's provisions with them, so they concluded to
give up the pursuit. The next day they went back to camp, and
on arriving there found that Captain Mehers had only seven or
eight men and refused to let any of them go away from the post.
The foregoing testimony was given in 1896 when Robert
[396]
THE YEAE 1866
Johnston was claiming pay from the government for the loss of
his cattle. According to Spencer and Tunison the officer at
Summit Lake would send no soldiers after the Indians who stole
the cattle, and the other witnesses seem to have said nothing
about it. In 1905, while testifying in behalf of Mr. Johnston,
William Brockman said that he came to Soldier Meadows several
days after the cattle were stolen. He and some others followed
the tracks of the cattle for ten or twelve miles and then returned
because they had no hope of overtaking the Indians. He also
said that he saw a small squad of soldiers, perhaps ten or twelve,
coming back from the pursuit of the Indians. Perhaps they
were from some other army post.
As soon as the news reached Honey Lake Henry Hatch, John-
ston's partner, William Dow, and A. L. Tunison went out there
and found the train camped at Summit Lake. They had hauled
their wagons there with the remaining cattle. Tunison says
that Johnston lost thirty-five head of oxen, Williams fourteen,
Wright twelve, Walters six, and that he lost eight.
Part of the freight Mras taken on to Idaho, and the rest of it
left at Summit Lake where it wasted or was destroyed. Mr.
Johnston said that the officer there would not let him leave it
near the post on the land owned by the government for fear that
they would be responsible for it. These men put in their claims
against the United States government for damages done by the
Indians, but up to this time few, or none of them, have received
any pay.
Indians Killed at Papoose Valley
Told by William Dow
Late in June Joe Hale was hunting horses in Cheney valley.
While engaged in this he passed the camp of "Old Tom," an
Indian valley Indian, and one of the first of this tribe who came
into Honey Lake with their families. At this camp Hale noticed
some Indians who looked as though they didn't belong in this
locality, and when he returned to Susanville he told what he had
seen. The same day WTilliam Dow, Robert Johnston and Wife,
Holla Arnold, and A. U. Sylvester came into town from Pine
creek where they had been fishing. On their way home Mr.
Dow, who was on horseback, left the road and went along south
[ 397 ]
HISTOEY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFOENIA
of it to do some hunting. He saw a band of about a dozen
Indians and tried to get up to them, but as he rode toward them
they kept edging off. He called to them and they answered
that they were Indian valley Indians, but he could see they were
Piutes. When he got into town and told about seeing these
Indians, Hale said "Those are the same Indians that I saw at
Old Tom's camp," and expressed the opinion that they had
traded with him for a lot of ammunition. People were satisfied
that they were wild Indians and that they might be going out to
the Summit lake country where the ammunition would be used
to kill white men. Several men said that if Dow would go along
and guide them, they would see that these Indians made no fur-
ther trouble. The next morning when he got to town there were
only four men ready to go with him — Joe Hale, Byron B. Gray,
Charlie Drum, and E. V. Spencer. They went out and struck
the trail just a little this side of Bridge creek, and camped that
night at what is now known as Martin springs. It looked as
though the Indians had camped there, too. Somewhere they had
divided into two or more bands, and the next day the white men
followed one of them to where they crossed Pine creek at what
is now known as Champ's headquarters. By a direct route this
would be thirty-five or forty miles from Susanville. They then
came back and went down Pine creek to Eagle lake and camped
there that night. The next morning Dow and Gray had some
sore-footed horses and could not keep up with the rest of the
party. When those in the lead got to Papoose valley at the
southern end of Eagle lake, they saw some squaws camped there
and went down and spoke to them. They could speak good Eng-
lish and said that they were Indian valley Indians and that the
men were out hunting. The white men then turned back and met
Dow and Gray and told them that these were some of the Indians
they were hunting for. They also said that nothing could be
done at present, for the men were all away from camp, and they
had better wait until night and then take them in. They camped
at a little spring just southeast of Papoose valley and the fol-
lowing morning, a little after daylight, they went over to the
Indian camp and killed four bucks. One other buck was shot,
but he got on his horse and escaped. Another buck and some
squaws got away without injury. The white men returned to
Susanville that day.
[398]
THE YEAR 1866
"Old Tom" Killed
Told by "William Dow and Fred Hines
Something was told about this Indian in the preceding article.
He was here in 1857 when Mr. Dow came into the valley, and for
some time after that he and the other Indian spoken of were the
only Indian valley Indians who lived here. He had long been
suspected of selling ammunition to the wild Indians living in
northwestern Nevada. For some time previous to his death
whenever he went to a house in the nighborhood of his camp and
found no men there, he would demand ammunition from the
women in a threatening manner. He generally wanted powder
and caps, and he picked up all the tea lead he could find. Another
thing that looked suspicious was the fact that he had the skins
of animals which he could not get in this part of the country.
Added to all this, just about this time a large band of Indian
valley Indians came into Susanville and told that Old Tom was
selling ammunition to the wild Indians.
After killing the Indians in Papoose valley the whites went
into Susanville and told what they had done. That same day
Old Tom's case was discussed and six or seven men went out to
his camp, which was then on Gold Run near the old Lanigar
place, then owned by John R. Perkins. Perkins went along with
them, and after going a short distance south from his house they
scattered out and went through the timber. Finally Perkins ran
across him. Evidently he had heard something of what was
going on, for when he saw Perkins he started off as fast as he
could. Perkins followed and caught up with him, and told him
they wanted him to come in and make some explanation about
selling the ammunition. He refused to come and started away,
but was headed off. The same thing was done two or three times,
and at last Tom threatened to yell to some other Indians who
were camped near by if he was stopped again. He started off
once more and then Perkins shot him several times with his pis-
tol. He ran a short distance and fell down dead.
Edward (Ned) Mulroney Wounded by the Indians
Some time this spring Mulroney and Wisbern's pack train
started for Silver City, Idaho, in charge of Robert Wisbern. Wis-
bern was killed at Camp McDermit in northern Nevada on the
[399]
HISTOEY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFOKNIA
28th of June, and soon after the news reached Honey Lake Mul-
roney started from Susanville on the Chico and Idaho stage to
look after the pack train. Somewhere between the 15th and 20th
of July he reached White Horse valley in southeastern Oregon,
about 225 miles from Shaffer's station in Honey Lake valley.
Henry E. Lomas was living there at the time, he, Frank Drake,
Henry Tussler, and Wood Hough having gone there from Honey
Lake the year before. Lomas tells the following : He and some
of the others had just got back from a trip to Camp Alvord,
about thirty miles away, where they had been for some poles to
use for ridgepoles in a sod house they were building. When they
reached home they found the stage was there from Chico and
Susanville, and Ned Mulroney was a passenger. The arrival and
departure of the stage was quite an event in their little colony,
especially when one of their acquaintances was on board. About
sundown the stage started for Silver City. It was a six-horse
coach driven by a man named Kelley, and Mulroney was the only
passenger. The Indians were very bad and Captain Smith
detailed two soldiers, both Irishmen, to go with them. When the
stage got ready to start they both climbed inside. Kelley said
"Look here. Who is going to ride outside with me?" Mulroney
said "Let them ride inside. I will ride with you." He after-
wards said that at the time he thought from appearances that
the soldiers would not amount to much in case of trouble with
the Indians.
In two hours they returned to the station. When they had
gone about eight miles they were attacked by the Indians, and
there were so many of them that Kelley made up his mind he had
better turn around and go back to White Horse. He did so, and
Charles Lawson says the team made so short a turn that one hind
wheel of the stage never left the track. The Indians gave chase,
shooting at them as they ran, and Mulroney and the driver
returned their fire, but the soldiers did nothing. The other men
told them to shoot, and if they could not do that, to yell and let
the Indians know there were more men than they could see. Of
course the driver ran his team as hard as he could and probably
outran the Indian ponies, but one Indian who was mounted on a
white horse had no trouble in keeping up with the stage. (Per-
haps it was the horse once owned by Black Rock Tom.) He rode
up beside it and shot Mulroney in the left leg, the bullet passing
[400]
THE YEAK 1866
under the kneepan. After a time, either the Indians gave up the
chase or the stage team ran away from them, and then the sol-
diers wanted the driver to stop and let them out and whip the
savages. Kelley cursed them and made them keep still. When
they got back to the station these heroes, in a very dramatic man-
ner, thanked Kelley and Mulroney for saving their lives. Mul-
roney's wound kept him at White Horse for a while and left him
with a stiff leg the rest of his life. Tunison says that Captain
Walker with some soldiers followed the Indians who attacked
the stage. He overtook them, but their force was so large that
he had to retreat.
Drake and Tussler 's Fight with the Indians
The names of the Honey Lake colonists in White Horse val-
ley have already been told. They went there in 1865 and took
teams, tools, provisions, clothing, and all sorts of supplies with
them; but the next year just before harvest time they saw it
would be necessary for them to have mowers and reapers and
some other tools.
Frank Drake and Henry Tussler went back to Honey Lake
and rigged up two four-horse teams, loaded them with the neces-
sary machinery, and started for White Horse. A few days before
the 20th of July, probably the 18th, as they were going up the
hill toward the summit about eight miles south of Camp McGarry
at Summit Lake, they heard a shot fired and each one accused
the other of doing it accidentally. They soon found out, however,
that they were attacked by the Indians, and they both began to
shoot. Tussler asked Drake what they should do and he replied
that they had better get off on the upper side of the grade and
fight from the shelter of the wagons. They both got down, and
while doing this Tussler discovered that he had been struck by a
bullet which had broken his leg. When Drake heard this he told
Tussler to get back onto his wagon if he could, lie as low as pos-
sible, drive his team, and shoot whenever he had an opportunity
to do so. He said he would do the same and in that way they
might keep off the Indians until they could get to the summit,
which was only a short distance ahead of them, and from there
they could be seen by the soldiers at the post. They both got
onto their wagons and drove slowly up the steep grade, firing a
shot whenever they thought it would do any good. Before long
[401]
HISTOEY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFOENIA
Drake lost his off lead line and his team climbed the side of the
grade to the left. When the fore wheel struck the bank the
coupling-pole broke, and they pulled the front wheels from under
the wagon bed and the end of it dropped to the ground. Drake's
team was in the lead and at that place the other team could not
pass him, so there they were. Drake had a Henry rifle, a gun
almost like a Winchester rifle, and plenty of cartridges. He fas-
tened his team with the lines the best he could, took his rifle and
all of his ammunition, and went back to the other team. He
told Tussler he wanted him to get on his horse and go to the post
and tell the soldiers. Tussler was willing to do this if the other
man would go, too ; but Drake told him he was going to stay there,
and that the Indians should not have their loads as long as he
was alive. Finally Tussler consented to go, and Drake got his
saddle horse out of the team and helped him to mount it. Then
he fired at the Indians who were trying to head him off until he
got out of sight over the summit. While doing this he was shot
three times, through one thigh from front to back, through the
other from side to side, and through the side between the hip
bone and the rib, all flesh wounds. Both his boots were full of
blood when he got Tussler started, but he said nothing about
it. After the other man got out of sight Drake tied up both
teams as securely as he could, and then got under the hind end
of the wagon and watched for Indians. He counted eight of
them. Pretty soon he saw one of them going around as if trying
to get behind a bush about fifty yards down the canyon. He
watched the bush and when he thought it was about time for the
Indian to get there, took careful aim at the top of it. Soon the
Indian's head appeared above it and he pulled the trigger, but
the cartridge failed to explode. Just then a bullet went through
his hat and grazed his head. He threw in another cartridge and
fired, this time hitting the Indian square in the forehead. Shortly
afterwards he saw another Indian running across in front of him.
It looked as though he was out of range, but Drake concluded to
take a shot at him anyway. He fired and the Indian went down,
throwing his gun as he fell. After two or three attempts he got
up, picked up his gun, and ran away. This one was found dead
a mile or more from the place where he was shot. Then another
one came in sight, and from long range shot Drake's riding
horse.
[402]
THE YEAE 1866
Tussler rode as fast as a man in his condition could, and suc-
ceeded in reaching the house of a citizen who lived near the post.
The man saw that something was wrong and went out to him,
and Tussler told his story and then fainted. The man, after car-
rying him into the house, went to the post and told the officer in
command what had happened. The latter immediately went to
Drake's assistance with a troop of cavalry, (Lomas says that in
less than five minutes after the officer received the word they
were on their way.) leaving orders for an ambulance to follow.
By the time the soldiers reached the wagons Drake had driven
the Indians away, and there was not one in sight. He was still
under the wagon, but was covered with blood and dust and lay
so quiet that the first man to reach him called to the others,
''Frank is gone." Drake turned and said "No, boys, I am all
right." They gave him some brandy and he told them what had
happened after Tussler left him. When they got ready to take
him to the post they asked him if there was anything he wanted
done, and he replied that he would like to have them bring up
that dead Indian so he could look at the son of a . They took
him to the post, gave him the quarters of one of the officers, and
showed him every attention. After he had rested the command-
ing officer told him they had brought the wagons in and would
have the broken one repaired, and that he had sent a detachment
of soldiers to White Horse to tell his friends about the fight. He
then inquired if there was anything else they could do for him.
After protesting a while about their taking so much trouble for
him, Drake said there was just one more thing he would like to
have done, and that was to have the wounded horse brought to
the post. The officer said the horse would die before morning.
Drake told him that the horse was just as good as so much beef
to the Indians, and as long as they hadn't got anything yet, he
would like to keep them from getting even that. The horse
was brought in and died the next morning.
When the news reached White Horse Captain Walker detailed
two soldiers to go with Lomas and some of the other men, and
they went to Summit lake to see the wounded men and brought
the wagons back with them.
The surgeon at the post did the best he could for Drake and
Tussler. The former's wounds got well in a very short time,
but Tussler did not get off so easily. In ten days they opened
[403]
HISTOEY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFOKNIA
up his wound and found that the bone had not knit, and that
the flies had got into it. He was taken to Susanville in a freight
wagon, a painful trip for a man in his condition, where he could
have better care. There his leg was broken over twice and he
almost lost his life. At last he got well, but he had one short leg
and was crippled for life. The foregoing was related by Henry
E. Lomas who knows the facts in the case better than any one
else. Probably he is the only one of the White Horse colony who
is still alive.
A Row with the Soldiers in Susanville
In the fall of 1866 (or the fall of the previous year) an inci-
dent occurred in Susanville which shows the readiness of the
early settlers of Honey Lake in case of trouble. At that time
soldiers were stationed at several places between this valley and
the Humboldt and Idaho mines to protect travelers on those
roads. Once in a while a company of them passed through
Susanville on their way to or from one of these military posts.
If the weather was very stormy, they were generally allowed to
occupy the lower room of the Masonic Building. One company,
however, misused the room so badly that Cap. Hill, who was the
janitor, swore that no more soldiers should stay in it. The next
company that came along was refused admittance, and it appears
to have awakened the wrath of some of them. That night it was
dark and stormy and S. N. (Soc.) Harrison, who had just left
the Steward House and was going up the north side of Main
street, passed two soldiers. As they went by him he heard
enough of their conversation to learn that they were hunting for
Cap. Hill. He knew that Hill was at the Steward House, so he
hurried past the soldiers and went there and told him and his
friends who was looking for him. The barroom was full of men,
E. G. Bangham and Dr. H. S. Borrette being among the number.
Shortly afterwards the soldiers came in and went up to the bar
where Hill was standing. (The bar was in the northeast corner
of the room and there was a billiard table just west of it.) They
didn 't know Hill, and when they came up to him he grabbed one
of them by the throat, backed him up against the bar, and shoved
a Derringer into his face, at the same time saying with an oath,
"You are looking for me, are you?" The soldier drew his pistol
and put the muzzle of it against Hill's body, but George W.
[404]
THE YEAR 1S66
Perry caught his hand and prevented him from shooting. While
this was going on the other soldier jumped upon the billiard table
and pulled his revolver. The cape of his overcoat being in the
way, he threw it back with the hand that held the pistol. As his
hand went up above his head, Albert Smith, who was sitting with
his feet on the billiard table reading a newspaper and who had
hardly noticed the row, drew his pistol, and pointing it at the
soldier, told him to keep his hand up. He obeyed this order and
both soldiers were at once disarmed. There was a Lieutenant
of the company in the room and he tried to interfere, but Hill
told him to keep his hands off, and that he was not running
things there if he was an officer. The Lieutenant then said he
would take care of the soldiers if he was allowed to do so. He
sent for some more of his men, put the two who had made the
trouble under arrest, and kept them in the guardhouse all night.
"Buckskin Mose"
The George W. Perry spoken of was called "Buckskin Mose."
He was a blacksmith and at one time had a shop in Toadtown
south of the bridge near the gristmill. Either he or his Wife
afterwards wrote a book called "Buckskin Mose." He picked
up all the stories about the Indian fights that had taken place
in this section, and the book related these with more or less
romance thrown in. Henry Arnold, B. B. Painter, and "Mose"
himself were the principal heroes in the book, and according to
it they must have killed the most of the Indians slain in "these
parts" for almost twenty years. The queer part of it is that if
the book had told the truth, it would have been of historic value ;
but the way it is written one must know what the truth really is
in order to find any of it there.
KOBERT WlSBERN KlLLED
In the spring of 1866 Wisbern, Edward Mulroney's partner,
was on his way to Silver City, Idaho, with their pack train, and
for an assistant had a man named A. Gr. Bradley. On the 28th
of June, while at Camp McDermit, they got into a quarrel and
both drew their pistols, but were separated. The quarrel was
soon afterwards renewed and Wisbern, who is said to have been
an overbearing sort of a man, struck and kicked the other man.
This greatly exasperated Bradley and he drew his knife and
[405]
HISTOEY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFOENIA
drove it through "Wisbern's heart. Those who saw the difficulty
say that Bradley acted on the defensive and seemed to want to
avoid trouble. He immediately ran to the post and gave him-
self up to the commanding officer. Wisbern was buried near the
post the next day. The above was taken from "The Humboldt
Register. " It also said that the military authorities took Bradley
to Unionville, but did not say what was done with him.
How Robber's Ceeek Got Its Name
Told by James Doyle
In September, 1866, though possibly it might have been the
year before, James Doyle, who lived a short distance northwest
of Milford, started with eight yoke of oxen and two wagons to
go to Oroville for his winter's supplies. About two hundred
yards west of what is now called Robber's creek, as he was going
along beside his team with his whip across his back and an arm
around each end of it, his lead cattle shied away from some
bushes near the road. Just then two men armed with shotguns
stepped out from behind the bushes, pointed their weapons at
him, and told him to throw up his hands. At first he thought
they were Indians and he started back to the wagon to get an
ax; but when they spoke to him again he saw they were white
men, so he stopped and held up his hands. Mr. Doyle says they
robbed him of $400, and he told them they were welcome to it
and would be welcome to more if he had it. Probably, like the
Irishman who ducked his head when a cannon ball just grazed
it, he thought that nothing was lost by politeness. They then
asked him if he had anything else, and he told them that was
all excepting some tobacco and some nice biscuits his Wife had
made for him to eat on the road. They took both the tobacco
and the biscuits and went into the woods. Just as they got
out of sight the stage from Oroville to Susanville came along.
Doyle told them what had happened and the driver whipped up
his team and got out of that "neck of the woods" as rapidly as
possible. The next morning the same men held up the Chico
and Idaho stage and robbed the passengers. There were seven
passengers on the stage, "Sandy" Young, General Bidwell's
foreman, being one of them. They robbed him of $700 and a
gold watch. Mr. Doyle also says that the robbers were pursued
by a posse that killed one of them and captured the other who
was sent to the state prison for life.
[406]
CHAPTER XIII
1867. SETTLEMENT
Susanville. It is probable that some time this year Dr. Z. N.
Spalding bought out A. C. Neale and kept the first real
drug store in town — one where prescriptions were filled at any
time.
Janesville. In the spring a building that stood on the north
side of the street about halfway between the hotel and the creek
was moved three fourths of a mile up the road. It was put on the
south side of the road a little southeast of the Fort. Miss Eva
Slater, afterwards Mrs. John C. Partridge, taught the first
school in it. This building was used as a schoolhouse until it
was burned down about twenty years afterwards.
Milford. Mrs. Mary Harris died in April or May. She was
the first grown person to die there and be buried in the Milford
cemetery. Egbert, the two-year-old son of T. H. Fairchilds, had
died there previous to this.
Long Valley. William E. (Paul) Jones bought the Junction
House and moved there. This year, or perhaps the year before,
Charles Cramer and Kline located a ranch in the extreme
northeastern corner of Long valley. Thaxter True and Family
came into the valley and settled below the Antelope ranch just
inside the Lassen county line. Alphonso A. (Pete) Evans came
into the valley.
Willow Creek. Summers bought out Davis and got his place
and the Pickard place, too. This year a wagon road was built
over the Antelope hill. Previous to this the wagon road went up
Kice's canyon.
Secret Valley. John B. McKissick says that "Uncle Jake"
McKissick took cattle into the valley this fall, but put up no
buildings until 1870. He then put a few improvements on a
place in the northwestern part of the valley.
Those whose names are given in the following lists settled in
the county in 1867. The length of residence does not apply to
the children. The following lived here all the rest of their lives
or are still living here: J. C. Blake and Family, Mrs. David
Titherington, Henry Houchins, William Dunn and Family, S. S.
Williams and Family, J. B. Sanders and Family, Thomas B. San-
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HISTOEY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFOENIA
ders, Jonathan Smith and Family, Anthony Otto and Family,
Robert Hayden and Wife, and Robert Hayden, Jr.
The following lived here fifteen or twenty years or more:
Morgan Williams and Wife, Isaac Adams and Family, Thaxter
True and Family, George Boyd, William Waltz, Albert Otto, and
E. R. Cary and Family.
The following lived here from two or three to twelve or fif-
teen years: J. Baker Titherington, Miss Marietta Smith (Mrs.
William Dakin), *J. D. Abel, *Oscar Hood, Lucius Post and
Family, W. Carson Wright and Family, Alphonso A. (Pete)
Evans, and * Joseph (Big Joe) Smith.
Lassen County Politics
In January the Board of Supervisors advertised in the ' ' Sage
Brush" that sealed proposals for the construction of a Court
House would be received by them until the fourth of February.
The following proposals were received: A. A. Smith offered to
build it for $12950, F. S. Johnstone for $12900, and William
Williams for $9850. The last named bid was accepted, and the
building was completed some time during the following October.
It has been in use ever since. Previous to this time the Super-
visors hired rooms in different parts of the town for the use of
the county officers and for a court room. In the fall of 1864 the
Magnolia building was used for a court room, and it was also
used a while for the same purpose in 1865. At its February
meeting the Board allowed J. N. Pine the privilege of moving
the Soldier bridge up the river about a quarter of a mile. This
is where the line between Sections 15 and 16, Township 29 North,
Range 14 East, crosses Susan river, and is its present location in
what is now called Tanner's lane. In February Frank Drake
resigned his position as Sheriff, and the Supervisors immediately
appointed Cap. Hill (W. H. Naileigh) Sheriff to fill the vacancy.
In March $1500 was paid to Plumas county, this being the last
payment of Lassen's share of the indebtedness of Plumas. April
second Marshal Bronson was elected Supervisor of the Third
District.
In June the Board accepted a road which had been laid out
from the Thomas H. Epley ranch on the Janesville and Milford
road, three and one half miles from the former place, to the
Shaffer ranch. It ran northeast and north until it intercepted
[408]
THE YEAK 1867
the road from Janesville to Shaffer's, then ran northeast until
within two and one half miles of the Shaffer ranch, and then
north the rest of the way. At the same meeting of the Board
James Ford was allowed $1000 to aid in building the Honey Lake
and Indian valley Wagon Road via Light's Canyon and Gold
Run. This road was accepted on the seventh of September.
An election for state and county officers was held on Septem-
ber the fourth — 285 votes cast. The following is the result of
the election : Joint Member of the Assembly, John R. Buckbee ;
Sheriff, Thomas N. Long; County Clerk, A. A. Smith; County
Treasurer, John R. Lockwood; District Attorney, I. N. Roop;
County Surveyor, E. R. Nichols; Coroner, Z. N. Spalding;
County Assessor, Smith J. Hill. Constables. Susanville, 0.
Cogswell and Ladue Vary; Janesville, J. H. Breed and Hiram
Winchell ; Long Valley, J. N. Woods. Supervisor, District No. 1,
E. D. Bowman.
The following is the result of the Special Judicial election
held October 16th : County Judge, A. T. Bruce. Justices of the
Peace. Susanville, J. Smith and J. Drake; Janesville, Abner
McMurphy and Sylvanus Conkey. September seventh E. R.
Nichols resigned his office as County Surveyor.
Indian Troubles. 1867
In a small way the Indians kept up their depredations this
year. They stole a few head of stock occasionally from travelers
and from the ranchers and off the ranges. They prowled around
the stations on the'Humboldt and Idaho roads, once in a while
attacking, and sometimes killing a lone traveler or teamster.
Gaddy Shot at by an Indian
About the middle of February Collins Gaddy was coming in
from the Black Rock mines with a two-horse team. When near
Stovepipe Springs he came to a little stream of water where
there Was a high ledge of rocks close to the road. He was walking
beside the wagon on the side next to the ledge, and when he
reached the creek he sprang over it. Just as he did this an
Indian who was hidden in the rocks fired at him. That spring
saved his life, for the bullet went behind him and went through
the bed of the wagon, killing a puppy that he was taking home.
Gaddy said that when he heard the shot he looked in that direc-
[409]
HISTOEY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFOENIA
tion and the Indian was so close he could have shot his eye out
with a pistol. But he had no weapon, so he ran around the hind
end of the wagon and when he got to the other side threw him-
self over into it and lay down. He then yelled to the horses, and
not having any load, they soon carried him out of danger. It
seems queer that a man should be so foolhardy as to start out on
a journey through a country infested with hostile Indians with-
out taking some kind of a weapon. The fool-killer was likely to
get him if the Indians didn 't.
About this time the Indians drove off cattle from Mud
Meadows and Deep Hole springs. A band of them was seen
prowling around Mud flat, and one of a scouting party of sol-
diers was shot while on guard not far from Summit lake.
Old Winnemucca Pays Susanville Another Visit
Told by the "Sage Brush," John J. Mcllroy, A. L. Harper,
Mrs. A. T. Arnold, A. E. De Forest, I. N. Jones, C. E. Hurlbut,
and T. J. Lomas.
The following is from the "Sage Brush" of August 17, 1867,
and gives an account of Winnemucca 's visit to Honey Lake.
"This noted chief of the Piute tribe of Indians, having their
headquarters on the Indian reservation at Pyramid lake, made
Susanville a visit on Tuesday last. He came with letters pur-
porting to have been written by the Indian Agent at their reser-
vation and others of Washoe and vicinity. He brought with him
some fifteen warriors whom he stationed about two miles from
the town to await the result of a conference with the citizens of
Susanville, wishing to gain permission to proceed into the
adjacent hills of the surrounding country for the ostensible pur-
pose of hunting. A letter written by Mr. Alvaro Evans of Long
valley to Governor Roop urged the granting of the passport.
The citizens of Honey Lake valley have suffered much from the
ravages of the Piutes, and having declared eternal war against
them, became considerably excited at their presence, and set
about making immediate preparations for 'taking them in.' In
less than half an hour some eight of the citizens of the valley
were in their saddles, armed with Henry carbines, and with
swift pace crowding down upon the band. The Indians took
the alarm at the first sound of the tocsin, and succeeded in gain-
ing the foothills before the war party could reach them. They
[410]
THE YEAE 1S67
passed into the timber on the mountains to the north of town,
and were thereby enabled to elude their pursuers. Winnemucca,
being personally known to several of our citizens as an 'honor-
able' Indian, was removed to the jail for safe keeping.
' ' The Agent at Pyramid lake and all others whom it may con-
cern, should be cautious about the sending in of their pet Indians
into this locality. Enough has been said to satisfy outsiders what
course the people here are liable to pursue. No Piute can under
any circumstances be allowed to remain among us. What the
object of the Indians was we are left to surmise. They have no
love for Honey Lakers, and may be the advance guard of a large
marauding party, seeking lodgement upon the Ft. Crook and Red
Bluff routes of travel. ' '
The foregoing quotation tells briefly a part of what occurred
during this visit. In the past years the Indians had caused them
so much trouble that the Honey Lakers had sworn vengeance.
Probably the most of these depredations had been committed by
the Pit Rivers and the renegade Piutes living north of the reser-
vation, but the Honey Lakers were in no mood to discriminate
and it was not safe for any Piute to come into the settled part
of the valley. Old Winnemucca wanted to visit his old-time
friends and he also wanted to hunt around Eagle lake. He was
smart enough to know the danger, so he got all the papers he
could, thinking they would serve to protect him. Probably he
talked to his acquaintances along the road and told them what he
wanted to do, for it is said that Robert Johnston followed him
to Susanville to see if he could prevent him from going any fur-
ther north. William Dow and Tunison were coming from Oregon
with cattle and Johnston was afraid that the Indians would
attack them. When he got close to Susanville Winnemucca sent
his warriors to the edge of the hills a mile or more northeast of
town, no doubt telling them to be on the lookout for trouble. Tak-
ing one Indian with him he went on into the town, and having
found his old friend Governor Roop, he dismounted and entered
into a conversation with him. When the people of Susanville
heard that Winnemucca was there a good many of them became
much excited and a crowd gathered around Roop and the Indians.
A few of them got their horses and guns and things began to look
rather dangerous for the redskins. Joe Hale and Hank Wright
seemed to be the leaders of the crowd and they wanted to take
[411]
HISTOEY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFOKNIA J
the Indians and hang them. Koop told them that he had smoked 1
the pipe of peace with Winnemucca, that he had many times been
at the mercy of the chief and the latter had always taken care of
him, and that they would have to kill him before they hanged \
the Indians. Captain Weatherlow, Cap. Hill, John Ward, Cut-
ler Arnold, and some other prominent men who were old timers, j
joined Eoop and they kept the crowd back. Just about this time !
the Indian who was with Winnemucca and who was still mounted \
on his horse, got frightened and started off down the road toward j
Toadtown with Wright and some others in pursuit. The Indian
was mounted on a small, beautiful horse that looked like a thor-
oughbred, and he knew how to ride him. When they got across
Piute creek Wright, who was in the lead, raised his gun to shoot, j
As he did this his horse stumbled and gave him a hard fall. De
Forest thinks that Wright went no further, but Mcllroy says he
went on to the Dobyns place. The white men went on, some one
being considerably in the lead. George Funk had stopped his
team in front of the Dobyns place, about a mile below where the
road crosses Piute creek. The Indian went past before he had
time to do more than notice him; and when the white man who
was following him came along Funk, thinking that it was another
Indian, almost shot him before he discovered his mistake. Mc-
llroy says that a small party of soldiers followed close in pur-
suit of the white men, and that Funk stopped them at a bridge
near the Dobyns place. He cursed and abused them and said he
would shoot the first man who crossed it. They all believed him
and stayed where they were. I. N. Jones, who then lived about a
mile and a half below Susanville, saw the Indians going toward
town and expected they would have trouble. A while after they
passed he hunted up his rifle, and when he heard a horse cross
the bridge close by on a run he hastily put a cap on his gun and
ran outside. The Indian was passing the house, running his
horse easily and keeping just out of gunshot of the man who was
nearest to him. Jones snapped his gun at him three times, but
had been loaded a long time and failed to go off. The two went
on down the road and more men soon followed. When the man
close to the Indian got down to the Johnston place near the
gristmill his horse gave out. A horse with a saddle on stood near
the gate and he took it and went on. At the gristmill the Indian
took the left hand road and after going a short distance went
[412]
THE YEAR 1867
into the willows. Thomas J. Lomas came along at that time on
his way from the Shaffer ranch to town. He saw a man with a
gun looking through the willows and soon met another man rid-
ing furiously. They hunted the Indian out of the willows and he
rode off toward the northeast, keeping just far enough ahead of
his pursuers to make them think they were going to overtake him.
"When he reached the hills he let his horse go and left them as
though they had been on foot.
A party went after the Indians who stopped northeast of
town; but they must have taken the alarm when they saw the
chase going on down the road, for they struck out into the hills
to the north and were soon out of danger.
The officer in command of the soldiers talked about shooting
people who molested the Indians, and this was told to Hale and
the others as soon as they got back to town. Of course this made
them feel very hostile toward him and he soon had a row with
Hale. Some say that Hale met him on the street and insulted
him shamefully, others that the row took place in the saloon and
that Hale raised a chair to strike him, but was prevented from
doing it. The officer went away, but the soldiers and the citizens
kept on quarreling. The latter asked what was going to be done
with Winnemucca and were told that they intended to hold him
as a hostage. Hale said ''Well, why don't he come out and say
so ? " The officer then came out of the Steward House and lined
his men up across the street near the Pioneer saloon, and the citi-
zens, with their rifles in hand, lined up not far away. The officer
began talking to Hale as if he was a dog, but Joe told him to stop
that and talk like a gentleman or he would shoot him. This
brought the officer to his senses and his explanation was made
without any more trouble. The Honey Lakers were thoroughly
aroused, and had the soldiers taken any hostile steps, probably
they would have all been killed. T. J. Lomas heard the conver-
sation between Hale and the officer.
Winnemucca was taken into Roop's house for safe keeping.
Later on, Mrs. A. T. Arnold says, all the men went away and left
her with a pistol to guard him. While they were gone Hale came
to the door. She told the chief to go into the bedroom and then
told Hale to come in at his peril.
The soldiers stayed in town a few days and then took Winne-
mucca to Ft. Bidwell, staying one night at the Hurlbut and
[413]
HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
Knudson ranch in Willow Creek valley. It nowhere appears
that Winnemucca ever visited Susanville again. Perhaps he
thought he was too popular — his presence attracted the attention
of too many people.
The Murder of Charles League
Told by "The Eastern Slope," Alvaro Evans, Mrs. J. A.
Forkner, and Mrs. Sarah McClelland.
In the latter part of October Charles League, a resident of
Honey Lake valley, hauled a load of freight to Summit lake in
northwestern Nevada for Griffin and Williams. He arrived at
his destination in safety, and after unloading his freight, started
for home. On the evening of the second of November he reached
the Flowing Springs station where Charles P. McClelland and
Louis M. Crill were taking care of stage stock for the Chico and
Idaho line. Robert Elliott stayed there that night, too. During
the night the dogs barked and made a great deal of fuss as
though there were Indians around, and the next morning they
tried to keep League from starting out. Their talk had no effect
on him and he hitched up his team and took the road to Honey
Lake.
After he had gone McClelland went to looking around the
house and found some arrows that had been shot at the dogs.
Shortly before this some signal fires had been seen on the moun-
tain, and all this made them sure that a party of Indians was
lurking around. It is said that soon after League started Elliott
saw a smoke in the direction he had gone and called the atten-
tion of the other men to it. They became alarmed for League's
safety and McClelland and Crill took their rifles, mounted their
horses, and followed him. After going about a mile and a half
they saw five Indians going up the side of the mountain leading
League 's four horses with their harness on. They followed them
for some distance, and finding they could not be overtaken, shot
at them, but were too far away to do any execution. They then
turned their attention to League and found him lying in the road
near his wagon. Evidently the Indians had shot him from
ambush, stripped him of his clothes, and hastily departed. Per-
haps the smoke was caused by an unsuccessful attempt to set the
wagon on fire. McClelland then went across the desert to Hardin
City where Alvaro Evans was building a quartz mill, and told
[414]
THE YEAR 1867
him what had happened. Evans at once sent a messenger to
Camp McGary and then sent a spring wagon after League 's body.
He made a rough coffin and the remains were taken to Honey
Lake.
The commanding officer at Camp McGary came with twenty-
five soldiers, half a dozen men from the camp at Hardin City
joined them, and they took the trail. They followed it south
along the summit of the mountain for a part of two days until
they were north of Wall springs. A snow storm then came on
and they gave up the pursuit. The newspapers accused the
Pyramid lake Piutes of committing this murder, but Evans says
that the Pit Rivers were the guilty ones.
Indians Killed in Dry Valley
A week or two after League was killed Alvaro Evans left
Hardin City and went to his home in the north end of Long val-
ley. "While on his way there he crossed the trail of some Indians
near Wall springs, and they were going south toward the Pyra-
mid Lake reservation. When he got home he sent word to Old
Winnemucca, with whom he was well acquainted, to come and
see him right away. When he came Evans told him about the
murder of League and about the trail toward Pyramid lake, and
told him to let him know as soon as he learned anything about
the Indians who made that trail. He also told him that if he
didn't do something about it, the Honey Lakers would rise and
clean out the Piute reservation. (Old Winnemucca had good
cause to hunt up that band of Pit Rivers. Besides the killing of
League, the occasional depredations of small bands of Pit Rivers
in the Long valley country were laid to the Piutes. — F.)
The morning of the last day of November, shortly after
Alvaro Evans had left home, Winnemucca came to the ranch
with twelve warriors and said that the Indians who killed League
were camped in Dry valley about six miles east of the Evans
ranch, and that if the Evans Boys would arm his men, he would
go up there and kill them. They gave the Piutes some guns and
pistols, and Allen Evans, J. N. (Newt.) Evans, Ans. Marsh, Eli-
jah Miller, and five or six other men living in that part of the
valley, went along to see the fun. They all started from the
ranch about two o 'clock the next morning and in an hour reached
what is called "The Sierra camp." The chief said "Wait till
[415]
HISTOEY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFOKNIA
daylight. Then we kill them. ' ' About daylight he and his braves
went up to the camp of the Pit Rivers. "When they got close to
it an old Indian came out and saw them and ran back and awoke
the others. They came running out and fired at the Piutes, kill-
ing one of them, and this had the effect of sending them back to
the white men for protection. The latter immediately charged
the Pit Rivers, of whom there were ten bucks and five or six
squaws and children. They took to the junipers, but the whites
followed them and killed nine of the bucks and captured the
squaws and children. The other Indian got away. During the
fight the horse ridden by Allen Evans was shot through the
withers a couple of inches below the top, and the whites re-
ceived no other damage. One of the newspapers of western
Nevada in commenting on this affair said "Here is the way to
fight Indians; ten killed out of eleven — more severe punishment
than the whole military force of the government has been able
to display in the state for the last twelve months."
Winnemucca took the captives home with him to the reser-
vation and about six weeks afterwards they all ran away. A
Piute named George, who had worked for the Evans Brothers
and then gone back to the reservation, followed them. He over-
took them on the east side of the Fort Sage mountain (State
Line Peak), and killed them all excepting a little boy six years of
age and a girl of twelve. Probably they hid in the brush and he
did not find them. Charles Cramer, who lived in the northeastern
corner of Long valley, says that two men from Virginia City
were out hunting and found the little girl and brought her to his
house. They took her home with them and raised her. The next
day after the Indians were killed Allen Evans was hunting cattle
in that locality. While riding around in the brush he heard a
noise that attracted his attention. After considerable searching
he found a little boy sitting on his feet in the snow with a rabbit-
skin robe over him. Evans took him on his horse and brought
him home. On examination it was found that both his feet were
frozen hard clear up to his ankles. He was put into an outhouse
and some Indians who were camped close by took care of him. In
a short time the frozen flesh began to decay and one morning he
was missing. Evans supposed that the Indians killed him and
took him away.
[416]
THE YEAR 1867
Summers and Hurlbut's Horses Stolen
From Tunison 's Diary
On the night of December 7th the Indians stole two horses
from Willow Creek valley. One belonging to P. D. Hurlbut was
stolen from the stable and one running outside from Thomas
Summers. They shot an arrow into a eolt belonging to another
man and scattered the cattle a good deal. The horse belonging to
Summers got away before they had taken it very far.
On the 8th Hurlbut, Knudson, Summers, and Tunison fol-
lowed the trail of the Indians north toward Eagle lake and found
out that two of them were on horseback and that there were per-
haps six of them in all. Four days later William Dow, Robert
Johnston, Tunison, Hurlbut, Gowenlock, and two or three other
men, went to the upper end of the valley and left their horses
at Quilty 's place. From there they went on foot and tracked the
Indians to the place where they killed Hurlbut's mare. They
tracked them a little further and then went back to Quilty 's. The
following day they tracked them on to another camp, and from
there to one at the east end of Eagle lake. The 14th they started
out on horseback and followed the trail to the north end of the
east arm of the lake, and there the trail left it. They camped
there, and Dow, Tunison, and Gowenlock went on a scout over
into Grasshopper valley. They got up before three o'clock the
next morning and all of them tramped until sunrise, but saw no
Indians — nothing but tracks going north. That day they re-
turned home, having hunted Indians with the same result as that
obtained by many an expedition sent out by the Never Sweats
in days gone by.
The Murder op Mrs. Thompson
In May Richard Thompson, a very early settler in the valley,
was indicted by the grand jury for the crime of murdering his
Wife, Margaret Thompson. It was charged that the crime was
committed at their home two miles south of Susanville during
the early part of March. He was tried at the June term of the
District Court, found guilty of murder in the first degree, and
sentenced to be hanged. This sentence was commuted to impris-
onment for life, and he was sent to the state prison at San
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HISTOEY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
Quentin. After staying there about three years he was pardoned
on account of his poor health. He then returned to Honey Lake
and spent the rest of his life here.
The Marks-Myers "Shooting Scrape"
While this encounter was going on it looked as though it
might prove to be a serious affair, but it ended in such a harmless
way that people regarded it as a joke. Below are a few of the
stories told about it.
Several people who lived in the valley at that time remember
it something like the following: On the 31st of March while
Joseph Myers was sitting in Bowman & Lockwood's store in
Susanville engaged in reading, La Fayette Marks, with whom he
had previously had some trouble, approached him from behind
and threw his arms around him. Myers was armed with a pistol
and a knife, and he drew the latter and jabbed Marks in the
arms with it until he let go and ran out of the store. As he
went through the door Myers fired at him, but hit the door
casing instead of the man. Marks went after his pistol and
returned to the store, and getting behind a pile of flour, took
two or three shots at Myers who was on the other side of the
pile. His pistol then failed to work, and as his opponent was
about to get his battery into action, Marks lay down behind the
flour. Myers then put his pistol over the flour until it almost
touched the other man's back and pulled the trigger, but the
weapon failed to go off. While he was trying to get his pistol
to revolve Marks ran out of the store and across the street. As
he was doing this sprinting act Myers shot at him and just
grazed one of his ears. This was the only blood drawn during
the pistol practice.
Tunison doesn't tell how he got his information, but says
"April 7. Shooting scrape in Susanville last week. Two men
fired four or five shots each and one hit once. No harm done. ' '
A man who was in town when the trouble occurred says that
the shooting began out in front of the store. Marks fired a shot
or two and then, for some reason, ran into the store and lay down
behind a pile of flour. Myers followed and put his pistol close
to him, but when he pulled the trigger it failed to go off. While
he was working with it Marks ran out of the back door and got
away.
[418]
THE YEAR 1867
The records of the county show that the principals in this
bloody affray were arrested and shortly afterwards the grand
jury indicted both of them. Myers was tried first and was
acquitted. Maries was then tried and found guilty of "assault
with a deadly weapon with the intent to do bodily injury," and
was fined $500, or 250 days in jail. This fine was reduced twice —
the last time to $125, or 60 days in jail — and probably it was
then paid.
The History op the Black Rock Mines
Of all the stories told on this Coast about lost mines the
following is one of the strangest. When these mines were dis-
covered there was a wagon load, perhaps two or three wagon
loads, of almost pure silver ore in sight Avhich a few years later
could not be found. In the same vicinity, still later on, they
found large ledges which some assayers said were very rich,
while others, equally good or better, said there was not a trace
of precious metals in them. Rock from these ledges worked at
one time gave large returns. At another time rock from the
same ledges, sometimes from the same load, yielded little or
nothing. Finally, when a quartz mill was built in that district
and run for weeks on the best rock, not even a color was obtained.
Another run was made with the same results. Another mill
near by made a run without getting anything, and the district
was abandoned.
As is usually the case, more than one story is told about the
discovery of silver in this district. "In Miners' Mirage-Land,"
written by Idah Meacham Strobridge, tells the story in one way,
and "Thompson and West's History of Nevada" tells it in a
slightly different way. The following story of its discovery is
the way it has always been told by the men of this part of the
country, men like A. B. Jenison, who was intimately acquainted
with James Allen Hardin, the discoverer of the mine, and other
prospectors who knew him and also knew the Black Rock country.
A part of the story of the discovery was told to the writer by
William H. Jenison who had it from his Father, A. B. Jenison.
Hardin crossed the plains in 1849. In the course of time
the train with which he was traveling reached the Black Rock
range of mountains in what is now northwestern Nevada, about
ninety miles in a straight line northeast of Susanville. This is
[419]
HISTOEY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFOENIA
a short range extending north and south and terminating at
the southern end in a bold, black peak facing the desert. This
mountain gives the range its name. "While on his way from
eastern Oregon to the Truckee river and thence over the Sierras
to California, Fremont camped at the hot springs west of this
mountain (about the first of January, 1844), and it so attracted
his attention that he took its latitude and longitude and gave it
in his narrative of that journey. To the east of the range is the
northern part of the Queen's River desert and west of it is a
narrow arm of the same desert. We will now go back to the
train. By the time they reached this point they were "scarce
for almost everything," especially provisions and ammunition.
Hardin, who was a sort of hunter and scout for the train, started
out in the morning to see if he could kill some kind of game.
Jenison told it as though he went alone, Mrs. Strobridge and
T. and W. say there were two men with him, and Andrew Hardin
of Petaluma, a nephew of J. A. Hardin, says his uncle told him
there was one man with him. (Ross Lewers tells that John
Lambert, at one time superintendent of the Sierra Nevada mine
in Virginia City, said that he was with Hardin when the ore
was discovered and that they melted it in a bake oven.) The
road runs on the west side of the range, and the hunters traveled
across the foothills parallel to it. Nothing grows on this range
but greasewood, and the mountain is volcanic rock and volcanic
ashes with sand hills down next to the desert. This was a poor
country for game and they found none. When three or four
miles north of the Double Hot spring (Hardin told Jenison he
could not remember whether he was west of the road among the
sand hills or east of it in the foothills, though probably it was
the latter) they passed the lower end of a little ravine which had
been cut out by the water. Something bright in the bottom of
it and along its sides attracted their attention, and upon looking
more closely, they found it was some kind of metal which they
thought might be lead. Andrew Hardin told the writer that
his uncle said there was a wagon load of it. It looked as though
it would make bullets, and as they were short of ammunition,
they took several pieces, perhaps thirty or forty pounds, along
with them. When they got into camp they found it melted easily,
so they made bullets of part of it and used them. Hardin took
a small piece of it with him to California. Jenison did not say
[420]
THE YEAR 1867
what become of the rest of it. In the other two stories it is
claimed that Hardin and all those in his train, and Mrs. Stro-
bridge says those in another large train camped close by, were
positive that the metal found was silver and that there was
enough of it to make them all rich. But in the light of what
afterwards took place it would seem that no one who saw it
then had any idea that it was silver, or that it had any particular
value. Hardin settled at Petaluma in Sonoma county and went
to work at the carpenter's trade. A few years afterwards the
piece of metal found in the desert, which in the meantime had
been carelessly thrown around, fell into the hands of an assayer
who found that it was carbonate of lead and silver, and very
rich in the last named metal.
About this time, or perhaps a little later, A. B. Jenison and
Frederick Alberding moved into the neighborhood of Petaluma
from the Kogue River valley in Oregon. They became acquainted
wTith Hardin and heard the story of the silver ore, and after
talking the matter over concluded to organize an expedition to
go back and find the place where he got it. "The Petaluma
Journal" of July 9, 1858, says "A party of some fifteen or
eighteen persons left this locality a few days since for the east-
ern slope of the Sierra Nevadas, where they go in search of what
they believe to be an immense deposit of silver ore." The paper
said that A. J. Harding was the leader of this expedition and
that they expected to be gone about two months. T. and W. say
the following were the members of that expedition: "M. S.
Thompson, Allen Harding, A. B. Jamison, Fred. Alberding, H.
Whiteside, Charles Humphries, Major James Pingley, Holt Fine,
P. McGuire, and Oman." In the above Hardin's name is
not spelled right, "Jamison" should be Jenison, and Oman's
given name was George W. The other names may be right. It
is possible that a man named Clyman and several others were
also in the party. Hardin was sure that he would have no
trouble in going to the place where he found the silver ; but when
he reached that locality, either the face of the country had
changed or he had forgotten how it looked, and he utterly failed
to find the little ravine where he had seen a wagon load of the
precious metal. They hunted for it until fall and then Hardin
and some of the party went back to Petaluma, and the others
stayed in Honey Lake valley. The next spring Hardin came
[421]
HISTOEY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFOENIA
back with another crowd. Colonel Lewis and "Dad" Wyatt
were in this party, and Thompson, Alberding, Jenison, and
some of the first party who had wintered here, went with them
to Black Rock. They had no better success this year and in the
fall the most of the party went below. T. and W. say that
Hardin came again the next year, and a relative of Hardin's
told the writer that he came into this country three times in
search of the mine. If he came in 1860 it must have been late
in the fall, for it will be remembered that in the spring of 1860
there were seventy or eighty men prospecting in the Black Rock
country when the Piute war broke out. Thompson was there,
but no mention is made of Hardin. Alvaro Evans is positive
that Hardin was at Black Rock in the summer of 1866.
Of course the Never Sweats took an active part in what was
going on. In 1858 most of the men in Honey Lake had done
more or less mining and some of them were still engaged in it,
and the report that there were tons of silver at Black Rock
started many of them in that direction. Some of them may
have gone out with Hardin's party in 1858; but whether they
did or not, they headed that way early in 1859. Captain Weath-
erlow and his party went out there about the middle of April,
and Lassen 's party soon followed. In 1859 Hardin and some of
his party and some Honey Lakers recorded the location of a
ledge at Black Rock. From the time of Hardin's first visit in
1858 until the district was abandoned there was more or less
excitement in Honey Lake in regard to these mines. Thompson,
Jenison, Ladue Vary, Leroy Arnold, and other Honey Lakers,
prospected there more or less for six or eight years, and some
of them kept it up until all hope was gone. From 1860 until
1866 very few came from the lower country to prospect at Black
Rock. In 1862 the excitement flamed a little higher than usual,
but it died away and the next three years matters in that locality
went on as before.
Some time during the first part of January, 1866, a man who
is said to have been a Honey Laker discovered a ledge that he
and the other prospectors there at the time thought was the
Hardin ledge, so long sought for in vain. The news of the
discovery spread like wildfire in every direction, and men from
western Nevada and northern California lost no time in getting
there, all anxious to find another rich ledge or to get a part of
[422]
THE YEAR 1867
those already found. The most of the travel from California to
the mines passed through Susanville which by the road was
about 125 miles from Black Rock. The Noble Road, at that time
called the "Emigrant Road" to the Humboldt, was followed to
the original Granite Creek station. From there the road turned
north for a ways and then went east across the desert to the
western side of the Black Rock range, about fourteen miles from
its southern end.
Considerable of this story can best be told by quotations
from the newspapers of that time. "The Humboldt Register"
of January 13, 1866, has the following :
"A Movement on Black Rock. The Hakdin Ledge Found
"During the past week we have conversed with parties who
have been up in the Black Rock region and who report the
discovery of the Hardin ledge for which so diligent a search has
been made for the past four or five years. Also the ledge near
there which other parties found about the same time, but could
not again find on going back. Judge Harvey of Susanville saw
this latter ledge and thinks it rich; but does not know. Some
assays from it show a value of $130 to $200 a ton in silver. The
ledge crops a width of about one hundred feet, but Harvey
thinks it is broken over and is about fifty feet wide in the per-
pendicular. A great deal of talk is indulged in here and parties
are going out soon to prospect. Several men in this county have
been out repeatedly in search for the lost ledge, and they will
not be content without a look, even if they don't get a foot."
(The other ledge referred to must have been the one discovered
by John Foreman and two others in 1852. It was on the moun-
tain across the desert west of Black Rock and was the same
kind of ore as that found by Hardin. Mrs. Strobridge says that
when Foreman went back there in 1859 he could not find the
ledge.)
Later on ledges were discovered that were two hundred feet
wide and could be traced for miles. Fred A. Borrette says the
first milling test of the Black Rock ore was made at Dall's mill
at Franktown in the Washoe valley. A. B. Jenison hauled five
hundred pounds there and had it crushed, and it paid at the
rate of $306 per ton. I. N. Jones says there were two Thacker
Boys at Black Rock, John and James. The latter told him that
[423]
HISTOKY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFOENIA
he was the first man to haul any ore away from there. He
loaded an ox team and at first went out on the Humboldt. They
would not crush the ore there and he went on down into the
neighborhood of Virginia City. "In Miners' Mirage-Land" says
that one of the Thacker Boys took several tons of the ore to
Unionville where it was worked at the John C. Fall mill. Noth-
ing was obtained from the rock and the mill was blamed for it.
The same book says that they were not satisfied with this and
another man named Giddings took about a thousand pounds of
the ore to Dall's mill. Hiskey, the foreman, who was a good
judge of ore, told him his rock was worthless and laughed at him
for bringing it so far to be worked. He refused to work it say-
ing that it would be robbery to do so. Giddings hung on and
insisted that they should work it. At last, to satisfy him, Hiskey
agreed to do it, but told him that if they got anything out of
the rock, he would not charge him a cent for working it. The
rock was worked and brought great returns and the mill man
kept his word.
"The Red Bluff Independent" prints a letter to T. M. Boar-
man from Honey Lake valley, dated February 7, 1866. It says
that the Black Rock country is alive with people. Some speci-
mens of the rock have been taken to the mills at Humboldt and
produced $2700 a ton. An expedition, among whom was B. Neel,
went out from Red Bluff several years ago, but didn't find any-
thing. Other parties have hunted since then, but have found
nothing until about four weeks ago. "The Sage Brush" de-
scribes the ledge as being fabulously rich, equal to the Poorman
ledge at Owyhee. February 19th Tunison says "Great excite-
ment about Black Rock nowadays." Judge Harvey, E. D.
Bowman, Lawrence Bass, Major Smith, and others, had the rock
assayed and milled at different places with varying results, and
of course the old prospectors made tests for themselves. They
hired a man named Isenbeck by the month to stay at Black Rock
and make assays of the ores. He was supposed to be a good
assayer and mill man and he got from good to great values out
of nearly all the samples brought to him. After a while some
of the boys began to say that he could find silver in a piece of
grindstone.
The "Register" of March 17, 1866, says "Johnny Thacker
is on his way from Black Rock with about six tons of ore for
[424]
THE YEAR 1867
Torrey 's mill. He expects it to work up into the hundreds,
and, as is his habit, offers to back up his judgment. The working
will prove Black Rock as to quality anyhow." On the 24th,
probably referring to the same load of ore, it says: "A portion
of Harvey 's rock from the Black Rock mines has been worked —
enough to show that the ledges contain gold and silver, but not
enough to indicate the value of the ores. Isenbeck, who came
through with Harvey, and undoubtedly an excellent assayer and
experienced mill man, was permitted by Mr. Torrey, by request
of Harvey, to superintend the working of this rock, on account
of its peculiar character. After running three tons through the
pans, it was agreed that a different process was necessary in
amalgamating. The chlorides floated too easily to be caught by
the quicksilver. Accordingly the tailings and the pulp of the
other three tons of ore were run into a large vat, to evaporate
some of the superfluous moisture from it. Together with hun-
dreds of others we look with much interest for the result of a
satisfactory working of this rock. Judge Harvey showed us
before leaving for home, a little bar from the ore worked. It
weighed 11.40 ounces, and showed by assay .806 fine in silver —
$11.87, and .022 fine in gold— $5.18, total value $17.05. A con-
siderable quantity of gold was panned afterwards from the
battery, which if worked would have largely increased the value
of the bullion. Torrey and Isenbeck are confident that by
experimenting a process can be worked out, by which this char-
acter of ores can be made to give up almost entirely what gold
and silver they contain.
"Jo Voshay has gone to work on his claim about twenty
miles north of Black Rock. Black Rock is all the go now.
Thursday forenoon a snowstorm was on, which turned about
meridian to rain ; but it did not deter a number of prospectors
from setting out for the new Dorado. When you see a man
sitting in front of a roll of blankets and a frying pan, and
behind a Henry rifle, you need not ask him where he is going —
he is 'going to Black Rock or burst.' Great excitement is re-
ported in Petaluma on account of the discovery of large ledges
of silver near the boundary line between Lassen county and
Nevada. ' '
On the 31st it says "A portion of the party that went out
last week to prospect in that region has returned. Those we
[425]
HISTOEY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
have spoken with have no faith in the reputed richness of the
ore there found. They describe the ledges as monstrous in j
width, and cropping from three to ten miles on the surface.
If they are good silver ore, the boys say it is heaviest deposit of \
it ever yet found in the world. One thing puzzles people. The
assayers here can make out but a bare trace of silver in any of
the Black Rock ores yet tried, w~hile Isenbeck and Mosheimer
make certificates of fabulous results. Black Rock is as much a
mystery as ever."
We again quote from "The Humboldt Register." April 7th
it says: "Black Rock will perhaps be heard from in a few j
days — unless somebody is interested in keeping back the truth.
An arastra has been running for several days; and if there is |
silver it ought to show. We saw a dab of amalgam which Steve
Bass had carefully worked out by hand from an exact pound of
rock. The amalgam looked well — felt well. It was cupelled
and made no sign of silver. Black Rock is not understood; the
ledges may pay — but the thing doesn't look promising by the
light we have." On the 21st it says "A handsome specimen
Jo Voshay sent us the other day from his claim in the Black
Rock region. He took several hundred pounds of this sort of
rock to the East last year, and it worked well up into the hun-
dreds— don't recollect the figures. Black Rock promises well,
but has not yet been entirely proved." In May A. T. Arnold
hauled a four-horse load of Black Rock ore to Dall's mill. It
was worked and paid fairly well.
During the year 1866 the Black Rock excitement was at its
greatest height. From the early spring until winter Black
Rock was "all the go." Everybody talked about the mines and
every one who had any speculation in him, or any blood likely
to catch the mining fever, owned more or less "feet." When
two men met they soon commenced to talk Black Rock, and
generally one, or both of them, exhibited specimens of the ore
which he carried in his pocket. There was all kinds of "dicker-
ing" going on in claims. Like whiskey, it was all good. Some
men made the most of their opportunities and got what they
could out of it. If they could not sell for money, they traded
"feet" for plug horses or "any old thing." The outcome
showed that a person did well if he traded his mining claims in
that country for "chips and whetstones."
[426]
THE YEAR 1867
Hereafter all quotations in this article not credited to any-
thing else, are taken from "The Eastern Slope," a paper pub-
lished at that time in Washoe City, Nevada.
June 23d, 1866, it says "Harvey, Ward, and Buckbee have
been in town for the past week. They brought a considerable
amount of Black Rock ore to get a working test at Dall's mill
and, flattering results are being obtained." July 28th. "The
migratory part of our citizens are leaving Excelsior and rushing
to Black Eock where there are a thousand times as many induce-
ments as there ever were at Excelsior. Ledges of unlimited
extent pay $50 a ton from the top down and this exceeds any
discovery ever made before in the mining world."
Some time during the month of June H. N. Skadan hauled a
load of provisions, lumber, and shingles from Milford to Black
Eock for T. H. and E. H. Fairchilds. He brought back a load
of ore for Manley Thompson, and took it to Dall's mill to be
worked. Thompson told him that it didn't pay anything.
J. D. Byers took some ore from the same district to the same
mill. Five hundred pounds paid at the rate of $400 a ton, but
when the rest of it, four and three fourths tons, was worked it
paid only $40 a ton.
August 11th. "The Evans Boys of Long valley are about
building a mill at Hardin City, a city of fifteen houses and
15000 rats, and expect to have it in running order by October
first. The people of Black Eock think they have treasure enough
there to build a railroad from Chico to Vallejo with silver rails,
pay off the national debt, and buy Ireland for the Fenians."
Nothing small about that.
September first it published an article taken from the
"Mining and Scientific Press," written by J. Mosheimer, well
known in Nevada as a scientific and practical miner. He says
that numerous assays of Black Eock ore have been made in
different places. Some assayers have been fortunate and others
have obtained nothing at all. This has been the case with some
San Francisco assayers. He says he has assayed more than a
hundred samples from Black Eock, and is sure that seventy-five
out of that number have contained gold and silver from a low
percentage to $900 per ton. The ledges in Black Eock are from
twenty to sixty feet wide. Some strikes in these veins are very
rich, and he thinks that half of those discovered will pay for
[ 427 J
HISTOEY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFOENIA
the working. Especial credit is due Mr. Harvey for his per-
severance in testing those ores. The writer says he has in his
possession a bar which was extracted from 3800 pounds of ore
at Dall's mill in Washoe valley. The ore was from the Merrimac
ledge and paid $48.85 per ton in gold and silver. Another lot
from the Monadnock paid $256. This ore was not selected, and
was taken from not more than two feet below the surface. The
writer says he has no further interest in the matter than to
verify the assertion that the Black Eock mines are real mines,
and he thinks that several mills will be put up there before the
summer closes. The newspaper then says that since the fore-
going was written extensive prospecting has been done in the
Black Rock region, new and rich discoveries have been made, and
arrangements have been made for the speedy erection of several
mills. November 24th it says that the Snow Storm ledge has
developed richer ore than that famous ledge has ever shown
before. December 8th. A letter from Black Rock dated Novem-
ber 22nd tells that new discoveries are being made that surpass
anything heretofore found, and that the Evans Company's mill
is almost ready to commence work.
"The Sage Brush" of December 7, 1866, says "The mill at
Black Rock started to run this week, with what results we have
not yet learned. Black Rock is all right, so the Freyberg men
tell us." December 14th it says "The mill at Black Rock is
running. Judge Harvey has gone out to bring in a load of
bricks. Our scientific fellow citizen, Judge Harrison, assisted by '
Messrs. Ward and Bowman, has been engaged during the week j
in experimenting on Black Rock ore. The result of these experi-
ments has demonstrated to the satisfaction of the most incred-
ulous, the richness of these mines. The Merrimac is rich, but
the Black Wax is richer. Judge Harrison has just called and
shown to us the metal taken from an ounce of Black Wax ore.
The result of this test would almost warrant the belief that the
ore is worth $7 per pound." A letter written from Black Rock
about the middle of December said the miners in that section
were every day gaining confidence in the richness and per-
manence of the mines.
[428]
THE YEAE 1S67
The Evans Quartz Mill
Mention has several times been made of a quartz mill built
at Hardin City by the Evans Company. The following in rela-
tion to the building of it was told by Alvaro Evans. The Evans
Brothers were men of means, and people kept coming to them
for help in developing the Black Rock mines. The men who
owned ledges there showed them big silver buttons that Isenbeck
claimed he obtained by assaying their ore, and at last the Evans
Boys concluded to assist them. In the spring of 1866 they sent
a man with a team of four yoke of cattle to Black Rock and told
the miners to load it with ore, and he would take it to John
Dall 's mill at Ophir on the west side of Washoe valley. Accord-
ingly they loaded the team with the best ore from the Snow
Storm, Black "Wax, and other ledges that were considered to be
the best in the district. The team then came back to Long
valley and Alvaro Evans accompanied it to the quartz mill. At
that time Dall's mill was run by Superintendent J. B. Hiskey.
He at once took some ore from the Snow Storm ledge and assayed
it, and told Evans that it went $1000 to the ton. Two other
assayers, Wiegan of Gold Hill and a Virginia City man, assayed
some of the same ore and could get nothing out of it, though
they said something might be there that they knew nothing
about. The Virginia City man offered to bet a thousand dollars
that there was nothing in the ore. Hiskey said he would take
the bet, and would make the assay in the presence of the other
man and get the same results. The other man backed down —
said there might be something in it, but he couldn't find it.
The Dall mill was engaged in crushing ore from the Ophir mine
in Virginia City. The ore was treated by the "Bartola" process.
It was crushed and roasted and then put into hollow cylinders
with old iron and rolled around. Hiskey worked eight hun-
dred pounds of the Snow Storm ore by this process and got
$800 out of it. This excited Evans, and he inquired what it
would cost to put up a five stamp mill. Hiskey thought it would
cost between six and seven thousand dollars, and Evans imme-
diately ordered the batteries and machinery for such a mill from
San Francisco. He then came to Honey Lake and had a sawmill
south of Richmond saw out some lumber for him. This was
hauled to Black Rock and the quartz mill was put up as soon
as possible. If "The Sage Brush" made no mistake, it was ready
[429]
HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
to run the first week in December, 1866, and a man named
Cheatam, who had been recommended by Hiskey, went to Hardin
City to superintend the running of it. The rest of the story will
be told later on.
During the first part of the year 1867 the Black Rock excite-
ment continued, but in a different way from that of the previous
year. By this time the country had been thoroughly pros-
pected and everything that seemed to be of any value was
claimed by some one. The rush to the district was done, and
the excitement was kept up by reports that the ore worked was
paying well. Still, as some of the papers said, there was a sort
of mystery and uncertainty about it. There were so many con-
flicting reports in regard to the assays and the returns from the
rock crushed that the prevailing idea was that the value of the
mines was yet to be proved.
February 15th, 1867. "Reports from Black Rock continue
flattering and if the mines stand the test, Washoe county in two
years will be the richest county in the state, and in three years
Black Rock will be yielding more bullion than all other dis-
covered mines besides. William Kingsbury alias "Smoke Creek
Sam" has just arrived from the mines and reports the boys in
good spirits. Prof. Robinson, the assayer, is taking out large
chunks of bullion. The mill will be ready to run as soon as
Mr. Evans arrives with the salt. February 23rd. "It is re-
ported that they obtained $8000 from twenty tons of rock by
mill process, and one pound of pure silver from four pounds of
rock." "The Sage Brush" of March 30th, 1867, says "News
from Black Rock is like the mail. It doesn't come very often,
but is good when it comes." The first part of April Bowman
and Jenison went from Susanville to Washoe valley with samples
of choice ore which they were going to work in the presence of
doubters. Some time this year the Fairchilds Brothers had a
couple of tons of Black Rock ore worked at the Dall mill and it
yielded $500. "The Eastern Slope" of June 22nd said that the
practical working of the Black Rock ore was no longer an open
question, and that they now worked it in San Francisco by mill
process with as much certainty as they did the ore from the
Comstock. June 29th. "Hon. C. C. Goodwin left Honey Lake
on the morning of the 18th inst. in company with Isenbeck for
the scene of his labors in Black Rock. Isenbeck was the first
[430]
THE YEAR 1867
assayer who succeeded in working Black Rock ores by the fire
process, and he is now returning to the mines determined to
establish the fact that these same refractory ores can be profitably
milled. Success to him." "The Humboldt Register" of July
20th calls Isenbeck the prince of humbugs, and says that he is
again on his way to Black Rock with a fresh installment of
victims to insanity. "The Eastern Slope" said it would not
defend Isenbeck because it didn't know him, but it thought that
the mines at Black Rock were much richer than those of the
Humboldt country. "The Sage Brush" and "The Humboldt
Register" told that in August Judge Goodwin had forty tons
of what was supposed to be rich ore hauled from Black Rock to
the Ophir mill. It was crushed there and then taken to Dall's
mill where it was worked by the united skill of Hiskey and
Isenbeck. They worked small quantities of ore from each of the
ledges so as to find out which one was the best. They then
intended to work the ore from the best ledge. September 7th
"The Eastern Slope" says that the results thus far obtained at
Dall's mill are a complete vindication of Mr. Isenbeck. It also
proves that Black Rock is richer than the Comstock. For the
truth of this people are referred to John Dall and James Hiskey,
and are invited to visit the mill and see for themselves. The
paper could not give the exact figures, but it was authorized to
say that Snow Storm crushed from $170 to $200 per ton, Black
Prince from $150 to $175 per ton, and Emerald $350 per ton.
These tests were made by Isenbeck, Cockran, Hiskey, and Good-
win, superintended by Dall. September 21st it says that Mr.
Isenbeck has on exhibition in that place fourteen small bars of
bullion, the result of working Black Rock ores, the aggregate
weight of which is 488 ounces, the exact value of which has not
yet been ascertained. It says that Mr. Isenbeck has labored
under many disadvantages owing to the lack of machinery
adapted to his peculiar process, but that enough has been done
to show the character of Black Rock as a mining country. In
i conclusion it says that it looks upon the little five-stamp mill of
Judge Goodwin and his associates as the pioneer of the greatest
metallurgical work in the United States and perhaps in the
i world, and that Black Rock is destined to revolutionize the
! monetary affairs of the nation. (Do you mind that?) On the
| strength of these results Atchison & Company, San Francisco
[431]
HISTOEY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
and Humboldt men, and Judge Goodwin & Company determined
to build some quartz mills in the neighborhood of Black Rock
for the purpose of working the ores of that district. The first
named company selected the Double Hot spring, six or seven
miles south of Hardin City, as its building place. Goodwin &
Company concluded to build a ten-stamp mill at Granite Creek
meadows about thirty-five miles from the mines. In that location
there was said to be plenty of wood and water. At this time
Isenbeck was working at the Evans & Company mill reconstruct-
ing it upon a plan suited to the working of the ores after his
own process. October 26th ' ' The Sage Brush ' ' says ' ' Atchinson
& Company 's mill is on the road to Black Rock with a fair pros-
pect of being in a working condition at a very early date. Judge
Goodwin's mill is ready for shipment, but probably too late to
be placed on the ground this fall. Black Rock is the coming
country as sure as the world stands." November 2nd it reports
that the Evans and Bass mill at Black Rock has commenced work
under the superintendence of Isenbeck, and that results will be
given a few days from that time. On the ninth it says that
Atchinson & Company's mill is in progress, and it looks as
though work would begin that fall on the Goodwin mill.
The Beginning of the End
"The Eastern Slope" of November 23d, 1867, reports the
failure by Mr. Isenbeck to work the Black Rock ores at the Bass
& Evans mill. They think it is because the country is a water
formation and that the water takes up the metal in solution
when worked with it. That such is the case is evidenced by the
fact of the numerous assays and the returns from Dall's mill
made over and over again. They think that no one could satisfy
Mr. Hiskey that he was deceived in the thirty or forty tons of
ore from Black Rock that he has worked, or make Mr. Dall
believe that he has furnished hundreds of dollars of bullion
coming from rock that was utterly barren. The "Virginia City
Trespass" of November 20th says that yesterday they published
intelligence from the Black Rock mines on the authority of
Charles Isenbeck, who has just returned from that country,
where he has been superintending the working of various ores
from the mines thereabouts at the Evans & Company's mill.
This morning they received a call from L. Bass, who is a partner
[432]
THE YEAR 1867
of Evans in the Black Eock mill, who makes a statement utterly
in contravention of what Isenbeck informs them, thus making it
a question of veracity between the two gentlemen. Bass said
"lam part proprietor of the Black Rock mill. I engaged Charles
Isenbeck to go there and superintend the working of the Black
Rock ore at a salary of $1000 a month provided he could procure
paying returns from the ore. I paid him $500 in advance and
he went to the mill. I furnished him with everything he de-
manded that would insure success in reducing the ore. He
worked between ten and twelve tons. Instead of the quicksilver
gaining 122 pounds of amalgam, as stated by Isenbeck yesterday,
it lost the usual amount in working; and all the amalgam
found was about half a pound, which upon examination and
assaying proved to be nothing but copper, with no trace of gold
or silver therein. After this test by Isenbeck I called upon him
to return the $500 advanced upon contract which he promptly
refunded to me, he not having been able to procure any precious
metals from the ore by his process. Isenbeck is the third person
who has asserted that he could get rich returns from the ore,
and each has failed. I have yet to see a quarter of a dollar in
silver or gold actually produced from working the Black Rock
ores, and never any signs of either except in fire assays, one of
a dozen of which have perhaps shown gold and silver in paying
quantities. I believe yet in the richness of our vast deposits
of ore, and hope for some method whereby the same can be
profitably worked ; but as yet none has been discovered. At this
time Hiskey of Dall's mill at Franktown is engaged in working
four and one half tons of ore from the Snow Storm ledge and
the returns thereof I will make public. I desire that only the
truth be told relative to the district, as untruth will only militate
against the best interests of the country in which I am as deeply
interested as any one." The "Trespass" says it takes no hand
in the fight, hoping that the wealth of the country may be as
great as Isenbeck says it is and Bass hopes it is. The following
is from "The Sacramento Union" under the heading of "The
Black Rock Failure."
"In regard to the recent failure of a test of this rock in
which fifteen tons of Snow Storm ore was worked without any
silver, as mentioned in the Union lately, 'The Sage Brush' says
'Frank Johnson informs the 'Brush' that no importance need
[ 433 ]
HISTOEY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFOENIA
be attached to the failure as no effort was made to acquire any
extensive result. Here is more mystery. Talk about mystery in
Heaven; we think Black Rock will eclipse any mystery yet
developed or undeveloped. On the heels of this comes a letter
from the Freyberg Institute, Germany, pronouncing the ore one
one-hundredth part pure silver, equal to $320 per ton.' " Ross
Lewers says that a man named John Maurer, who had once
worked for him, went to Germany in 1866 or 1867. Lewers sent
thirty-two samples of Black Rock ore with him, and he had
them assayed at Freyberg. The report of the assay was in
German, and Rough Elliott, to whom it was given, neglected to
have it translated before it was accidentally burned. Maurer
said that only one sample assayed anything of value, and that
was only good for paint.
The Evans Quartz Mill — Continued
The miners turned out and dug greasewood roots to run the
reverberatory furnace and for fuel for the engine, and they
worked the ore by the "Bartola" process, the same that had
been used at Dall's mill. They made a run of thirty days and
when they cleaned up they never got a color. The Evans
Brothers then took in Lawrence Bass and Chancellor Derby as
partners, and some time after the middle of February, 1867,
they made another run of about the same length as the first one
and with the same result. When it was said that the ore could
not be worked at Black Rock on account of the water there,
Mr. Evans took five gallons of it to Virginia City and had it
analyzed. They told him there was nothing in the water that
would prevent the successful working of the ore at that place.
Isenbeek said he could work the ore and make it pay, so they
hired him as Mr. Bass told; and he made a failure of it after
having had the mill fixed up to work the ore by his own process.
Alvaro Evans says they had about half a barrel of whiskey at
the camp, and the whole crowd got drunk and abandoned the
place for all time to come.
About the first of December the Atchinson & Company mill
was ready to run, and undiscouraged by the failure of Evans and
Bass they commenced working the ore from their mine.
December 14, 1867, "The Eastern Slope" published an
article written by J. B. Hiskey. In this article he states that
[434]
THE YEAR 1867
an editorial in the "Mining and Scientific Press "says that while
nearly all assayers of established reputation have" pronounced
the so-called ores from the Black Rock district to be utterly
worthless and no ores at all, ever since the discovery of the
mines a class of men with little or no experience have been
persistent in their declarations that the ores were of extraordi-
nary richness. These men have even exhibited to hopeful share-
holders bars and buttons which they claim have been taken from
the ores by assaying and working processes. Hiskey says the
last sentence must be intended for him, for outside of Isenbeck
he is the only person who has ever exhibited bars of precious
metals and claimed to have taken them from the Black Rock
ores. The "Press" further says that after two years of effort
they have finally obtained possession of a sack of Black Rock
ores which a brief examination justifies them in saying are
utterly worthless. The card of Mr. Ross advertising Isenbeck 's
failure closes the article in the "Press." Mr. Hiskey says he
would like to ask the editors of the "Press" if they have any
proof that Black Rock is not a rich mineral region. He thinks
that condemnation without investigation should stop. The
"Press" is not alone in its error. Almost every tenpenny
assayer condemns Black Rock because an ordinary fire assay
fails to produce results. He makes no claim to extraordinary
ability, but he asserts and stands ready to prove that he has
worked many tons of Black Rock ore, and generally with good
results. If either of the editors of the "Press" will visit him,
he will undertake to show him to his complete satisfaction how
bars and buttons of precious metals can be taken from the Black
Rock ores. It is true that a little mill has been built at Black
Rock and that it has made two or three runs which were failures.
It is equally true that old men, little boys, and Chinamen in
that region never fail to get their button out of ores in small
quantities. He thinks the cause of failure is that the milling
has been conducted on too scientific principles, and intimates
that every mill in the state run by a purely scientific expert has
failed. In conclusion he says he has no ax to grind and no
Black Rock "feet" to sell, but that he can not help thinking
that bars and buttons will be taken from Black Rock in paying
quantities after the "Scientific Press" is forgotten.
[435]
HISTOEY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFOENIA
January 25, 1868, "The Eastern Slope" quotes the following
from The New York ' ' American Journal of Mining. " ' ' Durmg
the excitement numerous samples of ore were sent to Messrs.
Adelberg & Raymond with the whimsical request that they
should assay the rock according to the method practiced in
Freyberg. As they practice all methods at Freyberg, this
request was mysterious at the time; but the cause of it now
appears to have been the pretension of Isenbeck to be a Freyberg
metallurgist. The assaying of the wax gave no silver and the
material was pronounced to be mere bituminous clay. "We
presume that the matter will soon die out and be forgotten, but
there seems to be still rumors of great results obtained in
Washoe from Black Rock ores. Some of the ore was sent to
Prof. A. E. Verrill of Yale College. He said it contained a
little silver, but not nearly so much as it was said to carry. He
also said it was a sort of clay containing some chloride of silver,
salt, bitumen, etc."
"The Eastern Slope" of February 1, 1868, says "Mr. Atch-
inson of the firm of Atchinson & Company in Black Rock has
thus far failed to secure any favorable result. We learn that
he proposes to make one more attempt after which in case of
failure, he will remove his mill to the Winnemucca district,
Humboldt county. Cheatam, who gained his experience in Black
Rock ores at Dall's mill, is now at the Atchinson mill waiting
for chemicals with which to make his final attempt on the
untractable ores of Black Rock. We have not, and never had,
any faith in working Black Rock ores at Black Rock; and
secondly, our faith in Black Rock is no more affected by past
failures than by past abuse engendered by spite and jealousy."
The paper then says that Black Rock may prove a failure, but
they well remember the time when all the knowing ones scoffed
at as wildcat all claims on the Comstock. These claims now
occupy a respectable place in the opinions of practical miners,
and they anticipate that it will be so with Black Rock.
Without any doubt the Atchinson mill was moved, for there
is nothing on record to show that they obtained any good results
from that run. At least three quartz mills were erected and
run in the Black Rock district, and not one of them ever got
anything out of the ore. Alvaro Evans says their company lost
[436]
THE YEAR 1867
$1*000 there. In 1870, or perhaps a year or two later, the
machinery of the Evans mill was hauled to Hayden Hill in this
county.
The glory of Hardin City had departed and so had the hopes
of those who saw ' ' millions in it. " This ' ' city, ' ' named in honor
of J. A. Hardin, stood at the western edge of the Black Rock
range thirteen or fourteen miles from its southern extremity.
"In Miners' Mirage-Land," published in 1904, has this to say
of it: "Its buildings are quite dismantled and destroyed. The
winds of the Desert — the rains of the years have nibbled and
gnawed at the adobes until only the faintest traces that they
once were, remain. Of the mill itself, part of the whitish-gray
stone of its walls, and most of the tall chimney, stand out in
sharp relief, discernible miles away against the darker back-
ground of Hardin Mountain."
Probably the Black Rock mines were abandoned by every-
body before the middle of the year 1868. Three men of the old
crowd, however, went back. A. B. Jenison prospected in that
section until 1884. Leroy Arnold prospected in the Black Rock
country and northeast of it from 1876 until 1900, a short time
before his death. Neither of these two men discovered anything
of value. Ladue Vary went back there in the early 70 's and
in 1884, "Walter J. Dakin says, or about that time, discovered a
ledge containing gold and silver about thirty-one miles north of
west of the Queen's River crossing. For this mine he was
offered $30,000. One would naturally suppose that after all
these years of toil and privation in the desert he would gladly
have sold for that sum and spent the rest of his life in comfort.
But no. After all this hard work he was going to have some-
thing for what he had found, and would take nothing less than
$100,000 for his mine. No one would give that for it, and he
lived there in the same old way for more than twenty years
longer. His place was called Varyville, and there he raised a
little hay and a garden. He leased his mine on such favorable
terms that although considerable bullion was taken from it, he
got nothing to speak of himself. In 1906 he became so feeble
that he was taken to the county hospital at Winnemucca, Nevada.
[437]
HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
After he had been there about a year he died of the smallpox.
He was ninety-six years old, and had lived and prospected in ^hat
section the most of the time for almost fifty years.
Daniel B. Boyd, who was the County Treasurer of Washoe
county, Nevada, for a great many years, said that in 1872 he
was working in a store at Franktown, Nevada. He had eome
there from Downieville, in the neighborhood of which he had
mined for something like twenty years. One day an overland
teamster (one who hauled freight from the Sacramento valley
over into Nevada) brought a ten-mule load of Black Rock ore
to Dall's mill to be worked. He thinks that James H. Kinkead
was interested in having the ore brought there. In a conversa-
tion with Mr. Boyd the teamster said the ore looked as though
it might have something in it, and Boyd took some of the fine ore
that was left in the wagon bed, panned it out, and got a color
or two. He then asked the teamster if he had hauled any other
rock or mineral before he loaded with the Black Rock ore and
the reply was that he had not. Mr. Boyd swept all the fine rock
he could get out of the wagon box and panned it out very
carefully. He got some gold and a lot of fine bits of metal.
He pulverized these in a mortar and then panned it out and
got about $2.50 in fine gold.
The following was told by "William H. Jenison, son of A. B.
Jenison. "Billy" Jenison was almost raised in the Black Rock
country and knew it well. He also knew what kind of ore
Hardin found there. Along the last of April, 1909, when the
mining excitement was running high in Nevada and a great deal
of prospecting was being done in that state, he concluded to
take a look at the Black Rock country once more. When he
arrived at the place where Hardin City once stood he found
that some other prospectors had already been there that spring.
He did not know who they were and never found out, but
appearances indicated that they had gone away about a month
before his arrival. When they got ready to leave they threw
their specimens down on the ground in a pile. There was quite
a lot of the rock they had picked up, and in the pile he found
a piece of ore that was exactly the same kind as that carried
away by Hardin in 1849. It was the first piece of it, excepting
the one Hardin had, that any one had seen since that time. Of
course he could not tell whether it was a piece of float, or
[438]
THE YEAK 1867
whether they had found the ledge and didn't know what it was.
It may have been a piece of the ore that was left where Hardin's
train camped.
It is probable that long before this the reader has begun to
wonder how so much bullion came out of rock that had nothing
in it; and how some assayers got big buttons, and "old men,
little boys, and Chinamen, never failed to get their button out
of the ores in small quantities." It is easy to answer the first
question. At that time Dall's mill and the other mills in that
neighborhood were crushing rich ore from the Comstock mines.
Their batteries and pans were not very thoroughly cleaned and
the Black Rock ore picked up the gold and silver left in them.
(Alvaro Evans said that the alkali dust on the Black Rock ore
cut the gold and silver loose from the old irons in the "Bartola"
process.) That accounts for the fact that sometimes half a ton
of Black Rock ore would yield a goodly amount of silver and
after that three or four tons of the same load would yield little
or nothing. The first batch of ore worked cleaned the batteries
and pans of what silver there was from the Comstock ore, or
the greater part of it, and not much was left to make the next
lot pay. Men who were at Black Rock during the time of the
greatest excitement there think that Isenbeck made all the ore
that he assayed pay well because he had a good job and wanted
to "hold it down." Perhaps the "old men, little boys, and
Chinamen" obtained their buttons the way Mr. Boyd got that
gold. There is something mysterious in the part Mr. Hiskey
took. He seems to have been perfectly honest in what he said
and did, and it looks as though he greatly deceived himself in
this matter.
The writer has talked with many men who prospected at
Black Rock and has read everything he could find on the subject.
He is of the opinion that Mr. Hardin found the large quantity
of that silver ore just as he said he did. He was not hunting
for gold or silver and didn't expect to find any, and was not
excited about it. He simply thought he had found something
that would make bullets. Cloud-bursts are of frequent occur-
rence in the Black Rock region during hot weather. Men who
knew that section well in the 60 's and who went back there
twenty-five years afterwards, say it then looked like a strange
country because cloud-bursts had cut out new canyons and
[439]
HISTOEY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFOBNIA
filled up the old ones. Probably a year or two before Hardin
found that ore a cloud-burst had torn open the side of the hill
and exposed it to view. Before he came back in 1858 another
cloud-burst covered it up. This view was taken by M. S. Thomp-
son, Leroy Arnold, and other men who prospected in that dis-
trict. The next cloud-burst that comes along may uncover it
again, and, on the other hand, it may lie buried there forever.
[440]
CHAPTER XIV
1 1868. SETTLEMENT
Susanville. F. and S. have the following: "Silver Star
Lodge No. 135, I. 0. 0. F. — This lodge was instituted June
19, 1868, by Charles N. Fox, G. M., with Z. N. Spalding, "William
Broekman, I. J. Harvey, J. Jensen, Jacob W. Smith, Samuel
Peyser, and David Knoch as charter members."
Long Valley. James Chamberlain and John L. Martin bought
the Willow Eanch from George Robinson in November.
Horse Lake Valley. Benjamin E. Shumway was in the
valley this year, but made no improvements. James R. Withing-
ton and his foreman, Charles Moore, were in there with cattle,
but they put up no buildings. Perhaps a man named Coon
was in there with horses.
John B. McKissick says that some time during this year
Daniel McDonald located what is now the Van Loan ranch on
Madeline Plains, two and one half miles northwest of McDon-
ald's Peak, and Theodore "Winters located the Williams ranch
four miles west of where Madeline Station now is. It is not
known whether they put up any buildings or not. J. 0. Heniler
says that Jacob McKissick and J. D. Byers took their cattle onto
Madeline Plains and made their headquarters at what was after-
wards the McKissick ranch at the southeast corner of the
Plains, but did no building. This summer William J. Seagraves
went through Dixie valley with a prospecting party. There were
no settlers in the valley at that time and probably it was not
named. The sight of a band of wild-looking Indians caused
them to move out of that neighborhood instead of staying there
to prospect as they intended to do. James Coen says that two
men, father and son, named Graves were in the valley of the
same name this year.
The Settlement of Big Valley
Lassen went through this valley with his emigrant train in
1848, but it is probable that it had been visited by hunters and
trappers before that time. In 1849, and perhaps for several
years after that, it was called Round valley. The settlement of
this valley was somewhat later than that of Surprise valley,
[441]
HISTOEY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFOENIA
which was much further from the other settlements, and Fall
River valley not far away was settled eight or ten years before
Big valley was. This may be accounted for by the fact that Fort
Bidwell in Surprise and Fort Crook in Fall River valley afforded
protection to the settlers in the valleys where they were located.
The location of Big valley and the size and shape of the part
that lies in this county can be seen on the map. In Modoc county
it extends from one to four or five miles north of the county
line, the mountains on the north side of the valley running to the
northwest. At its northwestern corner there is an arm of the
valley called "Gouger Neck" that runs up the river for eight
or nine miles. Several miles before Ash creek reaches the river
it begins to spread out and finally makes a large swamp. This
swampy country extends down along the river until it leaves the
valley. The mountains on the southern and western sides of the
valley are higher and more heavily timbered than those to the
north and east. Although the valley is drained by a tributary
of the Sacramento river it is a sage brush country and in other
ways is like the valleys of the Great Basin. Some of the soil is
adobe and some of it is sandy. Its agricultural products are the
same as those of Honey Lake, but its slightly higher altitude
makes its winters a little colder.
Indian Troubles in Big Valley
The writer has been unable to learn of any Indian fights that
took place after the settlement of the valley had begun. J. A.
Carmichael, who lives in the northwestern part of the valley on
the county line, says that his Father located there with his family
in 1870. At that time there were a good many things to show
that the people of an emigrant train had been massacred close
by, but it occurred long before they came and the few families
then in the valley could tell nothing about it. There was then,
and still is, a rock corral on the Bull Run slough about half a
mile south of the county line, and in 1870 there were broken
wagons, pieces of harness, and broken crockery scattered around
the ground. Mr. Carmichael also says that there were some peo-
ple killed by the Indians on Pit river about twelve miles south of
the Modoc county line. A man and his Wife and their two boys,
accompanied by a German, who were going to Marysville, were
attacked by the Indians and only the boys escaped. Everything
[442]
THE YEAR 1868
they had was destroyed and their stock run off. He does not
know the exact date, but it took place before he came there. Mrs.
Mary E. Harris says that in 1867 some men who were going
through there had a fight with the Indians on Juniper creek not
far from the present site of Bieber, and that a man named Cox
was wounded in the fight.
Joseph Wilson, who settled in Big valley in 1871, tells the fol-
lowing: In 1864 Milton Riggs and twelve or fourteen other men
went from Fall River valley into Big valley. They reached the
valley early in the afternoon and camped on the west side of the
river just where it runs into the mountain. Before night quite
a large party of Indians appeared upon the scene. They were a
savage-looking crowd, some of them being entirely naked. Indian-
like they first asked for something to eat and when food had been
given them the spokesman of the party, a big, fierce-looking fel-
low, wanted to know what the white men were there for. They
told him they had just come to look at the country, and in a
short time the Indians went away.
The next morning Riggs and seven or eight of the crowd took
a few pack horses with them and started up the river to find a
ford. After going about four miles they found a place where
they could cross, but evidently the Indians knew what they were
looking for and thirty or forty were there to meet them. They
told Riggs and his crowd that they didn't want any white men
in the country and ordered them to leave as quickly as they could.
The white men didn 't stay to argue the case with them, but went
back to their camp and started for Fall River valley as soon as
they could pack up. Mr. Wilson was in Fall River valley at the
time. In 1868 Alexander Parker went from Scott's valley into
Big valley, but was afraid to stay there. Mrs. Harris and Mr.
Wilson both say that in the fall of 1868 Patrick Gordon and
A. B. Turnbull and their families settled about three miles south-
west of where Lookout now stands, a little north of the line
between Lassen and Modoc counties. Turnbull 's father, Thomas
Turnbull, Sr., and Gordon's son John were with them. They
were the first real settlers in Big valley.
Those whose names are given in the following lists settled in
the county in 1868. The length of residence does not apply to
[443]
HISTOKY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFOENIA
the children. The following lived here all the rest of their lives :
*William Davis, *John Parks and Family, Henry Kirby and
Family, John Smith.
The following lived here twenty years or more : Edward
Kingsbury, David Houk and Family, Louis Thibault.
The following lived here from two or three to ten or twelve
years: Charles Moore and Family, James R. Withington, John
L. Martin, James Chamberlain and Wife, Levi Chatfield and
Family.
Lassen County Politics
In April the Board of Supervisors ordered that the Janes-
ville and the Stark School Districts be consolidated and called
the Janesville District. E. P. Soule was appointed Justice of
the Peace for Susanville. In May the Board ordered A. W. Din-
widdie to take the proper steps for keeping a toll bridge over
Long valley creek in Lassen county. In July the Board declared
the office of District Attorney vacant, the person elected having
failed to file the bond and take the oath of office as required by
law. It was ordered that W. R. Harrison be appointed District
Attorney of Lassen county for the balance of the unexpired
term of I. N. Roop. November third J. D. Byers was elected
Supervisor for the Second District.
Indian Troubles. 1868
John L. Crow's Horses Stolen by the Indians
Told by Dr. Samuel H. Crow
In the spring of 1868 J. L. Crow of Clover valley was feeding
some horses in the Tules in Honey Lake valley. They were fed
hay at the ranch of William S. Hamilton and were allowed to
run at the Upper Hot spring, perhaps a mile and a half north-
east of the ranch. They were in charge of a man named Zeke
Nelson. One night not far from the 27th of March the Indians
stole twenty head of them, perhaps the whole band. About the
same time they also stole some horses from the nighborhood of
Mud springs. Nelson went to Clover valley and told Mr. Crow
who, as soon as he could conveniently do so, raised a crowd of
twenty men in Sierra valley and started in pursuit of the thieves.
In Long valley they were joined by Elijah Miller, Frank Din-
[444]
THE YEAE 1868
widdie, an Indian called "Crapo Joe," and perhaps some others.
The Indian came back in a few days. The first night out they
camped at High Rock, twelve miles east of the Lower Hot springs.
That was the night after the Pearson Family and Cooper were
killed, and if they had known about it, in all probability the
next day they would have caught up with the Indians who did the
killing. They followed the trail of the Indians into Secret valley
and Mrs. L. W. Sharp says that here they found a party from the
Tules — Hiram Winchel, "Big" Joe Smith, and several others,
part or all of whom went with them. John B. McKissick says
that Sylvester Summers, Henry "Warden, and himself went with
the Crow party from Secret valley. They followed the trail
across Madeline Plains and on north and crossed the lower end
of Surprise valley. Mr. Crow went from there to Ft. Bidwell
and got some soldiers to go with them. They followed the
Indians to Steens Mts. and at night, just as they were going to
camp, the army scouts came in and reported that they had found
the Indians. They all packed up as soon as they could and went
after them. When the Indians saw them coming they shot the
horses full of poisoned arrows and then ran into the brush. The
whites followed them and after going a short distance found
some sticks piled up in a peculiar way. "When the officer in com-
mand of the soldiers saw these he said that the Indians intended
to fight and made them all dismount. While this was going on
the Indians got so far away that they never got a shot at them,
excepting that an Indian named Ralph, who lived with Mr. Crow,
shot at a squaw and missed her. She allowed him to get close
enough for that because she thought he was one of her own
party. The most of the horses Hied shortly after being shot.
They started for home with five or six of them, but one died
before they got there. Mrs. Sharp says that Winchel brought
home some horses that had been shot with poisoned arrows, but
they did not live very long.
The Massacre of the Pearson Family and S. C. Cooper
The story of this massacre was told to the writer by Mrs.
Lurana W. Sharp, the widow of James P. Sharp, who had pre-
viously talked the matter over with Mrs. Louisa Fry, the widow
of George W. Fry, and Mrs. James Slater, who at the time of
this occurrence was the wife of William S. Hamilton. These
[445]
HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
three women lived on the ranches nearest to the scene of the mur-
der and took part in the events that followed it, all of the cir-
cumstances connected with it were strongly impressed upon their
minds, and without any doubt they know more about it at this
time than everybody else alive.
In the fall of 1867 Thomas Pearson and his partner, John
Sutherland, both Englishmen, moved from their home in Red
Rock valley, six miles east of the lower end of Long valley, to the
east side of Honey lake near the Lower Hot springs. Pearson
had a wife and a daughter named Hattie, a girl about eighteen
years old. Sutherland was a single man. Their house was half
a mile southwest of where Amedee now stands and not far from
the lake. They made this move because very little snow fell dur-
ing the winter in the neighborhood of these springs, and there
was better feed for their dairy cows. At that time James P.
Sharp lived to the southwest of the Upper Hot spring on the
south side of the most eastern slough in the Tules, and they hired
him to go down and cut some hay for them.
By the middle of April they were getting extremely anxious
to go back to their home. Some time during the winter two
Indians had been killed between the Lower and the Upper Hot
springs. It was supposed that the killing had been done by two
white men who were hunting in that vicinity at the time, for one
Indian was killed with a rifle and the other with a shotgun and
the two hunters were armed with those weapons. Mrs. Pearson
was afraid that the Indians would think her husband and his
partner killed them because it happened so near to their place ;
and she told the neighbors that she was careful to be kind to all
the Indians who came there, and even allowed the squaws to
sleep on the kitchen floor. The stealing of Mr. Crow's horses
about the last of March made them still more uneasy. To add to
their troubles the lake was rising rapidly and it looked as though
the water would be in the house in a day or two.
On the 16th of April Pearson went up to get Sharp to help
move him, but the latter had gone to Susanville that morning.
Pearson said he was in a hurry to move because the lake was
coming up so fast, and Mrs. Sharp told him he had better go over
to the Hamilton ranch about three fourths of a mile to the west
and see what he could do there. She thought he might be able to
get Hamilton 's hired man and a team to help him. He went over
[446]
THE YEAR 1868
to the other ranch and succeeded in getting the hired man,
Cooper, and a team for a few days, and they went down to the
Pearson place as soon as they could get ready. That night Mrs.
Sharp stayed at the Hamilton place and the next morning he
went home with her and helped milk the cows. While he was
there they saw a light at the Upper Hot spring and he took a
spyglass and went up stairs to see who was there. After looking
for a while he came to the conclusion that some Indians were
there around a fire. Mrs. Sharp told him not to say anything to
his wife about it, for she was afraid of the Indians and it would
make her worry. Mrs. Sharp says that she herself had never
been afraid of the Indians, but that day she was alone and was
uneasy and wandered around outside the house all day until
some one came.
As soon as Pearson reached home with Cooper and the team
they began to load the wagon and the family made preparations
to move the next day which was Friday, the 17th of April. Their
hay was all gone and the cows were restless, so the next morning
Sutherland and another man, whom J. 0. Hemler says was Henry
Berryman, arose early and started off with them. The day
before they had all been out hunting rabbits and had returned to
the house with no loads in their guns, and left them in that con-
dition. Sutherland afterwards told that when he got some dis-
tance from the house he had a presentiment that he ought to go
back and load the guns, but he failed to heed it and went on
with the cows. After breakfast they finished loading up their
goods and started. Not far from the house was a piece of low
land which the rising lake had covered with water. The ground
had become soft, and here Hamilton's two-horse team, driven
by his hired man, Samuel Cooper, got stuck in the mud and they
were a long time in getting out of it. Pearson and his partner
had a band of sheep running between the lake and the mountain
which they were leaving there for the time being in the care of
a young man twenty or twenty-one years old named John Wol-
lenburg. Just as they got out onto the firm ground he ran down
and asked Mrs. Pearson what time it was. She looked at the
clock and told him it was twenty minutes past twelve and he
went back to the sheep. The party then went on, Cooper in the
lead, followed by Pearson with a spring wagon and behind him
his Wife and Daughter in another spring wagon. They took the
[447 1
HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
road down the lake to the southeast and before going very far
they came to Wollenburg's tent. Just as they drove past it
Wollenburg heard the report of some guns and he looked back
and saw some Indians run out of the tent and heard the women
scream. He saw Cooper jump or fall off his wagon on the side
opposite the tent, and saw Pearson jump off his wagon and run
back to his Wife and Daughter. He didn 't wait to see anything
more. He had no weapons, for those his employers had given
him were left in the tent and the Indians were using them, so he
ran away as fast as he could. He ran down to the lake in order
to get behind some high sand bluffs that were close to the shore.
The Indians chased him for a ways, but he had the start and
naturally did some good running, and they soon gave up the
pursuit. He ran into the lake and when his boots got full of
water he threw them away. When he left the water he had to
travel over ground covered with thorny brush that tore his feet
and legs cruelly, and when he reached the end of his journey
they were in a terrible condition. Owing to his lack of boots he
made slow progress and it was four o'clock, or later, before he
arrived at the Sharp ranch. Mr. Sharp got home that day about
two o'clock and later on went over to the Hamilton place. Mrs.
Sharp was out of doors and saw the young man coming. She
saw he was barefooted and knew at once that something was the
matter. He came up to the edge of the deep slough that was
between him and the house and she asked him what the trouble
was. He told her that the Indians had attacked the Pearsons
and what he had seen, but of course could not tell the result of
it. He then went up the slough toward the crossing and Mrs.
Sharp started for the Hamilton ranch. On the way she met her
husband coming on horseback and he turned and went back to
Mr. Hamilton's. Mrs. Hamilton went about three fourths of a
mile west to the Chandler and Fry place and they sent to the
lower place on the lake to the south for Chandler. After going to
the Hamilton place Sharp immediately rode over to the Shaffer
Station and gave the alarm there. George Fry, Dewitt Chandler,
Uriah and James Shaffer, Eli Newton, "Big" Joe Smith, and some
other men of the neighborhood, gathered at the Sharp ranch and
hastily made ready to go to the scene of the tragedy. It was late
when they started and darkness had come on before they got
there. Wollenburg, who was too tired to go along and who went
[448]
THE YEAE 1868
to the Hamilton ranch with Mrs. Sharp and stayed there that
night, said that the Indians had fired from the tent. Sharp knew
where the tent was and they went there first. They found that
Cooper's team had run away during the fight, but they did not
go far before one of the wheels went down into the mud and
stopped them. "While they were hunting around in the tent in
the darkness Chandler struck his foot against something. One of
the party struck a match and they saw it was Cooper's head.
They thought that possibly some of the Pearsons had got back to
the house and saved themselves, so they went down to the edge of
the water and called to them, but got no reply. They did not dare
to go across to the house for fear that the Indians were there wait-
ing for them, so they came back to the Sharp ranch and all but
Fry, who went home, stayed there that night. The next morning
the same men and Hiram Winchel went back to the Lower Hot
springs and some one, Mrs. Sharp thinks it was Mr. Fry, took a
team along to bring back Mr. Hamilton's wagon, for the Indians
had taken away all six of the horses. Before they got to the tent
they saw the bodies of Cooper and the Pearsons lying naked on
the ground. Mrs. Slater says they found Cooper's body the
night before. His body was the farthest away. It looked as
though he had drawn his pistol and wounded an Indian before
they succeeded in killing him. Appearances indicated that the
Indians had carried the wounded one away, for there were little
pools of blood showing where they had stopped to rest. When
Cooper left home Hamilton told him that he had better take a
rifle with him ; but he thought it was not necessary, and said he
would take his revolver for he "might see a darned Indian."
His head was cut off, his heart cut out, and he was otherwise
mutilated.
Evidently as Pearson ran toward the women the Indians shot
some arrows, perhaps half a dozen, into his back. He was between
the Indians and the women, who had jumped out of their wagon
and were running back up the valley. It seemed as though he
was trying to protect his family as long as he lived, and they
must have killed him before they did the women. Mrs. Sharp
remembers of no other wounds on his body excepting those made
by the arrows. The women lay close together. The Mother was
shot in front at close range with a shotgun, and the charge struck
her in the region of the heart. Her body was not very badly
[449]
HISTOEY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFOENIA
torn in front, but where the shot went out her back was just
riddled. She must have fought for her life the best she could,
for her finger nails were bloody as if she had clawed with them.
Her hair was pulled down and a good deal of it was torn out by
the roots, and her gold earrings had been cut out. The girl lay
farther away from the wagon than any of the rest of the family.
She had a gunshot wound, a bullet, under one eye, and had been
struck on the forehead with some blunt weapon, perhaps the head
of an ax. She was not mutilated at all — they did not even cut
out her earrings. It looked as though the Indians had gone away
in great haste and perhaps that is the reason why she was left
in that way.
Some sheets had been brought along that morning, and the
bodies of the dead were rolled in these, put into the wagon, and
the party returned to the Sharp ranch, arriving there a little
after noon. Mrs. Hamilton had come home with Mrs. Sharp and
the two women got dinner for the men. The dead were in no
condition to be taken into a house where people were living and
they were left in the wagon until after dinner and then were
taken over to the Shaffer ranch. The two women went along
and washed and laid out Mrs. Pearson and her Daughter, and
some of the men did the same for the dead men. Mrs. Sharp
could not tell who it was, but George Fry helped through it all.
Mrs. Slater says she took clothes enough along with her to dress
all four of the bodies. Early that morning Mr. Hamilton started
for Susanville with a spring wagon and brought back three
coffins for the Pearsons. Hiram Winchel had some lumber and
he planed it and made a coffin for Cooper. On the 19th they
were all taken to Susanville and buried at once. The Pearsons
had two daughters older than the one killed who had married
two brothers by the name of Jackson. At this time these men
were in the hardware business in Sacramento. Mrs. Hamilton
had learned this from Mrs. Pearson, and she wrote to them and
told them the fate of their relatives. The two women came here
at once and took the bodies to Sacramento, and it is supposed
that they were buried there. Mr. Cooper still lies in the cemetery
at Susanville. These were the last white folks killed by the
Indians in Honey Lake valley.
On the 20th, or the day before, Winchel, "Big" Joe Smith,
and several others, went down to where the murder took place
[450]
THE YEAE 1868
and made a careful examination of the ground. Judging by the
tracks of the Indians they came to the conclusion that there were
nine of them.
Of course no one knows why the Indians committed this mur-
der, but several reasons were given. One was that it was done
in revenge for the killing of the two Indians near there the pre-
vious winter. Another was that Cooper was a hard man with the
Indians, that he abused and mistreated them, and that he was
killed because of this. When he was killed he was wearing some
kind of a garment he had taken from the Indians a year or two
before that in a fight with them out toward the Humboldt river.
After the Indians had killed him they killed the others just for
the pleasure of it, or because they could not resist the temptation
of killing whites when they had a good chance to do it.
"The Eastern Slope" of April 25th says the deed was done in
revenge for the killing of the Pit river Indians in Dry valley the
previous year by Winnemucca and his braves and the Long val-
ley men, that shortly afterwards thirty head of horses were stolen
from Winnemucca valley, and that the bodies of four murdered
Piutes were found in the same vicinity. Francis C. Dickinson
(Tule Frank) says that on the night of the 19th of April the
Evans Brothers, the two Graham Brothers, Blum & Barrows
(two Spaniards), and himself lost a hundred head of horses
from Winnemucca valley, the head of Dry valley, and that vicin-
ity. They recovered only a few of them. The Graham Brothers
and the Spaniards followed the Indians out to the north of Fish
springs, but they found too many Indian tracks and came back.
The Pursuit of the Indians Who Killed the Pearson Family
and Samuel Cooper — The Susanville Party
The following account was written from what was told by
Charles Lawson and Thomas Brown. Lawson's narrative has
been followed because he gave a much more complete account of
the expedition than Brown did. Where the two men differ both
stories are told.
The news of the "Pearson Massacre" was brought to Susan-
ville by some one on Friday night. A company of fourteen or
fifteen men was raised at once and during the night they made
hasty preparations for their expedition. Early on Saturday
[ 1-31 1
HISTOEY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFOENIA
morning, the 18th, they left Susanville under the leadership of
Albert A. Smith. (Brown thinks it was Sunday.) Smith was
County Clerk and Captain of the Honey Lake Rangers. Some
of the men in the company were Thomas Brown, Horace Wright,
Elisha Vaden, John McDaniel, Henry Wright, William Corse,
Cyrus Lawson, Joseph Meyers, and Charles Lawson. They went
down the north side of the river and camped that night at the
Shaffer ranch. There they were joined by one man from the
Tules. Because he carried two guns they called him ' ' Crossfire ' '
and no other name is known for him. The other men joked him
about his weapons, but he was a brave man and did his part
well. Brown says that one of the Fairchilds Brothers from Mil-
ford joined them here, too. Some of the men wanted to go on out
to Mud Flat that afternoon, but Smith would not go. He said
they would stay there and start out fresh in the morning. It
was supposed that the Indians they were in pursuit of were Pit
Rivers and that they would leave the valley by passing around
the eastern side of the Hot Springs mountain. It was thought
that whether the Indians went north or kept out on the desert
time would be gained by taking the emigrant road which ran
north of the mountain, and besides that, it would be better trav-
eling along the road. Before they got to Mud springs they
struck the trail of the Indians going north and after following
it a short distance found where they had camped the previous
night. The coals and ashes of their fire were still warm, and if
the white men had gone on the day before, they would have
caught them at this place and the murderers might have received
their just deserts. From this place they followed the trail to the
north, and somewhere near noon as they were going up the hill
on the north side of Secret valley, they stopped for a while.
Charles Lawson wanted to fix the sight on his gun and he and his
brother went up on the top of a little ridge close by. In a few
minutes they saw an Indian mounted on a gray horse, one of
Hamilton 's, and another one on foot coming toward them. They
slipped down the hill and told the others and Smith ran to the
top of the ridge and leveled a spyglass at them. Just then they
saw him and ran up the canyon at the right of the ridge. The
whites pursued them, but kept on up the ridge and followed the
tracks of the four horses they had been trailing. Before going
very far they reached some junipers, and there they almost ran
[452]
THE YEAE 1868
into the main band of the Indians who scattered and ran away
as soon as they saw them. Instead of telling his men to charge
Smith told them to get behind the bushes so the Indians could
not see them. They obeyed his command and stayed there until
the Indians got out of reach, and thus another opportunity to
"take in" the redskins was lost. The men cursed and growled
while they were held there, and one man offered to charge the
Indians if five men would go with him. Before leaving home
the men had agreed to obey Smith's orders and probably this
kept them from making the charge. The men growled about this
all night and the next day. When the Indians ran they shot a
lot of arrows into two of the horses they had with them and left
them there. Their packs had been taken off and cached under
some rocks not far away. When the arrows were pulled out of
the horses they fell down and died almost immediately. The
Indians took the other two horses about a quarter of a mile to
the east of the trail and left them there tied to some junipers
with their packs on. Charles Lawson wanted to leave them there
and see if the Indians would not come back after them, but the
others wanted to see what was in the packs and the horses were
taken along with them. Their packs and those of the two horses
killed contained the things taken from the Pearsons. The Honey
Lakers went on up the hill to a place called "Rye Patch," and
as it was then getting late, they concluded to camp there for the
night. A few minutes after they stopped they heard the lowing
of some cattle that were coming up the hill toward them. Meyers
and another man went down to see if there were any Indians
with them, but found none. They now unsaddled, and as Charles
Lawson stood holding his horse he saw through the dusk the
Indian on the gray horse riding past about a hundred and
twenty-five yards away. He raised his gun and took aim at him,
but just as he pulled the trigger Smith struck up his gun and the
bullet went into the air. (Brown says they camped in Secret
valley that night, and that during the night a party of Indians
was heard passing, but it was too dark to attack them. They
supposed it was a part of the Indians they were pursuing who
had been delayed by the bulk of their plunder. The next morn-
ing they found a heavily loaded pack animal that had been
abandoned because it was exhausted.) The next morning they
started for Madeline Plains six miles distant. When they reached
f 453 1
HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
the top of the hill overlooking the Plains they could see seven or
eight miles ahead of them, but there were no Indians in sight
and the Plains were covered with water. It had been a wet,
snowy winter and there was a great deal more mud and water
than usual in the country at that time. The most of the men
were dissatisfied and discouraged because they considered that
they had been compelled to lose two good chances of getting the
Indians. They thought from the looks of the country ahead that
there was little chance of overtaking the Indians again, and if
they did it would do them no good. After talking the matter
over for a while they determined to turn back and go home.
Brown thinks they camped there that night and Lawson is
equally certain that they went back to Secret valley to an old
stone cabin. Whichever way it was is immaterial, but that night
the Long valley party under Newt. Evans, then consisting of
twenty men, caught up with them. Evans wanted the Susanville
crowd to go on after the Indians with him. Charles Lawson was
angry and disgusted because they had turned back and was going
home anyhow. After considerable talking had been done Lawson
said to Evans, ' ' If you will go ahead with me and let me do the
trailing, and the others will follow as far as I go, I will join your
party." Evans agreed to this, and Charles Lawson, Brown,
Meyers, William H. Crane (whose name was omitted in the list
of those who went from Susanville), Horace Wright, McDaniel,
" Crossfire," and perhaps another one of the Susanville men,
joined the Long valley men. Newt, and "Pete" Evans, the
Piute, and enough of the other Long valley men to make up a
party of sixteen, prepared to follow the Indians. All the rest of
both parties went back taking with them the two horses they had
recovered and the goods plundered from the Pearsons. "Uncle
Jake" McKissick was among those who went back. The names
of the others who went on or turned back could not be ascertained.
Tuesday morning the pursuing party took a straight course
to the place on Madeline Plains where Smith's company had
turned back. Two or three miles from the edge of the Plains they
struck water from a few inches to three feet deep, but it was
clear and they could see the tracks on the bottom. After wading
about a mile they came to a mound standing up out of the water.
(This mound is now called "Red Rock Butte.") Here the
Indians had camped the night their pursuers stayed at Rye
[454]
THE YEAR 1868
Patch, and here they killed the gray horse, the only one they
had left. They took six horses at the time of the massacre. The
white men could now account for five of them, but never knew
what became of the sixth one. It may have been killed the night
after the Indians left Honey Lake valley. The night the Indians
stayed at the mound they ate the horse 's head and feet, and cut
the rest of the flesh from the bones and took it along with them.
After a short stay at this place the whites followed on north
about five miles to Sage Hen springs — now called by that name —
going through deep water, snow, and mud, a difficult and almost
impossible journey. At this place the Indians had built some
little scaffolds out of sticks and barbecued the horse meat. From
here they went over the hill about three miles to Maiden valley
which lies southwest of Cold springs. Every little ways they
came to patches of snow forty or fifty feet wide and six feet deep
which in the afternoon was soft from the heat of the sun. The
Indians had no trouble in crossing this snow because they were on
foot, and probably crossed it in the morning when it was hard ;
but the horses could not get through these drifts and the white
men had to make a long detour whenever they came to one.
Even then it was hard work to get along and both men and
horses were pretty well exhausted when they reached Maiden
valley. The snow, however, was soft enough to show the tracks
of the Indians and these they counted several times. There were
sixteen of them, one of whom was lame, probably the one shot by
Cooper. From this it would seem that all of the band did not
take part in the massacre.
At Maiden valley they found good grass and there they
stopped. Ahead of them to the north they could see a high
mountain ten or twelve miles away (Warm Spring mountain),
and Newt. Evans thought they had better get some supper and
then five or six of them strike out on foot and go to the top of
the mountain, leaving the rest of the men to look out for the
horses and guard them. Accordingly after they had eaten Newt.
Evans, McDaniel, Lawson, "Crossfire," the Piute, and perhaps
another man, started out and reached the top of the mountain
about ten o'clock at night, or a little later. From there they
could see the camp fire of the Indians four or five miles to the
northeast on a flat close to the Warm springs. Occasionally they
would throw up fire signals. While the scouts were looking at the
[455]
HISTOEY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFOKNIA
fire Evans asked the Piute about his ammunition and the Indian
said that he had only one load for his gun — the rest he had left
at camp. Evans told him to go back and get it. Lawson says he
told Evans that it was a bad thing to send the Indian away from
them, for he would go to the camp of the other Indians and tell
them what was going on. He believes the Piute did this, for
when they went down to the camp fire they never found an
Indian. Evans thought some one had better go back to their
camp and tell the boys to come on with some provisions; but
they were all dead tired, and when Lawson said he could go
they told him he could not make it. He had a six-shooter so
he left his gun and set out. It was a hard trip, for it was dark
and the country was strange to him. Every little while he fell
down and he lost both bootheels; but there happened to be a
natural pass from the Warm springs to Maiden valley, Law-
son has always been noted as a hard man to lose in the moun-
tains, and he finally reached his destination. The men heard
him coming through the brush and were ready to shoot until
he made them understand who he was, and then they let him
come into camp. He told them what was wanted, and as he
was too tired to go with them, he gave them the best directions
he could as to where they should go to find the other men. He
told Meyers to take the gun he had left, and all the men except-
ing Lawson and two or three others took some provisions and
went on. About daylight they found the men they were looking
for, and after eating some breakfast, they once more took the
trail of the Indians and followed it six or seven miles to the
south fork of Pit river. The river was very high and the cur-
rent was like a mill race where the tracks of the Indians went
into it. After looking around for some time and failing to find
any place where they dared attempt to cross the torrent, they
gave up the pursuit and came back to Maiden valley that night.
The Piute didn 't come back until after they did, and. when asked
where he had been so long, he replied that he had got lost in the
darkness the night before. The next morning they took the back
track and in due time reached their homes after another hard
journey through the mud, water, and snow. (Brown says that
McDaniel was the scout that came back, and that the men who
left camp after he returned were lost in a snow squall and didn 't
find the scouts who were watching the Indians. The scouts
[456]
THE YEAR 1868
returned to camp early the next morning, but the others did not
get in until noon. The Indians escaped to the north.) The
"Virginia Enterprise" published an account of this expedition.
In it many facts were given which Lawson has related, but which
Brown appears to have forgotten.
The Pursuit op the Indians Who Killed the Pearson Family
and Samuel Cooper — The Long Valley Party
J. 0. Hemler says that early in the morning of the day after
the Pearson Family and Cooper were murdered, his uncle, J. D.
Byers, and himself were out on the flat between the Bald moun-
tain and the lake looking for cattle. While they were riding
around in the brush they saw a man on horseback coming from
the direction of the Tules. He was riding rapidly, and as soon as
Byers saw him he said that something must be wrong and they
rode to meet him. It was John D. Kelley, and he told them what
had happened and said he was going to Janesville after help.
Byers said they would go back with him and the three men rode
to the Lower Hot springs. When they got there the bodies of the
dead lay on the ground where they fell. After looking around a
while Byers put Hemler 's saddle onto the horse which he himself
had been riding and told him to go to Long valley and tell Alvaro
Evans about the massacre so the settlers in that section could look
out for themselves. Hemler says that he was badly frightened,
but when they asked him if he was afraid to go he told them he
was not. Byers told him he need not be afraid, for there was no
Indian pony that could outrun the horse he was riding, and also
told him to ride his horse so as to always have some ability to run
still left in him. It is easy to believe that Hemler made good
time until he reached the divide between Honey Lake and Long
valleys, and there he caught up with Sutherland and Berryman
driving the dairy cows. The latter asked him where he was
going and Hemler told him, and also told him why he was going
there. Berryman would not believe him and said he must be
joking. Hemler called his attention to the condition of his horse
and asked him if he thought he would ride a horse like that
unless something was the matter. He asked Berryman to ex-
change horses with him and told him he would return the horse
when he came back. The exchange was made, and Hemler rode
on after telling Berryman to break the news to Sutherland, for
[457]
HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
he did not have the heart to do it himself. When he reached his
destination he told his story to Alvaro Evans who at once sent
for R. E. (Bob.) Ross, and the two men took the matter in hand.
They sent out and called the men of that section together and
had some families come in from the outside. They also sent up
into the mountains for a band of saddle horses.
George W. Bennett, who lived in Red Rock valley at that
time, says that on the 18th Allen Evans came to his house and
told him about the massacre. He went home with Evans and
stayed that night with him. On the 19th a company of twenty-
five men started from the Evans ranch in pursuit of the Indians.
Newt. Evans was Captain, and Berryman, Jacob McKissick,
"Pete" Evans (It is said that he was engaged to be married to
Hattie Pearson.), a Piute Indian they took along to do the trail-
ing, and others whose names will appear later on, were in the
company. (J. B. Rice says that John Fitch, T. J. Glasscock,
E. H. Fairchilds, and several others from Milford and that vicin-
ity, perhaps six or eight in all, joined the Evans company.) It is
also said that Isaac Hallett went with one of the parties that
pursued the Indians.
The first day out the Evans party scouted around the Fort
Sage mountain (State Line Peak) and then went to the Lower
Hot springs. From there they swung around the west side of
the Hot Springs mountain and that night camped northwest of
Skedaddle valley. They camped on a point where the wind
struck them and it was very cold. Some of the younger men
wanted to build a fire, but the Captain and some of the older men
objected to it. About three o'clock in the morning Bennett, John
Titus, Blaisdel, Robert Cameron, and "Shorty" got up and
started back for Red Rock valley. The next day the others went
on and at night met Smith's company. Their subsequent move-
ments have already been told.
An Indian Scare in Long Valley
Written from what was told by Daniel W. Bryant, Alvaro
Evans, George W. Harrison, and A. L. Tunison.
On the 20th of April word was brought up along the south
side of the valley and to Susanville that the people of Long val-
ley were in danger from the Indians. In a short time all sorts
[458]
THE YEAR 1868
of rumors were flying around — the Indians were going to clean
out Long valley, they were besieging the Evans ranch and also the
Dinwiddie ranch. At the latter place there were some women
and children and the whites could hold out only that night. Per-
haps there was trouble in other places, too. The word reached
Susanville late in the afternoon, but preparations were made to
go that night to the aid of those who were said to be in danger.
About nine o 'clock between fifteen and twenty men, mounted on
all sorts of horses, started out, G. W. Harrison, Joe Hale, George
Funk, Antone Storff, Hiram Parks, and Al. Leroy being among
the number. It was far from being a pleasure trip to some of
them. Harrison says he rode one of Funk 's team horses that had
on heavy shoes. He had been working in a printing office for
some time and was not used to riding, and the next day he could
hardly go. But he stood it because he thought he was going to
help save some one's life. Probably there were others in the
crowd who had the same feelings both mental and physical. About
midnight they reached the Byers ranch on Baxter creek east of
Janesville, and there they stopped a while and got something to
eat and fed their horses. They then resumed their journey. On
their way down the valley they were joined by other men, and
when they arrived at the Evans ranch the next day about noon
there were thirty or forty in the party.
Tunison says that on the 20th, probably it was late in the
evening, he went from Johnston's to Buggytown and aroused
every family. About midnight fifteen men left Robert Johns-
ton's for Long valley. Tunison and Bryant are the only ones
of this party whose names are known. This party went through
Janesville and at daylight took breakfast at Milford. They
reached the Evans ranch about the same time that the other
party did. On their arrival the Honey Lakers found that the
Indians were not besieging the Evans ranch or any other ranch,
and that no one, either white or red, had been killed. One man
says the report started from the fact that some Indians, Pit
Rivers or Bannocks, passing through there had killed a beef in
Red Rock valley, and that made the settlers afraid they would
commit more depredations and perhaps kill some one. It may
have been that or the stealing of the horses in that section that
started the story, and like all other Indian scares, the farther it
[459]
HISTOEY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFOENIA
traveled the larger it got. The news must have gone in the other
direction, for men were there from the upper end of Long valley
and from Sierra valley.
Alvaro Evans says that when the Honey Lake men reached
his place he had five Indians working for him. In the afternoon
he went out and told them who was there, and that if the Honey
Lakers saw them they would kill them all. He told them they
had better go south through the hills, and then strike across the
valley and go to the Pyramid Lake reservation. The Indians had
no ponies and started out on foot.
About midnight Evans was awakened by the barking of the
dogs and a racket outside, and when he got up he found Andrew
"W. Dinwiddie and a man named Lemons, who lived in Sierra
valley, at the door. Dinwiddie told the following story: It ap-
pears that the Indians went through the hills and came out near
the bridge which then crossed the Long Valley creek five or six
miles south of the Evans place. Dinwiddie, who lived about half
a mile south of the bridge, saw them coming, and taking his rifle,
went out alone to meet them. He met them just after they
crossed the bridge, and when he spoke to them one of the Indians,
a Piute called George, said he was a ''good Indian" and the next
three told him the same thing. He let the four pass as being all
right. The fifth one, however, didn't say he was "good," but
showed fight and he and Dinwiddie clinched and scuffled around
for a while. The white man could throw the Indian, but could
not hold him down, and could get no chance to use his gun. Pin-
ally he made up his mind that the only way he could get the bet-
ter of the Indian was to back him up to the edge of the creek,
push him over it, and then shoot him. While he was trying to do
this George picked up the gun and shot the Indian. He then said
that the Indian killed was a Pit River and a bad Indian, and the
four "good" ones went on their way. Dinwiddie and Lemons
immediately mounted their horses and came to the Evans ranch.
The next morning the dead Indian lying beside the road caused
another small Indian scare.
On the afternoon of the 21st they organized a company of
thirty men with Robert E. Ross as captain. The next day they
went to Dry valley and around to Fish springs, about twenty
miles, and camped near the little lake. During the day they
"saw lots of Indian tracks going north." The following morning
[460]
THE YEAE 1868
Harrison, Bryant, Jud. Hamilton, and two others, left the
crowd and started for home because they didn't like the way in
which the hunt after the Indians was carried on. Tunison tells
the rest of the story. "The remainder of us struck north and
traveled about twelve or fifteen miles and camped on Plum creek.
Saw lots of Indian and horse tracks going north and followed
as far as traveled — found one white man coming back. Saddled
up near night and rode on about six miles further and made dry
camp. Stood guard two hours latter part of night. Found
camp where the Indians had made their first camp. April 24.
Went on to Smoke Creek six or eight miles. The Indians that
we were tracking were seen near Buffalo springs yesterday go-
ing north. Fifteen of us started on after the Indians and the
remainder of the party went back to the valley. Our party
went on to Buffalo springs and camped. April 25. Took the
Humboldt road and nooned at Wall springs. Went to Deep
Hole and took our supper. There two of our party left us.
One was sick (Oscar) and Smith — scared out. After dark we
went up the Deep Hole creek five miles and camped. I was
elected Captain at Deep Hole. 26th. Traveled up Deep Hole
creek about ten miles and turned toward the left towards Sur-
prise valley. Went to the Summit and turned toward Buffalo
and traveled in that direction six or eight miles, and camped
in an old Indian camp near the Summit of the Buffalo range.
27th. Sargeant and I struck out — went a couple of miles and
found the Indian trail going north. Went back to camp and
packed up and followed the tracks north twelve or fifteen miles
and left them. About forty Indians' tracks and over twenty
horse and mule tracks. We then struck for Buffalo Meadows
down the east branch of the creek, which runs through an
awful rough and crooked canyon about ten miles — camped at
the Meadows. 28th. Harris left us here for Surprise valley
with J. Johnson and one Wagner, who met us here. Started for
home — struck the Humboldt road at Buffalo springs. Part of
our party went by way of Sheephead springs, and five of us on
the Humboldt road. Camped at Smoke creek. Caught a duck
in Smoke creek. 29th. Nooned at Mud springs and camped at
Shaffer's. 30th. Three of our crowd started for Sierra valley
by way of Hot springs, and Lou., Charley, and I went to upper
end of valley."
[461]
HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
Evidently this company found more Indians than they could
use. It will be observed that neither of the expeditions that
went out this spring killed or captured a single Indian.
Tunison says that about the first of May the Indians killed
three men near Buffalo Meadows. After this they made no more
trouble in or around Honey Lake valley, or along the emi-
grant road between there and the Humboldt river, during the
remainder of the year.
The Exterminators
The outrages committed by the Indians this year served to
inflame the minds of the people of this section still more against
them. For several years it was none too safe for a Piute to
come into the valley, especially around Susanville. About the
last of May ' ' The Sage Brush ' ' said ' ' The people of Long valley
have caused all Indians, of whatever description, to emigrate
from among them. No Indian is allowed, under any pretext
whatever, to come into the county."
About this time a secret society called ' ' The Exterminators ' '
was organized in Susanville. It was a regular lodge. They
elected officers and the members were sworn to kill every Indian
they could. This was to be done in order to avenge the murder
of Cooper and the Pearsons. They held meetings all that sum-
mer, but the excitement gradually died away and the order
went out of existence.
Indians Hanged for the "Pearson Massacre"
"The Butte Record" of September 5th, 1868, has the
following :
"Indian Matters North
"Gov. Roop of Susanville, Lassen Co. has forwarded us a
letter from Gen. Crook, dated at Camp "Warner, Oregon, Aug.
22nd, from which we make the following extract concerning
Indian affairs in that vicinity : ' I found most of these Indians in
Big Valley on Pit River. Many of them fled to the mountains on
our approach. I had a talk with some of their principal men, who
are on friendly terms with the whites, and they confess that
nine of the Pit River Indians killed the Pearson family, and
that three of this party had left there, but that the remaining six
[462]
THE YEAR 1868
were still among them. But they know where they are, and I
requested Capt. Munson to go down to Fort Crook in the course
of a couple of months, when they will have gotten over their
fright and settled down, catch the murderers and hang them,
which will have a tendency to prevent their engaging in any
outside speculation of that kind in the future. Our scouts were
all around Eagle Lake and the Warner Range generally on our
way home but found no sign of Indians, so that I feel satisfied
that our Indian troubles are over with in this country. ' ' '
The following is from the "Reno Crescent" of October 10,
1868. "From 'The Sage Brush' we learn that Capt. Munson
brought three Indians, who had been delivered to him as part
of the murderers of the Pearson family, to Susanville one day
last week and delivered them to the civil authorities there. On
examination nothing was proven against them and they were
set at liberty. However, the people of Susanville were con-
vinced of their guilt and no one was surprised to find their bodies
suspended next morning, to an old building near town; their
souls having gone to the 'happy hunting grounds' during the
preceding night. A Honey Lake friend tells us that one old
buck claimed a commutation of sentence on the ground that he
only killed a young Mahala (Hattie Pearson) and did not share
in the plunder. The redskinned fiend! Hattie Pearson's exist-
ence was of more consequence than that of all the Indians that
ever lived. ' '
Thomas N. Long, who was then the Sheriff of Lassen county,
says that Captain Munson turned the Indians over to him and
he immediately put them into jail. Some of the prominent
citizens of Susanville, Governor Roop and others, came to Long
and told him that he had no right to put the Indians into jail,
and that they would pay for the services of a guard if he would
take them out of jail and put one over them. He refused to do
this, and there was considerable talk of mobbing him and taking
the prisoners away from him. At that time Collins Gaddy lived
in Susanville, and he had considerable influence with a certain
element. He took sides with Long and that served to keep the
crowd quiet until the excitement died away, and the idea was
given up.
There was no one in town before whom the Indians could
be given a preliminary examination, and as soon as this was
[463]
HISTOEY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFOENIA
discovered they sent for E. P. Soule, Justice of the Peace, who
was doing some carpenter work at Milford. They did not get
ready for the examination until late the second day after the
Indians arrived — nine or ten o 'clock at night. When the Indians
were brought before Squire Soule at the court house, a dispute
arose between Governor Eoop and Judge Harrison as to which
one was the district attorney of the county. After a good deal
of dispute Squire Soule recognized Harrison as the legal prose-
cuting attorney, and Roop volunteered to defend the Indians.
Of course there was no testimony against the prisoners and the
Court had to turn them loose.
The room was full of excited men and Long knew what was
coming. He did not care particularly what became of the
Indians, but he did not want himself or any of his deputies mixed
up in the matter. His deputy, R. York Rundel, wanted to take
a hand with the crowd, but Long told him to help him take the
handcuffs off the Indians and then get out of the way. They got
the irons off, but while doing it were almost trodden under foot
by the crowd who were eager to get at the Indians. The two
officers managed to get through the crowd and down the stairs,
and when they reached the gate Rundel wanted to stay and "see
the fun. ' ' Long told him it would be all right if he kept out of
the crowd and took no part in what they did, and he stayed.
The next morning the bodies of the Indians were hanging to an
oak tree that stood near the northeast corner of Main and
Pine streets.
Mr. Long says that he and some others thought from the
appearance of the Indians brought in here that they were only
some renegades that the Pit Rivers delivered up to General Crook
to satisfy him, and that they had nothing to do with the mas-
sacre. He says they were poor specimens of red men and didn't
look at all dangerous. Others say they were ugly, determined-
looking fellows. It was reported that these Indians confessed to
Captain Munson that they participated in the murder of Cooper
and the Pearson Family, but the writer has been unable to verify
this. Long says that while they were in jail they would not talk
at all. One of the men who helped hang them says that one
Indian wanted to be shot because he had killed only one Mahala.
When he said this a white man struck so vicious a blow at him
with a butcher knife that if he had not dodged it would have
[464]
THE YEAR 1868
cut him almost in two. Nothing more was said by any of the
Indians, excepting that the one hanged last said of the one
whose turn came before his, "See um heap kick." The writer
could find nothing in the newspapers of the day to show that any
more of the nine Indian murderers were ever killed or captured.
Honey Lake Very High
About the first of June, 1868, "The Sage Brush" printed the
following in regard to Honey lake. "This body of water is said
to be from twenty to twenty-five feet deeper than ever pre-
viously known. The lands about the lake, in some places for
the extent of a mile, where they had been previously cultivated
are now inundated, and the water is still rising. Honey lake,
like many other similar bodies of water on the Pacific slope, has
no visible outlet. A vast quantity of water has fallen this season
upon the mountains and throughout the valley, but not enough
to raise the lake to its present level. And then the streams
leading into the lake are nearly run down to their common
depth. It must be that the underground outlets of the lake are
in a measure closed, or that extensive springs, as has been
reported, have broken out within the lake. At all events, the
hay and farming land for miles about the lake is threatened with
destruction."
The writer was then living in the valley, and though only a
boy at the time, he well remembers the talk about the rising of
the lake. At that time it was higher than it was ever known to
be, either before or since. There was all sorts of talk going on
in regard to it. Some thought there was an underground outlet
to the lake and that it had become stopped up. People used
to believe that there was an outlet, and also that there were
large springs in the bed of the lake. So much land around the
lake was covered with water that people were afraid it would
keep on rising until all the good land in that part of the valley
was useless for cultivation. They thought they would have to
dig a canal and drain the water of Honey lake into Pyramid
lake, for the latter was said to be the lower of the two. In a year
or two the lake began to go down, and this went on until the
summer of 1889 when it was entirely dry again.
[4G5
CHAPTER XV
1869. SETTLEMENT
Long Valley. Robert Ingram bought a ranch, probably the
one south of the Warm springs ranch.
Willow Creek Valley. Adam Jacobs claimed what was once
the Parker place east of Quilty, Hugo Schminck located east of
Jacobs, and Jacob C. Miller located south of Quilty.
Big Valley. Richard A. Ricketts, who still lives in Big valley,
says that Joel Purdem and Jason Jones and their families were
the first settlers in the Lassen county part of Big valley. They
came in from Oregon in March and located in the lower end of
the valley. Mr. Ricketts with his Wife and three children
located in the same neighborhood on the 29th of May. Teddy
O'Laherty, John Cannon, and White and Wife settled in
the lower end of the valley some time that year. Mr. Ricketts
says that of the first three settlers in that part of the valley he
was the only one to stay there. Joseph Wilson says that Alex-
ander Parker came into the valley this year with 3000 head of
cattle and twenty-eight men, and this time he stayed there.
Mrs. Mary E. Harris, now of Alturas, California, tells the
following. April 15th, 1869, her father, Adin G. McDowell, with
his Wife and their two boys, Mrs. Harris and her husband,
L. W. Harris, and their child, located at what was afterwards
the town of Adin (Modoc county) in the northeastern corner of
Big valley. Samuel Nebeker and his family were also in the
party. The next spring the town was named in honor of Mr.
McDowell. She does not agree with Ricketts, but says there
was not a settler in the Lassen county part of the valley at that
time. In the fall B. F. Studley and Newton Stanley and their
families settled on Willow creek about three miles southwest of
Adin. H. J. Ehlers, Rev. H. D. Haskins, John Ogden, J. Miles,
Rev. J. C. MeKendree, Adin G. McDowell, and L. W. Harris
discovered gold on what is now known as Hayden Hill this fall,
and the winter of 1869-70 H. J. Ehlers, L. W. Harris, and
J. C. MeKendree and their families and J. Miles, H. D. Haskins,
and T. J. Harris lived there. The first settlers at Lookout were
two men named Whitty and Courtright who came there with
their families in 1870. The same year Asa White and family and
[466]
THE YEAE 1869
Moss settled about two miles south of where Bieber now
stands. W. A. Bunton and family located at the foot of Hayden
Hill on the north side of it. W. H. Stevens, Norton Stone, and
James Hall settled with their families on Butte creek south of
Adin. Moses A. Carmichael located in the northwestern part
of the valley near the county line. In 1872 the Providence
School District was organized. This was the first public school
taught in that part of the county.
Mrs. Clara V. Wilson, the wife of Joseph Wilson of Susan-
ville, says that early in the fall of 1869 Warren Pratt, her first
husband, his brother, Newton Pratt, James and Kobert Glenn,
and four others went from Ft. Jones in Siskiyou county to
Big valley leaving their families at home. They took two wagons
and had a hard time getting over the mountain roads with
them. Each man took a piece of land in the edge of the timber
near the Bull Run slough. They brought some tools with them
and each one put up a cabin on his claim. These cabins were
roofed wTith shakes, but had neither floors, doors, nor windows.
They saw no Indians, but they heard that some mischief had
been done by them in other parts of the valley so they stood
guard every night. They stayed there about six weeks, and
then on account of their business at home and fear of the Indians,
they returned to Ft. Jones and never went back to Big valley.
The Settlement of Dixie Valley and Vicinity
The most of this was told by Mrs. James P. Eldridge, but
some information was given by T. J. Wright.
Late in the fall of 1869 George W. Long, H. Carson Wright,
J. W. Tuttle, R. F. Gates, and McMillan went into Dixie
valley. Part, or all of them, claimed land and put up some log
cabins. Long's cabin was on the north edge of the central part
of the valley, that of Gates about three fourths of a mile to the
east, and Wright's was northeast of Long's. It is not known
whether or not any of them spent the winter in the valley, but
probably they were all there the next year. In 1870 John D.
Kelley and Wife and his partner, Hiram Winchel, Daniel and
Charles Cramer, and George Riddle settled in the valley—
Kelley and Winchel on the west side of it, and Riddle to the
east of them. The Cramers settled on the northeastern side of
the valley. This year Long and perhaps some of the others put
[467]
HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
up some hay. James P. Eldridge and Wife and a man named
Sharp spent the following winter in the valley. About the same
time Little valley, just below Dixie, was settled by Samuel
Graves, Joseph Layton, and Old Man Ralston. Long afterwards
bought these men out. In the fall of 1871 J. P. Eldridge bought
out a man by the name of Jones, who had a claim five miles
below Little valley, and lived there for the next forty-one years.
George W. Harrison says that the last of June, 1870, Andrew
Miller, H. K. Cornell, and himself went on a prospecting trip.
They went to Eagle lake, then to what is now known as Dixie
valley, and then to Hayden Hill. Mr. Harrison is positive that
there were no cabins in the valley at the time of their visit to it.
He says that hay was put up there that year. He thinks that
the settlers put up their cabins that fall, and that Long and
Wright named the valley about the same time. He does not
dispute the statement that Mr. Long and the others claimed land
there in the fall of 1869, but thinks that Mrs. Eldridge is
mistaken or was misinformed in regard to the time when the
cabins were built.
Horse Lake Valley, Secret Valley, and Madeline Plains. This
year B. E. Shumway put up a cabin on his place north of the
lake in Horse Lake valley. This spring and the previous fall he
built a wagon road from Willow Creek valley through Horse
Lake valley to Mud springs on Madeline Plains. Before this
there had been no road between these two places, but light rigs
had gone through there. Later on he continued this road work.
At Mud springs he struck the "Townsend Road" and this he
repaired to Cold springs and from there on to Tuledad. Shum-
way did this work for T. N. Long and Charles Cramer, who a
year or two afterwards, probably in 1871, ran a stage line from
Susanville to Fort Bidwell. In June, 1869, T. N. Long and
Samuel Johnson went across Madeline Plains from Mud springs
to Cold springs. At the latter place Shumway had set up four
posts to hold up a brush roof as a shelter for his horses and
built a pole corral. They went around north of the McDonald
Peak and came south along the west side of it. They stayed one
night near the McDonald, or Van Loan, place, but saw no sign
of any buildings there. Excepting what was at Cold springs,
[468]
THE YEAR 1869
they saw no camps on the Plains, but Sol. Geller may have had
a sheep camp on a creek several miles west of Mud springs.
The foregoing was told by T. N. Long.
The following facts were learned from John B. McKissick,
Frank E. Home, and Albert L. Shinn. In 1869 James Watt
settled at Mud springs and had a tent set up to the north toward
where Termo is now located. Jackson located at the
southeast corner of the Plains at the western base of Mt. Observa-
tion. There were no buildings at that place until 1870 when
Jacob McKissick bought him out and built a house and a corral.
In 1870 Oliver Shinn, Father of A. L. Shinn, and family settled
at the head of Smoke creek, and Frank E. Home located at the
southeastern extremity of the Plains and put up a stone house.
E. A. Harris established a stock ranch on Red Rock creek at
the east end of the Plains, and T. N. Long says that Joseph
Evans came to Cold springs with stock. Long claimed the land
around Cold springs and this year he had a house built there.
Daniel McDonald was on his place. Shinn says that J. P. and
Daniel McKissick each had a house in Secret valley, but J. B.
McKissick claims that there was only one house in Secret in
1870 and that belonged to Jacob McKissick.
Those whose names are given in the lists below settled in
the county in 1869. The length of residence generally applies
to the husband and the wife, but not to the children.
The following lived here all the rest of their lives or are
still living here. David A. Edwards and Family, Samuel G.
Alexander and Family, Stephen A. Doyle and Family, F. H.
Lindsay, Adam Jacobs, John R. Woolen and Family, Robert M.
Smith, and Mrs. Hannah Chisholm (Mrs. Stevinson Lax) and
Family.
The following lived here from a year or two to fifteen years.
M. D. Bull, Thomas McFadden, Joseph Lomas, George Bangham
and Family, A. G. Bechtol, Hugo Schminck, and *A. H. Pratt.
Hayden Hill and Its Mines
The following was told by Leonidas H. Hopkins who went
to Hayden Hill in 1873 and who was prominently connected
with the place and the development of the mines there.
In the fall of 1869 H. J. Ehlers, Rev. H. D. Haskins, John
Ogden, J. Miles, and Rev. J. C. McKendree came to Big valley
from Yreka. There they were joined by Adin G. McDowell and
[469]
HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
L. W. Harris, and the party started out to hunt for the "Lost
Cabin" mine. They searched for some time in vain. One night
they camped on the southwestern side of what was afterwards
known as Hayden Hill, intending to start for home the next day.
The following morning the man who was acting as cook, per-
haps it was Haskins, was left to pack up and the rest of the
party straggled around over the hill looking at the rock. The
cook finished his task before the others returned, and the thought
came to him that it would be a good plan to clean out the
spring near which they had camped for the benefit of those who
might afterwards come there. While doing this he noticed
something that looked like mica, and there was considerable of
it amongst what he shoveled out of the spring. When the other
men returned he called their attention to it and said it didn't
look exactly like mica, but could not be gold because there was
so much of it. They panned out some of it and took it with
them to Yreka, and there it was found to be gold. Part of them
at least, and perhaps all of them, returned at once and located
what they called the "Providence Mine." It has been told
who lived there the winter of 1869-70.
The next spring J. W. Hayden and Seneca Lewis came in
and located several mines on the north and east sides of the
hill. For a while the place was called Providence City, and
then it was named Hayden Hill in honor of J. W. Hayden.
In 1870 a good many men went there from northern Cali-
fornia and western Nevada, and if the usual course was followed,
every ledge on the hill was located by somebody. Charles
Cramer, who was in partnership with his brother Daniel, says
he went there this year and built a hotel and a feed stable.
Probably they were abandoned or moved away when the excite-
ment was over. The seven men who discovered gold there
organized the Providence Mining Company. F. and S. say
they realized "some $40000 from washing the decomposed
quartz." The same authority says that "they were drawn into
a mill enterprise with a San Francisco company, whose super-
intendent knew nothing of practical mining. After crushing
100 tons of wall rock, in which there was no pay except the
vein matter on the surface, they removed their mill and con-
demned the hill. The eight paying mines there now (1882) show
how valuable was their judgment. ' ' This company hired Robert
[470]
THE YEAE 1869
Johnston and Frank Murphy, perhaps in 1871, to haul the
machinery of the Evans Company quartz mill from Black Rock,
and they built their mill on Willow creek east of the hill and
two or three hundred yards below the mouth of a little stream
that empties into the creek. They abandoned their mine in
1873 or 1874. Hayden and Lewis were left in possession of the
hill and they claimed it all, regardless of the fact that they
could not hold it when others came in.
In 1875 two men named Ament, father and son, and their
Wives, Amos Swan, and Al. Simpson came to the hill. They
creviced around and dug out pockets and worked their dirt
and rock in an arastra, the first one there, but Mr. Hopkins
doesn't know who built it. In 1876 G. F. Hoes, who owned the
Evening Star mine, worked his rock with an arastra, and the
next year Hoes and Lee L. and W. F. Harbert worked the ore
from the Brush Hill mine in the same way. F. and S. say
"Lewis was the original discoverer of the Brush Hill mine,
from which the Hoes and Harbert brothers have taken $100,000. "
This was up to 1882.
In 1877 L. H. Hopkins located the Golden Eagle mine. His
father, William H. Hopkins and C. H. Nash, both of whom had
located mines on the hill, consolidated their interests with his
and formed the Golden Eagle Mining Company. In 1879 or
1880 they built a five-stamp mill on the Golden Eagle mine, and
under their management and later on this mine produced several
hundred thousand dollars.
In 1878 and 1879 there was a greater rush to the hill than
in 1870, there being two or three hundred people there during
those years. In 1878 the Hayden Hill post office was established
with L. H. Hopkins as post master. In 1879 Thomas A. Rose-
berry and George H. Knight put in a stock of general mer-
chandise, the first store in town. They carried on the same
business in Adin at this time.
The first number of "The Mountain Tribune," May 6, 1881,
has the following advertisements for Hayden Hill: "Roseberry
& Knight, General Merchandise; Mrs. Anderson, Anderson
Hotel; B. S. Bradshaw, Restaurant; R. Sailing, Butcher Shop,
Fashion Saloon, and Livery and Feed Stable; W. P. McBride
and W. C. Graves, Blacksmith Shop."
[471]
HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
Hayden and Lewis lived the rest of their lives in a cabin on
the north side of the Hill. They discovered a good many ledges,
but never made anything out of them and both died poor.
The Early History op Bieber
The most of the following was written from information
given by Nathan Bieber after whom the town was named. He
is still in business there — the only merchant of early days left
in the place.
The crossing of Pit river where Bieber now stands was
called "Chalk Ford" on account of the chalky nature of the
ground at that place. This ford was first used in 1864 or 1865.
The writer could not learn when the first bridge was built, but
one was there in 1877.
The land on which Bieber stands was claimed as a home-
stead by Theodore Pleisch in May, 1873. He built a cabin on
the east bank of the river about a hundred yards above the ford.
The first store and the first dwelling house there were erected
by Nathan Bieber in 1877. The store was located about five
hundred feet east of the ford and the dwelling house about two
hundred and fifty feet south of the store. The first blacksmith
shop was built by W. F. Lamburth in 1878, and was about two
hundred and fifty feet northwest of the store. The same year
Andrew Koegel put up a saloon one hundred feet north of the
store. In 1878 Mr. Bieber 's residence was used as a hotel, and
two years later Lewis Powers built the first hotel in town about
a hundred feet east of the saloon. The first livery stable was
built by Karl Gerig. The town was laid out by "William R.
Schooler. F. and S. says that in 1879 Mr. Bieber secured the
location of a post office at this place, and that in 1881 Thomas
P. Ford founded the "Mountain Tribune." The first number
was issued May the 6th. The first school was taught by Mrs.
M. P. Woodin, the wife of James Woodin, during the fall of
1880. School was held at first in the Town Hall, but afterwards
a schoolhouse was erected about a thousand feet northeast of
the store. The first church was not built until many years
after the town was founded.
One of the first numbers of "The Mountain Tribune" says
that the town of Bieber was laid out in 1877. "Only four
buildings were erected that year and two more in 1878. In
[472]
THE YEAR 1869
this condition the town languished until the following spring,
when the Brownell Bros., general merchandise, in company with
the Odd Fellows, built a store and hall. A general impetus to
business seemed to prevail, and during the summer the principal
portion of the town, as it now stands, was built. Brownell Bros,
began business in Bieber May 21, 1879. Shubert & Gibbins put
up a wagon shop in 1880. S. E. Perkiss commenced a cheese
factory in June, 1881, and during the same summer L. Powers
erected a new hotel on the corner of Powers and Main Sts.
The first number of "The Mountain Tribune" had the fol-
lowing advertisements: "N. Bieber & Co., General Merchan-
dise; Brownell Bros., General Merchandise; Lewis Powers, Bie-
ber Hotel, William G. Stearns, City Hotel, Shubert & Gibbins,
Carpenters, Wagon Makers, and Undertakers ; William F. Lam-
burth, Blacksmith ; William Goerig, Sr., Livery and Feed Stable ;
William G. Stearns, Chalkford Saloon, Swigard & Kenyon, Old
Chalkford Saloon; John A. Brown, Attorney at Law; L. L.
Ralls, Justice of the Peace ; D. R. Brownell, Notary Public and
Insurance Agent." Miss Nellie Lyon was the School Teacher.
The Susanville Water System
In August, 1854, Isaac N. Roop posted up a notice on Smith's
(Piute) creek to the effect that he was going to put a dam into
the creek, build a ditch along the south hill, and carry the water
to the emigrant road. This ditch was taken out of the creek
about 160 yards above where Roop street, if extended, would
cross it. When more houses were built in Rooptown a branch
of this ditch was taken to each one of them. After a while the
place grew up the hill so far that Roop had to take out another
ditch about half a mile above the first one. This ditch carried
the water as high as the northeast corner of Main and Roop
streets, and by means of covered ditches the whole town was
supplied with water until the early 70 's.
February 17, 1866, Charles Nixon filed on what was known
as the "Big Springs" on the north side of the river three miles
above town, for the purpose of supplying Susanville with water.
May 31, 1869, Dr. Z. N. Spalding, W. H. Crane, and A. A.
Smith filed on the same springs for the same purpose, but there
is nothing to show that they did anything further in the
matter.
[473]
HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
During the summer of 1869 Charles Belden and Moses D.
Bull undertook to bring the water from these springs into
Susanville. It was to be done by means of an open ditch,
excepting that the water was to be carried around the points of
the hills and across the canyons through bored-out logs. They
had a reservoir near the cemetery and from there the water was
to be distributed. The work was a failure. The logs leaked
where they were put together and in other ways failed to answer
the purpose for which they were intended.
May 10, 1872, E. V. Spencer, W. H. Crane, and J. C. Part-
ridge, Trustees of "The Susanville Ditch Company," filed on
the same springs and for the same purpose that the others had
taken them. This company, which was composed of people who
lived in Susanville, made a success of the work. The water was
brought in an open ditch, flumes being used when it was neces-
sary, to the western part of town and there it was distributed
through iron pipes. The work was completed in 1873, and with
some additions and improvements the system has been in use
ever since.
Lassen County Politics
April 17, 1869, the Board of Supervisors appointed Charles
Cramer Assessor to fill the vacancy in that office.
At the General Election held September 1st, 310 votes were
cast. County officers were chosen as follows : District Attorney,
W. R. Harrison; Sheriff, T. N. Long; County Clerk, J. H. Breed;
Treasurer, John R. Lockwood; Assessor, J. C. "Wemple; Sur-
veyor, William C. Kingsbury; Coroner, Dr. Z. N. Spalding;
Supervisor, 3d District, Jacob McKissick. John Lambert was
elected to the Assembly for Plumas and Lassen counties.
No County Superintendent of Schools was voted for. It
appears that for the first time this county officer should have
been elected, but there was a failure to nominate. March 15,
1870, the Board appointed T. N. Stone to fill the vacancy, but
a few months later he resigned and L. M. Crill was then
appointed. The first man elected to this office in the county
was Dr. Z. N. Spalding, who was elected September 6, 1871, and
served two terms.
At the Special Judicial Election held October 20th, 225
votes were cast. W. T. Sexton and C. F. Lott ran for District
[474]
THE YEAR 1869
Judge and the latter was elected. In this county Sexton received
123 votes and Lott 96. John S. Chapman was elected County
Judge. The following Justices of the Peace were elected:
Susanville, H. K. Cornell and C. B. Clark. Janesville, Abner
McMurphy and E. G. Bangham. Long Valley, Marshall
Bronson.
Indian Troubles. 1869
The Murder op Partridge and Coburn
Told by Lafayette Marks and Others
During the spring and early summer of 1869 the station at
Deep Hole springs, sixty miles east of Honey Lake valley on
the emigrant road to the Humboldt river, was kept by Hiram
L. Partridge, and Vesper Coburn worked for him. There were
a few Indians who had belonged to the old marauding bands
still roaming around in northwestern Nevada, and the friends of
the two men had repeatedly warned them of the danger of stay-
ing there. About the last of July Christopher C. Rachford, after-
wards Sheriff of Modoc county, who was coming in from Star
City, arrived at Deep Hole. The door of the house was open,
but there was no one around the place. He looked the premises
over and found that the oxen and the wagon were gone. He
then went down onto Squaw creek and there he found the
wagon and the bodies of the two men. From their appearance
he thought they had been dead several days. (They were killed
the 27th of July.) Rachford carried the news to Surprise valley.
Olin Ward, for many years a prominent stock man of that
section, said that Rachford told the foregoing to him. At the
time of the murder and for several days previous to it a band
of Piute Indians had been camped in Surprise valley, and had
to the knowledge of the citizens, made two trips to Deep Hole
springs ; but no suspicion of hostile intentions were entertained,
though signal fires were on the hills every night. The same night
that Rachford reached the valley every Indian disappeared, and
though the soldiers from Camp Bidwell sought industriously
they failed to find them.
Probably the same day that Rachford was there a party of
Honey Lakers, also coming in from the Humboldt, reached Deep
Hole late in the evening. Finding no one there they took pos-
[475]
SISTOEY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA ,
session of the place for the night. They thought it strange that
the premises had been left alone and the next morning they
began to look around. Before long they noticed a comparatively
fresh wagon track going from the station out into the brush, and
after following this some distance, Tunison says two miles, they
found the dead bodies of Partridge and Coburn. Judging from
appearances, they had hitched a yoke of cattle to the wagon and
gone after a load of sage brush for fuel, leaving their guns at
the station. When they saw the Indians coming they went to
the oxen, pulled the bows from the yoke and set them free, and
then ran for home. They didn 't get very far, perhaps a hundred
yards, before Partridge was killed. Coburn got a hundred yards
further and a bullet broke his leg just above the ankle. Even
after this he must have tried to run, for the broken bone was
forced through the flesh. When found he had a small knife,
one blade of which was opened, tightly grasped in his hand.
He was shot twice and Partridge five times. The Honey Lakers
took the bodies to the station and buried them and then came
on to Susan ville. John C. Partridge, Hiram's cousin, Collins
Gaddy, Lafayette Marks, and Cap. Hill immediately started for
Deep Hole with a couple of buggies and two coffins. The bodies
of the two men were brought to Susanville and buried there
August 5th, Partridge being given a Masonic burial.
Three Indians Killed for the Murder of Partridge
and Coburn
After the murder at Deep Hole a careful watch was kept on
all the Indians who frequented that part of the country with
the hope that something would turn up to show who the guilty
parties were. The "Reno Crescent" of October 9, 1869, says
"Since writing the notice of the arrest of two Indians, charged
with being guilty of the murder of Partridge and Coburn, we
have seen the desperadoes. One of them is a Washoe, familiarly
known about Franktown as Dick Sides, whose hide would not
be worth the trouble of hanging up to dry after showing his
pretty face to a camp of Piutes. The other is said to know the
whereabouts of the murderers." October 16th it says "Several
Indians have been arrested by the officers of Washoe county,
suspected of the murder of Partridge and Coburn at Deep Hole
[476]
THE YEAR 1S69
springs. Two of them are now in Reno in the hands of Deputy
Sheriff Edwards. They will have an examination, and be held
to answer or discharged, as the testimony may indicate guilty
or not guilty."
Alvaro Evans tells the following. Through some Washoes
the Reno constable heard that the Indians who killed Partridge
and Coburn were camped at Steamboat springs and he went out
there and arrested them. They were taken to Reno and kept in
jail a few days and then given an examination before John S.
Bowker, Justice of the Peace. There was no evidence against
them, but it appears that they were held for a few days after
the examination. Just about the time the Squire was going to
turn them loose he met Evans on the street, and knowing that
the latter was acquainted with a good many Indians, he asked
him to come down to the jail and see if he knew any of them.
Evans went there with Antone Gallagher, who had been riding
for the Evans Brothers at Pyramid lake. Gallagher recognized
one of them as an Indian who had shot an animal belonging to
the Evans Boys and then stood him off with a pistol when he
tried to look at the beef. Two of the Indians accused the other
one of being the murderer, and he accused them of committing
the deed. Evans told Squire Bowker to hold the Indians and
he would write to Honey Lake and let Cap. Hill know about it,
and the Honey Lakers would come down and take care of them.
When Hill got the letter he and Charles Cramer started out
and went to Reno, picking up William E. (Paul) Jones at the
Junction House. The three Indians were turned over to them
and the next morning they left town for Susanville.
Evans says he heard the following account of what followed.
Two men who were painters and who had come to Reno from
Susanville, followed and overtook them at the top of the hill
north of Reno. They were going to take the Indians away from
the Honey Lakers, but after a parley it was concluded that the
best thing to do was to kill them. They told the Indians that
the wagon had broken down and had them get out and go toward
an old shaft near by to get some timbers. When they went to
the shaft they were shot and thrown into it.
Several other stories are told about this affair. In the
different accounts one, two, or three men went along from Reno
to help kill the Indians. One man told that the Honey Lakers
[477]
HISTOEY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
were followed by eight or ten single rigs and a few double ones.
When they arrived at the top of the hill word was passed along
the line that the axle of the hind wagon, in which the Indians
were riding, had broken down. They all stopped, and before
the men with the head team knew anything about it the Indians
had been killed and thrown into one of the shafts. Of course
this exonerated the Honey Lakers from any blame in the matter.
The "Crescent" of October 30th says "Three gentlemen,
Messrs. Jones, Cramer, and Hill of Honey Lake valley left here
Friday evening (the day before) in company with a couple of
Piute Indians. The Indians, we believe, employed Jones & Co.
as guides to show them a cut-off to Honey Lake valley. A few
miles out their stock stampeded, but we guess the Indians found
the cut-off. No reward offered for either horses or Indians.
'Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou the prophets?' "
The following story was told to the writer by a reliable man
who said that he had it from Paul Jones.
At that time Jones was living at the Junction House twenty-
five miles north of Reno. Hill and Cramer drove so fast that
when they reached his place their team was tired out and they
asked him to let them have his team to drive to Reno and back.
He was working a colt and on that account was afraid to let
them take the team. Hill told him to come along and drive his
own team and they would pay him for it. After considerable
talk he told them he had no time to spare, but that to accom-
modate them he would go, and didn't want any pay for it.
Accordingly he went with them and that night they got into
Reno. Upon their arrival the three Indians were turned over
to them, although the Washoe county officials had no legal right
to do it.
Jones said that when they started for home the next morning
quite a number of Indians followed them on foot out of Reno,
and he drove pretty fast to get away from them. Hill said he
would be if he was going to haul Indians ninety
miles just to hang them. The others tried to talk him out of
the notion of doing anything else, but he had been drinking and
was angry and would not listen to them. When they got to the
top of the hill the Indians were told to get out because the
wagon had broken down. They refused to do it and were then
yanked out. When the shots were fired it frightened Jones's
[478]
THE YEAE 1869
team and he had to circle them around in the sage brush to
keep them from running away, and this kept him so busy that
he didn't know for sure who killed the Indians. After throwing
the dead Indians into the shaft the other two men got into the
wagon and they resumed their journey. When Hill and Cramer
reached home they said that Indians had jumped out of the
wagon and attempted to escape. In doing this they ran into the
shaft and all of them were killed. The Honey Lakers under-
stood. If no one but these three men were present, it is very
probable that Hill shot the Indians. It has been told that he
generally killed an Indian whenever he had an opportunity to
do so.
The "Crescent" of November 13th says "It is currently
reported that the Piutes are greatly incensed against certain
citizens of Honey Lake, who are supposed to have killed the
three Indians taken from this place, and threaten that in case
they cannot punish the guilty to be avenged on such white men
as they can get hold of. Many persons located in the new and
sparsely settled portions of the state feel that they hold their
scalps by a very uncertain tenure. There is serious danger that
an indiscretion on the part of our officials will cost some good
men their lives." It then condemns the practice of treating
Indians as though they were not human beings, and says that
white men who fail to respect the rights of the Indians are lower
than the most degraded of the human family.
On November 24th the "Crescent" said "Brother Partridge
(John C. Partridge was editor of the "Lassen Sage Brush" at
that time.) devotes nearly a column to us and to the defense of
certain persons suspected of coldblooded murder." The "Cres-
cent" said it was not an admirer of savages, neither was it an
admirer of whites who emulated the brutality of savages. The
Indians charged with the murder of Partridge and Coburn were
arrested in Reno by the officers of the law under the impression,
which still exists, that the offense was committed within the
jurisdiction of that county. It did not know by what means
they were taken from the custody of the officers, and had only
to say that if surrendered voluntarily and without a proper
requisition, then the officer so surrendering was guilty of mal-
feasance in office, an error of magnitude from which might, and
from which it had just cause to fear would result in serious
[479]
HISTOEY OP LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFOENIA
consequences. The guilt or the innocence of the Indians was a
question of no moment in this connection. If they were guilty
of a crime under the law, they should have been punished under
the law, not for the sake of the savages, but for the sake of our
own civilization. Unless the "Lassen Sage Brush" had some-
thing more to say, this was the end of the war between Reno and
Susanville.
None of the Washoe county officials were punished because
they gave up the Indians without a requisition, neither did the
Piutes kill Honey Lakers or any one else in revenge. These
were the last whites killed by the Indians in this section of the
country. The day of Indian troubles was done in this county.
Another Indian Hanged in Susanville
Some time during the fall after the killing of Partridge and
Coburn an Indian who had been living around the station at
Deep Hole, "Partridge and Coburn 's pet," some called him,
came into Susanville. At that time anything in the shape of
an Indian from that part of the country aroused the anger of
the people of this valley, and he was promptly arrested by one
of Sheriff Long's deputies. He was kept in jail for a short time,
and as there happened to be no one in town before whom he
could have an examination, a plan was formed to get him out
of the Sheriff's hands. Some one got Squire McMurphy of
Janesville to order the prisoner brought before him, and Cap.
Hill was deputized as constable to do this. When the prisoner
was given to Hill he took him down to Main street, bought some
sweet crackers, and gave the Indian all he could eat of them.
He then put a rope around the Indian's neck and led him away
toward Janesville, going by the Richmond road. When he
reached the river bridge south of town ten or a dozen men took
his prisoner away from him and led him to an old well dug by
Abner Boyd near the southwest corner of the block bounded on
the north by Court street and on the west by Lassen street. A
fence rail was thrown across the well and the rope on the
Indian's neck was tied to it. Just then some one in the crowd
said that the rope was too good to hang an Indian with — it would
make a good halter for a horse. So he untied the rope from the
Indian and the rail and put a bale rope in the place of it. The
Indian was then pushed into the well and when he stopped
[480]
C$a^-cSZrzS&
THE YEAK 1869
struggling some one cut the rope. After this was done Hill ran
back to town yelling that they had taken the Indian away from
him and hanged him.
Mrs. E. V. Spencer told the writer that many years after
Partridge and Coburn were killed a Pit river Indian told her
how it happened. The Indian's story, whether true or false,
was as follows : A band of Pit river Indians were going through
the Deep Hole country in pursuit of two or three white men
who had with them some Pit River squaws they had stolen. The
Indians were very angry with these men in particular, and all
white men in general, and when they ran across Partridge and
Coburn without any weapons they killed them just because they
were white men.
The latter part of November twelve Indians icame into
"Willow Creek valley and camped. Tunison went to their camp
and ordered them to leave the next morning. Part of them left
the next day and the rest of them the day after that. They
dared do nothing else but obey. Their day was done.
The Death of Governor I. N. Roop
February 14, 1869, Governor Isaac Newton Roop died in
Susanville, aged forty-seven years, lacking about a month.
I. N. Roop was born in Carroll county, Maryland, March 13,
1822. He was the son of Joseph and Susan (Engle) Roop and
was of German descent, his ancestors having emigrated to Mary-
land in colonial days. In 1838 the family moved to Ashland
county, Ohio. Here his father engaged in farming and stock-
raising until 1858 and then removed to Keokuk county, Iowa,
where he died at an advanced age.
Shortly after reaching Ashland county I. N. Roop went to
work for himself, his first business being in connection with a
saw and gristmill. In this place he was married to Miss Nancy
Gardner, December 24, 1840. His Wife died in Ohio, June 20,
1850, at the age of twenty-seven years, leaving three children,
Susan, Mrs. A. T. Arnold of Susanville, California; John, a
doctor now living in Oklahoma, who during the War of the
Rebellion was in the Seventh Iowa Infantry and served as an
aide to General Grant ; and Isaiah, who was in the Twenty-third
Ohio Infantry, and was wounded at South Mountain. He died
of the small pox while in the army.
[481]
HISTOEY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFOENIA
In September, 1850, Mr. Roop started for California. He
came by the Nicaragua route and was a passenger on the ship
that brought the news of the admission of California into the
Union. He went to Shasta county where his brother, Josiah
Roop, was carrying on a general merchandising business. He
became his partner and served as post master at Shasta City.
In a fire which occurred there June 14, 1853, a large hotel
which he had built and his store building were both burned.
He lost $10,000 by this fire and was left without a dollar in the
world. The fire took place at nine o'clock in the forenoon, and
after he had saved the books belonging to the post office, he
left his own property and helped to save the lives of the school
children. "What he did after this has been fully told in the
foregoing pages, for the history of the pioneer days of Lassen
county is almost a biography of I. N. Roop during those years.
Governor Roop was an able, energetic, and generous man.
He always took a leading part in the affairs of this section and
for many years was considered to be the most prominent man
here. The idea of his life seemed to be the advancement of this
part of the country. He died comparatively poor, although if
he had carefully looked out for his own interests, he might have
gained considerable wealth. It is said that he aided some one
in almost every emigrant train that ever passed through Susan-
ville instead of trying to make money by taking advantage of
their necessities, as many did.
Among the resolutions on his death adopted by Lassen Lodge
No. 149, F. & A. M., of which he was a member, were the follow-
ing: "Resolved, That the benevolent impulses, the charitable
disposition, the generous promptings — emanations of a noble
heart — the enlarged mind, the persevering will, and the manly
attributes that adorned the intellect and character of the de-
ceased will ever be deeply esteemed, fondly cherished land
remembered by his brethren of Lassen Lodge. "Resolved, That
as Masons, we deplore his death, and as citizens we feel that
the community of which he was so long a leading and useful
member, has experienced an irreparable loss."
In an Obituary published in the "Lassen Sage Brush" John
C. Partridge, the editor, who knew him intimately for a good
many years, said "Governor Roop was a man of enlarged mind
and noble charities, true in his friendships, kind in his disposi-
[482]
THE YEAR 1869
tion, and manly in his character. If human weaknesses were
his, they were of the heart. If to poor human nature it is given
to err, his errors were the promptings of a generous soul unmixed
with meanness and unclouded by the darker shades of malevolent
passions. The genial smile, and the hand of hospitality ever
ready to be extended, will be missed by the stranger when he
visits the town of Susanville. The death of Governor Roop will
create a vacuum difficult to be filled. The community in which
he lived so long could better have lost other men than him.
Peace to his ashes."
"The Reno Crescent" quoted a part of the Obituary given
in the "Lassen Sage Brush" and its editor, J. C. Lewis, then
said "We, too, would add our tribute to the inherent worth of
Governor Roop. His early youth was a fight against poverty
and the best energies of his manhood were wasted in frontier
life. Yet his natural abilities were wonderful, and the stormy
buffets of the world could not weaken one fiber of the infinite
tenderness of his great heart. Could his youth have been blessed
with learning, and his mind trained into healthier channels, he
would have lived a peer of the ablest in the land, and when he
died the bells of a nation would have tolled. As it is his flowers
will be neglected, his pets will miss his whistle, and his friends
will feel the void his absence makes. And yet it is well as it is,
he filled his place, and if no funeral plumes waved over his
bier, and no costly monument is raised above him, still could he
be for an hour recalled he would not wish a change. He sleeps
close by the town his energy called into being, all 'round him
his neighbors and friends are resting, and Heaven itself would
be no place for him were his friends excluded. 'After life's
fitful fever he sleeps well.' "
Governor Roop received very little gratitude from the people
of this section. Almost everything was named in honor of Peter
Lassen who was not the pioneer settler of the county, who lived
here less than four years, and who never did anything in par-
ticular for the country. A street in Susanville is the only thing
in the county that bears Roop's name, and no monument was
placed over his grave until forty years after his death.
The Governor was buried in the cemetery at Susanville.
Mr. and Mrs. A. T. Arnold had a monument made for him in
Marysville, but it was destroyed by fire before they could get it
[483]
HISTOEY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFOENIA
out of town. Nothing more was done about it until 1914. That
year a simple, massive monument, made from native granite, was
erected over his grave by the Masons of Honey Lake Valley
and Lassen Parlor, No. 99, N. S. G. W.
The monument was unveiled September 9, 1914. The cer-
emonies were conducted by the Masonic fraternity assisted by
the N. S. G. W. and the N. D. G. W. An invocation by Rev.
J. H. Westervelt of the M. E. Church, the singing of "America"
by the audience, an address by J. A. Pardee, a prominent lawyer
of Susanville, and a prayer and the benediction by Rev. Wester-
velt, constituted the brief programme given. After the address
the American flag that draped the monument was removed by
Mrs. S. L. Damon and Miss Laura Lowe, representatives of the
N. D. G. W.
May this monument remain there to tell the name of the
pioneer of the county as long as the granite-ribbed mountains
from which it was taken keep their silent watch over the valley
he loved so well.
484]
CHAPTER XVI
IN CONCLUSION.
Old Winnemucca's Dbath
Taken from a letter to the ' ' Reno Gazette ' '
OLD Winnnemucca died near Coppersmith's ranch, or sta-
tion, on the south side of Surprise valley October 21, 1882.
His daughter and his son Lee were with him. When the writer
of this letter visited him he was lying beside the fire in his
wickiup, wrapped in a rabbit skin robe, with his feet buried in
warm ashes and a mahala fanning him with a bush. When his
son wras asked if he gave him medicine, he said the old chief
would not take any, neither would he eat anything.
Nearly two months before that he and his young squaw and
her two-year old papoose started from Pyramid lake to Ft.
Bidwell. On the way Winnemucca was taken sick and was
obliged to camp near Coppersmith's station. He accused the
squaw of bewitching him, and finally ordered her to be stoned
to death. But first she was ordered to go to a spring and wash
herself so that she might be clean when she appeared before the
Great Spirit. She went to the spring and hanged herself to a
post, but was cut down by a Piute who was on the watch before
she was dead. The evening before Old Winnemucca died about
a hundred Indians took the squaw to the spring where she had
been ordered to bathe. Some of the other squaws washed her
from head to foot and sprinkled her all over with fine ashes.
They then started for a range of hills a few miles from the
Coppersmith station, leading the squaw naked and barefooted.
Upon reaching the chosen spot they built a circle of fires, lighting
up a space about a hundred feet in diameter. In the center of
this was a stump, and to this they tied the squaw by one foot
with a band of rawhide. Then each buck brought in a certain
number of stones about the size of a man's fist and laid them in
a pile within the circle of fires. When all was ready the Indians
joined hands and began a monotonous chant which lasted a few
minutes, when one of them stepped into the ring and began to
harangue them. As he continued to speak the poor squaw gave
vent to piercing shrieks. This lasted for some minutes, then at
a signal all was silent except the wails of the intended victim.
[485]
HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
Then the speaker sprang toward her and grasped the child and
swung it around his head while they all yelled like demons ; but
the squaw did not make a single sound. Suddenly he dashed the
child upon a rock killing it instantly. He then resumed his
place in the circle, which swung around chanting as before, until
the one who killed the papoose came opposite the pile of stones
he had collected. Stepping forward he picked up a stone, and
going within ten feet of the victim he threw it at her with all
his) strength. The missile struck her on the side and was
answered by a shriek of anguish. He returned to his place and
the circle swung around until another Indian was entitled to a
throw. It seemed that it was forbidden to strike her on the
head, and this was kept up until she lay upon the ground a mass
of mangled flesh. Then the speaker took a big rock, and as
she lay on her back he went up and crushed her skull. Then for
a few minutes pandemonium reigned, after which they dis-
persed and collected wood for a pile upon which they placed
the remains of the squaw and her baby and set it on fire. A
few were left to keep up the fire and the rest returned to Old
Winnemucca to comfort his dying moments with the assurance
that his young squaw had preceded him to the Indian's happy
hunting grounds. This story was related by a half-breed called
"Grizzly John" who was an eyewitness to the scene.
The Death of Young Winnemucca
Sam Davis's History of Nevada says that Young Winne-
mucca died of the consumption at Wadsworth, Nevada, Novem-
ber 5, 1871.
Lassen County Pioneer Society
From the "Lassen Advocate" of February 16, 1882
"At a meeting of a number of the old settlers of Honey
Lake Valley at Johnston & Wood's Hall, in Susan ville, Feb-
ruary 14th, 1882, for the purpose of taking into consideration
the practicability of organizing a pioneer society, Dr. H. S.
Borrette called the meeting to order, and on motion of A. A.
Smith, Hon. J. D. Byers was chosen chairman ; W. H. Crane was
selected as secretary. A brief but feeling address was made by
the chairman, concluding with the statement that the meeting
had been called for the purpose of, as he understood it, organ-
[486]
IN CONCLUSION
izing a society of pioneers who settled in the territory of what
is now Lassen County prior to January 1, 1860.
"Dr. H. S. Borrette read the following paper:
'The territory now forming the boundary of Lassen County
was but a few short years ago a wilderness occupied by the
Piute and Washoe Indians. Up to the year 1856 but very few
whites had permanently settled in Honey Lake Valley, and
those were principally occupied in stock raising or as traders —
yet these few settlers formed a nucleus of pioneers battling for
years with the savages and undergoing the many privations and
annoyances of border life, until they were finally joined by
others, making the settlement of sufficient strength to compel
the Red Man to retire, and give to the hardy pioneer peaceable
possession of the territory. But as the years rolled on — from
the many exigencies and diversities of interests — many of the
first settlers removed from our midst, and the few that remain
are being absorbed in the general mass and are becoming lost
to view; but the ties of friendship that bound them together as
pioneers for the protection of life and property can never be
effaced from memory; and although seas and continents may
separate them, the kindest thoughts and well wishes with the
hand of friendship will always be extended to all the old friends
of pioneer days; and to this end it is desirable that a pioneer
association or club be formed, to be known as the Lassen County
Pioneer Association, and the object to perpetuate and cement
the friendship of the long-ago.'
"E. V. Spencer being called upon spoke in favor of an
organization, and alluded with feeling to many of the incidents
of early settlement, and the differences caused by them, and
hoped that all the old settlers would join in forming the society,
and in meeting together once a year, and recounting and keep-
ing fresh the many occurrences of border life.
"A. A. Smith, Dr. Z. N. Spalding, N. Clark, Dr. P. Cham-
berlain, D. Titherington, E. G-. Bangham, and W. H. Crane
spoke briefly in favor of the organization, and on motion a
committee consisting of W. H. Crane, E. V. Spencer, and
Dr. M. P. Chamberlain was appointed to draft a constitution
and a code of by-laws, to be submitted to a meeting to be held
March 4, 1882, at the same place.
[487]
HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
"There were present of the old settlers William H. Clark,
William Dow, Robert Johnston, Loyal Woodstock, Leroy Arnold,
Edward Rice, Samuel R. Hall, Frank S. Strong, John Baxter,
James D. Byers, William H. Crane, Dr. H. S. Borrette, E. V.
Spencer, N. Clark, Dr. P. Chamberlain, David Titherington,
E. G. Bangham, A. A. Smith, Dr. Z. N. Spalding, Thomas J.
Mulroney, Dr. M. P. Chamberlain, J. E. Bass, and A. B.
Jenison. ' '
From the "Lassen Advocate" of March 9, 1882
"The Old Timers
' ' Second Meeting of the Lassen County Pioneer Club
"At a meeting of the Pioneers of Lassen County, held at the
Steward House Hall, March 4th, 1882, James D. Byers presided
and W. H. Crane acted as Secretary.
"W. H. Crane, from the committee on Constitution and
By-Laws, reported a code of laws which after some amendments,
principally as to dates, was adopted.
"The following were elected officers for the first term:
James D. Byers, President; E. V. Spencer and N. Clark, Vice-
Presidents; Richard D. Bass, Treasurer; Wright P. Hall, Sec-
retary; L. N. Breed, A. A. Smith, and Dr. Z. N. Spalding,
Trustees.
"On motion of L. N. Breed a committee of Three, consisting
of W. P. Hall, James P. Sharp, and William Dow, was appointed,
to whom all applications for membership are to be referred. ' '
The following became members of the Society: James D.
Byers, Frank S. Strong, John C. Davis, John Baxter, Jerry
Tyler, David Titherington, Dr. Z. N. Spalding, Dr. P. Cham-
berlain, L. N. Breed, Dr. H. S. Borrette, N. Clark, Loyal Wood-
stock, James P. Sharp, Dr. M. P. Chamberlain, A. G. Eppstein,
William H. Clark, Robert Johnston, Richard D. Bass, William
Dow, George W. Fry, Stephen S. Bass, John Edward Bass,
Wright P. Hall, Eber G. Bangham, Thomas J. Mulroney, Albert
A. Smith, Leroy Arnold, John Lowe, Jr., Ephraim V. Spencer,
Samuel R. Hall, Philip Boody, Davis C. Hall, William H. Crane,
and George Greeno.
Article 1 of the Constitution and By-Laws was as follows:
' ' This organization shall be known as the Lassen County Pioneer
Society. ' '
[488]
IN CONCLUSION
Article 2 was "Eligibility to membership shall consist of
being a male citizen who was born or actually settled within
the territory of what is now Lassen County prior to July 1st
1860."
It will be observed that only males were considered to be
pioneers. The writer didn't follow this rule, but put in the
names of the women pioneers also.
The Diversions of Early Days
A history of the pioneer days of Lassen county would not
be complete without some reference to the diversions of those
times. Of course Indian fighting and Indian scares, drinking,
gambling, dancing, fighting, and an occasional "shooting scrape"
furnished the more strenuous joys, so to speak; but along with
these were diversions of a more quiet nature.
Newspapers and books were very scarce, and instead of find-
ing humor in them the settlers had to look for it among them-
selves. Like all frontier countries, life was rude in many ways
and very frequently their fun was rude, too. Practical joking
was common and often caused trouble. Some queer characters,
both wise and otherwise, drifted to the frontier, and among so
few people their talk and actions were noticed more than they
would have been in a more thickly settled locality. The yarns
told by good story-tellers, sometimes manufactured for the
occasion, the sayings of witty persons and also those of queer
ones, what certain men said or did when drunk, the tricks
played by the practical jokers, especially if at the expense of
some unpopular man, were passed from one to another all over
the country and greatly enjoyed.
Orlando Streshly, some of whose yarns have already been
given, told a good many witty stories of all kinds, and he gen-
erally had one to fit the occasion. If he had none in stock, he
was able to "make up" one, and many of the stories he told to
illustrate some condition of the times, or the peculiarity of some
person's character or condition, were long remembered by the
pioneers.
Dr. Robert F. Moody was another man whose stories amused
and amazed the country. He came into the valley in 1861 and
went into partnership with Dr. Z. J. Brown (Dr. Eight-square)
in the selling of patent medicines. He afterwards bought out
[489]
HISTOEY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
his partner and established a drug store which he owned until
1904. His daughter, Miss Opal Moody, says "Dr. Moody was
a Massachusetts Yankee and not only followed his profession of
druggist (he was a registered druggist), but also followed the
watch-maker's trade which he had learned in Boston. Instead
of being a 'Jack of all trades and good at none,' he was a sort
of genius who could do anything he undertook and do it well.
He was also the inventor of half a dozen patent medicines."
Besides this, in his spare time he repaired guns and pistols and
tinkered up whatever was brought to him, stuffed birds and
beasts and pulled teeth. His best known patent medicine he
called "Moody's Sage Brush Liniment," and if it had been as
thoroughly advertised as some other patent medicines, would
have gained a national reputation.
The doctor was a ' ' right smart ' ' talker and told many stories
that were astonishing for size. One of them was something to
this effect : While in Rhode Island he was one day soling shoes
on a wager. "When trimming the sole of the last shoe his knife
slipped and cut off the forefinger of his left hand as clean as a
whistle. Being in too big a hurry to pay much attention to
any little thing like that, he picked up the finger and laid it on
a shelf close at hand. When he had finished his work he stuck
the finger back on his hand with some shoemaker's wax. In
conclusion the doctor would tell that it grew right on again and
was as good as ever, and, holding out his finger to prove it,
would say ' ' and you can 't even see the scar ' ' — and you couldn 't.
Dr. Moody's stories were about himself and injured nobody, and
certainly were not told with the intention of deceiving any one.
The writer was always of the opinion that the doctor got as
much fun out of it as the listener did, and that it was a source
of much amusement to him to watch the face of the person to
whom he was telling the story and see what effect it had on him.
Davie Lowrie was a Scotchman who came to California in
the early 50 's, and after working up the Feather river, drifted
into Honey Lake valley in 1857, or about that time. He was a
large, strong man with a constitution like iron and an unlimited
capacity for whiskey. His eyes were cold and dull, and his
smooth-shaven face was as expressionless as a wooden mask.
He talked a good deal, but his tongue wasn't very nimble, and
between that and his Scotch brogue, it was hard work to under-
[490]
IN CONCLUSION
stand him. When he was drinking his tongue was thicker than
usual and he patched out his efforts to talk with "Luk, see, mon.
You know what I mean, ' ' accompanied by a number of vigorous
pokes in the ribs of his listener that made him wish that he
was only within yelling distance. It was told that he had been
educated for a minister; but if so, he must have been a "stickit
minister." Davie, whether drunk or sober, very often said or
did something that provoked the mirth of those around him.
When in the former condition, he was at one time very abusive ;
but once while in Janesville he called Alec. McKissick a vile
name and the latter, not knowing his age, knocked him down
with a rock and kicked him in the ribs. After that Davie was
more discreet in his language, especially to strangers. For
several years he was very pious whenever he got drunk and
attended church without fail if there was a chance to do so.
His conduct while there generally delighted the worldly part of
the congregation and greatly annoyed the preacher. In 1868
there was a camp meeting held for several days near Fort Janes-
ville. There was a large attendance from all parts of the valley,
and among the rest was Davie, who was generally "three sheets
in the wind." When present he often knelt before the "mourn-
er's bench" and mumbled to himself. One night a preacher
who was a stranger in the valley, thinking that Davie was a
pious, simple-minded fellow, asked him if he would not like to
go to a better land. Lowrie said "Yes, I would like to go to
Scotland." The preacher tried it again and said "But, Mr.
Lowrie, wouldn't you like to go to Heaven?" The reply was,
"Yes, if I could go by the way of Glasgow."
In spite of hard fare, hard work, and poor whiskey, and a
slash the whole length of his jaw, made by a knife in the hands
of "Uncle Tim" Darcey, Davie lived to a good old age. After
he was eighty years old he did a man's work in the hay field.
At last he wandered away into one of the adjoining counties and
died in the county hospital of either Plumas or Sierra county.
"Uncle Tim" Darcey was another character. He, too, came
to California in the early 50 's, and after mining up the north
fork of Feather river came to Honey Lake. Here he followed
the blacksmith trade for twenty years, the rest of his life. He
was born in St. Louis, Missouri, in the early part of the last
century and was of Irish parentage. He was raised on the
[491]
HISTOEY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFOENIA
waterfront when St. Louis was a frontier town, and grew up to
be a hard man, always ready to fight or to get drunk. He
learned to be an engineer and ran on the Mississippi for a
number of years during the palmy days of steamboating on
that river, and it took a man to hold his own in the crowd that
followed the river in those days. When in his prime he was a
bad man to fool with, for he was big and strong and had a
temper that flashed up like gunpowder. He would get angry
in an instant, his eyes would turn green and his teeth come
together like a steel trap, and he would strike a man with any-
thing he happened to have in his hand at the time. He was
vicious, too. Once when he and Sam. Trotter, another black-
smith, were in Janesville drunk, they got into a fight. When
they came together both of them fell down, and Trotter was so
drunk that he could not get up or move. Tim could move his
arms, so he picked up a rock, and being just able to reach one
of Sam 's ankles, he lay there and pounded it with the rock until
some one took him by the leg and pulled him a couple of feet
away. He could not crawl back and that ended the fight.
But he was naturally a man of considerable ability and force
of character and had a fund of humor ; and being a blacksmith,
was a sort of public man in those days and very often said or
did something for people to talk about. When blacksmithing at
Richmond he had a little trouble with L. P. Whiting. The next
time he saw Whiting coming into the place he got behind a pile
of logs and pointed an old shovel handle over them. When
Whiting, who was on foot, got pretty close some one yelled to
him to look out. He looked and saw Darcey's head sticking up
above the logs and the shovel handle pointing toward him, and
then he broke and ran back "rail fence" fashion, much to the
enjoyment of Tim and the crowd of loafers that usually infested
the little village. Tim used to tell that while he was working
at Richmond Streshly was going to have a roasted goose for his
Thanksgiving dinner. The goose was cooked the day before,
and he and "Old Zack" Taylor made it up that they would
steal it out of the milk house where it was put for the night.
A little snow fell that evening, and after the Streshly family
had gone to bed Tim walked boldly to the milk house and got
the goose. He then took off his shoes, put them on backwards,
and carefully stepping in his own tracks, went back to the road.
[492]
IN CONCLUSION
Streshly said that this was the first time he ever knew a man
to go both ways and make only one set of tracks.
Old age and whiskey finally did their work and "Uncle
Tim" died at Janesville in 1877.
Dr. J. W. M. (Old Doc.) Howe, who was the first man
appointed to the office of County Physician in this county, was
the cause of considerable talk for several years. He was a good
doctor — considering the time and place — and some of his pre-
scriptions were used in the valley for thirty years. He was a
hard drinker, and when under the influence of liquor, was very
reckless in his talk and actions. He was an ardent secessionist,
and he and "Old Charley" Bader were several times put into
jail for hurrahing for Jeff. Davis, or something of the kind.
They didn't keep them there very long, probably only until
they became sober, for they didn't want to hurt the old fellows.
Once when Bader was in jail Howe wanted his company, so he
broke the lock of the jail and set his crony free. This was
looked upon as a good joke and the county authorities paid no
attention to it.
The following is one of the many stories told of the doctor's
queer sayings. One day when the camp meeting held near
Janesville in 1868 was in session, the doctor went down there
with a crowd from Susanville. He rode a very fine saddle horse
which he valued highly, and when they reached the camp ground
he tied his horse to one side and joined the congregation. After
a while some of the men moved the animal and told him that
Captain "Wells had taken him away. Wells was the officer in
command at Smoke Creek and he and the doctor occasionally had
a spat over politics. The doctor had been drinking ever since
he left town and he went to sleep during the sermon. Shortly
afterwards the preacher said in a loud voice, "The Captain of
Salvation is now in your midst." This awakened the doctor,
who thought he said Captain Wells, and he shouted, ' ' Show him
to me. Show him to me. The son of a , he stole my
horse ! ' '
Among the various organizations in Susanville was a secret
society that came into existence during the winter of 1863-64.
It was called "Eclamps Avitas," or words to that effect, what-
ever they may mean. It was created by a lot of "locoed"
fellows for the purpose of getting what fun they could out of it.
[493]
HISTOEY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
Their high jinks were held in the barn that the Plumas county
posse had used as a fort in 1863, and it is to be presumed that
everything went well with them in their efforts to get some
enjoyment out of life until the women interfered. Probably
they thought it was not right or proper for the men to have too
much fun. Anyway, Mrs. Dake, Mrs. Rundel, and several other
women, organized a committee of investigation which sneaked
up to the barn while the lodge was in session and "peeked"
through the cracks in its sides. Just at that time they were
initiating a new member, and the committee heard blood-curd-
ling roars and various other noises of a terrifying nature mingled
with the clanking of chains. Perhaps the aforesaid roars, etc.
were augmented by the cries of the suffering candidate, for it
was afterwards learned that he was scared half to death while
the initiation was going on. Of course the women lost no time
in spreading abroad what they had heard, and as a consequence
no more men would join the lodge and it came to an untimely
end.
Last, but not the least, of the old crowd of fun-makers was
Paschal Taylor, familiarly known as "Old Zack" Taylor, who
probably came over the hill with Darcey. He was a nice old
fellow of considerable education, but for an honest man he was
the worst thief that ever drew the breath of life. Although he
stole continually, he was not looked upon as a dishonest man. j
In fact, one of his thefts was usually thought to be a good joke. |
He stole to carry out a practical joke, to show his skill, just out
of curiosity to see if he could do it, and sometimes for the sake
of charity. He was harmless, was very old, and was a Mason,
and was regarded as a privileged character. He would steal
from one man to make a present to another, and if detected,
would steal from some one else to pay the debt. T. N. Long
says that Zack once made him a present of a very fine duster.
After he had worn it for some time A. T. Bruce noticed it and
asked him where he got it. Long told him and then Bruce
wanted to look at the garment. After examining it he said that
it belonged to him and that Zack must have stolen it in order to
make Long a present. A great many stories used to be told
about his stealing and the tricks he played, and a few will be
given to show the various kinds of work he did.
When he was at Richmond some one living there bought a
[494]
IN CONCLUSION
turkey for a Christmas dinner and invited his neighbors to the
feast. Just before the turkey was to be cooked Zack stole it and
threw it upon the roof of a house near by, and it sunk into the
deep snow out of sight. There was no time to get another one
and the curses of the owner were both loud and deep. Before
New Year Zack managed to get another turkey, and he invited
his friends to dine with him on that day, the man from whom
the turkey was stolen being among them. Both fowls were
cooked and brought onto the table and then the host told how
he got one of them. The writer never heard what was said
immediately after this.
In a book entitled "Buckskin Mose" there is a story which,
briefly told, is as follows: One night in the early 60 's "Buck-
skin Mose" (George W. Perry), Ben. Painter, and a couple of
their friends, went into the Magnolia saloon. T. N. Long, the
proprietor, had just gone home leaving Zack to run the place for
the rest of the evening. One of the party locked all of the doors
and took possession of the keys, and the four men sat down to a
game of poker. Before long one of them called for the drinks.
They were brought, and after the glasses had been emptied
Zack called for the customary "four bits." Instead of paying
one of the crowd drew a pistol, and laying it on the table, asked
Zack if he saw it. Receiving a reply in the affirmative, he said
"Wall, then! don't stick out your paws for money, but bring
along the liquor when we ask for it. ' ' Zack didn 't like this, but
he had no choice in the matter and kept still. They went on
playing and drinking for the next three hours, and about one
o'clock the fire went down and the room got cold. They told
Zack to fix the fire, and he asked them how he could get any
wood when the door was locked and they had the key. Fearing that
he would run away if he went out alone, one of the crowd went
out with him, wood was brought, and the fire started up again.
The next time the drinks were ordered Zack brought the glasses
in his hands instead of on the tray, and when he set them down
on the table he put his hands on the table, too, and let them
rest there for a short time. "Mose" said that while this was
going on the old fellow's face, which had looked very grim all
the evening, broke into a smile. Shortly after this he noticed
that his pile of money had grown smaller without any apparent
cause. The next time the drinks were brought he watched the
[495]
HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
old man carefully. When he went after the wood he managed
to get a lot of pitch on the back of his hand close to the wrist,
and when putting the drinks on the table he let his hands rest
on the piles of money in front of the players and some of it
stuck to the pitch every time. Before they finished the game he
had a goodly share of their wealth, and though they had a
quarrel or two about it, they were all so full of whiskey that no
one but ' ' Mose ' ' detected the trick. He thought it was extremely
funny, and as the boys had plenty of money at the time, he said
nothing about it, and Zack got away with enough money to pay
Long for his whiskey several times over and himself for his
trouble.
A. W. Worm, who came to Susanville in 1859, tells the
following about his first Christmas turkey in California. ' ' Uncle
Zack Taylor, who used to come into my little store on Main
street after a free drink and tobacco, promised to bring me a
turkey for Christmas, as I kept bachelor's hall with three others
in a room back of the store. Well, Christmas came but no turkey.
I met Uncle Zack in the afternoon and began to quiz him about
it. He assured me that the turkey would be coming, and seeing
that he was quite boozy, I passed on. About dusk he came into
the store carrying something under his coat-cape, and passing
right into the kitchen he set a platter with a fine roasted turkey
on the table. He said 'There is your turkey. I knew you had
no way of roasting it, so I took it up to Brannan to have it
roasted for you.' After getting a bottle of whiskey he passed
out. Well, the boys soon gathered in and we devoured the
luscious turkey, dressing and all. We heard later that he had
'swiped' the turkey from a ranch, sold it to Mike Brannan, who
was giving a party and a Christmas dinner, and then slipped
into the pantry after it was roasted, stole it again and brought
it to me. The joke was on Mr. Brannan, who not only lost the
turkey, but many a 25-cent drink to the boys who joshed him
about it. ' ' Mr. Worm says further, ' ' But Uncle had some good
traits of character. He kept a poor widow with three children,
who lived in the Woodstock house outside of town, from starving
by stealing food and giving it to them. This kind act was found
out by a relief committee that went out to see her. While she
was telling about the old man's kindness, not knowing his name
[496]
IN CONCLUSION
or where he lived, Uncle Zack, thinking the family was alone,
stepped into the room."
"Uncle Johnny" Baxter told the following story to the
writer forty years ago. On one occasion "Old Zack" and
"Uncle Tim" played a little trick that very nearly brought them
to grief. Before either of them came to Honey Lake Darcey
was at work in a blacksmith shop in Taylorville, and during the
winter the proprietor of the shop went away for a while and
left him in charge of it. Adjoining the blacksmith shop was a
saloon and there was a narrow passage between the two build-
ings. The saloon keeper boarded himself, and in the rear end
of his building were a dining room and a kitchen, presided over
by a Chinaman. That Christmas the saloon man concluded to
give his friends a feast and he procured a fine turkey for the
occasion. "Old Zack" was living in Taylorville that winter,
and when he and Tim heard what was going on they made up
their minds to steal the turkey and enjoy both that and the
joke they would have on the saloon keeper and his frineds. The
dinner was to come off in the middle of the afternoon, and the
Chinaman cooked the turkey so as to have it done just about that
time. Zack was always slouching around the saloon or the
kitchen and no one paid any attention to him, so he was to do
the stealing. The stove stood on the side of the kitchen next to
the shop and near it was a window through which the cook
emptied his slops into the passage way. Tim stationed himself
beside this window on the outside and Zack went into the front
door of the saloon. No notice was taken of him as he went
through the saloon whistling softly to himself, excepting that
one of the gamblers sitting in a poker game said "Old Zack is
whistling. Look out for him. He will steal something." Zack
invited him to go to a place where snow is said to be very
scarce at Christmas time, and went on into the kitchen. The
turkey was done and the cook had opened the oven door and
left it in the stove to keep warm while he set the table. Zack
loafed around until the Chinaman went out of the room, and
then he picked up the pan containing the turkey and passed it
through the window to Tim, who carried it into the blacksmith
shop and hid it. The Chinaman got everything ready and then
called in the crowd that was getting anxious to enjoy the good
cheer provided for them. They sat down to the table and the
[497]
HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
cook went for the turkey. "When he returned and reported the
loss of the principal part of the feast, their wrath and disap-
pointment may be imagined. Suspicion at once fell upon Zack,
and of course it followed that Tim also had a hand in it. No
time was lost in hunting them up, and when found they were
told to give up the turkey immediately or they would be hanged.
It didn't take them long to understand that the gamblers meant
just what they said, and the fowl was promptly brought from
its hiding place. The feast then went on, and although the two
jokers got none of it, probably they were happy in the thought
that they had escaped being the principal actors in a necktie
party.
Among the very early settlers in the valley were a little
Irishman named John Bradley and his wife Margaret, who
located on the lake about five miles southeast of Bankhead's.
They were a worthy old couple who had some ''Irish wit" that
made them remembered long after they had passed "over the
divide." The old man used to ride a little, chunky mare that
he called "Fly;" and it was a common thing to see him going
along the road leaning back in the saddle, his hat on the back
of his head, and his feet well out in front. The little mare went
on a trot and her rider frequently drummed on her ribs with
his heels and said "Get up, Fly." All this looked very comical
to men who rode their wild mustangs with a Spanish rig, let
them walk occasionally, and loped them the rest of the time.
It was said that he used to meet a man and ask ' ' Have you seen
my steer?" The other man would usually say "I don't know
your steer, Mr. Bradley. What is his color and brand?" After
giving his color he would say "and he has a crop off his right
ear and a swallow-fork in the left and is branded J B on the
left hind hip, and do you know him now?" Once when at a
rodeo he asked some of the boys to get his cow out of the band
because he was afraid that she would ' ' get scattered. ' ' His Wife
said a good many things that were appreciated and enjoyed.
One of them was about a man who denied that he came from
Ireland. "Sure," said Mrs. Bradley, "it's no disgrace to
Ireland." The story lost nothing from the fact that the man's
neighbors thought she wasn't far from the truth.
There were more of them, but it would make this article too
long to tell all their jokes and tricks. They served a good purpose
[498]
IN CONCLUSION
by putting a little cheerfulness into the hard life of the frontier,
and passed away with the times that produced them.
The Death Roll of the Pioneers
The following tells when and where some of the pioneers
died. It is impossible to give a complete list. If no other place
is given, the person died in this county.
Arnold, Leroy N., 1902, Soldier's Home near Los Angeles,
California.
Arnold, Cutler, 1893, near Hueneme, California.
Arnold, Emily (Wife), 1892, near Hueneme, California.
Arnold, Henry, in the latter 80 's, Santa Paula, California.
Arnold, Alec. T., 1914.
Adams, Charles, 1907 or 1908, near Elko, Nevada.
Adams, Abijah, in the early 90 \s, Southern California.
Bass, John, early 70 's, Park City, Utah.
Bass, Julia (Wilmans) (Wife), 1915, Auburn, California.
Bass, Stephen, 1888, Park City, Utah.
Bass, Edward, in the 90 's, Washington county, Missouri.
Baxter, John, about 1880, near Salt Lake City, Utah.
Breed, Levi Newton, 1908, Los Angeles, California.
Breed, Justin H., 1907, Arizona.
Bankhead, Malcom, Sr., 1877, Oakland, California.
Bankhead, Jane (Wife), 1896, Oakland, California.
Bankhead, Malcom, Jr., 1912, Oakland, California.
Bankhead, William, 1912, Loomis, California.
Bangham, Eber G., 1910.
Bangham, Louise (Wife), 1912. Her maiden name was Bor-
rette.
Borrette, Dr. Henry S., 1912. Was over 100 years old.
Borrette, Valentine J., 1913. Was 89 years old.
Bass, Eichard D., 1904.
Bass, Mary A. (Wife), 1913. Her maiden name was Carlyon.
Boyd, Julia (Bass), 1887.
Bartlett, Edward W., 1876. Killed near Baxter creek N. E.
of Buntingville.
Boody, Philip, 1882. Killed by R. R. train near Reno,
Nevada.
Boody, Jacob, 1864. Killed between Janesville and Milford.
Boody, Rachel (Wife), 1885.
[499]
HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
Byrd, John, 1892, perhaps at Walla Walla, Washington.
Byers, James D., 1902.
Bradley, John, 1874.
Bradley, Margaret (Wife), 1875.
Brown, Colburn, 1863. Mortally wounded at Chaneellors-
ville while fighting in the Union Army.
Chandler, Dewitt C, 1868.
Corse, William, 1901, near Visalia, California. Horse fell
with him and broke his neck.
Conkey, Sylvenus, 1880.
Conkey, Betsey (Wife), 1898, Reno, Nevada.
Conkey, James, 1868. Was run over by a wagon.
Conkey, Amos, 1909, Reno, Nevada.
Clark, Nicholas, 1892.
Clark, (Wife), 1869.
Clark, William H., 1914.
Chapman, Mrs. Lucretia J., 1882, Alturas, California.
Cornelison, Wiley, 1907.
Chapman, Judge John S., 1908, Los Angeles, California.
Crane, William H., 1910, Los Angeles, California.
Crawford, William N., about 1911, The Dalles, Oregon.
Craig, Milton, 1895.
Crawford, Charles H., 1858. Killed by an Indian. See
Narrative.
Cornelison, John, 1873.
Darcey, Timothy, 1877.
Davis, John C, 1894.
Drake, Frank, 1894, Hailey, Idaho.
Dakin, William H., 1913, Windsor, California.
Epley, Thomas H., 1915, Hanford, California.
Elliott, W. T. C. (Rough), 1910, Bakersfield, California.
Evans, Alvaro, 1914, Reno, Nevada.
Eppstein, A. G. (Joe), 1901.
Fairchilds, Thomas H., 1881.
Fry, George W., 1892.
Gray, Anthony, early 70 's, lone, Nevada.
Goodrich, C. C, 1886.
Gilbert, Marcus E., 1910, Santa Rosa, California.
Greeno, George, 1902.
[500]
IN CONCLUSION
Hatch, Henry, 1868. Kicked by: a mule at the Willow
Ranch, Long valley.
Hamilton, Robert, 1910, Chico, California.
Hines, Fred, 1911.
Hines, Eveline (Wife), 1895. Her maiden name was Strong.
Hall, Davis C, 1882, Quincy, California.
HaU, "Wright P., 1911.
Hall, Samuel R., 1912, San Leandro, California.
Hulsman, John F., 1914, Los Angeles, California.
Johnson, Otis N., 1905.
Johnson, Sally M. (Todd) (Wife), 1905.
Jones, James, 1864.
Jones, (Wife), 1891, San Joaquin Co. Was then
Mrs. James 0. Hutchings.
Johnston, Robert, 1898.
Johnston, Nancy (Wife), 1882. Her maideb name was
Bangham.
Jenison, Albert B., 1898.
Jenison, Mary J. (Wife), , Alturas, California.
Kingsbury, William C, about 1900, San Jose, California.
Kingsbury, Ellen S. (Wife), 1897. Was then Mrs. Frank
Thomas.
Kingsbury, Frank E., 1905, Redding, California.
Lynch, Joseph, 1885.
Lawrence, Marion (Comanche George), 1868.
Leith, William, 1906.
Lowe, John, Jr., 1907.
Long, Mary L. (Jenison), 1912. Wife of Thomas N. Long.
Lake, M. C, 1884, Reno, Nevada.
Lanigar, Francis, 1900.
Lanigar, John W., 1909. Death caused by a fall from the
seat of an engine he was driving.
Montgomery, Thomas, 1897.
McMurtrey, Thomas, 1901, Plumas county, California.
Mulroney, Thomas J., 1910.
Mulroney, Sarah G. (Wife), 1906. Her maiden name was
Thompson.
Mulroney, Edward, 1895, Estherville, Emmett county, Iowa.
Mulroney, Helena (Wife), 1883, Emmett county, Iowa.
McKissick, John Best, 1914.
[501]
HISTOEY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
McKissick, Daniel, 1895.
McKissick, Melissa (Wife), 1896. Her maiden name was
Fowler.
McKissick, Jacob, 1900, Reno, Nevada.
Neale, A. Clark, 1900, Plumas county, California.
Naileigh, William Hill (Cap. Hill), 1880.
Nixon, Charles, 1891.
Neale, John H., about 1885, San Francisco, California.
Partridge, Hiram L., 1869. Killed by the Indians at Deep
Hole, Nevada.
Painter, Samuel H., 1899.
Painter, Jane (Wife), 1908.
Painter, Alexander, 1860, Roop county, Nevada. Killed by
the Indians.
Phillips, Nathan, 1869.
Purdom, T. C, 1864, San Francisco, California.
Perry, George W. (Buckskin Mose), 1876, San Bernardino
county, California.
Roop, Isaac N., 1869.
Roop, Ephraim, 1867, Isthmus of Panama.
Raker, William F., 1897.
Rice, Edwin, 1883.
Scott, Malcom S., 1863.
Storff, Antone, 1906 or 1907, Bull Run, Nevada.
Slater, Dr. John A., 1863.
Strong, Franklin S., 1908.
Stark, Lewis, 1901, Plumas county, California.
Streshly, Orlando, 1914, Azusa, California.
Streshly, Margaret (Wife), Azusa, California. Her maiden
name was Todd.
Sharp, James P., 1900.
Sylvester, A. U., 1904. Ninety years old.
Spencer, Ephraim V., 1904.
Sheldon, Benjamin F., 1901, Pacific Grove, California.
Spalding, Dr. Zetus N., 1898.
Spalding, Mary A. (Wife), 1905. Her maiden name was
Brown.
Summers, John H., 1914.
Summers, Mary (Wife), 1914, Sacramento, California. Her
maiden name was Hughes.
[502]
IN CONCLUSION
Spencer, Luther D., 1876.
Smith, Albert A., , Alturas, California.
Smith, Lutie (Chapman) (Wife), , Alturas, California.
Shumway, Benjamin E., 1909, Clackamas county, Oregon.
Shumway, Mahala (Wife), 1909, Clackamas county, Oregon.
Tunison, Abraham L., 1909, Orange county, California.
Tyler, Jeremiah, 1890.
Tuskey, John, 1864.
Taylor, Paschal (Zack), about 1864.
Thompson, Richard, 1895.
Thompson, Margaret (Wife), 1867.
Thomas, Frank, 1904.
Thayer, John, 1883, Reno, Nevada, or near there.
Titherington, Louisa (Gray), 1914, Oakland, California. Was
the wife of Baker Titherington.
Vary, Ladue, 1907, Winnemucca, Nevada. Was 95 years old.
Vaughan, A. M., about 1910, Amador county, California.
Weatherlow, Captain William M., 1864.
White, Charles M., 1867.
Wilcox, Hiram K., 1883. Death caused by fall from a ladder.
Wilmans, D. I., 1883, Pioneer, Arizona.
Watson, Thomas, 1901. Shot by Benedick Weissenburger
near Richmond.
Woodstock, Loyal, 1906.
Wright, Albert S., 1883. Was thrown from a buggy while
the horse was running away.
Washburn, Fred A., 1878.
Williams, James, 1879, Grand Ronde valley, Oregon.
Williams, Flora, 1869.
Whiting, Linus P., 1889.
Ward, John S., 1872.
Ward, Trowbridge H., 1900, Laytonville, Humboldt county,
California.
Ward, Frank G (Bob), 1895.
M. W. Haviland moved to Paradise valley, Nevada, and died
somewhere in that section. Dave Blanchard, when last heard of
by any one in this part of the country, was at Elko, Nevada, and
Johnson Tutt was at Austin, Nev. Manley Thompson, Lathrop,
and Shumway went to Oregon. But Hasey, L. C. MeMurtry,
"Old Tom" Harvey, Fredonyer, Ebenezer (Bricktop) Smith,
[503]
HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
Major Gilpin, Fullbright, Frank Johnson, Morehead, and many
others who were prominent here during the first four or five
years of settlement?
"My Tribute to the Pioneers of Lassen County, California
"Hail! trusty valiant knights of old
That braved the storms by sea and land.
No deserts waste nor redskins bold
Could swerve them from this western strand.
Naught could their courage e'er dismay
In onward trudging day by day.
"Through crucibles their life has passed,
And stood the test like precious gold.
They braved the fiercest raging blast
That oft like giants 'gainst them rolled.
Love, honor, courage did display
To gain a better, brighter day.
"Vicissitudes of life now past
Are writ within their joyous heart,
That oft with clouds was overcast;
But by God's hand were swept apart
To let the sunshine's brightest ray
Beam on their riper golden day.
"To them the highest honors due,
For only brave and loyal heart,
To loved ones and to country true,
Could from sweethearts and home depart
To trudge through wilds far, far away
To gain for them a better day.
"May their life's setting sun e'er be
Illumed in brilliant golden hue.
Their loved filled hearts with joyful glee
Their health and strength and life renew,
And keep them ever fresh and gay
Until the final closing day."
— By A. W. Wern, a Honey Lake pioneer of 1859.
[504]
IN CONCLUSION
Conclusion
This more or less veracious history is ended and so are the
days and times of the men and women about whom it is written.
For more than thirty years after its settlement, in many
ways, conditions remained almost the same in Lassen county.
Every year a little more land was taken up and the population
increased, but the growth was slow. Even in 1900 there was
not one inhabitant to the square mile.
Honey Lake valley, that part of the county most easily
reached from the outside world, was almost an ideal place for
one who liked a simple, quiet life. Nearly all the inhabitants of
the valley were early settlers and their descendants. They were
all acquainted with one another and met on terms of equality.
Nobody was rich, smart, or handsome enough to be much better
than any one else, though, of course, like every other place,
there were a few people afflicted with the idea that they were
the salt of the earth. The common schools were good, there
was a daily mail, and it took only twenty-four hours to reach
San Francisco. There was no criminal class, and excepting the
theft of some stock from the ranges, very few crimes were
committed.
As a rule, the ranchers made a good living and some money
besides with far less work than was usually done by those who
tilled the soil in other parts of the world. There were very few
really poor people and no one went cold or hungry if his con-
dition was known. If a poor man lost his house by fire, the
people of the valley built him a new one and gave him a supply
of provisions. Comparatively little of the country was fenced
and the ranges were open to all. People hunted, fished, camped,
and cut wood almost when and where they pleased. What has
been said of Honey Lake applies to all parts of the county, with
the exception that in some localities it took more time and
trouble to reach the railroad and their market and mail service
were not so good.
In these latter days when an "Old Timer" thinks of the
fish and game laws, the government reserves, and the fencing
up of the valleys and the ranges, it seems as if the days of free-
[505]
HISTOEY OF LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFOENIA
dom and good times had passed away. But the wheels of time
roll on and death and change are inevitable. In a few short
years no one who remembers or wishes for "the days of old"
will be found in the land.
The End
[506]
HERE ENDS THE CHRONICLES OF THE EARLY SETTLERS OF
LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA, AND THE ADJOINING COUNTRY
RANGED BY THEM, AS SET DOWN BY A. M. FAD3FIELD AND
PRINTED BY THE H. S. CROCKER COMPANY OF THE CITY OF
SAN FRANCISCO, THIS YEAR OF OUR LORD ONE THOUSAND
NINE HUNDRED AND SIXTEEN.
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