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AMADQR COUNTY!
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WITHILLUSTRATIONSJ
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CALIFORNIA,
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Illustrations and Biographical Sketches
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PROMINENT MEN AND PIONEERS.
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OAKLAND, CAL.
THOMPSON & WEST.
1851.
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1881, by
THOMPSON & WEST,
In the Office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington, D. C.
PACIFIC PRESS PUBLISHING HOUSE,
PRINTERS,
STEREOTYPERS AND BINDERS,
OAKLAND, CAL.
TABLE OF CONTENTS,
INTRODUCTION 9 10
CHAPTEE 1.
Scanty Knowledge of the Pacific Coast Fifty Years Since Story
of "Sergas," by Esplandin Titles to Immense Regions
Conferred by the Pope Expeditions for Discovery and
Settlement Sir Francis Drake's Operations Expeditions
Overland Marvelous Stories of a Big Canon Expedition
of Father Escalante 1112
CHAPTEE II.
BIG CANON OF THE COLORADO.
Lieutenant Whipple's Expedition Lieutenant Ives' Expedi
tion First Attempt to Explore the Canon Land Party
Organized One Sight of the River First Exploration
Unwilling Venture Consider the Situation Death of One
of the Parties Three Months in the Canon Arrival at
Fort Colville Exploration Made Under the Direction of
the Smithsonian Institute Indescribable Character of the
Stream Loss of Boats and Provisions Death of a Portion
of the Party Emergence of the Survivors Geology and
Climate 1217
CHAPTEE III.
The Exiles of Loreto Father Tierra's Methods of Conversion
Death of Father Tierra Arrest of the Jesuits Midnight
Parting Permanent Occupation of California Missions in
Charge of Francisco Friars Character of Father Junipero
Exploring Expeditions Origin of the name of the Bay
Mission Dolores Death of Father Junipero 17 20
CHAPTEE IV.
THE MISSIONS OF ST. FRANCIS.
Their Moral and Political Aspect Domestic Economy The Es
tablishments Described Secular and Religious Occupations
of the Neophytes Wealth and Productions Liberation and
Dispersion of the Indians Final Decay 20 23
CHAPTEE V.
DOWNFALL OF THE OLD MISSIONS.
Results of Mexican Rule Confiscation of the Pious Fund
Revolution Begun Events of the Colonial Rebellion The
Americans Appear and Settle Things Annexation at Last.
2324
CHAPTEE VI.
PRIMITIVE AGRICULTURE.
Extent of the Mission Lands Varieties of Product Agricul
tural Implements and means of Working A Primitive Mill
Immense Herds and Value of Cattle The First Native
Shop 2426
CHAPTEE VII.
Sir Francis Drake's Discoveries The Fabulous Straits of
Anian Arctic Weather in June Russian Invasion
Native Animals Various facts and Events 26 29
CHAPTEE VII I.
THE AMERICAN CONQUEST.
Fremont and the Bear Flag Rise and Progress of the Revolu
tion Commodores Sloat, Stockton, and Shubrick Castro
and Flores Driven out Treaty of Peace Stockton and
Kearney Quarrel Fremont Arrested, etc 29 31
CHAPTEE IX.
SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY FROM THE TIME CAPT. C.
M. WEBER FIRST SAW IT IN NOVEMBER,
1841, UNTIL THE CLOSE OF 1847.
Captain C. M. Weber Expedition to California, 1841 Names
of the Party Sutter's Fort Hoza Ha-soos San Jose
French Camp or Weber Grant Revolutionary Designs of the
Foreigners Treaty between Weber and Ha-soos How it
was observed by Ha-soos Fremont's Expedition, 1844
David Kelsey Thomas Lindsay Policy of the Foreigners
Weber and Micheltorena at San Jose John A. Sutter aids
Micheltorena A Revolutionary Document The "Bear
Flag " Attempt to Settle the Grant, 1846 Isbel Brothers
and Other Early Settlers Twins, Second Children born in
County, 1847 End of Stanislaus City First Marriage, 1847
Village of "Tuleburg" William Gann, First Child born
in 1847 Wild Horse Scheme Resume 3139
CHAPTEE X.
BIOGRAPHIC SKETCH OF GENERAL SUTTER.
His Nativity Migration to the American West Arrival in Cal
ifornia Foundation of Sutter's Fort Prosperity and
Wealth of the Colony Decline and Ultimate Ruin Retire
ment to Hock Farm Extract from Sutter's Diary . . 39 46
CHAPTEE XI.
THE KING'S ORPHAN.
His Observations in the Sacramento Valley in 1843 Indications
of Gold Life at Sutter's Fort Indian Gourmands Won
derful Fertility of the Land 4647
CHAPTEE XII.
SUTTER'S FORT IN 1846.
Aspect of Sacramento Valley Sinclair's Ranch A Lady Pioin
eer Captain Sutter at Home The Fort Described Condi
tion and Occupation of the Indians Farm Products and
Prices Dinner with the Pioneer New Helvetia . . . .47 49
CHAPTEE XIII.
THE HISTORY OF THE DONNER PARTY.
Scene of the Tragedy Organization and Composition of the
Party Election of George Donner as Captain Hastings'
Cut-off Ascent of the Mountains Arrival at Donner Lake
Snow-storms Construction of Cabins "Forlorn Hope
Party " Captain Reasin P. Tucker's Relief Party James
F. Reed's Relief Party " Starved Camp "Third Relief
Party Heroism and Devotion of Mrs. George Donner
Fourth Relief Party The Survivors 4951
IV
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
CHAPTEE XIV.
THE DISCOVERY OF GOLD.
Early Reports and Discoveries Marshall's Great Discovery at
Sutter's Mill His Account of the Event Views of the
Newspapers of that Time Political and Social Revolu
tion Great Rush to the Mines Results General Sutter's
Aoxrantof theGold Discovery Building of Saw-Mill. 51 5S
CHAPTEE XV.
EARLY CONDITION OF THIS REGION.
Mountains Unexplored by the Spaniards The Trappers Fre
mont's Passage of the Mountains in 1844 Battles with the
Snow The Indian's Warning A Glimpse of the Valley
Subsisting on Horse Flesh Arrival at Sutter's Fort Early
Settlements An Immigrant Party of 1844 Captain Truckee
Truckee River Alone on the Summit Death of Captain
Truckee Immigrants in 1846 Discovery of Gold on the
Yuba 58135
CHAPTEE XVI.
AMADOR COUNTY.
Early History Origin of the Name of Carson Pass River and
Valley First White Men in the Territory Sutter's Whip-
saw-mill Discovery of Gold Organization of Calaveras
County Removal of County-Seat from Double Springs to
Jackson Second Removal to Mokeluinne Hill First Set of
County Officers Second Set of County Officers Members
of the Legislature Miscellaneous Matters in Calaveras Joa-
quin's Career Chased by Indians Mokelumne Hill in Early
Days Green and Vogan's Line of Stages Stories of Griz
zliesBull and Bear Fight (5571
CHAPTEE XV 11.
DOMESTIC HABITS OF THE MINERS.
Exaggerated Accounts of Bret Harte and Joaquiu Miller Cook
ing and Washing Hawks, Squirrels, Quails, and' Other
Game for Food Getting Supper Under Difficulties
Laundry Affairs Prevalence of Vermin The Sanguinary
Flea Miners' Flea Trap Fleas versus Bed-bugs Rats and
Other Animals Visits of Snakes A Romantic Affair
Spoiled by a Skunk 7276
CHAPTEE XVIII.
ORGANIZATION OF AMADOR COUNTY.
Election for or Against Division, June 17, 1854 Proceedings
of the Board of Commissioners Strife for the Possession of
the County Seat The Owl Sketches of the First Candi
dates Courts Established Efforts to Suppress Disorderly
Houses Amusing Procession Election in 1854 Condition
of Society 7683
CHAPTER XIX.
RANCHERIA MURDERS.
Ill-feeling between the Americans and Mexicans Frequency of
Murders The Band First Seen at Hacalitas Up Dry Creek
At Rancheria To Drytown A Second Time to Rancheria
Slaughter Departure of the Robbers Excitement the
Next Day Immense Gathering Trial and Hanging of the
Mexicans Death of Roberts Borquitas Presence of County
Officers Pursuit of the Murderers Hunt Around Bear
Mountain The Murderers Overtaken Death of Phoenix
Expulsion and Disarming of Mexican Population Outrages
at Drytown Burning of the Church Mass Meeting at
Jackson Review After a Lapse of a Quarter of a Century.
8388
CHAPTEE XX.
POLITICAL PARTIES IN 1855.
Success of the American Party List of Officers Elected
Rivalry Between Towns Financial Matters Efforts to
Suppress Gambling Political Parties in 1856 Names of
Officers Elected Calaveras Indebtedness Tax Levy in 1857
Disbursements for 1857 Table of Receipts for all Moneys
up to 1857 Political Parties in 1857 Officers Elected in
1857 Officers Elected 1858 Tax Levy 1858 Condition of
Treasury Financial Matters in 1859 Condition of Polit
ical Parties 8892
CHAPTEE XXI.
AMADOR COUNTY AT THE BEGINNING OF 1860.
County Officers Financial Situation Political Parties First
Appearance of R. Burnell First Appearance of Tom Fitch
Officers Elected in 1860 Amador Wagon Road Voted
On Names of Amador Mountaineers Financial Affairs in
1861 Calaveras Indebtedness Denied Enormous Profits
of Officers Political Parties in 1861 The Amador Wagon
Project Renewed Vote on the Project, May 10, 1862
Rates of Toll Impeachment of James H. Hardy Political
Parties in 1862 Great Fire in Jackson Petition of M. W.
Gordon Supervisors Order the Building of a Court House
Political Parties in 1863 French Bar Affair Officers
Elected in 1863 General Vote Political Parties in 1864
Vote of 1864 Financial Matters Political Parties in 1865
Arrest of Hall and Penry Election Returns by Precincts,
1865 Seaton's Defection Counting the Votes Clinton
Vote List of Officers Elected in "l 865 Death of G. W.
Seaton, and Election of A. H. Rose, his Successor Finan
cial Matters in 1865 .. 92107
CHAPTEE XXII.
END OF THE SECOND DECADE.
Politics in 1866 Financial Matters Rabolt Declared Ineligible
to the Office of Treasurer, and Otto Walther Appointed
Political Parties in 1867 New Registry Law Election
Returns Showing the New Precincts Judiciary Election
Financial Matters Financial Matters in 1868 Contest for
Supervisor in the First District Ingalls Declared Unseated
Carroll Installed Act of the Legislature in Reference
Thereto Wealth and Population Political Parties in 1 868,
Election Returns by Precincts Politics in 1869 Election
Returns by Precincts 107 1 10
CHAPTEE XXI 11.
CONDITION OF THE COUNTY AT THE BEGINNING
OF THE THIRD DECADE- 1870.
Condition of the County at the Beginning of the Third Decade
Statistics of the Wealth and Indebtedness Politics in 1870
Financial Condition Redemption Fund Condition of
Other Counties The Miners' League Death of McMenemy
and Hatch Political Parties in 1872 Election Returns by
Precincts, 1871 Persons Elected in 1871 Financial .Mat
ters 1872 Political Parties in 1872 Election Returns for
1872 Comparison of Vote with Previous Years Financial
Matters, 1873 Political Parties in 1873 John Eagon's Posi
tion Judge Gordon's Stand J. T. Farley's Position Elec
tion Returns by Precincts Officers Elected in 1873 Alpine
county Left out in the Election Financial Matters in 1874
The Funding Project Political Parties in 1874 Financial
Matters in 1875 Robbery of the Treasury May 9, 1875
Conclusion of Buttertield Matter in 1877 Political Matters
in 1875 Officers elected in 1875 110119
CHAPTEE XXIV..
FINANCIAL MATTERS IN 1876.
Political Parties in 1876 Election Returns by Precincts Finan
ces in 1877 Political Parties in 1877 Returns by Precincts
Death of the Honorable Robert Ludgate Financial Mat
ters in 1878 Political Parties in 1878 Vote on the Adop
tion of the New Constitution Financial Matters in 1879
Political Matters in 1879 Officers Elected Effect of the
New Constitution on the Judicial System Financial Mat
ters in 1860 Political Parties in 1880 Amador County
Election Returns Nov. 2, 1880 Review from 1870 to 1880.
.. 119124
CHAPTEE XXV.
GEOLOGY OF AMADOR COUNTY.
Strata in Buena Vista Mountain Carboniferous Clays Granitic
Sandstone Glacial Epoch Supposed Section of the Mount
ains Former Course of the Rivers Account of the Blue
Lead Stratified Rocks Serpentine Range Chromate of
Iron.. 125136
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
CHAPTEE XXVI.
GEOLOGY OF AMADOR COUNTY.
BY GEORGE MADEIRA.
Extensive Character of the Subject Mother Lode Methods
of Vein Deposits Character of the Veins East of the
Mother Lode Minerals in the Tertiary Rocks Nature of
the Limestones Gravel Deposits Nature of the Supposed
Photographic Rock Evidences of Glaciers Moving Large
Rocks Volcanoes Origin of the Trap Rock Origin of the
Smaller Quartz Veins Butte Mountain Copper Iron
Gypsum Asbestos Marble Kaolin Manganese Agate
Chalcedony Skeletons of the Megatherium Other Fos
sils Rhinoceros Hippopotamus Horse Destruction of the
Arcadian Land Botany 1 36 141
CHAPTEE XX VII.
ORIGIN OF MINERAL VEINS.
Plutonic Theory Ocean Floors Other Theories Considered
Function of Wall Rock and Gouge Surface Veins
Probable Depth of Veins Methods of Deposit Jurassic
Gravel Course of the Blue Lead 141 145
CHAPTEE XXVIII.
QUARTZ MINING.
(Quartz Mining, Commencement of Quartz Miners' Convention
Account of the Mother Lode Sketch of Different Mines
Gwin Mines Casco Murphy's Ridge Huffaker Moore
Zeile Description of a Model Mill Plainer Process of
Reducing Sulphurets Hiukley Mine Monterichard
Kennedy Tubbs Oneida Summit Hay ward Character
of the Same Railroad Wildmaii Mahoney Union or
Lincoln Accident in the Lincoln Mechanics Herbertville
Spring Hill Keystone Consolidation of Granite State
and Walnut Hill Discovery of the Bonanza Statistics of
Same Big Grab, and Failure to Hold it Account of the
Suit Original Amador Bunker Hill Pennsylvania Gover
Black Hills Seaton Potosi Quartz Mountain Ply
mouth Group Enterprise Nashville 145 161
CHAPTEE XXIX.
QUARTZ MINING EAST OF THE MOTHER LODE.
Downs Mine Marklee Tellurium Thayer Clinton Mines
Mace Range of Mines Pioneer and Golden Gate Mines
Quartz Veins West of the Mother Lode Kirkendall Soap-
Stone or Steatite Mine Quartz Mining in the Future
Put Money in Thy Purse School Cabinets Copper Min
ing General Craze Country Formed into Districts Funny
Notices New Towns Result of the General Search
Chrome Iron Failure of Meader Remarkable Discovery
Present Condition of Copper Mining Newton Mine. 161-167
CHAPTEE XXX.
JACKSON.
Capture of the County Seat Killing of Colonel Collyer Loss of
the County Seat Bull Fight and Election Mines First
School Improvements in 1854 Hanging Tree Griswold
Murder Great Freshet 1861 Great Fire 1862 Flood and
Loss of Life 1 878 Big Frolic Celebration of Admission Day
Mokelumne River Murphy's Gulch Hunt's Gulch
Tunnel Hill Butte Basin Butte Mountain Butte City
Marriage in High Life The Gate Ohio Hill Slab City-
Clinton Spaulding's Invention 167 181
CHAPTEE XXXI.
IONE VALLEY AND VICINITY.
First White Men in lone Valley First House First Ranches
Judge Lynch Starkey's Case First Mill Fun with Griz
zlies Origin of Name lone First School First Flour Mill
First Brick Store Methodist Church Centennial Pres
ident's Address Extracts from Poem Extracts from Ora
tion lone in 1876 Railroad Stockton Narrow-Guage
Gait Road Overflows Fires Buena Vista First Settle
ment Mining Arroyo Seco Grant Dispossession of Settlers
Present Appearance Buckeye Valley Irish Hill Quincy
Muletown Miners' Court The Funny Man Faithful
Wife.. ..182194
CHAPTEE XXXII.
LANCHA PLANA AND VICINITY.
Its Early Settlers Cholera and Diarrhea Judge Palmer's
Bridge Fires First School Notable Homicide Bluff
Mining Open Sea Chaparral Hill Growth of the Town
Bonita Affair Indian War Butler Claim Decline of
the Town Put's Bar and the Fruit Interest Overflows
Townerville Camp Opera French Camp Copper Centre.
194202
CHAPTEE XXXII 1.
VOLCANO AND VICINITY.
As it Looked in '49 Georgia Claim Sharp Mining Broker
Rod. Stowell Agriculture Society A Philosopher
Hydraulic Mining Nature of the Gravel Deposits China
Gulch Volcano Tunnel Former Project of Lowering the
Outlet Fires Largest Fire Fire of 1865 Year of Fires^
Burning of Hanford's Store Miners' Joke Nocturnal
Visitor Murder of Beck man Lynch Law Stage Robber
ies Miners' Library Association Dramatic Societies
Russel's Hill Fort John Upper Rancheria Aqueduct
City Contreras Ashland Grizzly Hill Wheeler Dig
gings Plattsburg How Named Hunt's Gulch Spanish
Gulch Whisky Slide Large Crystal Caves 202218
CHAPTEE XXXIV.
NORTH-WESTERN PART OF THE COUNTY.
Sutter Creek First Foundry Knight's Foundry and Machine
Shop Planing Mill Society at Sutter Creek Schools and
' Sohool-Houses Shipment of Gold Fires Incorporation
Future Prospects Amador M inisters Placer Mines
Gold of Lower Rancheria Oleta Execution by Lynch Law
Killing of Carter by Doctor Unkles Home Rule Fatal
Explosion Bad Case of Erysipelas Lynch Law Vetoed
The Famous Safe Robbery First School Churches Pres
ent Mining Prospects Sewell's Addition Cosumnes River
Amusing account of Mining Machinery Famous Lynch
ing Affair at Jamison's Ranch 218 229
CHAPTEE XXXV.
NORTH-WESTERN PART OF THE COUNTY.
Drytown Details of Settlement First Justice of the Peace
Arrival of Families Scurvy Great Fire Farming Dry
Creek Rattlesnake Gulch Mile Gulch Murderers'
Gulch Forest Home Arkansas Creek Yankee Hill Big
Nugget Willow Springs Central House Plymouth
Puckerville Mineral Springs Fires Enterprise Yeomet.
.............................................. 229234
CHAPTEE XXXVI.
EASTERN PART OF AMADOR COUNTY.
Elevation Above Tide-waterlone, Jackson, Volcano Pine
Grove Dentzler's Flume House Claiborne Foster's Ante
lope Springs Hipkius & Wiley's Station Ham's Station-
Mud Springs Stevens' Lumber Yard Emigrant's Pass
Amount of Timber Remaining Climatic Effect of the Loss
of Timber Summer Pasture As a Summer Resort Prac
tical Jokes Salt Springs Mammoth Quartz Vein Trout
Fishing Silver Mines Sunset from the Sierras Climate
Drouths Freshets Rain Table for Amador County, as Com
piled by Frank Howard Rain Table for Sacramento, cor
rected for Sutter Creek ......................... 234242
CHAPTEE XXXVII.
ARROYO SECO GRANT.
Claim Rejected Claim Confirmed on Appeal Character of
Grant Matters of Record Letter from T. A. Hendricks,
Attorney General Final Survey During Hancock Agency-
Proposed Settlement Sale to J. Mora Moss & Co. Memo
rial to President Lincoln Dispossession Settlers' League
Shooting of Herman Wohler Last Effort Memorial to
Congress ...................................... 242250
HISTORY
-OF-
AMADOR COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
BY J. D. MASON.
INTRODUCTION.
CICERO says that, " it is the first law of history
that the writer should neither dare to advance what
is false nor suppress what is true; that he should
relate the facts with strict impartiality, free from ill-
will or favor; that his narrative should distinguish
the order of time, and, when necessary, the descrip
tion of places; that he should unfold the motives of
men, and. in his account of the transactions, or the
events, interpose his own judgment; should relate
what was done, how it was done, and what share
rashness, prudence, or judgment had in the issue;
that he should give the character of the leading men,
their weight and influence, their passions, principles,
and conduct through life."
A good history is a growth; the first attempts to
collate the facts bearing on the settlement and develop
ment of a country are necessarily imperfect. Many
things will creep in which were better left out, and
others of importance are omitted. Some matters
will receive undue importance, and few will be accu
rately related. Not until edition after edition has
been brought before the public will the prominent
events receive due notice, or the doubtful ones have
justice done them. A thousand eyes will be sharp
ened to criticise the narrative. A thousand new
witnesses will arise to contradict, affirm, or correct.
The publishers hope that the public will make due
allowance for errors unavoidable in the first attempt
to collect the facts pertaining to the early history of
the county. In many instances the testimony, even
of eye-witnesses, is very conflicting. This is true of
the aifairs of August, 1855. Hardly any two agree
in their narratives of the circumstances. In this, as
in other matters, the most probable statements are
recorded. Nothing has been set down in malice, and
some things have been left out as being too much
like tales told out of school; as far as possible con
signing them to oblivion.
Having resided over a quarter of a century in the
county, and acted a part, though a humble one, in
many of the circumstances narrated, the writer has
drawn largely on his own memory for many of the
incidents.
The chapters on geology and mining, will, it is
hoped, furnish interesting and profitable reading to
all, especially those engaged in mining. The facts
and theories are the result of years of observation,
and many miles of travel, and are not retailed at
second hand from Whitney or other scientists. The
observations on mining have been compiled from
the statements, opinions and experiences, of hun
dreds of intelligent miners. Thanks are due to all
the superintendents, especially to those of the Ama-
dor Consolidated, the Keystone, the Oneida, the
Empire, the Downs and the Zeile mines for valuable
information on gold mining, and to Edward Johnson
of the Newton mine, for statistics and methods of
copper mining.
The habits of the early miners will be read with
interest. The writer hopes that some of the false
impressions, produced by Bret Hart, Joaquin Miller,
and other writers, regarding early Californians, will
be dissipated by a true description thereof. The stories
of the "YubaDam," "Tuolumne Debating Society"
and others of that kind, have truth enough for a
hint to a lively imagination arid no more; and those
who, in after years, judge California by those things,
will be wide of the mark. The writer, having been
a resident of the State since 1850, has an interest
in the good reputation of the pioneers, and is glad
to enter his protest to such absurdities being re
corded as history. With him, the work has been
one of love, and a design to do justice to our coun
trymen, with no desire to hold them up to derision.
The publishers intended to give statistics of the
growth of the mining and agricultural industries,
but found the published returns entirely worthless.
In some instances, the estimations were utterly ab
surd. In 1877, the yield of wheat in Amador county
was estimated at 236 bushels to the acre, this esti-
10
HISTORY OF AMADOR COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
mate being copied without remark into all the works
on statistics. In 1866, the number of grape-vines
was estimated at 557,773; in 1867, at 1,140,000; 1868,
at 683,623. The estimates in many instances were
mere guess work. The values of real and personal
property as a basis for taxation, are the only esti
mates that approximate the truth. These have
been given from year to year, in the continuous
histoiy of the county.
The history of the Arroyo Seco Grant has been ex
haustively treated. The facts in regard to this, the
most important event in the history of the county,
were fast sinking into obscurity, and it was
deemed best to collect and preserve them, that our
children might know the great wrong that was
perpetrated under cover of the law. Valuable
assistance in this was rendered by J. A. Forbes (now
deceased), who was familiar with the whole history
of the grant system.
The chapter on the Colorado Canon will be found
interesting, and worthy of being preserved with the
other facts bearing on the discovery and settlement
of California.
The article on the Dead Rivers of California, cop
ied from the Overland Monthly, is well worth preser
vation in connection with the geology of the county,
and will be welcomed by all who are interested in
the ancient river system.
In making up this work, many authorities have
been consulted; Forbes' History of California, writ
ten in 1835; Farnham's History of the Period of
the Arroyo Seco Grant; Annals of San Francisco
and California, by Frank Soule; Tuthill's His
tory of California; History of the Pacific School
System, by John Swett; Cronise's Natural "Wealth
of California; Hittel's Resources of California; Bay
ard Taylor's El Dorado; Scenes in El Dorado in
1849-'50, by S. C. Upham; Raymond's work on
the Mines of the Pacific Coast, and others too numer
ous to mention. The Odd Fellows' libraries of Oak
land and San Francisco, the school library of
Alameda county, and mercantile library of San
Francisco, as well as private collections, have
been frequently visited. The files of the Alta Cal
ifornia; Spirit of the Times (M. D. Boruck's paper),
and other city papers have often been consulted, as
well as files of' the county papers, the Ledger, Sentinel,
News and Dispatch. To the proprietor of the Dis
patch especially, are many thanks due. The county
papers published previous to August 23, 1862, were
mostly destroyed in the great fire. The loss is irrep
arable, though it is said the hermit at the Gate, J. G.
Farrar, has complete files of all the papers ever pub
lished in the county, but the author was unable to
get access to them.
To point out all the sources of information, or to
name all the persons giving us valuable assistance
would be impossible. It had to bo gathered from
a thousand sources, and thousands of notes com
pared. Valuable assistance was rendered by Hon.
H. A. Carter in matters of the Arroyo Seco Grant,
Robert Reed, James Bagley, D. Stewart, H. F. Hall,
Hon. R. B. Swift, Hon. L. Brusie, J. M. F. Johnson,
Mrs. J. T. Henley, J. W. Surface, W. H. Fox, J. P.
Martin, P. Scully, William Cook, John Fitzsimmons,
Hon. I. B. Gregory, A. Thompson, Hon. J. W. D.
Palmer, Isaac Waddell, Hon. William Waddell, Will
iam Maroon, J. C. Fithian, R. W. Palmer, George W.
Porter, James M. Porter, Thomas Love, Louis Tel-
lier, Ellis Evans, A. Askey, Mrs. Ellis Evans, J. D.
Davis, James Meehan, George Durham, Hon. M. W.
Gordon, Hon. John A. Eagon, Hon. A. C. IJrown, J.
C. Shipman, Thomas Jones, William Lowry, John
Vogan, H. Goldner, J. A. Butterfield, C. J. Nickerson,
C. A. Purinton, P. N. Peck, Wilmer Palmer, William
Pitt, E. R. Yates, J. E. Reaves, R. Robinson, J. T.
Wheeler, A. P. Clough, Jacob Cook, J. C. Ham, Ed
mund Wise, S. Loree, James Henry, L. Ludikens, L.
McLaine, D. S. Boydston, A. Petty, F. M. Whitmore,
F. Mace, James Hall, J. A. Foster, W. Q. Mason, A.
Jerome, S. Petty, R, Fry, Isaac E. Eastman (who was
here in 1848), James Hall, E. Genochio, L. J. Fonten-
rose, County Clerk, C. H. Turner, A. Cammetti, Dis
trict Attorney, B. Ross, Hon. J. T. Farley, Thomas
Frakes, C. Gossum, T. B. Greenhalgh, J. F. Gould, C.J.
Garland, C. B. Goodrich, W. H. Harmon, W. E. Huey,
Henry Kutchenthall, James Livermore, S. S. Man-
non, James McCauley, I. G. Nute, I. N. Randolph,
W. T. Wildman, William Jennings, J. C. Williams,
Frank Henderson, S. B. Boardman, H. H. Towns,
Superintendent of Amador Canal, James Morgan,
J. O. Bartlett, R. T. Bisbee, Wm. O. Clark, M. B.
Church, T. A. Chicizola, A. K. Dudley, Jacob Em-
minger, Dan. Worley, John Marchant, Wm. Moon,
T. J. Phelps, A. S. Putnam, B. S. Sanborn, E. A.
Smith, W.Southerland, Silas Tubbs, J. Northup, Leroy
Worden,Hon. Chapman Warkins, and many others.
Many old residents have been interviewed in San
Francisco and Oakland, and valuable information
gained: John Hanson first Sheriff of Calaveras, John
Burke, Dr. Henry M. Fisk, Dr. W. Ayer, J. W.
Paugh, J. G. Severance, J. A. Robinson, N. W. Spaul-
ding, Dr. Louis Sober, Hon. E. D. Sawyer, A. J.
Houghtaling, W. C. Pratt, (the last three being mem
bers of the Legislature at the time of the Act pro
viding for the organization of the county), Hon. W. W.
Cope, Hon. Wm. Higby, Hon. Wm. B. Ludlow, B. S.
E. Williams, Hon. J. W. Bicknell, Alvinza Hayward,
A. AV. Richardson, Hon. J. D. Stevenson (commander
of the famous Stevenson regiment), J. Alexander
Forbes, James Foley, who established Post-offices in
Amador, and others names not recalled.
The author may be permitted to say in conclusion
that the labor has been a source of constant pleasure;
that the memories of the many reunions with the
pioneers will remain pleasant as long as life lasts.
He hopes the patrons of the work will manifest the
same good spirit in reading the work, passing lightly
over the unavoidable imperfections, and remember
ing only that which is good.
EARLY HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA.
11
CHAPTER 1.
Scanty Knowledge of the Pacific Coast Fifty Years Since Story
of "Sergas," by Esplaiidin Titles to Immense .Regions
Conferred by the Pope Expeditions for Discovery and
Settlement Sir Francis Drake's Operations Expeditions
Overland Marvelous Stories of a Big Canon Expedition
of Father Escalante.
THOSE who studied geography forty or fifty years
since, recollect how little was known of the "Great
West." "Lewis and Clarke's Expedition to the
Rocky Mountains and Oregon," contained about all
that was known of the Pacific coast; and hundreds
of persons now living, remember that that portion
of the map now marked California and Arizona,
was occupied with a table of distances from Wash
ington to our larger cities. The Rocky Mountains
were represented as a single range, running from
the Isthmus of Darien to the North Pole. More
facts concerning the Pacific slope were learned in
the first fifty years after the discovery of the New
World, than in the following two hundred. The
deserts of Arizona and the " Great Canon," shut
off exploration and settlement from this direction,
though rumors of a country rich in gold, had circu
lation among the hordes that overrun Mexico soon
after its conquest by Cortez and his followers. On
such rumors, was founded the story of "Sergas" by
Esplandin, the son of Amadis of Gaul, which con
tained " the story of a country called California,
very near to the terrestrial paradise, which was
peopled by black women without any men among
them, because they were accustomed to live after
the manner of the Amazons. They were of strong
and hardened bodies, of ardent courage, and ^great
force. The island was the strongest in the world,
from its steep and rocky cliffs. Their arms were all
of gold, and so were the caparisons of the wild
horses they rode."
At that time, the world was filled with rumors of
wonderful discoveries, by land and by sea. Some,
like De Soto, set off in quest of the " spring of eter
nal youth," which it was confidently asserted was
just on the other side of a certain range of mount
ains. It was easier to believe in a land of gold,
than in a spring of eternal youth. This exciting
book, written to satisfy the literary market of that
age, was universally read in Spain; and, it is highly
probable, was partly the cause for the expedition
which afterwards, under the charge of Hernando
Grijalva, actually discovered " California very near
to the Terrestrial Paradise;" so that it is probable
that a dreamy old romancer in Seville, Spain, sug
gested the name of the country that was to upheave
new continents in the commercial world.
IMMENSE REGIONS GRANTED BY THE POPE.
Cortez had achieved the conquest of Mexico with
but a handful of men, in 1519; and nine years after
returned to Spain, laden with the spoils of an empire
larger and richer, and, perhaps, more civilized than
Spain herself; also with accounts of countries still
richer and larger, to the north-west of Mexico. He
was received with distinguished honors by Charles
Y., and rewarded by many royal concessions, among
which were the right to one-twelfth of all the
precious metals he could find, and a perpetual vice-
royalty for himself and heirs, over all the countries
he should discover. It must be remembered that
the Pope, in consideration of the dissemination of
the " True Faith," had granted to the Emperor of
Spain all lands that his subjects might discover; so
the title seemed to \>Q/ee simple in Cortez, who, from
being a piratical, roving vagabond, bounded into
royal honors.
EXPEDITIONS OF DISCOVERY AND SETTLEMENT.
Returning to Mexico, he immediately set about
the expedition; but, delayed by the difficulty of
building and fitting out ships on the western coast,
he did not get off until 1535. Having landed on the
lower peninsula of California, he found the country
so barren and uninviting, that he abandoned the
expedition, and returned to Mexico in 1537. On his
return, he heard of the De Soto expedition, which,
like all the other expeditions, had nearly, but not
quite, reached the land where arms, as well as trap
pings for horses, were made of pure gold. This led
to the fitting out of another expedition in 1542,
under Jose R. Cabrillo, who sailed northward as far
as Cape Mendocino, which ho named Cape Mendoza,
in honor of his friend, the Viceroy of Mexico. Keep
ing within sight of the coast the greater part of the
way, he discovered the Farallone Islands, also some
of the more southern groups; but, like his predeces
sor, failed to see the future Golden Gate. In an
English work printed in 1839, Mr. James Alexander
Forbes states that two out of the three vessels, com
posing this expedition, with some twenty men, were
lost in the Gulf of California, in consequence of a
mutiny and a difficulty with the natives, near La
Paz.
These expeditions were so unsatisfactory, that
Cortez resolved upon exploring the coast himself.
Three vessels were fitted out at Tehuantepec, he
marching overland with a large body of soldiers,
slaves, settlers, and priests. Cortez explored the
Gulf of California, proved that California was not
an island, but part of the main land. For some
time the Gulf of California was known as the Sea of
Cortez. It was also called The Red Sea (El Mar
Rojo), from having a reddish color from the wash
of the Colorado river, which empties into the gulf
at the head; Cortez returned to Acapulco, but con
tinued to employ others in the explorations, which
were confined mostly to lands in the vicinity of the
gulf. Several attempts were made to settle the
land, but, as it was very barren and poor, the col
onies made little progress. The natives were desti
tute of means and character, both sexes going nearly
or quite naked.
12
HISTORY OF AM.ADOR COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
SIR FRANCIS DRAKE S OPERATIONS.
Sir Francis Drake reached the Pacific ocean in
1578, through the Straits of Magellan, thirty-six
years after Cabrillo named the Cape of Mendocino,
and, not having heard of the former expeditions,
took possession of the whole country in the name of
Queen Elizabeth. It has been claimed for him that
he entered the Bay of San Francisco; but the lati
tude in which he located it (37 59 5"), proves it to
have been some miles north, at a place now called
Drake's bay, though most of the old geographies
give the present sea-port as " The Bay of Sir Francis
Drake." It is strange that, having much inter
course with the natives, he should have failed to
discover the great harbor which was in sight from,
some of the surrounding hills. The real discovery
of the Bay of San Francisco, was made by Portala,
in an overland expedition. What a vision, when he
stood on the top of some of the low ranges of mount
ains surrounding, and saw the rich valleys reposing
in a perpetual Indian Summer, stretching to the
northward sixty miles. Little did the Spaniard, or
those who came after him, suppose that the rivers
flowing into the bay ran over golden sands, or that
the hills near the outlet would be covered by a city
larger than any of the cities of magnificent Spain.
It is now time to turn to the attempts to explore
the country in other ways.
EXPEDITION OVERLAND MARVELOUS STORIES.
The ill success attending the expeditions up the
coast, induced explorations by land, especially ass
marvelous reports of rich walled cities in the far
north, occasionally reached the capital of Mexico.
In less than fifty years from the discovery of Amer
ica, soldiers and priests had explored the Colorado
river for a considerable distance above its mouth.
The stories of a gigantic people, walled towns, and
impassable canons a mile or more in depth, were con
signed to the same fate as the stories of mermaids
and other sea monsters. Cervantes in Spain, and
Dean Swift in England, had poured unsparing ridi
cule on the fabulous stories and achievements of the
age succeeding the discovery of America. Since the
exploring expedition sent out by the United States,
the accounts of the great Colorado river have been
overhauled and read with avidity, and what was
then deemed a pleasant after-dinner fiction of some
bibulous priest, has proved to be substantially cor
rect, though the Mojaves, who, doubtless, are the
persons described as giants, do not quite come up to
their ancestors of three hundred and fifty years ago.
As early as 1540 the Viceroy of New Spain, inter
ested in the stories of a San Franciscan monk who
had seen some of the territory, sent out an expedi
tion under the command of Vasquez da Coronado.
When they struck the river, a party of twenty -five
was detached and sent to the westward. They
explored the river to the mouth, and from this point
was sent the expedition which eventually succeeded
in discovering the bay. Another of Coronado's
captains, named Cardinas, reached *the pueblos of
the Moquis, and from these towns made a visit,
under Indian guides, to a portion of the river some
hundreds of miles above the explorations of pre
vious parties. The history states that after a march
over a desert of twenty days, they came to a river,
the banks of which were so high that they seemed
to be three or four leagues in the air. The most
active of the party attempted to descend, but came
back in the evening, saying they had met with dif
ficulties which prevented them from reaching the
bottom; that they had accomplished one-third of the
descent, and from that point the river looked very
large. They averred that some rocks, which ap
peared from above to be the height of a man, were
higher than the tower of the cathedral of Seville.
This is the earliest notice in any work of the cele
brated canon of the Colorado, the most astonishing
of all mountain gorges, and which may, without
doubt, be reckoned the greatest wonder of the world.
EXPEDITION OP FATHER ESCALANTE.
About one hundred years ago, Father Escalante
visited the region north of New Mexico, keeping
along the head-waters of the Colorado to Salt Lake,
thence south-west to the Colorado river at a point
nearly opposite that reached by one of Coronado's
captains over two hundred years before. This mea
ger account of the great canon is about all that is
on record previous to the acquisition of Arizona by
tho United States, though trappers and hunters
sometimes related incredible stories of a country
where great rivers ran in canons so deep that day-
light-nevcr reached the bottom. As this river forms
a part of the boundary of California, and was, to a
great extent, from its unapproachable character, a
barrier to the early settlement of this coast, thus
perhaps preserving it for its present occupants, and
as it has recently become a center of interest on
account of the mines in its vicinity, a somewhat
extended account of this remarkable, and, even now,
little known wonder may be justifiable, and will be
incorporated into tho work in a separate chapter.
CHAPTER II.
BIG CANON OF THE COLORADO.
Lieutenant Whipple's Expedition Lieutenant Ives' Expedi
tion First Attempt to Explore the Canon Land Party
Organized One Sight of the Eiver First Exploration
Unwilling Venture Consider the Situation Death of One
of the Parties Three Mouths in the Canon Arrival at
Fort Colville Exploration Made Under the Direction of
the Smithsonian Institute Indescribable Character of the
Stream Loss of Boats and Provisions Death of a Portion
of the Party Emergence of the Survivors Geology and
Climate.
LIEUTENANT WHIPPLE'S EXPEDITION.
JN the Spring of 1854 Lieutenant Whipple in com
mand of an expedition for the exploration and sur
vey of a railroad route near the 35th parallel, reached
the Colorado at the mouth of Bill Williams' Fork, and
BIG CANON OF THE COLORADO.
13
ascended the river from that point aboutfifty miles and
reported the country as mostly impassable. From
an elevated point a view of an apparent valley or
course of a river could be seen, which seemed to be a
net- work of impassable canons. This partial explo
ration still further intensified the interest in this
region. That any portion of the United States was
unapproachable was too absurd to credit.
LIEUTENANT IVES' EXPEDITION.
It was not until 1857 that an appropriation became
available for further exploration. A small steamer
was constructed for the purpose of ascending the river
and shipped to San Francisco in parts, and thence re-
shipped to Fort Yuma, where it was put together.
When loaded it drew somewhat less than two feet of
water, and the river was ascended four hundred and
fifty miles above Fort Yuma. Sometimes the little
craft was nearly overwhelmed in the treacherous cur
rents and sometimes the men were obliged to tow the
steamer over shoals where it would touch bottom
continually. Bands of natives would follow the
boat, hugely amused with the puffing, snorting canoe
that was, apparently, so helpless and good for noth
ing. At length the party came in sight of the
much talked of canon, of which so little was known
and so much conjectured. The enormous, perpendicu
lar walls of rocks, hundreds of feet high, which had
formed the banks of the rivers in many places, had
prepared them for wonders, but they did not ex
pect to see a large river come out of a gate-way two
thousand feet high and only a few feet across. If
the ancients had known of this place they would have
added new horrors to their infernal regions.
FIRST ATTEMPT TO EXPLORE THE CANON.
The attempt to navigate the canon with the steamer
without a previous reconnoissanco was thought too
hazardous, and a boat expedition was organized.
Lieutenant Ives with three or four men entered the
dark gateway. With much labor they worked their
way, sometimes rowing and sometimes dragging the
boat over rapids. Night coming on, the party took
advantage of a small shingle beach for acampingplacc.
Some drift-wood lodged in a cleft of rocks furnished
material for a camp fire. There was no need of
sentinels. Eternal silence reigned ; not even the
chirping of an insect broke the low murmer of the
waters as they wound their tortuous way through
the dark depths. We quote freely from his report
to the Secretary of War :
" March 10, 1858. * * * Darkness supervened
with surprising suddenness. Pall after pall of shade
fell, as it were in clouds, upon the deep recesses
about us. The line of light through the opening
above at last became blurred and indistinct, and,
save the dull red glare of the camp fire, all was
enveloped in a murky gloom. Soon the narrow
belt again brightened as the rays of the moon
reached the summits of the mountains. Gazing far
upwards upon the edges of the overhanging walls
we witnessed the gradual illumination. A few iso
lated turrets and pinnacles first appeared in strong
relief upon the blue band of the heavens. As the
silvery light descended and fell upon the opposite
crest of the abyss, strange and uncouth shapes seem
to start out, all sparkling and blinking in the light,
and to be peering over at us as we lay watching
them from the bottom of the profound chasm. The
contrast between the vivid glow above and the black
obscurity beneath, formed one of the most striking
points in the singular picture. This morning as soon
as the light, permitted, we were again on the way.
* The canon continued to in
crease in size and magnificence. No description can
convey an idea of the peerless and majestic grandeur
of this water-way. Wherever the river makes a turn
the entire panorama changes, and one startling nov
elty after another appears and disappears with be
wildering rapidity. Stately /fc?es,august cathedrals,
amphitheatres, rotundas, castellated walls and rows
of time-stained ruins surmounted by every form of
tower, minaret, dome and spire have been moulded
from the cyclopean masses of rock that form the
mighty defile. The solitude, the stillness, the sub
dued light and the vastness of every surrounding
object, produced an impression of awe that ultimately
became almost painful. As hour after hour passed,
we began to look anxiously for some kind of an out
let from the range, but the declining day only
brought fresh piles of mountains, higher apparently
than any before seen. Wo had made up our minds
to pass another night in the canon and were search
ing for a spot large enough for a resting place, when
we came into a narrow passage between two mam
moth peaks that seemed to be nodding across the
stream, and unexpectedly found at the upper end the
termination of the ' Black Canon,' and we came
into rather of an extensive valley, without a trace of
vegetation however; but the hills and mountains
around were in parti-colors and prevented the scene
from being monotonous. The length of the Black
Canon is about twenty-five miles. It was evident
that the river could be navigated no farther. Climb
ing a mountain nothing but a confused mass of vol
canic rocks piled in confusion upon each other came
to view. * * * Farther to the east could be
seen the course of the river where it formed the
Big Canon."
LAND PARTY ORGANIZED.
The exploring party returned to the steamboat
and organized an expedition to explore the river on
the south side towards the Rocky Mountains, and the
boat was sent back to Fort Yuma. In a few days
they struck the lofty plateau, through which the
j Colorado river with its numerous tributaries, or com-
i pan ion rivers, carry the waters formed from the
I melting snows of the Rocky Mountains. Scarcely
any rain falls on this elevated plain, and the banks of
the rivers remain as sharp as they were millions of
years ago when the channels were first eroded. Cen
tury after century the work of deepening the channel
goes on. Before the children of Israel went down in
to Egypt; before the building of the Pyramids; before
the rude ancestors of the Egyptians found the Nile
valley ; even before the Nile valley itself was formed
the Colorado rivers had done the most of their work.
It was out of the question to explore the river.
They could only approach it at one point. Only the
bird that could wing its way for hundreds of miles,
14
HISTORY OF AMADOR COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
could make its way over these cavernous depths that
marked the course of the river and all its branches.
From elevated points they could see table-land,
rising, base on base, height on height, with impassa
ble canons between. As the limits of this work will
permit only an abbreviated description of the inter
esting exploration, an account of one attempt to reach
the river, giving nearly the author's own words,
which cannot be condensed without doing injustice
to the subject, will close the story of this expedition.
ONE SIGHT OF THE RIVER.
"Our altitude is very great. During the last
march the ascent was continuous, and the barome
ter shows an elevation of nearly seven thousand
feet. The Colorado is not far distant, and wo must
be opposite to the most stupendous part of the
' Big Canon.' The bluffs are in view, but the inter
vening country is cut up by side canon* and cross
ravines, and no place has yet been found that pre
sents a favorable approach to the gigantic chasm. *
* * The snow-storm (this was in the "Winter) had
extended over but little area, and the road, at first
heavy, in a mile or two became dry and good. The
pines disappeared and the cedars gradually dimin
ished. * * Each slope surmounted disclosed a
new summit similar to that just passed, till the end
of ten miles, when the highest part of the plateau
was attained, and a sublime spectacle lay spread
before us.
" Toward the north was the field of plateaus and
cafions already mentioned, and shooting out from
these a line of magnificent bluffs, extending eastward
an enormous distance, marked the course of the
canon of the Little Colorado. Farther south, eighty
miles distant, towered the vast pile of the San Fran
cisco mountain, its conical summit covered with
snow and sharply defined against the sky. Several
other peaks were visible a little to the right, and
halfway between us and this cluster of mighty and
venerable volcanos was the ' Red Buttc,' described
by Lieutenant Whipple (1853), standing in isolated
prominence upon the level plain. * * *
" The sun was oppressively warm, and every place
whose appearance gave promise of water was
searched, but without success. Ten miles conducted
us to the head of a ravine, down which there was a
well-beaten Indian trail. There was every prospect
therefore that we were approaching a settlement,
similar to that of the Hualpais, on Diamond river.
The descent was more rapid than the former had
been, and in the course of a few miles we had gone
down into the plateau one or two thousand feet,
and the bluffs on either side had assumed stupendous
proportions. Still no signs of habitations were vis
ible. The worn-out and thirsty beasts had begun
to flag when we were brought to a stand-still by a
fall one hundred feet deep in the bottom of the canon.
At the brink of the precipice was an overhanging
ledge of rock, from which we could look down, as if
into a well, upon the continuation of the gorge far
below. The break reached completely across the
ravine, and the side walls were nearly perpendicular.
There was no egress in that direction, and it seemed
a marvel that a trail should lead to a place where
there was nothing to do but return. A closer inspec
tion showed that the trail still continued along the
cafion, traversing horizontally the face of the right-
hand bluff. A short distance of it seemed as though
a mountain goat could scarcely keep its footing upon
the slight indentation that appeared like a thread
attached to the rocky wall, but a trial proved that
the path, though narrow and dizzy, had been cut
with some care into the surface of the cliff, and afforded
a foot-hold, level and broad enough both for men and
animals. 1 rode upon it first, and the rest of the
party and the train followed one by one looking
very much like a row of insects crawling upon the
side of a building. We proceeded for nearly a mile
along this singular pathway, which preserved its
horizontal direction. The bottom of the canon
meanwhile had been rapidly descending, and there
were two or three falls where it dropped a hundred
feet at a time, thus greatly increasing the depth of
the chasm. The change had taken place so gradu
ally that I was not sensible of it, till, glancing down
the side of my mule, I found that he was walking
within three inches of the edge of the brink of a
sheer gulf a thousand feet deep; on the other side,
nearly touching my knee, was an almost vertical
wall rising to an enormous altitude. The sight made
my head swim, and I dismounted and got ahead of
the mule, a difficult and delicate operation, which I
was thankful to have safely performed. A part of
the men became so giddy that they were obliged to
creep upon their hands and knees, being unable to
walk or stand. In some places there was barely
room to walk, and a slight deviation in a step would
have precipitated one into the frightful abyss. 1 was
a good deal alarmed lest some obstacle should be
encountered that would make it impossible to go
ahead, for it was certainly impracticable to return.
After an interval of uncomfortable suspense, the face
of the rock made an angle, and just beyond the
angle was a projection from the main wall with a
surface fifteen or twenty yards square that would
afford afoot-hold. The continuation of the wall was
perfectly vertical, so that the trail could no longer
lollow it, and we found that the path descended the
steep face of the cliff to the bottom of the canon. It
was a desperate road to traverse, but located with a
good deal of skill, zigzaging down the precipice, and
taking advantage of every crevice and fissure that
could afford a foot-hold. It did not take long to
discover that no mule could accomplish this descent,
and nothing remained but to turn back. We were
glad to have even this privilege in our power. The
jaded brutes were collected upon the little summit,
where they could be turned around, and then com
menced to return from the hazardous journey. The
sun shone directly into the canon, and the glare
reflected from the walls made the heat intolerable.
The disappointed beasts, now two days without
water, with glassy eyes and protruding tongues, plod
ded slowly along, uttei'ing the most melancholy
cries; The rxearest water, of which we had any
knowledge, was almost thirty miles distant. There
was but one chance of saving the train, and after
reaching an open portion of the ravine the packs
and saddles were removed, and two or three Mexi
cans started for the lagoons, mounted upon the least
exhausted animals and driving the others loose be
fore them. It was somewhat dangerous to detach
them thus from the main part}' but there was no help
for it. Some of the mules will give out before the
night march is over, but the knowedge that they
are on the road to water will enable the most of
them to reach it in spite of their weariness and the
length of the way.
" It was estimated that, at this point which was
within a few miles of the main canon, about one-half
of the original plain had been cutaway by the action
of the river and its branches.
BIG CANON OF THE COLORADO.
15
"A party was made up to explore the canon. The
distance to the precipice where the mules were turned
back was about five miles. The precipice was de
scended without difficulty, though in one or two places
the path traversed smooth, inclined plains that
made the footing insecure and the crossing danger
ous. The bottom of the canon which from the sum
mit looked smooth, was found to be covei-ed with
small hills thirty or forty feet high. Along the mid
dle of the canon started another one with low walls
at the starting point, which became lofty precipices
as the base of the new ravine sunk deeper and deeper
into the earth. Along the bottom of this gorge we
followed the trail, distinctly seen when the surface
was not composed of rocks. Every few minutes low
falls and ledges were met with, which wo had to
jump or slide down, till a formidable number
of obstacles were to be met in returning. Like
other canons this was circuitous, and at each turn we
expected to find something new and startling. We
were deeper in the bowels of the earth than we had
ever been before, and surrounded by walls and tow
ers of such imposing dimensions that it would be
useless to attempt describing them; but the effects of
magnitude had begun to pall, and the walk from the
foot of the precipice was monotonously dull; no sign
of life could be discerned above or below. At the end
of thirteen miles from the precipice an obstacle pre
sented itself that there seemed to be no possibility of
overcoming. A stone slab, reaching from one side
of the canon to the other, terminated the plain
which we were descending. Looking over the
edge it appeared that the next level was forty
feet below. This time there was no trail along
the side of the bluffs, for these were smooth and
perpendicular. A spring of water rose from the
canon above and trickled over the precipice,
forming a beautiful cascade. It was supposed
that the Indians must have come to this point merely
to procure water; but this theory was not satisfac
tory and we sat down to consider the situation.
"Mr. Egloffstein lay down by the side of the creek,
and projecting his head over the ledge to watch the
cascade discovered a solution to the mystery. Below
the shelving rock, and hidden by it and the fall, stood
a crazy-looking ladder, made of rough sticks bound
together with thongs of bark. It was almost per
pendicular and rested upon a bed of angular stones.
The rounds had become rotten from the incessant flow
of the water. Mr. Egloffstein, anxious to have the
first view of what was below, scrambled over the
rock and got his feet upon the first round. Being a
solid weight, he was too much for the insecure fabric,
which commenced giving away. One side fortunately
stood firm, and holding on to this with a tight grip
he made a precipitate descent. The other side and
all the rounds broke loose and accompanied him to
the bottom in a general crash, effectually cutting off
the communication. Leaving us to devise means of
getting him back he ran to the bend to explore. The
bottom of the canon had been reached. He found
that he was at the edge of a stream ten or fifteen
yards wide fringed with cottonwoods and willows.
The walls of the canon spread out for a short distance
leaving room for a narrow belt of bottom-land on
which were fields of corn and a few scattered huts.
It was impossible to follow the stream to its union'
with the main river, Avhich was not far off. Nor could
a situation be found where a complete view of the
great canon might be obtained; at one spot the top
could be seen, at another the bottom. Measurements
were taken which showed the walls of the canon to
be over six thousand feet in height."
Notwithstanding all the efforts backed by money
and government the great canon was not entered,
at least from the side. The parties safely made their
way out of the chasm, and resumed their journey
towards Fort Defiance, finding on their way the
towns of stone houses which the early Spanish ex
plorers saw and which had since remained unknown
and mostly forgotten.
FIRST EXPLORATION UNWILLING VENTURE.
Some of my readers may inquire whether this
canon has never been explored? Twice only of
which" any record has been found. Some time in the
sixties, three men, prospecting on the head-waters of
the river in the Colorado Territory, fell into a diffi
culty with the Indians. Two succeeded in reaching
their boats, and escaped by rowing swiftly down the
stream, the swift current and bold banks facilitating
their flight. When they had gone so far as to feel
secure from pursuit, and took time to consider the
situation, they found themselves floating in a
stream, so swift as to prevent their return, even if
they desired it, and with banks so precipitous as to
make escape in that direction impossible. The stream
became swifter and the banks or walls of the canon
higher every hour.
THEY CONSIDER THE SITUATION.
A council of war was held, and all evidence at
tainable was considered. The questions put forth in
one of Addison's essays a hundred and fifty years
ago, " Where am I ? What sort of place do I in
habit?" seemed particularly applicable to the situa
tion. As to the first question, they could only say,
we are in "Uncle Sam's" dominion, and as to the
last, it is a " hell of a place." One of them remem
bered of hearing some old trappers, while sitting
around a camp fire near Salt Lake, tell a story of a
great river that was lost in a range of mountains
and flowed hundreds of miles under ground. An
other said that it did not flow under ground, but in a
narrow channel thousands of feet in depth, so deep
that daylight never reached the bottom. None of
them, however, had ever seen the river under these
circumstances. The Indians believed, some of them
at least, that the deep gorge led to Heaven, and
others thought it led to Hell ! It was certain that
the route to the blessed regions would not go through
any such country as they were passing ; and* as to
the latter place, had not Beecher knocked the bottom
out of it? So they concluded to go on ; in fact, there
was no other alternative. About the third day they
heard a great roaring of falling water, and before
they had time to consider were plunged over a cat
aract, that proved not a very high one, for though
the boat was smashed, they saved their lives by
swimming to an island at the foot of the falls,
and were able to save most of their provisions.
They now constructed a raft of dry, cotton -wood
logs, which they found lodged high up on the island,
and continued their voyage.
16
HISTORY OF AMADOR COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
DEATH OP ONE OP THE PARTIES.
Falls and rapids being now frequent, and the
plunges often throwing them off their craft, they
imprudently lashed themselves to it. Passing the
next cataract the raft was upset, and one of the two
was lost. The survivor found himself on the raft,
now bottom side up, though entirely ignorant as to
how he succeeded in disengaging himself while under
the water.
Day after day, week after week, until the weeks
became months, he floated down the river, encoun
tering many obstacles but escaping with his life.
The river was destitute of fish or animals, but in
places he found the mesquitc bean which would sus
tain life. Months afterward a soldier at Fort Col-
ville saw a log floating in the river appearing to have
como out of the canon. The unusual circumstance
caused him to turn a telescope upon it. " My God !"
said he, " there is a man on that log ! !" A boat
was dispatched, and the man was brought ashore,
nearly famished, speechless, naked, and his body cov
ered with sores. After some nourish ment had been
taken, he was able to say that ho had come through
the great canon. The man recovered, and for many
years afterward drove a stage in Arizona.
EXPLORATION UNDER THE DIRECTION OP THE SMITHSO
NIAN INSTITUTE.
The Government of the United States during these
years had enough business on hand without attending
to expeditions in the cause of science, for, so far, the
river had no value. But the Smithsonian Institute
undertook the exploration of the river. Lieutenant
Powell, an eminent scientist and explorer, was sent
out to gather all the information about it that was
possible. The transcontinental railroad now made
the matter easier. He interviewed the trappers and
hunters at Salt Lake and Fort Bridger ; visited
Arizona, and heard all that the stage-driver could re
member, and went East to make preparations for the
descent of the river. The scientific public were now
aroused, and many were anxious to accompany the
expedition. Several boats were made in water-tight
compartments, so contrived as to float though they
might be stove. Provisions, instruments and all nec
essary articles were inclosed in water-tight, rubber
bags. On the 24th of May, 1869, he left the line of
the Union Pacific Railroad at the Green River Sta
tion. Those who love to read of the grand, the pictur
esque, the terrible, will find their satisfaction in reading
" Powell's Explorations of the Colorado Canon." The
limits of this book will only permit a short account
of the trip which was full of dangers as well as
pleasure. They passed safely down the upper waters.
Some hundred miles below the starting-point, the
labor commenced. Sometimes the river would zig
zag between metamorphic slates and granite spurs,
making a channel like a line of saw teeth ; then it
would leave the granite and cut a vast amphitheatre
in the sandstone, miles across and thousands of feet
high. Towers, domes, castles, minarets, and all the
forms of ancient and modern architecture seemed
anticipated. Even sculpture was not forgotten, for
in many places gigantic figures seemed to be guard
ing the great canon, and threatening to overwhelm
all who should dare to invade the ancient solitude.
For months the party continued their voyage. Not
withstanding their ample preparations, it was nearly
a failure. They lost their boats and most of their
provisions, as well as their scientific instruments.
They were uncertain whether the canon was three,
four, or five hundred miles long. When nearly
through it was proposed to leave the river and try
to ascend its banks. It Avas urged that more rapids
on the junction of the granite and slate would end
the expedition. Part of the men determined to try
to scale the walls. They were given a part of the
scant provisions, and also a copy of the records of
the trip. Both parties bid each other " good
bye," with the firm belief that the other was
destined to certain destruction. Powell remained
with the party to continue down the river, hoping
that if he perished some record of their trip would
be picked up on the lower river or the Gulf of Cal
ifornia. His judgment proved the best. August 30th
he emerged from the canon, in somewhat better
plight than the stage-driver did, having witnessed
undoubtedly the greatest wonder of the world.
Nothing was heard of the other party for years. A
prospector brought the news that they scaled the
walls of the canon, but were soon afterwards killed by
the Indians, being mistaken for a party of white men
who had committed an outrage on an Indian woman
GEOLOGY AND CLIMATE.
The Colorado river drains a territory of three
hundred thousand square miles. A portion of this,
eight hundred miles in extent, resting on the Rocky
Mountains, is fed by snows, and has numerous rivers
which, with all their branches, form cafions one
leading into another and all finally merging into the
grand gorge, six thousand feet deep and three hund
red miles long. The lower part of the Colorado for
one thousand miles runs through an almost rainless
country. There is no wearing away of the banks into
the rounded, graceful forms so usual in the vicinities of
rivers. The channels of the rivers being so deep
the country is thoroughly drained of water, and
very few springs emerge from the surface. The soil
is consequently destitute of vegetation. There are
evidences, however, of an extensive alluvial deposit,
of a time when the river meandered through fertile
plains like the Mississippi. The elephant, the mas
todon, and their contemporaries wandered in herds
over suitable pastures where now desolation reigns.
It is difficult to estimate the influence which this
strange system of rivers has exerted over California.
Had not the early explorers when in search of gold
met this obstruction, our mines would have been
discovered and worked, and California would have
PERMANENT OCCUPATION OF CALIFORNIA.
17
been cursed with the blight that has covered all the
Spanish possessions. It was reserved for a more
vigorous race to develop.
The climatic influence is also great. It is now be
lieved that our dry, desicating north winds find
their way from the Arizona deserts, and that the
particles of red dust with which our summer atmos
phere is loaded, is finely-pulverized Arizona soil.
CHAPTER III.
The Exiles of Loreto Father Tierra's Methods of Conversion
Death of Father Tierra Arrest of the Jesuits Midnight
Parting Permanent Occupation of California Missions in
Charge of Francisco Friars Character of Father Junipero
Exploring Expeditions Origin of the name of the Bay
Mission Dolores Death of Father Junipero.
IT was the custom of the Spanish Government to
send out a certain number of Christian missionaries
with each expedition, whether for discovery or con-
finest. When the conquerors took possession of a
new territory, in the name of the King of Spain, the
accompanying Fathers also claimed it for the spirit
ual empire of the Holy Church, and in this manner
California became, at once, the possession of both
Church and State, by right of discovery and con
quest.
As before stated, California was discovered in
1534, by an expedition which Cortez had caused to
be fitted out in the inland seas of Tehuantepec.
From that time, during a period of one hundred and
fifty years, some twenty maritime expeditions sailed
successively from the shores of New Spain to the
coast of California, with the object of perfecting
its conquest; but none of them obtained any satis
factory result, beyond an imperfect knowledge of the
geographical situation of the country. The barren
aspect of the coast, and the nakedness and poverty
of the savages, who lived in grottoes, caves, and holes
in the ground, clearly indicated that they had scarcely
advanced beyond the primitive condition of man,
and discouraged the adventurers, who were in search
of another country like Mexico, abounding in natural
wealth, and the appliances of a rude civilization.
After the expenditure of immense sums of both pub
lic and private wealth, the permanent settlement of
California was despaired of. The Spanish Govern
ment would advance no more money, private enter
prise was turned in another direction, and it was
decided to give over the, so far, fruitless experiment
to the Fathers of the church. Many attempts had
been made to Christianize the natives of the Pacific
coast. Cortez is said to have had several ecclesias
tics in his train, though there is no account of their
having attempted to convert the natives, or even of
landing among them. The first recorded attempt
was made about the beginning of the year 1596 by
four San Francisco friars, who came with Vis-
caino's expedition. During their stay of two months
at La Paz, they visited many of the Indians, who
thought them children of the sun, and treated them
3
very kindly. Three Carmelite friars also came with
Viscaino's third expedition in 1602, two Jesuit mis
sionaries in 1648, two Franciscans in 1688, and three
Jesuits in 1683, the latter with the expedition of
Admiral Otondo. The celebrated Father Kiihno
was one who came with the latter expedition. Once,
when attempting to explain the doctrine of the res
urrection to the savages, he was at loss for a word to
express his meaning. He put some flies under the
water until they appeared to be dead, and then
exposed them to the rays of the sun, when
they revived. The Indians cried out in astonish
ment, "I bimuhueite ! I bimuhueite !" which the
Fathers understood as "they have come to life," the
expression he wanted, and applied it to the resurrec
tion of the Redeemer.
No substantial success was, however, achieved
until about 1675. Then appeared the heroic apostle
of California civilization, Father John Salva Tierra,
of the Society of Jesus, commonly called Jesuits.
Father Tierra, the founder, and afterwards visita-
dore of the missions of California, was a native of
Milan, born of noble parentage and Spanish ances
try, in 1644. Having completed his education at
Parma, he joined the order of Jesuits, and went as a
missionary to Mexico in 1675. He was robust in
health, exceedingly handsome in person, resolute of
will, highly talented, and full of religious zeal. For
several years he conducted the missions of Sonora
successfully, when he was recalled to Mexico in con
sequence of his great ability and singular virtues,
and was employed in the chief offices of the provin
ces. After ten years of ineffectual solicitation, he
obtained permission of the Viceroy to go to Cali
fornia, for the purpose of converting the inhabitants,
on condition that the possession of land should be
taken in the name of the King of Spain, without his
being called on to contribute anything towards the
expenses of the expedition. Tierra associated with
himself the Jesuit Father, Juan Ugarte, a native of
Honduras. On the 10th of October, 1697, they
sailed from the port of Yaqui, in Sonora, for Lower
California, and, after encountering a disastrous
storm, and suffering partial shipwreck on the gulf,
landed, on the 19th of that month, at San Bruno,
at Saint Dennis bay. Not finding that place suitable
for their purpose, the Fathers removed to St. Dyon-
issius, afterwards named Loreto, and there setup the
sign of civilization and Christianity on its lonely
shore. Thus Loreto, on the east side of the penin
sula, in latitude 25 35' north of the equator, may be
considered the Plymouth Rock of the Pacific coast.
This historic and memorable expedition consisted of
only two ships and nine men, being a corporal, five
private soldiers, three Indians, the captain of the
vessel, and the two Fathers.
On the 19th of October, 1697, the little party of
adventurers went ashore at Loreto, and were kindly
received by about fifty natives, who were induced to
kneel down and kiss the crucifix.
18
HISTORY OF AMADOR COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
METHODS OF CONVERSION.
It is said of Father Ugarte that he was a man of
powerful frame. When he first celebrated the cere
monials of the church before the natives they were
inclined to jeer and laugh over solemnities. On one
ision a huge Indian was causing considerable dis
turbance, and was demoralizing the other Indians
with his mimicry and childish fun. Father Ugarte
caught him by his long hair, swung him around a
few times, threw him in a heap on the floor, and
proceeded with the rites. This argument had a
converting effect, as he never rebelled again. As
the conversion of the natives was the main object of
the settlement, and 11 mutter of the greatest impor
tance, to the natives at least, no means were spared to
effect it. When the natives around the mission had
been Christianized, expeditions inland were under
taken to capture more material for converts. Some-
tiiiu-s many lives were taken, b'ut they generally suc
ceeded in gathering in from fifty to a hundred women
and children, the men afterwards following. Two
or three days' exhortation (confinement and starva
tion) was generally sufficient to effect a change of
heart, after which the convert was clothed, fed, and
put to work. Father Ugarte worked with them,
teaching them to plant, sow, reap, and thresh, and
they were soon good Christians.
The imposing ceremonies and visible symbols of
the Catholic church are well calculated to strike the
ignorant savage with awe. Striking results were
often attained with pictures. When moving from
one mission to another, and especially when meeting
strange Indians, the priests exhibited a picture of
the Virgin Mary on one side of a canvas, and Satan
roasting in flames on the other side. They were
offered a choice, to become subjects of the Holy
Mother, or roast in the flames with Satan, and gen
erally accepted the former, especially as it was accom
panied with food.
DEATH OF TIERRA.
After twenty years of earnest labor, privation,
danger, and spiritual success, Father Tierra was
recalled to Mexico by the new Viceroy, for consul
tation. Ho was then seventy years old; and, not
withstanding his ago and infirmities, he set out on
horseback from San Bias for Tepic; but, having
tainted by the way, he was carried on a litter by the
Indians tQ Guadalajara, where ho died July 17, 1717,
and was buried with appropriate ceremonies behind
the altar in the chapel of our Lady of Loreto.
The historic village of Loreto, the ancient capital
of California, is situated on the margin of the gulf,
in the center of St. Dyonissius' Cove. The church,
built in 1742, is still in tolerable preservation, and,
among the vestiges of its former richness, has eighty-
six oil paintings; some of them by Murillo, and other
celebrated masters, which, though more than a hun
dred years old, are still in a good condition; also
some fine silver work, valued at six thousand dol
lars. A great storm in 1827 destroyed many of the
buildings of the mission. Those remaining, are in
a state of decay. It was the former custom of the
pearl-divers to dedicate the products of certain days
to Our Lady of Loreto; and, on one occasion, there
fell to the lot of the Virgin a magnificent pearl, as
large as a pigeon's egg, of wonderful purity and
brilliancy. The Fathers thought proper to change
its destination, and presented it to the Queen of
Spain, who gratefully and piously sent Our Lady of
Loreto a magnificent new gown. Some people were
unkind enough to think the queen had the better of
the transaction.
ARREST OF THE JESUITS.
The Jesuits continued their missionary work in
Lower California for seventy years. On the second
day of April, 1797, all of the Order throughout the
Spanish dominions, at home and abroad, were ar
rested by order of Charles III., and thrown into
prison, on the charge of conspiring against the State
and the life of the king. Nearly six thousand were
subjected to that decree, which also directed their
expulsion from California, as well as all other colo
nial dependencies of Spain. The execution of the
despotic order was intrusted to Don Gaspar Portala,
the Governor of the province. Having assembled
the Fathers of Loreto on the eve of the nativity,
December 24th, he acquainted them with the heart
breaking news. Whatever may have been the
faults of the Jesuits in Europe, they certainly had
been models of devoted Christians in the new world.
They braved the dangers of hostile savages, ex
posed themselves to the malarious fevers incident
to new countries, and had taken up their residences
far from the centers of civilization and thought, so
dear to men of cultivated minds, to devote them
selves, soul and body, to the salvation of the natives,
that all civilized nations seemed bent on extermin
ating. It is probable that the simple-minded son
of the forest understood little of the mysteries of
theology; and his change of heart was more a
change of habit, than the adoption of any saving
religious dogma. They abandoned many of their
filthy habits, and learned to respect the family ties.
They were taught to cultivate the soil, to build com
fortable houses, and to cover their nakedness with
garments. They had learned to love and revere
the Fathers, who were ever kind to them.
MIDNIGHT PARTING.
After seventy years of devoted attention to the
savages; after building pleasant homes in the wilder
ness, and surrounding themselves with loving and
devoted friends, they received the order to depart.
They took their leave on the night of February 3,
1768, amidst the outcries and lamentations of the
people, who, in spite of the soldiers, who could not
keep them back, rushed upon the departing Fathers,
PERMANENT OCCUPATION OF CALIFORNIA.
19
kissing their hands, and clinging convulsively to
ihem. The leave-taking was brief, but aft'ecting:
" Adieu, my dear children! Adieu, land of our adop
tion! Adieu, California! It is the will of God!"
And then, amid the sobs and lamentations, heard all
along the shore, they turned away, reciting the
litany of the Blessed Mother of God, and were seen
no more.
For one hundred and sixty years after the dis
covery of California, it remained comparatively un
known. It is true that many expeditions were;
fitted out to explore it for gold and precious stones.
The first was fast locked in mountains of the Sierras,
which were occupied by bands of hostile and war
like Indians; and the last have not yet been found.
The circumstances attending the discovery of the
great bjjy, will always be of interest, and deserve a
place in every record; for up to 1769, no navigator
ever turned the prow of his vessel into the narrow
entrance of the Golden Gate.
On the expulsion of the Jesuits from Lower Cali
fornia, the property of the missions, consisting oi
extensive houses, flocks, pasture lands, cultivated
fields, orchards, and vineyards, was intrusted to the
College of San Francisco in Mexico, for the benefit
of the Order of St. Francis. The zealous scholar,
Father Junipero Serra, was appointed to the charge
of all the missions of Lower California.
FATHER JUNIPERO, as he was called, was born of
humble parents in the island of Majorca, on the 24th
of November, 1713. Like the prophet Samuel, he
was dedicated to the priesthood from his infancy,
and having completed his studies in the Convent of
San Bernardino, he conceived the idea of devoting
himself to the immediate service of God; and went
from thence to Palma, the capital of the province,
to acquire the higher learning necessary for the
priesthood. At his earnest request, he was received
into the Order of St. Francis, at the age of sixteen;
and, at the end of one year's probation, made his
religious profession, September 15, 1731. Having
finished his studies in philosophy and theology, he
soon acquired a high reputation as a writer and
orator, and his services were sought for in every
direction; but, while enjoying these distinctions at
home, his heart was set on his long projected mission
to the heathen of the New World. He sailed from
Cadiz for America, August 28, 1749, and landed at
Vera Cruz, whence he went to the City of Mexico,
joined the College of San Fernando, and was made
President of the missions of Sierra Gorda and San
Saba. On his appointment to the missions of Cali
fornia, he immediately entered upon active duties,
and proceeded to carry out his grand design of the
civilization of the Pacific coast. Acting under the
instructions of the Viceroy of Mexico, two expedi
tions were fitted out to explore and colonize U pper
or Northern California, of which little or nothing
was known, one of which was to proceed by sea,
and the other by land; one to carry the heavy sup
plies, the other to drive the flocks and herds. The
first ship, the San Carlos, left Cape St. Lucas, in
Lower California, January 9, 1769, and was followed
by the San Antonio on the 15th of the same month.
A third vessel, the San Jose, was dispatched from
Loreto on the 16th of June. After much suffering,
these real pioneers of California civilization, reached
San Diego; the San Carlos, on the 1st of May; the
Sun Antonio, on the llth of April, 1769, the crews
having been well nigh exhausted by scurvy, thirst,
and starvation. After leaving Loreto, the San Jose
was never heard of more.
EXPLORING EXPEDITIONS.
The overland expedition was divided into two
divisions; one under command of Don Gaspar de
Portala, the appointed Military Governor of the New
Territory; the other, under Capt. Rivera Y. Moncado.
Rivera and his company, consisting of Father Crespi,
twenty-five soldiers, six muleteers, and a party of
Lower Calitornia Indians, started from Villaceta on
the 24th of March, and reached San Diego on the
14th of May, 1769. Up to that time, no white man
had ever lived in Upper California; and then began
to rise the morning star of our civilization.
The second division, accompanied by Father
Junipero, organized the first mission in Upper
California on the 16th of July, 1769; and there the
first native Calif'ornian was baptized on the 26th of
December, of that year. These are memorable
points in the ecclesiastical history of this coast.
On the 14th of July, 1769, Governor Portala
started out in search of Monterey, as described
by previous navigators. He was accompanied by
Fathers Juan Crespi and Francisco Gomez ; the
party consisting of fifty-six white persons, including
a sergeant, an engineer, and thirty-three soldiers,
and a company ol emigrants from Sonora, together
with a company of Indians from Lower California.
They missed their course, and could not find the
Bay of Monterey, but continued on northward, and,
on the 25th day of October, 17G9, came upon the
great Bay of San Francisco, which they named in
honor of the titular saint of the friar missionaries.
ORIGIN OF THE NAME OP THE BAY.
It is said that, while on this expedition, a regret
was expressed that no mission was as yet named
after the patron of the Order. Says Portala, "Let
the saint guide us to a good harbor, and we will
name a mission for him." When they came in sight
of the bay, Father Gomez cried, " There is the har
bor of San Francisco," and thus it received its name.
FatLer Junipero Serra was not of this illustrious
company of explorers, and did not visit the Bay of
San Francisco for nearly six years after its dis
covery. The honor belongs to Fathers Crespi and
Gomez, Governor Portala, and their humbler com
panions. The party then returned to San Diego,
which they reached on the 24th of January, 1770,
20
HISTORY OF AMADOU COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
niter an absence of six months and ten days. Six
years thereafter, on the 9th of October, 1776, the
Mission of San Francisco de los Dolores, was founded
on the western shore of the great bay, the old church
remaining in tolerable preservation to the present
time, the most interesting landmark of our present
civilization.
MISSION DOLORES.
One may retire from the noise and bustle of the
city, and spend a pleasant hour among the quaint
surroundings of the old church. The adobe walls,
the columns of doubtful order of architecture, the
bells hung with rawhide which called the dusky
converts to worship, all were doubtless objects of
wonder and mystery to the simple-minded natives.
From 1776 to 1881, what changes on either side of
the continent. A hundred years is much in the life
of men, little, except in effect, in the life of a nation.
Father Junipero, who founded these missions, and
under whose fostering care they reached such unex
ampled prosperity, reposes in the old church-yard at
Monterey. His life reads like a romance.
CHURCH HISTORY. It is related of him as illustrat
ing his fiery zeal, that, while on his way to found
the mission of San Antonio de Padua, he caused the
mules to be unpacked at a suitable place, and the
bells hung on a tree. Seizing the rope he began to
ring with all his might, regardless of the remonstra-
tions of the other priests, shouting at the top of his
voice, " Hear! hear, O ye Gentiles ! Come to the
Holy Church! Come to the faith of Christ!" Such
enthusiasm will win its way even among savages.
FATHER JUNIPERO'S DEATH.
At length having founded and successfully estab
lished six missions, and gathered into his fold over
seven thousand wild people of the mountains and
plains, the heroic Junipero began to feel that his
end was drawing near. He was then seventy years
old; fifty-three of these years he had spent in the
active service of his master in the New World. Hav
ing fought the good fight and finished his illustrious
course, the broken old man retired to the Mission
of San Carlos at Monterey, gave the few remain
ing days of his life to a closer communion with
God, received the last rites of the religion which he
had advocated and illustrated so well, and on the
Hh of August, 1784, gently passed away. Tradi
tions of the "boy priest" still linger among the rem
nants of the tribes which were gathered under his
care.
CHAPTER IV. *
THE MISSIONS OF ST. FRANCIS.
Their Moral and Political Aspect Domestic Economy The Es
tablishments Described Secular and Religious Occupations
of the Neophytes Wealth and Productions Liberation and
Dispersion of the Indians Final Decay.
CERTAIN writers upon the early history of Califor
nia, have taken an unfavorable view of the system
under which the missionary friars achieved their
wonderful success in reducing the wild tribes to a
condition of semi-civilization. The venerable Fathers
are accused of selfishness, avarice and tyranny, in
compelling the Indians to submission, and forcibly
restraining them from their natural liberty, and
keeping them in a condition of servitude. Nothing
could be more unjust and absurd. It were as well to
say that it is cruel, despotic, and inhuman 4o tame
and domesticate the wild cattle that roam the great
plains of the continent. The system of the Fathers
was only our modern reservation policy humanized
and Christianized ; inasmuch as they not only fed and
clothed the bodies of the improvident natives, but
likewise cared for their imperishable souls. The cure
of Indian souls was the primary object of the friar
enthusiasts ; the work required of the Indians was
of but few hours' duration, with long intervals of
rest, and was only incidental to the one great and
hoty purpose of spiritual conversion and salvation.
Surely, " No greater love hath any man than that
he lay down his life for his friend;" and it is a. cruel
stretch of sectarian uncharity to charge selfishness
and avarice to the account of self-devoting men who
voluntarily, went forth from the refinements, pleas
ures, and honors of European civilization, to traverse
the American wilderness in sandals, and with only
one poor garment a year, in order to uplift the de
graded and savage tribes of Paganism from the
regions of spiritual darkness, and lead them to the
heights of salvation; nay, even to starve and die on
the "coral strand" of California in helpless and
deserted age. In 1838, the Rev. Father Sarria act
ually starved to death at the Mission of Soledad,
after having labored there for thirty years. After
the mission had been plundered through the perfidy
of the Mexican Government, the old man, broken by
age and faint with hunger, lingered in his little
church with the few converts that remained, and one
Sunday morning fell down and died of starvation
before the altar of his life-long devotion. O, let not
the Christian historian of California, who is yet to
write for all time to come, stain and distort his
pages by such cruel and unworthy charges against
the barefooted paladins of the Cross.
To entirely comprehend the system and proceed
ings of the friars, it will be essential to know the
*This and Chapters V, VI, VII, VIII, X, XI, XII, XIII,
XIV and XV are taken from the History of Sacramento County,
and Chapter IX from the History of San Joaquin County, these
works being among those published by Thompson & West.
w
THE MISSION OF ST. FRANCIS.
21
meaning of certain descriptive terms of their insti
tutions of settlement. These were . -
1st. Presidios.
2d. Castillos.
3d. Pueblos.
4th. Missions.
The presidios were the military garrisons, estab
lished along the coast for the defense of the country
and the protection of the missionaries. Being the
head-quarters of the military, they became the seats
of local government for the different presidencies
into which the country was divided. There were
four of these presidios in Upper California at San
Diego, Santa Barbara, Monterey, and San Francisco.
They were uniform in structure, consisting of adobe
walls twelve or fourteen feet high, inclosing a square
of three hundred feet on each side, defended at the
angles by small bastions mounting eight twelve-
pounder, bronze cannon. Within were the barracks,
store-house, a church for the soldiers, and the com
mandant's residence. On the outside they were
defended by a trench, twelve feet wide and six feet
deep, and were entered by two gates, open during
the day, and closed at night. The number of sol
diers assigned to each presidio was limited to two
hundred and fifty ; but rarely were there so many
at any one station. In addition to the duty of
guarding the coast, small details of four and five
men, under a sergeant, accompanied the Fathers
when they went abroad to establish missions, or on
other business. A certain number of troops were
also assigned to each mission, to keep order and
defend the place against the attacks of hostile na
tives. They dressed in buckskin uniform, which
was supposed to be impervious to arrows, and the
horses, too, were encased in leather armor, like those
of the knights of old.
The castillo was a covered battery, near the pre
sidio, which it was intended to guard. It was manned
and mounted with a few guns, and though but a
slight defense against a powerful enemy, it served to
intimidate and keep off the feeble and timorous
Gentiles.
The pueblo was a town, inhabited originally by
discharged soldiers who had served out their time at
the presidios. It was separate from the presidio and
mission, the lands having been granted by the Fa
thers. After a while other persons settled there, and
sometimes the inhabitants of the pueblo, or independ
ent town, outnumbered those of the neighboring
mission. There were only three of those pueblos in
Upper California Los Angeles, San Jose, and Bran-
ciforte, the latter near Santa Cruz. San Francisco
was not a pueblo. There were three classes of these
settlements in later times the pueblo proper, the
presidiol, and the mission pueblo. The rancherias were
King's lands, set apart for the use of the troops, to
pasture their cattle and horses.
The mission was the parent institution of the
whole. There the natives resided, under religious
treatment, and others were not allowed to inhabit
the place except for a very brief time. This was to
prevent the mingling of whites and natives, for it
was thought that the former would contaminate and
create discontent and disorder among the natives.
The missions were all constructed on the same gen
eral plan. They were quadrangular, adobe struct
ures, two stories high, inclosing a court-yard orna
mented with fountains and trees ; the whole consist
ing of a church, Father's apartments, store-houses,
barracks, etc. The four sides of the building were
each about six hundred feet in length, one of which
was partly occupied by the church. Within the
quadrangle or court, a gallery or porch ran round
the second story, opening upon the workshops, store
rooms, and other apartments.
The entire management of each mission was under
the care of the friars ; the elder attended to the
interior, and the other the out-doors administration.
One large apartment, called the monastery, was oc
cupied exclusively by Indian girls, under the watch
ful care of the matron, where they were instructed
in such branches as were deemed necessary for their
future condition in life. They were not permitted to
leave the monastery till old enough to be married.
In the schools, such children as manifested adequate
capacity, were taught vocal and instrumental music,
the latter consisting of the flute, horn, and violin. In
the various mechanical departments, the most in
genious and skillful were promoted to the foreman -
ship.
The daily routine of the establishment was usually
as follows : At sunrise they all arose and repaired
to the church, where after morning prayers, they
assisted at the mass. The morning religious exer
cises occupied about an hour. Thence they went
to breakfast, and afterwards to their respective em
ployments. At noon they returned to the mission,
and spent two hours at dinner and in rest ; thence to
work again, continuing until the evening angelus,
about an hour before sundown. Then, all betook
themselves to church, for evening devotions, which
consisted usually in ordinary family^prayers and
rosary, but on special occasions other devotional ex
ercises were added. After supper, they amused
themselves in various games, sports, and dances till
bedtime, when the unmarried sexes were locked up
in separate apartments till morning. Their diet con
sisted of good beef and mutton, with vegetables,
wheaten cakes, puddings, and porridges, which they
called atole and pinole. The men dressed in linen
shirts, pants, and a blanket, the last serving for an
overcoat ; the women had each two undergarments,
a new gown, and a blanket every year. When the
missions had grown rich, and in times of plenty,
the Fathers distributed money and trinkets among
the more exemplary, as rewards for good conduct.
The Indians lived in small huts grouped around,
a couple of hundred yards away from the main
building ; some of these dwellings were made of
2-2
HISTORY OF AMADOR COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
adobes, and others were of rough poles, conical in
shape, and thatched with grass, such as the people
had been ai-.-uMomed to in their wild state. Here
the married Indians resided with their families. A
tract of land, about fifteen miles square, was appor
tioned to each mission, for cultivation and pasturage.
There is a wide distinction between the signification
of the terms Mis ion " and "Mission lands ;" the
former referred to the houses, vineyards, and or
chards, in the immediate vicinity of the churches,
and also included the cattle belonging to the es
tablishment; while mission lands, assigned for graz
ing and agriculture, were held only in fief, and were
afterwards claimed by the Government against the
loud remonstrance of the Fathers, however. The
missions were originally intended to be only tempo
rary in duration. It was contemplated that in ten
years from the time of their foundation they should
cease, as it was then supposed that within that
period the Indians would be sufficiently prepared to
assume the position and character of citizens, and
that the mission settlements would become pueblos,
and the mission churches parish institutions, as in
older civilizations; but having been neglected and
undisturbed by the Spanish Government, they kept
on in the old way for sixty years, the comfortable
Fathers being in no hurry to insist on a change.
From the foregoing, derived chiefly from Gleeson's
valuable work, " History of the Catholic Church in
California," it will be inferred that the good Fathers
trained up their young neophytes in the way in
which they should go. Alexander Forbes, and other
historians, say that during church-time a sort of
beadle went around with a long stick, and when he
perceived a native inattentive to the devotions or
inclined to misbehave, gave him or her an admonitory
prod, or a rap over the cabesa I But all authorities,
both Catholic and Protestant agree concerning the
gentleness and humanity of the Fathers, who were
absolute in authority and unlimited in the monarchy
of their little kingdoms. Not that there was never
any application of severe and necessary discipline;
there were among the Indians, as well as in civilized
society, certain vicious and turbulent ones, incapable
of affection and without reveience for authority,
and these were soundly whipped, as they no- doubt
deserved, as such crooked disciples now are at
San Quentin. Occasionally some discontented ones
ran away to the hills, and these were pursued and
brought back by the mission cavalry. They gen
erally returned without much trouble, as they had
an idea that, having been baptized, something dread
ful would happen to them if they stayed away.
While modern sentimentalists may lament that
these poor people were thus deprived of their nat
ural liberty and kept in a condition of servitude, it
must be admitted that their moral and physical
situation was even better than the average poor in
the European States at that time. Their yoke was
easy, and their burdens were light; and if, in the
Christian view of things, their spiritual welfare be
taken into account, the Fathers, instead of being
regarded as despots and task-masters, must be
viewed as the substantial benefactors of the swarthy
race.
The wealth created by some of the missions was
enormous. At its era of greatest prosperity, the
Mission of San Gabriel, founded in 1771, numbered
three thousand Indians, one hundred and five thou
sand cattle, twenty thousand horses, forty thousand
sheep; produced, annually, twenty thousand bushels
of grain, and five hundred barrels of wine and
brandy. Attached to this mission were seventeen
extensive ranches, farmed by the Indians, and pos
sessing two hundred yoke of oxen. Some of the old
fig and olive trees are still bearing fruit, and one old
Indian woman still survives, who is said to have
reached the incredible age of one hundred and forty
years. In 1836, the number of Indians at the
Mission of Upper California was upwards of thirty
thousand. The number of live-stock was nearly a
million, including four hundred thousand cattle,
sixty thousand horses, and three hundred thousand
sheep, goats, and swine. One hundred thousand
cattle were slaughtered annually, their hides and
tallow producing a revenue of nearly a million of
dollars, a revenue of equal magnitude being derived
from other articles of export. There were rich
and extensive gardens and orchards attached
to the missions, ornamented and enriched with a
variety of European and tropical fruit trees, includ
ing bananas, oranges, olives, and figs, to which were
added productive and highly cultivated vineyards,
rivaling the richest grape-fields of Europe. When
the missions were secularized and ruined by the
Mexican Government, there were above a hundred
thousand piasters in the treasury of San Gabriel.
But, evil times were coming. In 1826, the Mexi
can Congress passed an Act for the liberation of the
mission Indians, and the demoralization and dis
persion of the people soon ensued. Eight years
thereafter, the number of Christian Indians had
diminished from thirty thousand six hundred and
fifty, to four thousand four hundred. Of the eight
hundred thousand head of live-stock, only sixty-
three thousand remained. Everything went to rack
and ruin, and what had been a land of abounding
life and generous plenty, reverted to silence and
desolation. At the Mission of St. John Capistrano,
of the two thousand Christian population, only one
hundred remained; of the seventy thousand cattle,
but five hundred were left; of the two thousand
horses, only one hundred survived, and of the ten
thousand sheep, not one remained.
And then, after sixty years of cheerful and suc
cessful labor, and from happy abundance in which
they had hoped to die at last, went forth the down
cast Fathers, one after another; some in sorrow to
the grave, some to other and rougher fields of mis
sionary labor, and others to be dispersed" among the
DOWNFALL OF THE OLD MISSIONS.
23
widespread retreats of the Brothers of St. Francis.
And the swarthy neophytes the dark-eyed maidens
of San Gabriel, whither went they? Back to the
savage defiles of the mountains, down to the depths
of barbarism, to wander in the lonely desert, to
shiver in the pitiless storm, and to perish at last
under the ponderous march of a careless and unfeel
ing civilization.
CHAPTER V.
DOWNFALL OF THE OLD MISSIONS.
Results of Mexican Rule Confiscation of the Pious Fund
Revolution Begun Events of the Colonial Rebellion The
Americans Appear and Settle Things Annexation at Last.
IN 1822, Mexico declared independence of Spain,
and immediately the old missions began to decline.
Four years afterwards the Christian Indians were
removed from under the control of the Fathers,
their manumission having been ordered by the
Mexican Government. They were to receive cer
tain portions of land, and to be entirely independent
of the friars. The annual salaries of the Fathers,
which had been derived from interest on the Pious
Fund, were withheld and appropriated by the Gov
ernment, and soon after the fund itself was confis
cated by the Mexican Congress, and used for the
purposes of state. The Pious Fund was the aggre
gated donations of the Catholic world for the main
tenance of missions in Lower and Upper California,
the interest being about fifty thousand dollars annu
ally, which went for the support of the Fathers.
This large sum, principal and interest, amounting in
1817 to one million two hundred and seventy-three
thousand dollars, the beggarly Mexican Government
meant to steal. Professor Gleeson, writing in
defense of the Fathers, makes out a fearful bill of
damages against the perfidious Government, amount
ing to no less than twelve millions two hundred
thousand dollars, which will probably never be paid
by that rather shaky republic. The missions were
thus practically ruined. Following the rapacious
example set by Government, the white settlers laid
violent hands on the stock and lands belonging to
the missions, and, having returned to their mountain
fastnesses, the Indians instituted a predatory war
fare against the settlers, carrying off their goods,
cattle, and sometimes their wives and children.
The whites retaliating in kind, villages were de
stroyed, and the whole country, highlands and low
lands, was kept in a state of apprehension, rapine,
and spoliation, resembling the condition of Scotland
in the times of the Jacobites.
In the meantime in 1836, a revolt against the Mex
ican Government was projected by the white settlers
who seized upon Monterey, the capital, and declared
the country independent. Thirty American rifle
men, under Isaac Graham from Tennessee, and sixty
mounted Californians, under General Castro, com
posed the entire insurgent army, Alvarado being the
generalissimo. They advanced on and took the
territorial capital in November, Governor Gutierrez
and his seventy men having valiantly shut them
selves up in the fort, where they ignominiously sur
rendered at the very first gun. Gutierrez with his
officials was deported to Lower California, and Alva
rado had himself appointed Governor in his stead.
Don M. G. Vallejo was appointed military Command
ant-General, and Don Jose Castro was created Pre
fect of Police. The country was then formally de
clared a free and independent State, providing that
in the case the then existing Central Government of
Mexico should be overthrown and a federal constitu
tion adopted in its stead, California should enter the
federation with the other States. The people of Los
Angeles and Santa Barbara refused to acknowledge
the new territorial administration, but Alvarado
marched upon Los Angeles, where he was met by
Castello, and instead of a bloody battle, it was agreed
that Alvarado should recognize the existing Central
Government of Mexico, and be proclaimed political
chief of California, pro tern., while Castello was to
proceed to Mexico as deputy to Congress, with a sal
ary of three thousand piasters a year. The Govern
ment of Mexico declined to confirm the arrangement,
and appointed Don Carlos Carillo Governor of the
Territory. Alvarado again went to war, and with a
small company of Americans, and Californians,
marched against Carillo, the new Governor at Santa
Barbara. The valiant Carillo, having a wholesome
dread of the American sharp-shooters, retired from
the field without a battle, leaving Alvarado master
of the situation. The pusillanimous character of the
then existing Mexican Government is illustrated by
the fact that Alvarado was confirmed as Constitu
tional Governor of California, notwithstanding he
had been the leader of the rebellion.
Then ensued a succession of spoliations which
destroyed the laborious enterprise of sixty years, and
left the old missions in melancholy ruins.
Alvarado bestowed upon his English and Ameri
can followers large grants of land, money and stock
confiscated from the missions. Graham, the captain
of the band, obtained a great landed estate and two
hundred mules. To the commandant, General Val
lejo, fell the goods and chattels of the missions of
San Rafael and Solano; Castro, the Prefect of Mont
erey, received the property of the San Juan Bau-
tista, while Governor Alvarado himself appropriated
the rich spoil of the missions of Carmelo and Soledad.*
In the meantime a conspiracy against Alvarado
* Authorities differ on this matter. Some well-informed per
sons say that Alvarado had promised Bates, and others, large
tracts of land, if they would assist him in establishing himself as
ruler ; that after succeeding in his ambitious desires, he turned
traitor to his friends, and undertook to destroy them on the pre
tence of a contemplated insurrection. There was no fair fi^ht.
Alvarado captured the men, over a hundred in number, by send
ing armed parties to their homes in the night, or by luring
them to Monterey on pretence of important business, and put"
ting chains on them as fast as they came into his presence,
otherwise they would have made short work of deposing him.
[EDITOR.
HISTORY OF AMADOR COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
was set on foot by certain of his English and Amer
ican compatriots, the object being the admission of
California to the American Union. The conspirators
were forty-six in number, twenty-five English and
twenty-one Americans, under command of Graham.
Alvarado soon heard of the design, and sent a party
of soldiers, under Castro, to Monterey, surprised the
revolutionists in their hut, and poured in a volley of
musketry disabling many of them; the balance were
taken prisoners, and afterwards deported to San Bias
and thence to Tepic, where they were treated as con
victs. The Americans and English in California ap
pealed to the Mexican Government, and President
Bustamente became alarmed at the danger of war
with England and the United States, and ordered
the exiled prisoners to be sent back to California,
and that they should be indemnified for their loss of
time at the rate of three piasters a day. The re
turned prisoners, immediately on their arrival, re
sumed their design with greater energy than before,
having determined to be revenged on Castro and
Alvarado for the outrages they hud inflicted.
In 1841 other Americans arrived, and the revolu
tionary party was considerably increased. Alvarado
demanded reinforcements from Mexico, but the only
assistance he received was tbat of three hundred
convicts from the Mexican prisons. At this juncture,
Santa Ana, the new President, removed Governor
Alvarado from oflice, appointing Micheltorena in his
stead, and when the latter arrived, Monterey, the
capital, had previously fallen into the hands of the
American Commodore Jones, although then in the
possession oftke Mexicans. Commodore Catesby
Jones, having heard that war had been declared be
tween the United States and Mexico, hastened to
Monterey, took possession of the city, and hoisted
the American colors; but learning his serious mistake
on the following day, he lowered his flag and made
a becoming apology. This extraordinary incident
occurred on the 20th of October, 1842, and it was
then obvious that the distracted country must soon
Call into the hands of the United States, or some
other foreign nation.
One of the first acts of the new Governor, Mich
eltorena, was the restoration of the missions to the
friars, after a turbulent interregnum of six years.
But this act of policy and justice came too late; the
missions were ruined beyond the possibility .of resus
citation. The Indians had been dispersed, many of
them living by brigandage, and others had become
wandering vagabonds. After two years' exertion by
the Fathers things began to improve; some of the
Indians had returned, and the lands were being re-
cultivated, when the Government again interfered,
and ordered Governor Pio Pico, in 1845, to dispose
of the missions either 1 by sale or rental, to the white
settlers. Thus, at length, the last of the property
which the Fathers had created by sixty years of
patient labor, passed into the possession of private
individuals; many of the Fathers were reduced to
extreme poverty, humiliation, and distress, and the
missions went down, never to rise again. The de
struction of the missions was almost immediately
succeeded by the war between the United States
and Mexico, and the long vexed territory passed to
llic American Union.
CHAPTER VI.
PRIMITIVE AGRICULTURE.
Extent of the Mission Lands Varieties of Product Agricul
tural Implements and means of Working A Primitive Mill
Immense Herds and Value of Cattle The First Native
Shop.
UP to the time of the American conquest the pro
ductive lands of California were chiefly in the hands
of the missionaries. Each of the missions included
about fifteen miles square, and the boundaries were
generally equi-distant. As the science of agriculture
was then in a very primitive condition in Spain, the
monks of California could not be expected to know
much about scientific farming. They knew nothing
about the utility of fallows, or the alternation of
crops, and their only mode of renovating exhausted
soil, was to let it lie idle and under the dominion of
native weeds, until it was thought capable of bear
ing crops again. Land being so abundant, there
was no occasion for laborious or expensive processes
of recuperation.
The grains mostly cultivated were Indian corn,
wheat, barley, and a small bean called frijol, which
was in general use throughout Spanish America.
The beans, when ripe, were fried in lard, and much
esteemed by all ranks of people. Indian corn was
the bread-staple, and was cultivated in rows or
drills. The plow used was a very primitive affair.
It was composed of two pieces of wood; the main
piece, formed from a crooked limb of a tree of the
proper shape, constituting both sole and handle. It
had no mould-board, or other means for turning a
furrow, and was only capable of scratching the sur
face of the ground. A small share, fitted to the
point of the sole, was the only iron about the im
plement. The other piece was a long beam, like
the tongue of a wagon, reaching to the yoke of the
cattle by which the plow was drawn. It consisted
of a rough sapling, with the bark taken off, fixed
into the main piece, and connected by a small up
right on which it was to slide up or down, and was
fixed in position by two wedges. When the plow
man desired to plow deep, the forward end of the
tongue was lowered, and in this manner the depth
of the furrow was regulated. This beam passed
between the two oxen, a pin was put through the
end projecting from the yoke, and then the agri
cultural machine was ready to run. The plowman
walked on one side, holding the one handle, or stilt,
with his right hand, and managing the oxen with
the other. The yoke was placed on the top of the
cattle's heads close behind the horns, tied firmly to
PRIMITIVE AGRICULTURE.
25
the roots and to the forehead by thongs, so that,
instead of drawing by the shoulders and neck, the
oxen dragged the plow by their horns and fore
heads. When so harnessed the poor beasts were in
a very deplorable condition; they could not move
their heads up, down, or sidewise, went with their
noses turned up, and every jolt of the plow knocked
them about, and seemed to give them great pain.
Only an ancient Spaniard could devise such a
contrivance for animal torture. When Alexander
Forbes suggested to an old Spaniard that perhaps
it might be better to 3 r oke the oxen by the neck and
shoulders, " What!" said the old man, "can you sup
pose that Spain, which has always been known as
the mother of the sciences, can be mistaken on
thtd point?"
The oxen were yoked to the carts in the same
manner, having to bear the weight of the load
on the top of their heads, the most disadvantageous
mechanical point of the whole body. The ox-cart
was composed of a bottom frame of clumsy con
struction, with a few upright bars connected by
smaller ones at the top. When used for carry
ing grain, it was lined with canes or bulrushes. The
pole was large, and tied to the yoke in the same
manner as with the plow, so that every jerk of the
cart was torture to the oxen. The wheels had no
spokes, and were composed of three pieces of timber,
the middle piece hewn out of a log, of sufficient size
to form the nave and middle of the wheel, all in
one; the middle piece was of a length equal to the
diameter of the wheel, and rounded at the ends to
arcs of the circumference. The other two pieces
were of timber naturally bent, and joined to the
sides of the middle piece by keys of wood grooved
into the ends of the pieces which formed the wheel.
The whole was then made circular, and did not
contain a particle of iron, not even so much as a nail.
From the rude construction of the plow, which
was incapable of turning a furrow, the ground was
imperfectly broken by scratching over, crossing, and
re-crossing several times; and although four or five
crossings were sometimes given to a field, it was
found impossible to eradicate the weeds. "It was
no uncommon thing," says Forbes in 1835, "to see,
on some of the large maize estates in Mexico, as
many as two hundred plows at work together. As
the plows are equal on both sides, the plowmen
have only to begin at one side of the field and follow
one another up and down, as many as can be em
ployed together without interfering in turning round
at the end, which they do in succession, like ships
tacking in a line of battle, and so proceed down the
same side as they come up."
Harrows were unknown, the wheat and barley
being brushed in by a branch of a tree. Sometimes
a heavy log was drawn over the field, on the plan
of a roller, save that it did not roll, but was dragged
so as to carry a part of the soil over the seeds.
Indian corn was planted in furrows or ruts drawn
about five feet apart, the seed being deposited by
hand, from three to five grains in a place, which
were slightly covered by the foot, no hoes being
used. The sowing of maize, as well as all other
grains in Upper California, commenced in Novem
ber, as near as possible to the beginning of the rainy
season. The harvest was in July and August.
Wheat was sown broadcast, and in 1835 it was
considered equal in quality to that produced at the
Cape of Good Hope, and had begun to attract at
tention in Europe. All kinds of grain were threshed
at harvest time, without stacking. In 1831, the
whole amount of grain raised in Upper California,
according to the mission records, was 46,202 fanegas
the fanega being equal to 2 English bushels.
Wheat and barley were then worth two dollars the
fanega; maize, a dollar and a half; the crop of that
year at the several missions being worth some eighty-
six thousand dollars.
The mills for grinding grain consisted of an up
right axle, to the lower end of which was fixed a
horizontal water-wheel under the building, and to
the upper end a millstone. As there was no inter
mediate machinery to increase the velocity of the
stone it could make only the same number of revo
lutions as the water-wheel, so that the work of
grinding a grist was necessarily a process of time.
The water-wheel was fearfully and wonderfully
made. Forbes described it as a set of cucharas, or
gigantic spoons, set around its periphery in place of
floats. They were made of strong pieces of timber,
in the shape of spoons, with the handles inserted in
mortises in the outer surface of the wheel, the bowl
of the spoons toward the water, which impinged
upon them with nearly its whole velocity. Rude as
the contrivance was, it was exceedingly powerful
a sort of primitive turbine. There were only three
of these improved mills in the country in 1835, and
the possession of such a rare piece of machinery was
no small boast for the simple-hearted Fathers, so
far away from the progressive mechanical world.
It was not a primitive California invention, how
ever, as Sir Walter Scott, in his romance of " The
Pirate," describes a similar apparatus formerly in
use in the Shetland Islands.*
Before the advent of foreigners, neither potatoes
nor green vegetables were cultivated as articles of
food. Hemp was raised to some extent, and flax
grew well, but its culture was discontinued for want
of machinery for manufacture. Pasturage was the
principal pursuit in all Spanish colonies in America.
The immense tracts of wild land afforded unlimited
ranges, but few men and little labor were required,
and the pastoral state was the most congenial to
the people. The herds were very large; in the
four jurisdictions of San Francisco, Monterey, Santa
*This form of water-wheel was common in the Eastern States
during the earlier part of this century, and was known as the
tub or spur wheel. Even the mounting of the mill-stones was
in the manner described. [EDITOR.
26
HISTORY OF AMADOR COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
Barbara, and San Diego, there were in 1836 three
hundred thousand black cattle, thirty-two thousand
horses, twenty -eight thousand mules, and one hun
dred and fifty-three thousand sheep. Great num
bers of horses ran wild, and these were hunted and
killed to prevent their eating the grass. There was
hardly such a thing as butter or cheese in use, but
ter being, in general, an abomination to a Spaniard.
In the earlier times immense droves of young bulls
were sent to Mexico for beef. The cattle being half-
wild, it was necessary to catch them with the lasso.
a process which need not be here described. The
process of milking the cows was peculiar. They first
let the calf suck for a while, when the dairyman
stole up on the other side, and, while the calf
was still sucking, procured a little of the milk.
They had an idea that the cow would not " give
down " milk if the calf was taken away from her.
The sheep were of a bad breed, with coarse wool; and
swine received little attention. The amount of the
annual exports in the first feAv years after the open
ing of the ports to foreign vessels, was- estimated at
thirty thousand hides and seven thousand quintals
of tallow; with small cargoes of Avheat, wine, raisins,
olives, etc., sent to the Russian settlements and San
Bias. Hides were worth two dollars each, and tallow
eight dollars per quintal. Afterwards the exporta
tion ofhides and tallow was greatly increased, and
it is said that after the Fathers had become con
vinced that they would have to give up the mission
lands to the Government, they caused (he slaughter
of one hundred thousand cattle in a single year, for
their hides and tallow alone. And who could blame
them? The cattle were theirs. Notwithstanding
O
all this immense revenue these enthusiasts gave it
all to the church, and themselves went away in
penury, and, as has been related heretofore, one of
them actually starved to death.
In 1836 the value of a fat ox or bull in Upper Cali
fornia was five dollars; a cow, five; a saddle-horse,
ten ; a mare, five ; a sheep, two ; and a mule ten
dollars.
The first ship ever constructed on the eastern shores
of the Pacific was built by the Jesuit Father, Ugarte.
at Loivto, in 1719. Being in want of a vessel to sur
vey the coast of the peninsula, and there being none
available nearer than New Spain or the Philippine
Islands, the enterprising friar determined to build
one. After traveling two hundred miles through the
mountains suitable timber was at last found, in a
marshy - im.try; but how to get it to the coast was
the great question; this was considered impossible bv
all but the stubborn old friar. When the 'party
returned to Loreto, Father Ugarte's ship in the
mountains became a ghostly joke among his brother
friars. But, not to bo beaten and laughed down,
Ugarte made the necessary preparations, returned
to the mountains, felled the timber, dragged it two
hundred miles to the coast, and built a handsome
ship, which he appropriately named The Triumph of
the Cross. The first voyage of this historic ves
sel was to La Paz, two hundred miles south of Loreto,
where a mission was to be founded.
CHAPTER VII.
Sir Francis Drake's Discoveries The Fabulous Straits of
Aniau Arctic Weather iu June Russian Invasion
Native Animals Various facts and Events.
FOR many years it was supposed and maintained
in England that Sir Francis Drake was the original
discoverer of San Francisco bay; but it is now con
sidered certain that he never found the entrance to
that inland sea. Drake was a buccaneer, and, in
1579, was in the South Seas looking for Spanish
ships to plunder, under the pretext of existing war
between England and Spain. He had two other pur
poses to subserve in behalf of the English Govern
ment; to discover a new route from Europe to the
Indies, and to find a new territory northward
that would rival the Spanish-American possessions
in natural wealth. A rich trade had sprung up
between the Philippine Islands and Spain; every
year a Spanish galleon from the Malayan Archipel
ago crossed the Pacific to Acapulco, freighted with
the richest merchandise, and this, Captain Drake
was on the watch for, and did eventually capture.
At that time navigators universally believed that
the American and Asiatic continents were separated
only by the Straits of Anian, which were sup
posed to lead eastward to the Atlantic, somewhere
about Newfoundland. This long-sought northwest
ern passage Drake was in search of. In the autumn
of 1578 Drake brought his little fleet of three ves
sels through the Straits of Magellan, and found the
Pacific ocean in a stormy rage, and, having been
drifted about Cape Horn a couple of months, he con
cluded that the continent was there at an end; that
the Atlantic and Pacific oceans there united their
waters; and he very naturally came to the conclu
sion that a similar juncture of seas would be found
at the north. Having captured the great Spanish
galleon, and finding himself overburdened with rich
treasure, Drake wanted to return to England. He
did not care to encounter the stormy waters of
Cape Horn, and expecting to find a hostile Spanish
fleet awaiting him at the Straits of Magellan, he
determined to make his way home by a new and
hitherto unknown route, the north-eastern passage.
On the 17th of June, 1579, he entered what the his
torian of the expedition called a " faire, good bay
within thirty-eight degrees of latitude of the line.' 1 '
That exactly corresponds with what is now known
as Drake's Bay, behind Point Reyes. There,.
although it was in the month of June, his men u com
plained grievously of the nipping cold." Drake
having given up the perilous north-eastern passage
by way of the fabulous Straits of Anian, sailed away
for England by way of the Philippine Islands and
MISCELLANEOUS FACTS AND EVENTS.
27
the Cape of Good Hope. It is probable that while
off the north-west coast, Drake saw the snowy
crest of Mount Shasta and some of the Oregon
peaks, and concluded that he had got near enough
to the North Pole. At any rate, it is clear enough
that he never passed through the Golden Gate, or
rested on the magnificent waters of San Francisco
bay.
The Keverend Fletcher, chaplain of Drake's expe
dition, must have been a terrible old story-teller. He
says that when off the coast of Oregon, in the
month of June, " The rigging of the ship was frozen
stiff, and the meat froze as it was taken off the
fire." Moreover, saith the same veracious parson,
"There is no part of earth here to be taken up,
wherein there is not a reasonable quantity of gold
and silver." These arctic regions and golden treas
ures were found along the ocean shore between San-
Francisco and Portland.
Another English buccaneer, Thomas Cavendish,
appeared on the Pacific coast in 1586, and plundered
the Philippine galleon of 122,000 pesos in gold,
besides a valuable cargo of merchandise. The pirate
ran the vessel into the nearest port, set her on fire,
liberated the crew and made his escape to England.
It is supposed that one of the extensive Smith
family was the first white man who crossed the
Sierra Nevada from the States, but this fact is not
altogether certain. In the Summer of 1825 Jedediah
S. Smith, the head of the American Fur Company,
led a party of trappers and Indians from their camp,
on. Green river, across the Sierra Nevada and into
the Tulare valley, which they reached in July. The
party trapped for beaver from the Tulare to the
American river, and had their camp near the pres
ent site of Folsom. On a second trip Smith led his
company further south, into the Mojave country, on
the Colorado, where all except himself and two com
panions were killed by the Indians. These three
made their way to the Mission of San Gabriel, near
Los Angeles, which they reached in December, 1826.
In the following year Smith and his party left the
Sacramento valley for the settlements on the Colum
bia river, but at the mouth of the Umpqua they
were attacked by Indians, and all killed except
Smith and two Irishmen, who, after much suffering,
reached Fort Vancouver. Smith returned to St.
Louis in 1840, and the following year was killed by
Indians, while leading an expedition to Santa Fe.
His history is no less adventurous and romantic
than that of the famous Captain John Smith, of
Virginia.
In 1807 the Russians first appeared on the coast of
California. The Czar's ambassador to Japan came
down from Sitka, ostensibly for supplies, and
attempted to establish communication between the
llussian and Spanish settlements. The better to
effect his purpose he became engaged in marriage
with the Commandante's daughter, at San Francisco,
but on his way back to obtain the sanction of his
Government he was thrown from his horse and
killed. The lady assumed the habit of a nun, and
mourned for her lover until death; In 1812 a hun
dred Eussians and as many Kodiac Indians came
down from their northern settlements and squatted
at Bodega, where they built a fort and maintained
themselves by force of arms until 1841, when they
sold the establishment to Captain Sutter and disap
peared.
In 1822 Mexico declared her independence ot
Spain, and established a separate empire. When the
Indians at San Diego heard of it they held a great
feast, and commenced the ceremonies by burning
their chief alive. When the missionaries remon
strated, the logical savages said: "Have you not
done the same in Mexico ? You say your King
was not good, and you killed him; well, our cap
tain was not good, and we burned him. If the new
one is bad we will burn him too."
The State of California was originally divided
into twenty-seven counties. The derivation of the
several terms adopted is given by General Vallejo:
San Diego (Saint James) takes its name from the
old town, three miles from the harbor, discovered by
Viscaino, in 1602.
Los Angeles county was named from the city
(Ciudad de Los Angeles) founded by order of the
Viceroy of New Spain, in 1780.
Santa Barbara was named after the town estab
lished in 1780 to protect the five adjacent missions.
San Luis Obispo, after its principal town, the site
of a misson founded in 1772 by Junipero Serra and
Jose Cavalier.
Monterey, after the chief town, which was so
named by Viscaino in honor of his friend and patron,
the Viceroy, Count of Monterey.
Santa Cruz (the Holy Cross) was named from the
mission on the north side of the bay.
San Francisco, named in honor of the friars'
patron saint.
Santa Clara, named from the mission established
there in 1777.
Contra Costa (the opposite coast) is the natural
designation of the country across the bay from San
Francisco.
Marin county, named after a troublesome chief
whom an exploring expedition encountered in 1815.
Marin died at the San Eafael Mission in 1834.
Sonoma, named after a noted Indian, who also
gave name to his tribe. The word means " Valley
of the Moon."
Solano, the name of a chief, who borrowed it from
his missionary friend, Father Solano.
Yolo, a corruption of an Indian word yoloy, sig
nifying a place thick with rushes; also, the name of
a tribe of Indians on Cache creek.
Napa, named after a numerous tribe in that re
gion, which was nearly exterminated by small-pox
in 1838.
L>S
HISTORY OF AMADOR COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
Mendocino, named by the discoverer after Men-
doza, Viceroy of New Spain.
Sacramento (the Sacrament). Moraga gave the
main river the name of Jesus Maria, and the prin
cipal branch he called Sacramento. Afterwards,
the great river came to be known as the Sacra
mento, and the branch. Feather river.
El Dorado, the appropriate name of the district
where gold was discovered in 1848.
Sutter county, named in honor of the world-
renowned pioneer, John A. Sutter.
Vuba, a corruption of Uva, a name given a branch
of Feather river in 1824 by an exploring party, on
account of the great quantities of wild grape virues
growing on its banks.
Butte, the common French term for a mound, in
allusion to three symmetrical hills in that county;
so named by a party of the Hudson Bay Company
hunters.
Colusa, from Coluses, the name of a numerous
tribe on the west side of the Sacramento. Meaning
of the word is unknown.
Shasta, the name of a tribe who lived at the base
of the lofty peak of same name.
Calaveras, so named by Captain Moraga, on ac
count of an immense number of skulls in the vicinity
of a stream, which he called "Calaveras, or the
River of Skulls." This is the reputed site of a terri
ble battle between the mountain and valley Indians,
over the fishing question.
San Joaquin, after the river, so named by Captain
Moraga, in honor of the legendary father of the
Virgin.
Tuolumne, a corruption of an Indian word, signi
fying a cluster of stone wigwams.
Mariposa signifies butterfly. So called by a party
of hunters, who camped on the river in 1807, and
observed the trees gorgeous with butterflies.
Trinity, called after the bay of that name, which
was discovered on the anniversary of Trinity Fes
tival.
When first visited by the Spaniards, California
abounded in wild animals, some of which are now
extinct. One of these was called Berendo by the
Spaniards, and by the natives, Taye. It is," says
Father Venegas, "about the bigness of a calf a
year and a half old, resembling it in figure, except
the head, which is like that of a deer, and the
horns very thick, like those of a ram. Its hoof
largo, round, and cloven, and its tail short."
This was the Argali, a species intermediate between
the goat and the sheep, living in large herds along
the bases of the mountains; supposed to be a variety
of the Asiatic argali, so plentiful in Northern and
Central Asia. In his journey from Monterey to San
Francisco, Father Serra met with herds of immense
deer, which the men mistook for European cattle
and wondered how they got there. Several deer
were shot, whose horns -measured eleven feet from
tip to tip. Another large animal, which the natives
called cibolo, the bison, inhabited the great plains,
but was eventually driven off by the vast herds of
domestic cattle. When Langsdorff s ship was lying
in the Bay of San Francisco in 1804, sea-otter were
swimming about so plentifully as to be nearly un
heeded. The Indians caught them in snares, or
killed them with sticks. Perouse estimated that
the Presidency of Monterey alone could supply
ten thousand otter skins annually. They were worth
twenty dollars and upwards apiece. Beechey found
birds in astonishing numbers and variety, but their
plumage was dingy looking, and very few of them
could sing respectably.
The name California was first given to the Lower
Peninsula in 1536, and was afterwards applied to
the coast territory as far north as Cape Mendocino.
There has been much learned speculation concerning
the probable derivation of the word, but no satis
factory conclusion has been reached. The word is
arbitrary, derived from some expression of the In
dians.
The province, as it formerly existed under the
Viceroys, was divided into two parts; Peninsular,
or Lower and Old California, and Continental, or
Upper and New, the line of separation running near
the 32d parallel of latitude, from the northern ex
tremity of the Gulf of California, to the Pacific ocean.
The Gulf of California called also the Sea of Cor-
tez, and the Vermilion Sea is a great arm of the
Pacific, which joins that ocean under the 23d par
allel of latitude, and thence extends north-westward
inland about seven hundred miles, where it receives
the waters of the Colorado and Gila rivers. It is
a hundred miles wide at the mouth, widens further
north, and still further on contracts in width, till its
shores become the banks of the Colorado. The
Peninsular, or California side of the Gulf, was for
merly celebrated for the size and beauty of its
pearls, which were found in oysters. They were
obtained with great difficulty, from the crevices at
the bottom, by Indian divers, who had to go down
twenty or thirty feet, and frequently were drowned,
or devoured by sharks. In 1825, eight vessels en
gaged in the fishing, obtained, altogether, five
pounds of pearls, which were worth about ten thou
sand dollars. Sometimes, however, a single mag
nificent pearl was found, which compensated for
years of labor and disappointment. Some of the
richest in the royal regalia of Spain, were found on
the California gulf.
Peninsular, or Lower California, lying between
the gulf and the ocean, is about 130 miles in breadth
where it joins the continent at the north, under the
32d parallel, and nearly in the same latitude as
Savannah in Georgia. Thence it runs south-east
ward, diminishing in breadth and terminating in
two points, the one at Cape San Lucas, in nearly the
same latitude as Havana, the other at Cape Palmo,
< miles north-east, at the entrance of the gulf.
Continental California extends along the Pacific
HIRAM C. MEEK
(AT93Y'? or AGE.)
THE AMERICAN CONQUEST.
29
from the 32d parallel, where it joins the peninsula,
about seven hundred miles, to the Oregon line,
nearly in the latitude of Boston. The Mexican
Government considered the 42d parallel of latitude
as the northern line of California, according to a
treaty with the United States in 1828.
Greenhow, writing in 1844, says: "The only mine
as yet discovered in Upper California is one of
gold, situated at the foot of the great westernmost
O / * *
range of mountains, on the west, at the distance
of twenty-five miles from Angeles, the largest
town in the country. It is said to be of extra
ordinary richness."
The animals originally found in California were
buffalo, deer, elk, bear, wild hogs, wild sheep,
ocelots, pumas, beavers, foxes, and many others,
generally of a species different from those on the
Atlantic side. Cattle and horses were introduced
from Mexico, and soon overrun the country, and
drove out the buffalo and other of the large animals.
One of the worst scourges of the country was the
chapid, a kind of grasshopper, which appeared in
clouds after a mild winter, and ate up every green
thing.
Little or no rain fell during the years 1840 and
1841, in which time the inhabitants were reduced to
the verge of starvation.
It is a remarkable fact, that the Golden Gate is
nearly in the same latitude as the entrance of Chesa
peake bay and the Straits of Gibraltar.
In 1844, the town of Monterey, the capital of
Upper California, was a wretched collection of mud,
or adobe houses, containing about two hundred in
habitants. The castle and fort consisted of mud
walls, behind which were a few worthless guns, good
for nothing but to scare the Indians.
In 1838, the Russian settlements at Ross and
Bodega contained eight or nine hundred inhab
itants, stockaded forts, mills, shops, and stables, and
the farms produced great abundance of grain, vege
tables, butter, and cheese, which were shipped to
Sitka. The lazy Spaniards were bitterly hostile to
the industrious Muscovites, but durst not meddle
with them. At last, having maintained their in
dependent colony thirty-one years, they sold out to
Captain Sutter, and quietly moved away.
CHAPTER VIII.
THE AMERICAN CONQUEST.
Fremont and the Bear Flag Rise and Progress of the Revolu
tion Commodores Sloat, Stockton, and Shubrick Castro
and Flores Driven out Treaty of Peace Stockton and
Kearney Quarrel Fremont Arrested, etc.
IN the Spring of 1845, John C. Fremont, then a
brevet-captain in the corps of United States Topo
graphical Engineers, was dispatched on a third
tour of exploration across the continent, and was
charged to find a better route from the Rocky
Mountains to the mouth of the Columbia river.
This was his ostensible business, but there is reason
to believe that he had other and private instructions
from the Government concerning the acquisition
of California, in view of the pending war with
Mexico. Fremont reached the frontiers of Cali
fornia in March, 184G, halted his company a hun
dred miles from Monterey, and proceeded alone to
have an interview with General Castro, the Mexican
Commandante. He wanted permission to take his
company of sixty-two men to San Joaquin valley,
to recruit their energies before setting out for
Oregon. To this Castro assented, and told him to go
where he pleased. Immediately thereafter the per
fidious Castro, pretending to have received fresh
instructions from his Government, raised a com
pany of three hundred native Californians, and sent
word to Fremont to quit the country forthwith, else
he would fall upon and annihilate him and his little
band of adventurers. Fremont sent word back that
he should go when he got ready, and then took posi
tion on Hawk's Peak, overlooking Monterey, and
raised the American flag. At this time neither party
had heard of any declaration of war between the
United States and Mexico.
Fremont's party consisted of sixty-two rough
American borderers, including Kit Carson and six
Delaware Indians, each armed with a rifle, two pis
tols, a bowie-knife, and tomahawk. Castro maneu
vered round for three days with his cavalry, infantry
and field pieces, but, with true Mexican discretion,
kept well out of rifle shot; and, on the fourth day
Fremont, perceiving that there was no fight in the
gascon, struck his camp and moved at his leisure
toward Oregon.
At Klamath lake, Lieutenant Gillespie, of the
United States army, overtook Fremont's party, with
verbal dispatches, and a letter from the American
Secretary of State, commending the bearer to Fre
mont's good offices. That was all; what the verbal
dispatches were is still unknown. Fremont returned
to the Sacramento valley, and encamped near the
Marysville Buttes. He found the American settlers
greatly alarmed by Castro's war-like proclamations,
and had no difficulty in raising a considerable com
pany of volunteers, a party of whom marched on
the post of Sonoma, captured nine brass cannon, two
hundred and fifty stand of small arms, and made
prisoners of General Vallejo and two other persons
of importance. Eighteen men were left to garrison
the place, under William B. Ide. Castro fulminated
another proclamation from his head-quarters at Santa
Clara, calling on the native Californians to " rise for
their religion, liberty, and independence," and Ide
issued another at Sonoma, appealing to the Ameri
cans and other foreigners to rise and defend their
rights of settlement, as they were about to be mas
sacred or driven out of the country. The settlers
responded numerously and with alacrity; and, after
one or two skirmishes, repaired to Sonoma, declared
an independent State, and raised the now celebrated
HISTORY OF AMADOR COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
Bear Flag. That historic standard consisted of a
piece of cotton cloth, with a tolerable likeness of a
LTi-i/xly bear, done with a blacking brush and berry -
juice, and now belongs to the California Society of
Pioneers.
In the meantime Fremont was organizing a bat
talion at Slitter's Fort, and having heard that Castro
was moving in force on Sonoma, he made a forced
march to that point with ninety riflemen. Thence
Fremont, Kit Carson, Lieutenant Gillespie, and a
tew others, crossed to the old fort at San Francisco,
made prisoner the Commandante, spiked all the
guns, and returned to Sonoma. There, on the 5th of
July, is-li;. he called his whole force of revolution
ists together, and recommended an immediate
declaration of independence. This was unanimously
uted to, and the bear party was merged into the
battalion, which now numbered one hundred and
sixty mounted riflemen. Next day it was deter
mined to go in pursuit of the proclaiming Castro,
who was said to be entrenched at Santa Clara with
four hundred men; but when the battalion had
crossed the Sacramento at Slitter's Fort, they
learned that Castro had evacuated the Santa Clara
country and fled to Los Angeles, whither they
resolved to follow him, five hundred miles away. At
this point news was received that the American flag
had been raised at Monterey, and that the American
naval forces would co-operate with the mounted
riflemen in the effort to capture Castro. Then the
Bear Flag was hauled down, giving place to the
-tars and stripes, and Fremont and his men set out
overland for Los Angeles, after the declamatory but
fugacious Castro, who will live in history as the " Cap
tain Bobadil " of that brief but stirring revolution.
Up to this time nothing had been heard of a declara
tion of war between Mexico and the United States.
On the 2d of July, 1846, Commodore Sloat had
arrived at Monterey in the United States frigate,
Sni-niDKih, his whole fleet consisting of one frigate
and five smaller vessels. He had no intelligence
of a declaration of war between the United States
and Mexico, but was aware that hostilities were
impending, and was in doubt what to do. The
British Rear-Admiral, Sir George Seymour's flag
ship, was lying in the harbor of San Bias while Sloat
was at Mazatlan, and eight other British ships were
on the coast watching the American movements, and
ready to take possession of California. When Sloat
sailed from Mazatlan Seymour put out from San Bias,
each ship spreading every sail in a race for Monterey,
but the American Commodore out-sailed the British
Admiral, and, when the latter rounded the Point of
Pines at Monterey, ho found the Americans in full pos-
ion. On the 7th of July Commodore Sloat sent
Captain Mervinc, with two hundred and fifty ma
rines and seamen, on shore, hoisted the American flag
over Monterey, the capital of Upper California, and
issued a proclamation declaring the province hence
forth a portion of the United States. He had pre
viously dispatched a messenger to San Francisco to
Commander Montgomery, and on the 8th of that
month the stars and stripes waved over Yerba
Buena. On the 10th Montgomery sent an American
flag to Sonoma, which the revolutionists received
with great joy, pulled down their Bear Flag, and
hoisted the Union standard in its stead, and thus
ended the dominion of the revolutionary Bear Flag
in California, having played a conspicuous and
important part in the conquest.
Sloat then organized a company of volunteer dra
goons to take possession of certain arms and storee
at San Juan; but, when they arrived, Fremont and
his battalion had been there from Slitter's Fort, and
captured nine pieces of cannon, two hundred mus
kets, twenty kegs of powder, and sixty thousand
pounds of cannon shot.
When Fremont reported himself upon Sloat's
order, at Monterey, a misunderstanding occurred
between the Commodore and the Pathfinder, and
the former refused to co-operate with the latter in
the further prosecution of the war, and while the
dispute was pending Commodore Stockton arrived to
supersede Sloat, who had been too slow and hesitating
to suit the authorities at Washington.
Sloat having retired, Stockton and Fremont worked
harmoniously. The former assumed command of the
land forces, and invited Fremont and Gillespie to
take service under him with their battalion. Ojithc
23d, Stockton dispatched Commodore Dupont with
the Cyane, to convey Fremont and his battalion to
San Diego, and soon afterwards himself sailed for
San Pedro, the sea-port of Los Angeles. At Santa
Barbara he went ashore and took possession unre-
sisted. There he learned that Castro and Pico were
at Los Angeles with fifteen hundred men, and also
that Fremont had reached San Diego. After drilling
his seamen in the land service, Stockton, with his
three hundred men, took up his march for Los
Angeles, but, on his arrival, Castro had decamped
and fled to Sonora. Stockton at once took posses
sion of the place, and was soon after joined by Fre
mont, and, having received official notice of existing-
war between the United States and Mexico, he pro
claimed California a territory of the United States,
organized a temporary government, and invited the
people to meet on the 15th of September and elect
officers of their own. He then returned to Yerba
Buena, or San Francisco, where the people of the
neighboring country gave him a public reception.
After Stockton had left Los Angeles, General Flores
re-organized the scattered forces of the Mexicans,
retook the place, and proclaimed expulsion or death
to the Americans; so the conquest had to be made
again. Stockton returned to San Diego, and, after
various events which cannot be here related in
detail, was joined by General Kearney, who had
marched across the country from Santa Fe, and, on
the 20th of December, commenced his march of one
hundred and thirty miles to Los Angeles. He found
31
the enemy, a thousand or twelve hundred strong,
drawn up in battle array on the bank of the San
Gabriel river; a battle ensued, in which the Mexi
cans were defeated by Stockton and Kearney, and
fled towards Los Angeles, and, after three ineffect
ual attempts to make a stand, they scattered in con
fusion. On the 10th of January Stockton re-entered
Los Angeles, and restored the American flag to the
eminence which it still maintains. Flores, after hav
ing made a much better fight than Castro, fled to
Sonora. The treaty of Couenga ensued, restoring
peace to the country and completing the American
conquest.
Immediately after the conquest a dispute arose be
tween Commodore Stockton and General Kearney as
to precedence in the territorial Government. Kearney
was authorized to etablish a civil Government in Cal
ifornia, provided he should conquer it, as he did New
Mexico; Stockton and Fremont maintained that the
conquest was accomplished before he arrived. Fre
mont decided to report officially to Commodore
Stockton, who thereupon commissioned him as Gov
ernor of the Territory. Thus Fremont obtained the
ill-will of General Kearney, who, combining with
Commodore Shubrick, in the absence of Stockton,
abrogated the^treaty of Couenga, and proceeded to
oust Fremont from the Governorship, in the mean
time Colonel Stephenson arrived with his regiment
of New York volunteers, and sided with Kearney.
Mason was installed as Governor, and Fremont was
ordered to report at Monterey within twelve days;
this he failed to do, and Kearney refused him per
mission to join his regiment, sold his horses, and
ordered him to repair to Monterey, where he com
pelled him to turn over his exploring outfit to
another person. When Kearney was ready to go
East he compelled Fremont to accompany him, and
at Fort Leaven worth Fremont was arrested for
insubordination, conveyed to Fortress Monroe, tried
by Court-martial, found guilty of mutiny, disobedi
ence, and disorderly conduct, deprived of his com
mission, but recommended to the clemency of the
President. Having suffered these outrageous indig
nities solely in consequence of a quarrel between
Commodore Stockton and General Kearney, Fre
mont declined to avail himself of executive clemency,
and quit the service.
The people of the country generally considered
that Fremont had been ungenerously used by the
Government, and, a few years after, his popularity
having been greatly enhanced through the influence
of his magnificent wife, the daughter of Senator
Thomas II. Benton, he was nominated for the Pres
idency by the Republican party.
CHAPTER IX*
SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY FROM THE TIME CAPT. C.
M. WEBER FIRST SAW IT IN NOVEMBER,
1841, UNTIL THE CLOSE OF 1847.
Captain C. M. Weber Expedition to California, 1841 Names
of the Party Sutter's Fort Hoza Ha-soos San Jose
French Camp or Weber Grant Revolutionary Designs of the
Foreigners Treaty between Weber and Ha-soos How it
was observed by Ha-soos Fremont's Expedition, 1844
David Kelsey Thomas Lindsay Policy of the Foreigners
Weber and Micheltorena at San Jose John A. Sutter aids
Micheltorena A Revolutionary Document The "Bear
Flag "Attempt to Settle the Grant, 1846 Isbel Brothers
and Other Early Settlers Twins, Second Children born in
County, 1847 End of Stanislaus City First Marriage, 1847
Village of "Tuleburg" William Gann, First Child born
in 1847 Wild Horse Scheme Resume.
CAPT. C. M. WEBER was born at Hombourg, Depart
ment of Mont Tonnerre, under the Emperor Napo
leon I., on the 16th day of February, 1814. His
parents were German. This province, about a year
later, became a part of the Kingdom of Bavaria.
His father was a minister, and held the position
which in America would be called County School
Superintendent. The Captain received an academic
education but not relishing an outlook that pre
sented the ministry in the future, his education was
cut short at the threshold of the classic, and a mer
cantile horoscope was cast for the years " that were
not yet."
Being of an adventurous disposition, theland where
Washington had fought and DeKalb had fallen held
to his youthful imagination an irresistible attraction;
and at the age of twenty-two he crossed the ocean'
landed at New Orleans in the latter part of 1836
and for five years was a resident of Louisiana and
Texas, when in the Spring of 1841, under medical
advice, he visited St. Louis. In the meantime he had
read in the newspapers the glowing descriptions of
California given by Dr. John Marshe, a resident of
the San J oaquin valley, and which were attracting
ing considerable attention in the States. The Cap
tainknowing that a trip across the plains, over the
mountains of the west, and down into the California
valleys would benefit his healt*, and, at the same time
give him an opportunity to see this comparatively un
known country decided to join an expedition then
fitting out in that city for a trip to the Pacific slope,
intending in the following Spring to continue his
journey to Mexico, through that country, and ulti
mately, in that Avay, reach Louisiana, his final desti
nation, having no intention of stopping in California
longer, at the farthest, than through the ensuing
Winter. But "the best laid schemes o' mice and men
gang aft agley."
The party to which the Captain attached himself was'
a combination of emigrants for three different points:
One party was destined for Oregon; another was a
company of Jesuit priests going to the western wilds
*The portion of the history of San Joaquin is intimately con
nected with that of Amador, forming the connecting link between
the Spanish and American settlement.
32
HISTORY OF AMADOR COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
on a mission to the Indians, hoping to Christianize
the tribes of < >regon and Idaho; their immediate
destination was the missions of Coeur d' Alene and
Pen d' Oreille; Father P. J. DeSmet, S. J., was the
leading spirit, and his efforts in that field have been
written, a brief page in history, and the red man
still scalps his foes. The third was the California
wing of the little emigrant army, and numbered
among its party men whose subsequent acts helped
materially to shape the destinies of the State which
has since become a golden star in the galaxy of the
Republic.
There were thirty-six in that party. One only
was a woman the first American lady, probably,
who ever entered California certainly the first to
reach it from over the plains. Her name was Mrs.
Nancy A. Kelsey. She was the wife of Benjamin
Kelsey, and they had a little daughter named Ann.
This family commenced their march then, and, like
the wandering Jew, have never since found a place
to stop and rest. The beauties of California could
not keep them, they moved away to the forests of
Oregon, and then returned again to the El Dorado
ofthe coast; but no sooner had they settled there than
the spirit of unrest came whispering "move on," and
over the plains again they started ; they were attacked
by the Camanches in Texas, lost everything, and
their little girl was scalped by the savages. Stopping
for a time, they once more started for California
and now are possibly moving to some new scene.
The men ofthe party were:
CAPT. J. B. BARTELSON; Captain of the party; re
turned to Missouri; is now dead.
JOHN BIDWELL; lives at Chico.
JOSEPH B. GUILDS; still alive.
JOSIAH BELDEN; lives at San Jose and San Francisco.
( 'HARLES M. WEBER; died in Stockton, May 4, 1881.
CiiAiti.E.s HOPPER; lives in Napa county.
HENRY HUREK; lives in San Francisco.
MITCHELL NYE; had a ranch at Marysville; probably
now alive.
GREEN MM. \IION; lives in Solano county.
NELSON McMAHON; died in New York.
TALBOT H. GREENE; returned East.
AMBROSE WALTON; returned East.
JOHN McDoNEL; returned East.
GEORGE HENSHAW; returned East.
H'.KKKT UVCKMAN; returned East.
WM. BETTY or BELTY; returned East by way of
Santa IV.
CIIAIU.KS FI.KGGE; returned East.
GWIN PATTON; returned East; died in Missouri.
BEN.JIMAN KKI.SKV; was within a few years in" Santa
Barbara county, or at Clear Lake, Lake county.
ANDREW KELSEY; killed by Indians at Clear Lake.
JAMKS JOHN or LITTLEJOHN; went to Oregon.
HENRY BROLASKY; went to Callao.
JAMES I><>\\SON; drowned in Columbia river.
M \.i. WALTON, drowned in Sacramento river.
<;KORGE SIIORTWELL; accidentally shot on the wav
out. J
JOHN SWARTZ; died in California.
GROVE COOK; died in California.
D. W. CHANDLER; went to Sandwich Islands.
JS ICHOLAS DAWSON ; dead.
THOMAS JONES; dead.
ROBERT H. THOMES; died in Tehama county, Cali
fornia, March 26, 1878.
ELIAS BARNET.
JAMES P. SPRINGER.
JOHN ROWLAND.
They left Indpendence, Missouri, May 8, 1841 and
all traveled together as far as Fort Hall, near Salt
Lake, where Capt. J. B. Bartelson's party, as named
above, separated from the rest and started for Cali
fornia, without a guide, by the way of Mary's (now
Humboldt) river, they went to Carson river, and
from the latter, to the main channel of -Walker's
river, up which they went to near its source, from
which point they commenced their passage of the
Sierra Nevada, descending its western slope between
the Stanislaus and Tuolumne rivers, reaching the
San Joaquin valley and passing down along the
Stanislaus, crossed the San Joaquin river and
arrived at the Dr. Marshe ranch, near the east
ern base of Mount Diablo; on the 4th of November,
1841, having been six months, lacking four days, on
the way. Here the company rested for a number of
days, and then disbanded, each going to the point
in the country which his interests demanded. The
Captain and a friend started for Sutter's Fort, having
letters of introduction to Captain Sutter. They passed
through the country now known as San Joaquin
county, and beheld for the first time the land that
the result of his own labors was to people within his
life-time with thirty thousand souls.
The Winter of 1841-2 was spent by the Captain at
Sutter's Fort, occupying his time by acting as over
seer and assistant for Captain Sutter. While at
the fort he found a quantity of seeds which had
been laid away and apparently forgotten. They had
been sent to Sutter by Wm. G. Ray, of the Hudson
Bay Company, as a friendly expression of good will.
The Captain, desiring to try an experiment, had the
land around the fort prepared by Indians, and
planted the seeds. Among them were three kinds of
tobacco, a number of varieties of flowers, and some
vegetables. The experiment proved u grand success,
and in the Spring Sutter's Fort seemed like an en
chanted fortress built in the midst of perennial
gardens.
During the winter of 1841-2 Jose Jesus (pro
nounced llo-xa Ha-soos), the celebrated chief of the
Si-yak- um-na tribe, visited the fort, at which time
the Captain first met him. In after years there sprang
up a warm friendship between these two men, that
had much to do with the peaceable manner in which
the country was afterwards settled by the whites.
The Captain learned, in his intercourse with foreign
ers in the country, that there was germinatinga prin
ciple- or feeling which was in some localities freely
-
-
SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY FROM 1841 TO 1847.
talked of, to eventually Americanize California;
and, concluded with that prospect to look forward
to, that he was fully warranted in casting his des
tinies with the other venturesome spirits who had
decided to make Alta California their future home.
In the Spring he visited San Jose, and concluded
to make that the point of his future business oper
ations, until the time should come, if ever, when it
would become necessary to wrest from Mexico a
portion of the country, over which to hoist a flag with
the "lone star."
We do not wish to be misunderstood in this
matter. The intention of the leading pioneers of Cali
fornia, those who came here previous to June, 1846,
with the intention of making this their home, with
out regard to their nationality, was to work a polit
ical change in the country, "peaceably if they could,
foi-cibly if they must;" and this was to be done not
because of any desire to injure the native Califor-
nians, nor in a spirit of conquest, but because it was
evident to those clear-headed Argonauts that to make
the coTmtry a prosperous one, (one that would war
rant occupation by a people of progressive civiliza
tion), necessitated a radical change in the manner of
administering the affairs of State.
This change they proposed to effect in connection
with the native inhabitants, if they could; and if this
could not be done, to eventually, when they became
strong enough, Avrest a portion of the territory from
Mexico, and form a government of their own.
Captain Weber formed a copartnership with
Guillermo Gulnac, and soon established a credit which
enabled the firm to do a very large business. They
were the first parties in that portion of the State to
build a flouring mill and manufacture flour, combin
ing with the business the manufacture of sea-biscuit
or crackers, this mill having been erected and flour
made in 1842. They also entered quite largely into
the manufacture of soap and American shoes, being
the first manufacturers of the latter in California.
In 1843. July 14th, Guillermo Gulnac petitioned
Manuel Micheltorena, the Governor of California, for
a grant of eleven square leagues, or forty-eight thou
sand acres of land, to be located in the vicinity of
French Camp, in the San Joaquin valley. Captain
Weber was the real party, the power behind the
throne; Mr. Gulnac's name being used because he
was a Mexican citizen, as only such could obtain
grants. About this time the commercial partnership
was dissolved, the Captain becoming the successor to
the business, and Mr. Gulnac, his eldest son, Jose,
and Peter Laesen, with several vaqueros, took the
cattle belonging to them and Captain Weber, and
proceeded to take possession of the appiied-for grant,
at first making their head-quarters where Stockton
now is; but owing to the fact that the Hudson Bay
trappers had left for the summer, they became
alarmed for their personal safety among the Indians
and moved their camp up to the Cosumnes river, so
as to be in reach of Slitter's Fort for protection. Mr.
Gulnac visited Captain Sutter, and was presented by
that officer with a swivel gun such as the navy used
in those days when attacking an enemy in small
boats, mounting the swivel in the bow. This "young
cannon"was to be used by Mr. Gulnac as a warning to
the Indians to " flee from the wrath to come." It
would make a " heap big noise" when fired, and was
respected accordingly by the aborigines.
A statement will probably come in no place more
opportune than here, of the reason which caused
Captain Weber to desire the location of his proposed
grant on tho "up country side of the San Joaquin
river." We have already given the political intentions
of those pioneers which in 1843 had assumed so
definite a form as to have caused the question
to be discussed among them of where the division
line was to be drawn between the Mexican prov
inces and the territory to be taken from them,
in case it should result in that extreme measure ;
and the conclusion had been tacitly arrived at
that the San Joaquin river and the bays of San
Francisco, San Pablo and Suisun were to form the
line of division. It will therefore be seen that a
strong reason for choosing a locality north of the
San Joaquin was to secure land where he could
gradually concentrate his property within the limits
of the country to be acquired. Another reason, for
selecting this special locality, was the facilities it
would give him for dealing with the Hudson Bay
trappers, who made their head-quarters every winter
at French Camp, from whom, in exchange for fur, he
obtained ammunition, blankets, clothing, etc., of a
better quality and at lower figures than could be
obtained elsewhere at that time.
The attempt to settle the expected grant had failed
because of the fears of Gulnac, and the Captain ob
tained a passport from the Alcalde of San Jose, and
proceeded to visit Slitter's Fort, with a view of see
ing the Indian chief, Ha-soos, and making a treaty
of peace with him, if possible. After arriving in the
country, an Indian runner was sent to find the chief,
and ask him to meet the Captain at a given time
and place. A meeting was arranged, and at the
appointed time the two men, representatives of their
races in the country, met. Captain Weber ex
plained his plans to the Indian, stating that he was
desirous of settling on land in the San Joaquin valley;
that the Americans were desirous of being his allies
and friends; that they were not coming to injure nor
rob, but as friends to aid and benefit his tribe; that
he wished to settle here to be beyond the reach of
the Spaniards, in case of trouble between the Ameri
cans and native Californians, against whom this cele
brated chief was waging an endless war. The result
was a friendly alliance that remained unbroken to the
end. The chief advised the building of the American
village at the point where it was located, the present
site of Stockton, and agreed to provide all the help
necessary in the tilling of the soil, and to furnish a
war party when called upon to defend the settlers'
34
HISTORY OF AMADOR COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
property against either Indians or Mexicans. The
Captain was generous in his presents, and a friend
ship was started at the interview that lasted during
the life of Ha-soos, and the Captain now remembers
the Si-yak-um-na chief as one of his most reliable
and valued friends of early days.
The inhabitants of to-day can little appreciate the
importance at the time, and the immediate advantage
accruing to the foreign population of the country
resulting from that treaty. One may pass through
the County of San Joaquin and ask the old settlers
what they know of Ha-soos and his connection with
this country in early days, and may find five persons
in his travels that will remember the chief, and that
he was friendly to the Americans; but they, with one
exception, that of Capt. C. M. Weber, will give him
no credit for being so, supposing that it was forced
or indolent friendship. It has become popular with
the historian, as well as the men of 1849 and later, to
place the California Indians, in the scale of creation,
but one step above the African gorilla. Whatever
may have been the general rule, there certainly was
an exception in favor of the aborigines occupying
the territory between the Tuolumne and Mokelumne
rivers. These Indians were divided up into ranche-
rias or villages, each village having its chief and
name. Consequently there was a number of petty
chiefs, but all acknowledge an indefinite but undis
puted supremacy and authority in the chief of the
Si-yak-um-nas, Ho-za Ha-soos, who had made him
self a terror to the Spanish inhabitants of North
California. His name was to the native population
what Osceola's was to the Floridians, except that
the former chief was less brutal than the latter. He
did not scalp his victims, like the Scminole, nor seek
the midnight massacre of isolated persons.
He believed that he and his people had been
wronged by the Spanish, and he would never smoke
the pipe of peace with them. He would swoop down
upon the plains and carry off their stock, taking it
to his stronghold in the foot-hills of the Sierras; and
if the missions or settlers of those valleys saw fit to
attempt a rescue, he fought them, and was univers
ally victorious. The San Joaquin river divided his ter
ritory from the Californians, and when cast of that
stream he was upon his native heath; and it was
rare indeed that the pursuers followed him into his
own country. They had learned better in their
battle on the banks of the Stanislaus in 1829, when
" Bstanisloa," the former chief of the Si-yak-um-nas,
defeated their combined San Jose and Yerba Buena
forces.
It will bo seen that Ho-za Ha-soos was so circum
stanced as to receive favorable advances from a peo
ple who gave as one of their reasons for desiring his
friendship the probable hostility that might in the
future exist between them and the Spanish people of
the country. He believed that he was strengthening
himself against his old foe. It will also be observed
that the line beyond which the native Californians,
even in armed parties, found it dangerous to pass,
was the San Joaquin river. Beyond this it was con
sidered and understood by them to be savage and
inhospitable wilds. Ha-soos had made them respect
that river as the practical north boundary line of their
territory. Hence the propriety or policy of the
foreign population in selecting this river as the south
boundary of the country they proposed, under cer
tain circumstances, to make into an independent
state, along the borders of which they would have
a picket line of Indian allies.
In this connection we will mention two instances
in which Ha-soos demonstrated his good will to the
Americans, carrying out, on his part, the spirit of
the alliance he had made with Captain Weber ; and
we mention these with some hesitancy, not because
of any doubt of the facts, but because it is hitherto
unwritten history that may be questioned. The
incidents referred to were related to us by Captain
Weber, who says that when Captain S utter passed
through the country, in the Winter of 1844, to join
and aid Manuel Micheltorena against the revolution
ary General, Jose Castro, Ha-soos joined him with a
number of warriors. And later, when Gen. J. C.
Fremont passed through the San Joaquin valley
south, to help take this country from Mexico, that
this chief was again on hand, and accompanied him
to San Jose, to fight his old foes, in the interest of
his friends, the Americans. Whether he actually
performed any military act of hostility to the enemy
on either occasion does not appear, but that he was
ready so to do was demonstrated by his presence
with his warriors.
On the 13th of January, 1844, the Governor of
California complied with the petition of Mr. Gulnac,
and issued to him the grant of land known as " El
Rancho del Campo de los Franceses," which in Eng
lish means " The French Camp Ranch." After the
issuing of the grant, the next event worthy of note
in the county was the passage through it of Capt.
J. C. Fremont, who, on the 25th of March of that
year, camped over night at the place since known
as the village of Liberty, on the south side of Dry
creek. It was in his memorable first expedition to
the Pacific coast. He had been at Sutter's Fort re
cruiting and had started south on his way through
the San Joaquin valley en route for the States. The
following taken from the published history of his
expedition, will have peculiar interest to the residents
of this county:
"March 25th We traveled for twenty-eight miles
over the same delightful country as yesterday, and
halted in a beautiful bottom at the ford of the Rio de
los Afukelemnes, receiving its name from another
Indian tribe living on the river. The bottoms on the
stream are broad, rich, and extremely fertile ; and
the uplands are shaded with oak groves. A showy
lupinus of extraordinary beauty, growing four or
five feet in height, and covered with spikes in bloom,
adorned the banks of the river, and filled the air
with a light and grateful perfume.
SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY FROM 1841 TO 1847.
35
"On the 2.6th we halted at the Arroyo deists Calaveras
(Skull creek), a tributary to the San Joaquin the pre
vious two streams entering the bay between the San
Joaquin and Sacramento rivers. This place is beau
tiful, with open groves of oak. and a grassy sward be
neath, with many plants in bloom; some varieties of
which seem to love the shade of the trees, and grow
there in close, small fields. Near the river, and re
placing the grass, are great quantities ofammole (soap
plant), the leaves of which are used in California for
making, among other things, mats for saddle cloths.
A vine with a small white flower (melothria) called
here la yerba buena, and which from its abundance,
gives name to an island and town in the bay, was
to-day very frequent on our road sometimes running
on the ground or climbing the trees.
"March 27th To-day we traveled steadily and
rapidly up the valley ; for with our wild animals
any other gait was impossible, and making about
four miles an hour. During the earlier part of the
day, our ride had been over a very level part of
prairie, separated by lines and groves of oak timber,
growing along dry gullies, which are filled with
water in seasons of rain ; and, perhaps, also by the
melting snows. Over much of this extent, the vege
tation was sparse; the surface showing plainly the
action of water, which, in the season of flood, the
Joaquin spreads over the valley. At one o'clock we
came again among innumerable flowers ; and a few
miles further, fields of the beautiful blue flowering
lupine, which seems to love the neighborhood of
water, indicated that we were approaching a stream.
We have found this beautiful shrub in thickets, some
of them being twelve feet in height. Occasionally
three or four plants were clustered together, forming
a grand bouquet, about ninety feet in circumference,
and ten feet high ; the whole summit covered with
spikes of flowers, the perfume of which is very sweet
and grateful. A lover of natural beauty can imagine
with what pleasure we rode among these flowering
groves, which filled the air with a light and delicate
fragrance. We continued our road for about half a
mile, interspersed through an open grove of live-
oaks, which, in form, were the most symmetrical and
beautiful we had yet seen in the country. The ends
of their branches rested on the ground forming*some-
what more than a half sphere of very full and regu
lar figure, with leaves apparently smaller than usual.
The Californian poppy, of a rich orange color, was
numerous. To-day, elk and several bauds of ante
lope made their appearance.
"Our road was now one continued enjoyment; and
it was pleasant, riding among this assemblage of
green pastures with varied flowers and scattered
groves, and out of the warm, green Spring, to look at
the rocky and snowy peaks, where lately we had
suffered so much. Emerging from the timber we
came suddenly upon the Stanislaus river, where we
hoped to find a ford, but the stream was flowing by,
dark and deep, swollen by the mountain snows ; its
general breadth was about fifty yards.
" We traveled about five miles up the river, and
encampyd without being able to find a ford. Here
we made a largo corral, in order to be able to catch a
sufficient number of our wild animals to relieve
those previously packed.
" Under the shade of the oaks, along the river, I
noticed erodium cicutarium in bloom, eight or ten
inches high. This is the plant which we had seen
the squaws gathering on the .Rio de los Americanos.
By the inhabitants of the valley, it is highly esteemed
lor fattening cattle, which appear to be very fond of
it. Here, where the soil begins to be sandy, it
supplies to a considerable extent the want of grass.
" Desirous, as far as possible, without delay, to
include in our examination the Joaquin river, I
returned this morning down the Stanislaus, for
seventeen miles, and again encamped without having
found a fording-place. After following it for eight
miles further the next morning, and finding ourselves
in the vicinity of the San Joaquin, encamped in a
handsome oak grove, and, several cattle being killed,
we ferried over our baggage in their skins. Here our
Indian boy, who probably had not much idea of
where he was going, and began to be alarmed at the
many streams we were putting between him and the
village, deserted.
" Thirteen head of cattle took a sudden fright,
while we were driving them across the river, and
galloped off. I remained a day in the endeavor to
recover them; but finding they had taken the trail
back to the fort, let them go without further effort.
Here we had several days of warm and pleasant rain,
which doubtless saved the crops below."
In August, 18-14, David Keisey, with his wife and
two children, a boy and a girl, settled at French
Camp, and built a tule- house. Mr. Gulnac, who was
stopping at the Cosumnes river, had offered to give
Mr. Keisey a mile square of land if he would stop at
that place, and live one year; he turned over to him
the "swivel" that Sutler had given him. Every
night Mr Keisey threw this piece of ordnance " into
battery," and fired an evening gun; which he did to
frighten the Indians, on the same principle that a boy
sometimes whistles as he is going through the woods
after dark. At that time there was only one other
house in the county, also constructed of tule, occu
pied by Thomas Lindsay, at Stockton.
Mr. Keisey remained for several months at that
place, and after his family had been obliged to live
for two months on boiled wheat, meat, milk, and
mint tea, gathered along the banks of the creek, he
buried the swivel and removed temporarily to San
Jose, where he first saw Captain Weber. While at
that place he unfortunately went to see a sick Indian
who had the small-pox, just before returning to
French Camp. After returning he was immediately
taken sick, and Mrs. Keisey desired to take him to
Sutter's Fort, where he could have medical assist
ance, not knowing that he had the small-pox. When
they reached Stockton, Mr. Lindsay induced them
to stay over night, and while there a man by the name
of James Williams gave him some medicine that
caused the disease to break out. Lindsay immedi
ately vacated the premises, giving, as he left, advice
that has a twang of barbarism in it; he told them if
the old man died to leave his body where the coyotes
would devour it. In about six days the father died,
the mother and boy were prostrated with the same
disease, and little America, a girl eleven years of age,
was left alone with her sick mother and brother, to
administer to their wants, while her dead father lay
unburied in the hut; a sad introduction to the first
American girl who ever saw the place where Stock
ton now stands, and a sadder one to the first white
36
HISTORY OF AMADOR COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
woman that visited the place; for the mother became
blind from the effects of the disease, beholding that
delirious, weird scene of pestilence and death as the
last, to haunt the memory through the coming years
of darkness; a hideous phantom, a scene of desola
tion, was that last look of the mother upon the sur
roundings of that little child nurse.
Some herders chanced to come that way, who,
after considerable hesitation, assisted little America
in burying her father. One of them, Geo. F. Wyman,
afterwards became the husband of America. The
reason why they hesitated in coming to her assist
ance was a double one, they feared the contagion
and Captain Sutter, who had said he would have any
man shot who brought small-pox to the fort, or went
among the Indians who had it. The father was bur
ied near where Col. Thos. R. Moseley's house now
stands, and in a few days the little nurse was stricken
down with the dread disease, but recovered so as to
be able to leave for Monterey in about six weeks,
in about two weeks after they left, Thomas Lindsay
returned to his house on Lindsay's Point, in Stock
ton, and was killed by the Luck-lum-na Indians,
from lone valley, in Amador county, who fired the
tule-house with their victim's body in it, and drove
off all the stock. A party of whites, Mexicans and
friendly Indians, went in pursuit of the band who
had committed the depredations, and overtook them
at the place called the " Island," near the foot-hills,
where a conflict occurred, resulting in the burning
of the Indian rancheria, with what provisions and
property they had, the killing of a few of the war
riors of the hostile tribe, and the capture of one
Indian boy by William Daylor, of Daylor's ranch; one
Mexican by the name of Vaca, a member of the Vaca
family, formerly of Solano county, was killed by the
Indians in the fight. After this defeat they retreated
into the mountains, where they were followed, but
not overtaken.*
'Since the foregoing was written in 1 879, some further facts
have come to our knowledge, which not only puts this matter in
a different light but also demonstrates the difficulty of making
the first attempt at writing history succsssful.
D. T. Bird, who, at one time, was an officer in the California
battalion under Fremont, during the hostilities that succeeded
the Bear Flag war, says that he was one of the parties that pur
sued the Indians who murdered Lindsay at Stockton, and he
takes the poetry all out of the conclusion given to that expedi
tion. Instead of the Luck-lum-na Indians of lone valley being
chastised, they whipped the pursuing party (about thirty, strong,
half whites and half friendly Indians), who were under the com
mand of Captain Merrit, of Bear Flag fame. Captain Sutter
organized the pursuing party, and among the white men accom
panying it, were Captain Merrit, D. T. Bird, Charles Heath,
Vaca (a Spaniard), Hicks and Gillespie. The fight was a short
one resulting in Vaca's receiving a mortal wound from an arrow
The small-pox and the breaking out of the Mich-
eltorena war, combined, had depopulated the county.
There had been, in the latter part of 1844, and
Spring of 1845, a serious departure by the foreign
population of the country from their understood pol
icy, in their intercourse with the natives of Cali
fornia; which was a policy of non-intervention
between opposing factions of the country, that had
been decided upon and agreed to between the lead
ing men, as being the best calculated to produce the
final result at which they were aiming. Let the
Spanish population quarrel to their hearts' content,
let civil war sweep over the country, and arniy the
opposing factions against each other on the battle
field; it helped to prepare the people of all classes,
foreign and native, for a change; but in every emer
gency the American, the German, the Englishman,
the immigrant, whatever his native land was to hold
himself aloof, reserving his strength to be used as
one man for the general good of all, when the proper
time should come to act. All over California, from
Los Angeles to Monterey, and from Monterey to
Sutter's Fort, the foreign population were few in
numbers, one and two, sometimes a half-dozen in a
place, so scattered and so isolated that a false move
on the part of a few might prove fatal to many; H
consequently was important at that time that the
policy of non-interference should be pursued. Yet.
as we have previously mentioned, a serious depart
ure from that policy was inaugurated in the Michel-
torena war, without, apparently, any general con
sultation or plan on the part of immigrants, those of
each section or country marking out their own line
of action, regardless of the probable consequent
injury that might result to those of a different
locality.
The first instance was that forced upon Capt. C.
M. Weber, consequent from the loss of control, by
Micheltorena, over the outlaws called soldiers, whom
he commanded in 1844. The Captain was in busi
ness at the Pueblo of San Jose when the war broke
out, and was acquainted with and personally friendly
to both Micheltorena and Castro. He had a very
large stock of goods in the place, and was anxious
on account of it. He knew that the soldiers under
Micheltorena were mostly convicts, turned loose
from the prisons in Mexico, and were dependent
upon the meager revenue derived from forced
loans and plunder for their pay. His goods
that entered his side. In attempting to draw it from his body,
the arrow-head was broken from the shaft, and in an hour the
unfortunate man was dead. Up to the time of his death they
managed to hold their position, when, finding the enemy too
strong for them, the body of the dead Spaniard was laid upon a
pile of brush and burned, to prevent its falling into the hands of
the savages; after which they stole away in the darkness, and
reached Sutter's Fort without unnecessary delay.
SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY FROM 1841 TO 1847.
37
would be a rich prize, and if they once entered San
Jose, they would be sure to help themselves to
what he had; consequently all his interests were
opposed to the occupation of the town by such a
body of men. As Micheltorena advanced, Jose Gas
tro became alarmed, and, leaving San Jose to its fate,
retreated up the valley towards Oakland with his
forces; whereupon Captain Weber addressed a com
munication to the commander of the advancing
forces, stating that Castro had left San Jose, and
asked him if he would not pass to one side of the
pueblo, and not enter it with his troops. Michelto
rena replied that he found it necessary to pass
through San Jose in his pursuit of Castro. In the
meantime the Captain received prompt information
to the effect that the Governor had lost control of
his soldiery, who insisted on entering the village for
plunder; whereupon the Captain caused the tocsin
of war to be sounded through the streets. The
people assembled, and the Captain presented the
position of affairs, and told them that he believed,
with a force composed of the citizens and foreigners
in the place, the advancing army could be checked,
and forced to take a different route in their line of
march after Castro. A company was immediately
formed, placed under his command, and moved out
to meet the enemy, a handful against a host. Send
ing a courier in advance to meet Micheltorena, advis
ing him of what he was doing, and that it was
done, not in a spirit of opposition to him personally,
or the cause which he represented, but with a deter
mination to protect their homes from plunder. The
forces met some twelve miles out from the village,
and for several days the entire army, numbering
several hundred, was held in check by this little band
of brave men under Captain Weber. Castro, hear
ing of the fact, became ashamed of himself, turned
back from his retreat, joined the Captain with his
forces, took command of the army, and forced
Micheltorena to surrender, and, finally, to agree to
leave California and return to Mexico. For the time
this ended the war. It was again revived by Mich
eltorena, who failed to comply with his agreement
when he learned that Capt. John A. Sutter could be
relied upon for assistance. Sutter, wishing to retain
the old regime until his land titles were perfected,
in December, 1844, marched to the lower country
with his deluded followers, being met on the way,
at the residence of Dr. John Marshe, by J. Alex.
Forbes, of the Hudson Bay Company, who tried to
dissuade him from proceeding further with the
enterprise, but without avail, telling the Captain at
the same time that in General Castro's army was a
large number of Americans, and that his act was ar
raying the foreign-born population against each other.
Slitter's reply to all was that he had gone too far to
withdraw without discredit to himself. He pushed
on towards the south, and his men, suspecting some
thing wrong, began to desert until but few remained.
Finally, when the hostile armies stood face to face, a
parley was insisted upon, and it was found that the
foreigners were fighting in the ranks of both armies;
after which, Sutter had, practically, no followers,
and fell, finally, into the hands of Castro, who, but
for the strong intervention of friends, would have
had him shot.
This unfortunate proceeding was the second breach
in the policy of non-intervention; and it came so
near becoming disastrous, that it called forth an ex
pression of disapprobation for the course pursued;
such a policy continued would Mexicanize the Amer
icans, not A.mericanize the Mexicans. The result
was that the narrow escape demonstrated the neces
sity of an organized plan of action, so that in future
they might be well advised of all contemplated
movements, and act together as a body and thus
make themselves felt, instead of expending their
force against each other. With a view of accom
plishing this object, and thus pave the way for the
future segregation of California from Mexico, a call
was written, subscribed and circulated. * * * *
For various causes there was not as formidable a
gathering as was desired at the time designated,* and
the meeting only included those within easy reach
of San Jose; there was consequently nothing of
importance accomplished, and there was a failure to
obtain a general organization; but the purposes of
the foreign population remained unchanged, and
culminated, finally, in the hoisting of the " Bear
Flag," which, but for the United States taking the
struggle off their hands, would have proved to be
what it was in fact, a premature move. It was
entered upon without general consultation or ma
tured plan, and but for the occupation of the coun
try by the United States, which occurred a little
later, would have proved disastrous to many for
eigners living farther south, who were wholly
unadvised in regard to the movement. Had the
organization been made as was contemplated by the
signers of the instrument, the Bear Flag would never
have been raised, but without the intervention of the
United States it would have resulted in taking the
country from Mexico, making San Joaquin one of the
frontier counties of the State.
It is not the purpose of this work to give a State
history, therefore we return to the march of events
in San Joaquin, having followed those occurrences
outside only which had a direct bearing upon the
history of this county.
On the third day of April, 1845, C. M. Weber
purchased of Mr. Gulnac the remaining interest in
the French Camp Grant, Mr. Weber becoming its
sole owner; but no further attempt was made at
settlement until 1846, when he induced a number of
settlers, under the leadership of Napoleon Schmidt,
to locate. They had no sooner become settled in
their new homes than the war-cloud burst, which
had been hanging over the country, and the settlers
* July 4, 1845.
38
HISTORY OF AMADOR COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
again scattered to locations where they would be
less isolated in case of an attack by the Mexicans.
In November, 1846, the Isbel brothers took up
land on the Calaveras, that stream dividing their
ranches or claims; Dr. I. C. Isbel occupying the
north, and his brother James the south side of
the " river of skulls," where Fremont had crossed
it in 1844. The doctor erected a log cabin near the
river, which. is still standing. It is the oldest house
in the county, in fact the oldest in the San Joaquiu
valley, and should be preserved as a relic of the
past. The same month and year, Turner Eider
erected a cabin on Dry creek, where the village of
Liberty was afterwards laid out. Mr. Elder was a
married man, and had brought his wife and three
little children with him to this country. On the
opposite, or north side of the creek, and a little
further down, his father-in-law, Thomas Rhodes,
located. Thomas Pyle settled at what is now
known as Staples' Ferry, in the ame year and
month, with his family a wife and two children. It
was during the month of November, 1846, that
Samuel Brannan established his colony on the Stan
islaus, about one and one-half miles above its mouth,
calling the place " Stanislaus City.
It will be observed that during this year, two .dis
tinct colonies were established, and four ranches
taken up in San Joaquin county, at the points where
the old Spanish trail, between Suttei % 's Fort and San
Jose, crossed the several streams in the county.
This was a strong demonstration toward settlement.
Weber's party had loft at the first notes of alarm ;
Samuel Brannan's colony remained until the follow
ing Spring, and then all left, except Buckland leav
ing only the ranchers on the Spanish trail and
Buckland, as the inhabitants to dispute possession
of the county with the Indians. The five settlers
remaining were Dr. 1. C. Isbel, and his brother,
James, on the Calaveras; Thomas Pyle, on the
Mokclumne; Turner Elder, on Dry creek; and
Buckland, on the Stanislaus.
*Dr. Isbel retained his claim until 1848, when he
sold to the Hutchinson brothers, and they in turn
to Mr. Dodge.
Thomas Pyle abandoned his place in 1848, and
moved to Coyote creek, near San Jose, where he
was shot through the head and killed, about 1855,
by a young Spaniard. A man by the name of Smith
took up the place, claiming a grant, and sold to John
F., the brother of Thomas Pyle, and John W. Laird,
who had married one of his sisters. These parties
sold to Staples, Nichols & Co., in February, and
moved from there in April, 1850. Mr. Laird died
near Grayson, in May, 1878; and J. F. Pyle is still
living on his ranch, near Wclden, on Kerri river,
California.
Turner Elder lived at Dry creek about one
* Dr. Isbel is mentioned in another part of the history in con-
ion witha mob affair in the western part of tl -*
(Amador). He resided in Volcano, in 1855.
year, and then moved on to the north bank of the
Mokelumne river, at the place afterwards known as
the "Benedict Ranch," and, while there, on the
fifth day of November, 1847, his wife presented him
with a pair of twins, a boy and girl, who were named
John and Nancy. These were the second children
born of white parents in the county. Soon after the
birth of these children, on account of the unpro
tected position, Mr. Elder abandoned his place and
joined his brother-in-law Daylor, of the Daylor
ranch, in Sacramento county. He afterwards made
money in placer mining, and returned to Ray county,
Missouri, in 1849, where he now lives. The children
are both living; the girl in Ray county, as the wife
of a Dr. Reese; and the boy, now married, at Emi
grant's Ditch, in Fresno county, California his post-
office address being "Kingsbury Switch."
Mr. Buckland, of Stanislaus City, moved from
there to Stockton, in the fall of 1847. Assisted by
William Fairchilds, he afterwards built the Buck-
land House, in San Francisco. Of the Stanislaus
City settlers, the only ones known to be living now
are Samuel Brannan, of San Francisco, John M.
Horner, near San Jose, and Nichols, of San
Leandro.
When, in the Fall of 1847, Turner Elder left his log-
house and claim at Dry creek, Mrs. Christina Pat
terson, his aunt, moved into it her husband having
died of mountain fever while crossing the mountains
in 1846. She was soon after married to Ned Robin
son. This was the first marriage ceremony performed
in the county. Mr. Robinson, in turn, abandoned the
place when gold was discovered, in January, 1848,
and in 1878 they were stopping at French Camp, for
the Winter, on their way to the northern country.
Captain Weber, in the meantime, had been living
at San Jose from 1842 to 1847, following his business
of merchandizing, and not giving personal attention
to the settlement of his grant. During the year
1847 he sold his stock of goods, and in August of
that year, with a number of men, two hundred
horses and four thousand cattle, moved to the San
Joaquin, and founded a settlement which became
permanent; Stockton being the point and result of
his efforts. In the Fall, the grant was surveyed and
sectionized by Jasper O'Farrell, through his deputy,
Walter Herron; a village site being at the same time
laid out for settlers' homes, which received the name
of "Tulcburg." Coming events had not yet "cast
their shadows before." The village plat of Tule-
burg, and the name, both passed out of existence at
the same time, when, in 1848, after the gold discov
ery, the place was re-surveyed and laid out for com
mercial purposes by Captain Weber, who gave it the
name of Stockton, after Com. Robert Stockton, of the
United States navy.
In October, 1847, a company of overland immi
grants arrived at the place, on their way to the lower
country. Mr. "Weber pursuaded them to stop for a
time and look over the valley, to see if they would
BIOGRAPHIC SKETCH OF GENERAL SUTTER.
39
not consider it to their advantage to remain. W. H.
Fairchilds, County Supervisor in 1878, was of this
party, as well as Nicholas Gann and his wife, Ruth,
who, while they were camping on the point where
Weber's house now stands, in October, gave birth to
a son, to whom they gave the name of William.
This was the first child born of white parents in the
county. With the exception of Mr. Fairchilds, the
parties all decided to move farther south. Mr.
Nicholas Gann now lives not far from Gilroy, in
Santa Clara county, California.
It was during that year that Capt. Charles
Imus undertook to carry out a " wild horse scheme."
He selected a point on the San Joaquin river, where
San Joaquin City now stands, which he considered
favorable, and then went to the mountains west of
the valley and commenced cutting timber, to build a
corral, into which he proposed driving wild horses,
and there to capture them; when Pico, on whose
grant he was cutting the timber, put a stop to his
visions of corraling the " untamed steeds of the
desert;" by singing to him the pathetic song of
" Woodman, Spare that Tree," and the Captain, not
caring to verify the old saw of " a nod is na sa good
as a kick for a blind horse," folded up his tent like
the Arab, and departed into the lower country.
Captain Imus was the leader of the party that
crossed the plains in 1846, of which the Pyles, Isbcls,
Elders, and Rhodes were members.
The history of San Joaquin county, up to the close
of 1847, has been given in the preceding pages as
completely as it is possible to get it from the memory
of the participants who still survive. The only
occupants of this section of country, up to that time,
had first been the Indians, then the American
trappers, followed by the Hudson Bay Company,
who were succeeded in turn by the Americans, who
came from the States, with a view of making for
themselves and families permanent homes.
But a change, absolute and radical, lay hid in
the near future. On the line that separated the
year 1847, and what had preceded it, from " the
future that was not yet," stands a mile-post that
"Time," set by the wayside, which marks the
beginning of a year, in which was wrought a
change as absolute, in the march of human events,
and the destinies of this coast, as would ordinarily
have occurred in the passing of a century.
CHAPTERS.
BIOGRAPHIC SKETCH OF GENERAL SUTTER.
His Nativity Migration to the American West Arrival in Cal
ifornia Foundation of Sutter's Fort Prosperity and
Wealth of the Colony Decline and Ultimate Ruin Retire
ment to Hock Farm Extract from Sutter's Diary.
THE following sketch of the life and adventures of
General John A. Sutter is from Oscar T. Shuck's
"Representative Men of the Pacific." The facts
were derived directly from the famous old pioneer,
and are, perhaps, the most complete and accurate
that have ever been published. Mr. Shuck says:
" General John A. Sutter was born March 1, 1803,
in the Grand Duchy of Baden, where his early boy
hood was passed. His father, who was a clergyman
of the Lutheran church, afterwards removed to
Switzerland, and settled there with his family. He
purchased for himself and heirs the rights and immu
nities of Swiss citizenship, and there the subject of
our sketch received a good education, both civil and
military.
" Early in life he married a Bernese lady, and was
blessed with several children. At the age of thirty-
one he determined to gratify a desire he had long
cherished to immigrate to the United States. Not
knowing whether or not he should settle perma
nently in the Great Republic, he concluded to leave
his family behind him, and arrived at New York in
July, 1834. After visiting several of the Western
States he settled in Missouri, and there resided for
several years. During his residence in Missouri he
made a short visit to New Mexico, where he met
with many trappers and hunters who had returned
from Upper California, and their glowing descrip
tions confirmed his previous impressions, and ex
cited an ardent desire to behold and wander over
the rich lands and beautiful valleys of that then
almost unknown region. Upon returning to Mis
souri he determined to reach the Pacific coast by
joining some one of the trapping expeditions of the
American or English Fur Companies. But great
obstacles were to be surmounted, and long years
were to intervene before his feet would rest upon
the virgin soil of California. On the 1st of April,
1838, he was enabled, for the first time, to connect
himself with a trapping expedition. On that day
,he left Missouri with Captain Tripp, of the American
Fur Company, and traveled with his party to their
rendezvous in the Rocky Mountains. There he
parted with the expedition, and with six horsemen
crossed the mountains, and, after encountering the
usual dangers and hardships, arrived at Fort Van
couver, on the Columbia river.
"Having learned that there was no land communica
tion with California from the valleys of the Columbia
or Willamette in Winter, and there being then a ves
sel of the Hudson Bay Company ready to sail for
the Sandwich Islands, General Sutter took passage,
hoping to find at the islands some means of convey
ance to California. Only one of the men who had
remained with him thus far consented to accompany
him to the strange land. On reaching the islands
he found no prospect of conveyance, and, after
remaining five months, as the only means of accom
plishing his purpose, he shipped as supercargo, with
out pay, on an English vessel bound for Sitka.
"After discharging her cargo at Sitka, and, with
the authority of the owners, he directed the vessel
southward, and sailed down the coast, encountering
HISTORY OF AMADOR COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
heavy gales. He was driven into the Bay of San
Krancisco in distress, and, on the second day of July,
1839, anchored his little craft opposite Yerba Buemi,
now San Francisco.
" He was immediately waited upon by a Mexican
official with an armed force, and ordered to leave
without delay, the officer informing him that Mon
tr ivy \va> the port of entry. He succeeded, however,
in obtaining permission to remain forty- eight hours
to get supplies.
" A few days later, upon arriving at Monterey,
General Sutter waited upon Governor Alvarado, and
communicated to him his desire to settle in Upper Cal
ifornia, on the Sacramento. Governor Alvarado
expressed much satisfaction upon learning his visit
or's wish, particularly when he understood his desire
to settle on the Sacramento; saying that the Indians
in that quarter were very hostile, and would not
permit any whites to settle there; that they robbed
the inhabitants of San Jose and the lower settle
ments of horses and cattle. He readily gave Sutter
a passport, with authority to settle on any territory
he should deem suitable for his colony, and requested
him to return to Monterey one year from that time,
when his Mexican citizenship would be acknowl
edged, and he would receive a grant for the land he
might solicit. Thereupon, he returned to Yerba
Buena and chartered a schooner, with some small
boats, and started upon an exploring expedition on
the Sacramento river.
" Upon inquiry he could not find any one at Yerba
Buena who had ever seen the Sacramento river, or
who could describe to him where he should find its
mouth. The people of that place only -professed to
know that some large river emptied into one of the
connected bays lying northerly from their town,
(ieneral Sutter consumed eight days in the effort to
rind the mouth of the Sacramento river.
" After ascending the river to a point about ten
miles below where Sacramento City now stands, he
encountered the first large party of Indians, who
exhibited every sign of ^hostility save an actual
attack. There were about two hundred of them,
armed and painted for war. Fortunately there were
among them two who understood Spanish, and with
whom the General engaged in conversation. He
quieted them by the assurance that there were no
Spaniards in his party, and that he wished to settle
in their country and trade with them. He'showed
them his agricultural implements and commodities
of trade, winch he had provided for the purpose,
and proposed to make a treaty with them. Pleased
with these assurances, the Indians became recon
ciled; the crowd dispersed, and the two who spoke
the Spanish language accompanied Sutter and his
] >arty as far as the mouth of Feather river, to
show him the country. All other parties of Indians
seen fled at the sight of the vessel and boats.
1'arting with his two Indian interpreters and
guides at the mouth of Feather river, ho ascended
the latter stream to a considerable distance, when a
few of his white men became alarmed at the sur
rounding dangers and insisted upon returning, -which
he was constrained to do.
" On his descent he entered the mouth of the
American river, and on the 15th day of August,
1839, landed at the point on the south bank of that
stream, where he afterwards established his tannery,
within the present limits of Sacramento. On the
following morning, after landing all his effects, he
informed the discontented whites that all who
wished to return to Yerba Buena could do so;
that the Kanakas were willing to remain, and that
he had resolved to do so, if alone. Three of the
whites determined to leave, and he put them in pos
session of the schooner, with instructions to deliver
the vessel to her owners. They set sail for Yerba
Buena the same day.
"Three weeks thereafter General Sutter removed
to the spot upon which he afterwards erected FORT
SUTTER. In the early days of the settlement he
encountered many troubles with the Indians, who
organized secret expeditions, as he afterwards
learned, to destroy him and his party, but he con
trived to defeat and frustrate all their machinations,
and those of the Indians who were at first his great
est enemies, came to be his best and most steadfast
friends. He now devoted himself energetically to
agriculture, and became very wealthy and pros
perous.
" In the Fall of the year 1839, he purchased of
Senor Martinez three hundred head of cattle, thirty
horses, and thirty mares. During the Fall eight
more white men joined his colony. When he com
menced the improvements that resulted in the erec
tion of Sutter's Fort and his establishment there, he
had much trouble in procuring suitable lumber and
timber. He floated some down the American river
from the mountains, and was compelled to send to
Bodega, on the sea-coast, a distance of several hun
dred miles.
" In August, 1840, Sutter was joined by the five
men who had crossed the Rocky Mountains with him,
and whom he had left in Oregon. His colony now
numbered twenty-five men, seventeen whites and
eight Kanakas. During the Fall of that year the
Mokelumne Indians became troublesome, by stealing
the live-stock of the settlers, and compelled General
Sutter, by their acts and menaces, to make open war
against them. He marched with his forces thirty
miles, in the night time, to the camp of the Indians,
whore they were concentrating large forces for a
movement against him, some two hundred warriors,
and attacked them with such great effect that they
retreated, and being hotly pursued, they sued for
peace, which was readily granted, and over after
wards mutually maintained.
" Shortly after this encounter, Sutter purchased
one thousand more head of cattle, and seventy-five
horses and mules. His colony continued to increase
fast, by the addition of every foreigner who came
into the country; they sought his place as one of
security. The trappers he furnished with supplies,
and purchased their furs; the mechanics and laborers
he either employed or procured them work.
" In June, 1841, he visited Monterey, the capital,
where he was declared a Mexican citizen, and
received from Governor Alvarado a grant for his
land, under the name of Now Helvetia, a survey of
which he had caused to be made before that time.
Thereupon he was honored with a commission as
' represendente del Govierno en las fronter as del
norte y encargado de la justicia.'
"Soon after his return to his settlement he was
visited by Captain Ringgold, of the United States
Exploring Expedition under Commodore Wilkes, and
about the same time by Alexander Rotcheff, Gov
ernor of the Russian Possessions, Ross and Bodega,
who offered to sell to General Sutter the Russian
Possessions, settlements, and ranches at those places.
" The terms were such as induced him to make the
purchase, forthirty thousand dollars. The live-stock
consisted of two thousand cattle, over one thousand
horses, fifty mules, and two thousand sheep, the
BIOGRAPHIC SKETCH OF GENERAL SUTTER.
41
greater part of which were driven to New Helvetia.
This increase of resources, together with the natural
increase of his stock, enabled him the more rapidly
o advance his settlement and improvements.
" In the year 1844 he petitioned Governor Michel-
orena for the grant or purchase of the sobrante, or
surplus, over the first eleven leagues of the land
within the bounds of the survey accompanying
IheAlvarado grant, which the Governor agreed to
let him have; but, for causes growing out of existing
political troubles, t!ie grant was not finally executed
until the 5th of February, 1845; during which time
he had rendered valuable military services and ad
vanced to the Government large amounts of property
nd outlays, exceeding eight thousand dollars, to
enable it to suppress the Castro rebellion; in consid
eration of all which he acquired by purchase and
personal services the lands called the Sobrante, or
surplus.
" At that time he also secured from Governor
Micheltorena the commission of ' Commandante mili-
tar de las fronteras del norte y encargado do la
justicia.' After this time the war between the
United States and Mexico came on, and although
General Sutter was an officer under the Mexican
Government, and bound to it by his allegiance, yet,
upon all occasions, such was his respect towards the
citizens and institutions of the United States, that
whenever any party of American citizens, civil or
military service, visited him, his unbounded hospitali
ties were uniformly and cordially extended to them;
and when the country surrendered to the American
forces, the General, who had been for some time con
vinced of the instability of the Mexican Government,
upon request, did, on the llth of July, 1846, hoist
the American flag with a good heart, accompanied
with a salute of artillery from the guns at the fort.
Soon after this Lieutenant Missoon, of the United
States Navy, came up and organized a garrison for
Sutler's Fort, principally out of his former forces of
whites and Indians, and gave to General Sutter the
command, which he maintained until peace returned.
Ho was then appointed by Commodore Stockton
Alcalde of the district, and by General Kearney
Indian Agent, with a salary of seven hundred and
fifty dollars a year; but a single trip in discharge of
his duty as Indian Agent cost him one thousand six
hundred dollars, and he resigned the office.
'General Sutter was now in the full tide of pros
perity. His settlement continued to grow and his
property to accumulate, until the latter part of
January, 1848. He had then completed his estab
lishment at the fort ; had performed all the condi
tions of his grants of land; had,at an expense of at least
twenty-five thousand dollars, cut a race of three
miles in length, and nearly completed a flouring-mill
near the present town of Brighton ; had expended
towards the erection of a saw-mill, near the town of
Coloma, about ten thousand dollars; had sown over a
thousand acres of land in wheat which promised a yield
of forty thousand bushels, and had made preparations
for other crops; was then the owner of eight thou
sand head of cattle, over two thousand horses and
mules, over two thousand sheep, and ono thousand
head of hogs, and was in the undisturbed, undisputed
and quiet possession of the extensive lands granted
by the Mexican Government. But a sad change was
about to take place in the affairs of the old pioneer ;
a grand event was about to transpire, which, while it
would delight and electrify the world at large, was
destined to check the gi*owth of the settlement at
Suiter's Fort. General Sutter's mills were soon to
6
cease operations; his laborers and mechanics were soon
to desert him ; his possessions, his riches, his hopes
were soon to be scattered and destroyed before the
impetuous charge of the gold-hunters. The immedi
ate effect was that Sutter was deserted by all his
mechanics and laborers, white, Kanaka and Indian.
The mills thus deserted became a dead loss; he could
not hire labor to further plant or mature his crops,
or reap but a small part after the grain had ripened.
Few hands were willing to work for even an ounce a
day, as the industrious could make more than that
in the mines. Consequent of the gold discovery
there was an immense immigration, composed of all
classes of men, many of whom seemed to have no idea
of the rights of property. The treaty between the
United States and Mexico guaranteed to the Mexican
who should remain in the country a protection of his
property, and Sutter regarded himself as doubly
entitled to that protection, either as a Mexican or a
citizen of the United States, and that he held a
strong claim upon his country's justice. His property
was respected for a season ; but when the great flood
of immigration, which poured into the country in
1849-'50, found that money could be made by other
means than mining, many of the new-comers forcibly
entered upon his land, and commenced cutting his
wood, under the plea that it was vacant and unappro
priated land of the United States. Up -to the first of
January, 1852, the settlers had occupied all his lands
capable of settlement or appropriation, and the other
class had stolen all his horses, mules, cattle, sheep
and hogs, save a small portion used and sold by him
self. One party of five men, during the high waters
of 1849-'50, when his cattle were partly surrounded
by water near the Sacramento river, killed and sold
enough to amount to sixty thousand dollars.
"Having seen his power decline and his riches
take wings, General Sutter removed to the west bank
of Feather river, and took up his residence at Hock
farm. Here, in the midst of his family, who had
recently arrived from Europe, he led the quiet life of
a farmer in the county that bears his name."
The following verbatim copy of notes in General
Sutters own handwriting, we insert, notwithstanding
there are some repetitions of facts given in the former
part of this chapter:
[The following rough notes of narrative, in the
handwriting of the venerable General Sutter, the
discoverer of gold in California, were found amongst
the papers of an eminent citizen of this State, re
cently deceased, through the kindly courtesy of whoso
widow we are enabled to give them to the public. As
a relation of incidents in the life of a man held in
respect by every Californian, these hasty and imper
fect memoranda will, it is believed, have a double in
terest and a lasting value. We have thought it best
to preserve as nearly as was practicable, the quaint
phraseology, erroneous orthography, and imperfect
punctuation of the manuscript; giving, in our judg
ment, an added charm to the narrative. San Fran-
c-isco Argonaut.']
"Left the State of Missouri (where 1 has resided
for a many years) on the 1th a April, 1838, and
travelled with the party of Men under CaptTripps, of
the Amer. fur Compy, to their Rendezvous in the
Rocky Mountains (Wind River Valley) from there I
travelled with 6 brave Men to Oregon, as 1 consid
ered myself not strong enough to cross the Sierra
Nevada and go direct to California (which was my
intention from my first Start on having got some
HISTORY OF AMADOR COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
informations from a Gent'n in New Mexico, who has
been in California.
"Under a good Many Dangers and other troubles 1
have passed the Different forts or trading posts of
the Hudsons Bay Compy. and arrived at the Mission
at the Dalls on Columbia Eiver. From this place I
crossed right strait through thick & thin, and
arrived to the great astonishment of the inhabitants.
I arrived in 7 days in the Valley of the Willamette,
while others with good guides arrived only in 17 days
previous my Crossing. At fort Vancouver I has been
very hospitably received and invited to pass the
Winter with the Gentlemen of the Company, but as
a Vessel of the Compy was ready to sail for the
Sandwich Islands,! took a passage in her, in hopes to
get Soon a Passage from there to California, but 5
long Months I had to wait to find an Opportunity to
leave, but not direct to California, except far out of
my Way to the Russian American Colonies on the
North West Cost, to Sitka the Residence of the
Gov'r. (Lat. 57) I remained one Month there and
delivered the Cargo of the Brig Clementine, as 1 had
Charge of the Vessel, and then sailed down the Coast
in heavy Gales, and entered in Distress in the Port of
San Francisco, on the 2d of July, 1839. An Officer
and 15 Soldiers came on board and ordered me out,
saying that Monterey is the Port of entry, & at last
1 could obtain 48 hours to get provisions (as we
were starving) and some repairings done on the Brig.
"In Monterey I arranged my affairs with the Cos-
turn House, and presented myself to the Govr Alva-
rado, and told him my intention to Settle hero in this
Country, and that I have brought with me 5 White
Men 8 Kanacas (two of them married) 3 of the
Whitemen were Mechanics, he was very glad to hear
that, and particularly when I told him, that I intend
to Settle in the interior, on banks of the the river
Sacramento, because the Indians then at this time
would not allow white M^n and particularly of the
Spanish Origin to come near them, and was very
hostile, and stole the horses from the inhabitants
near San Jose. I got a General passport for my small
Colony and permission to select a Territory where
ever I would find it convenient, and to come in one
Years time again in Monterey to get my Citizenship
and the title of the Land, which I have done so, and
not only this, 1 received a high civil Office.
"When I left Yerbabuena (now San Francisco) after
having leaved the Brig and dispatched her back to
theS. 1. 1 bought several small Boats (Launches) and
Chartered the Schooner '"Isabella" for my Exploring
Journey to the inland Rivers and particularly to find
the Mouth of the River Sacramento, as I could find
Nobody who could give me information, only that
they Knew some very large Rivers are in the interior.
" It took me eight days before I could find the
entrance of the Sacramento, as it is very deceiving
and very easy to pass by, how it happened to several
Officers of the Navy afterwards which refused to
take a pilot. About 10 miles below Sacramento
City I fell in with the first Indians which was all
armed & painted & looked very hostile, they was
about 200 Men, as some of them understood a little
Spanish I could make a Kind of treaty with them,
and the two which understood Spanish came with
me, and made me a little better acquainted with the
Country, all other Indians on the up River hided
themselves in the Bushes, and on the Mouth of
Feather River they runned all away so soon they
discovered us. I was examining the Country a little
further up with a Boat, while the larger Crafts let
go their Ankers, on my return, all the white Men
came to me and asked me, how much longer I in
tended to travell with them in such a Wilderness.
" The following Morning I gave Orders to return,
and entered in the American River, landed at the
farmer Tannery on the 12th, Augt. 1839. Gave
Orders to get every thing on Shore, pitch the tents
and mount the 3 Cannons, called the white Men, and
told them that all those which are not contented could
leave on board the Isabella, next Morning, and that I
would settle with them imediately, and remain
alone with the Canaca's, of 6 Men 3 remained, and 3
of them I gave passage to Yerbabuena.
" The Indians was first troublesome, and came fre
quently and would it not have been for the Cannons
they would have Killed us for the sake of my prop
erty, which they liked very much, and this intention
they had very often, how they confessed to me after
wards, when on good terms. I had a largo Bull Dog
which saved my life 3 times, when they came slyly
near the house in the Night, he got hold of them
and marked most severely, in a short time removed
my Camps on the very spot where now the Ruins
of Sutters fort stands, made acquaintance with a
few Indians which came to work for a short time
making Adobes, and the Canacas was building 3
grass houses, like it is customary on the Sandwich
Islands. Before I came up here, 1 purchassed Cattle
& Horses on the Rancho of Sofior Martinez, and had
great difficulties & trouble to get them up, and re
ceived thorn at least on the 22d October 1839. Not
less than 8 Men, wanted to be in the party, as they
was afraid of the Indians, and had good reasons to
be so.
" Before I got the Cattle we was hunting Deer &
Elk etc and so afterwards to safe the Cattle as I had
then only about 500 head, 50 horses & a manada of
25 mares. One Year that is in the fall 1840, I bought
1000 head of Cattle of Don Antonio Sufiol and many
horses more of Don Joaquin Gomez and others. In
the fall 1839 I have built an Adobe house covered
with Tule and two other small buildings which in the
middle of the fort, they was afterwards destroyed
by fire. At the same time wo cut a Road through
the Woods where the City of Sacramento stand. then
we made the New^Embarcadcro, where the old Zink-
houso stands now. After this it was time to make a
Garden, and to sow some Wheat &c we broke up the
soil with poor California ploughs, I had a few Califor-
nians employed as Baqueros, and 2 of them making
Cal. Carts & stocking the plougs etc.
''In the Spring 1840, the Indians began to be
troublesome all around me, Killing and Wounding
Cattle stealing horses, and threatening to attack us
on Mass, I was obliged to make Capaigns against
them and punish them severely, a little later about 2
a 300 was aproching and got United on Cosumno
River, but I was not waiting for them, left a small
Garrison at home, Canons & other Arms loaded, and
left with 6 brave men & 2 Baquero's in the night and
took them by surprise at Day light, the fighting was
a little hard, but after having lost about 30 men,
they was willing to make a treaty with me, and
after this lecon they behalved very well, and became
my best friends and Soldiers, with which I has been
assisted to conquer the whole Sacramento and a part
of the San Joaquin Valley.
"At the time the Communication with the Bay was
very long and dangerous, particularly in open Boats,
it is a great Wonder that we got not swamped a
many times, all time with an Indian Crew and a
Canaca at the helm. Once it took me (in December
1839.) 16 days to go down to Yerba buena and to
BIOGRAPHIC SKETCH OF GENERAL SUITER.
return, 1 went down again on the 22d Xber 39. to
Yerba buena and on account of the inclemency of
the Weather and the strong current in the River I
need a whole month (17 days coming up) and noarh T
all the provisions spoiled.
"On the 23d Augt, 1841. Capt. Ringold of Coma-
dore Wilksc Exploring Squadron, arrived on the
Embarcadero, piloted by one of the Launches
Indian crew, without this they would not have
found so easy the entrance of the Sacramento. They
had 6 Whaleboats & 1 Launch 7 Officers and about
50 men in all, I was very glad indeed to see them,
sent immediately saddled horses for the Officers, and
my Clerk with an invitation to come and sec me, at
their arrival I fired a salut, and furnished them
what they needed, they was right surprised to find
me up here in this Wilderness, it made a very good
impression upon the Indians to see so many whites
are coming to see me, they surveyed the River so far
as the Bates.
"September 4th 1841. Arrived the Russian Govr
Mr. Alexander Rottiheff on board the Schooner Sac
ramento, and offered me their whole Establishment
at Bodega & Ross for sale, and invited me to come
right off with him, as there is a Russian Vessel at
Bodega, and some Officers withplein power, to trans
act this business with me, and particularly they
would give me the preference, as they became all
acquainted with me, during a months stay at Sitka.
I left and went with him down to the Bay in Com
pany with Capt. Ringold's Expedition, what for a
fleet we thought then, is on the River. Arriving at
Bodega, we came very soon to terms, from there we
went to fort Ross where they showed me everything
and returned to Bodega again, and before the Vessel
sailed we dined on board the Helena, and closed the
bargain for f 30, 000, which has been paid. And other
property, was a separate account which has been
first paid.
"On the 28th of September I dispatched a number of
men and my Clerk by Land to Bodega, to receive
the Cattle, Horses, Mules & Sheep, to bring them up
to Sutler's fort, called then New Helvetia, by crossing
the Sacramento they lost me from about 2000 head
about 100, which drowned in the River, but of most
of them we could safe the hides, our Cal. Banknotes
at the time.
"March 6, 1842. Captain Fremont arrived at the
port with Kit Carson, told me that ho was an
officer of the U. S. and left a party behind in Dis
tress and on foot, the few surviving Mules was
packed only with the most necessary, 1 received him
politely and his Company likewise as an old acquaint
ance, the next Morning I furnished them with
fresh horses, & a Vaquero with a pack Mule loaded
with Necessary Supplies for his Men. Capt. Fre
mont found in my Establishment every thing what
he needed, that he could travell without Delay, he
could have not found it so by a Spaniard, perhaps
by a great Many and with loosing a great deal of
time. I sold him about 60 Mules & about 25 horses,
and fat young Steers or Beef Cattle, all the Mules &
horses got Shoed, on the 23d March, all was ready
and on the 24th he left with his party for the U.
States.
"As an officer of the Govt. it was my duty to
report to the Govt. that Capt. Fremont arrived,
Genl. Micheltorena dispatched Lieut. Col. Telles
(afterwards Gov. of Sinalo) with Capt., Lieut., and
25 Dragoons, to inquire what Captain Fremonts
business was here; but he was en route as the arrive
only on the 27th, from this time on Exploring,
Hunting & Trapping parties has been started, at
the same time Agricultural & Mechanical business
was progressing from Year to year, and more No
tice has been taken, of my establishment, it became
even a fame, and some early Distinguished Travellers
like Doctor Sandells, Wasnosensky & others, Cap
tains of Trading Vessels & Super Cargos, & even
Californians (after the Indians was subdued) came
and paid me a visit, and was astonished to see
what for Work of all kinds has been done. Small
Emigrant parties arrived, and brought me some very
valuable Men, with one of those was Major Bidwell
(he was about 4 Years in my employ). Major Reading
& Major Hensley with 11 other brave men arrived
alone, both of these Gentlemen has been 2 Years in
my employ, with these parties excellent Mechanics
arrived which was all employed by me, likewise
good farmers, we made i mediately Amer. ploughs
was made in my Shops and all kind of work done,
every year the Russians was bound to furnish me
with good iron & Steel & files, Articles which could
not be got here likewise Indian Beeds and the most
important of all was 100 Ib of fine Rifle & 100 Ib of
Canon powder and several 100 Ib of Lead (every
year) with these I was careful like with Gold.
"June 3d 1846. I left in company of Major Read
ing, and most all of the Men in my employ, for a
Campaign with the Mukelemney Indians, which has
been engaged by Castro and his Officers to revolu
tionize all the Indians against me, to Kill all the
foreigners, burn their houses, and Wheat fields etc.
These Mukelemney Indians had great promessess
and some of them were finely dressed and equiped,
and those came apparently on a friendly visit to the
fort and Vicinity and long Conversations with the
influential Men of the Indians, and one Night a
Number of them entered in my Potrero (a kind of
closed pasture) and was Ketching horses to drive
the whole Cavallada away with them, the Sentinel
at the fort heard the distant Noise of these Horses,
and gave due notice, & imediately I left with about
6 well armed Men and attacked them, but they
could make their escape in the Woods (where Sac.
City stands now) and so I left a guard with the
horses. As we had to cross the Mukelemney River
on rafts, one of these rafts capsized with 10 Rifles,
and 6 prs of Pistols, a good supply of Amunition,
and the clothing of about 24 Men, and Major
Reading & another Man nearly drowned.
"June 16th 1846. Merritt & Kit Carson arrived
with News of Sonoma beeing occupied by the Amer
icans, and the same evening arrived as prissoners
Genl. Vallejo, Don Salvador Vallejo, Lt. Col. Prudon
& M. Loese, and given under my charge and Care, I
have treated them with kindness and so good as I
could, which was reported to Fremont, and he then
told me, that prissoners ought not to be treated so,
then 1 told him, if it is not right how I treat them,
to give them in charge of somebody else.
"Capt. Montgomery did send an Amer. flag by
Lieut. Revere than in Command of Sonoma, and
some dispatches to Fremont, 1 received the Order to
hiss the flag by Sunrise from Lt. Revere, long time
before daybreak, I got ready with loading the
Canons and when it was day the roaring of the
Canons got the people all stirring. Some them made
long faces, as they thought if the Bear flag would
remain there would be a better chance to rob and
plunder. Capt. Fremont received Orders to proceed
to Monterey with his forces, Capt. Montgomery
provided for the upper Country, established Garri
sons in all important places, Yerba buena, Sonoma,
HISTORY OF AMADOR COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
San Jose, and fort Sacramento. Lieut. Missroon
camo to organize our Garrison better and more
Numbers of white Men and Indians of my former
Soldiers, and gave mo the Command of this Fort.
The Indians have not yet received their pay yet for
their services, only each one a shirt and a pre. of
pants, & abt. 12 men got Coats. So went the War on :
in California. Capt. Fremont was nearly all time
engaged in the lower Country and made himself
Governor, until Genl. Kearney arrived, when an
other Revolution took place. And Fremont^ for :
disobeying Orders was made prissoner by Genl.
Kearney, who took him afterwards with him to the
U. States by Land across the Mountains. After the
War I was anxious that Business should go on like
before, and on the 28lh May, 1847 ; Marshall &
Gingery, two Millwrights, I employed to survey the
large Millraise for the Flour Mill at Brighton.
"May 13th, 1847. Mr. Marshall commenced the
great work of the large Millraise. with ploughs and
scrapers.
" July 20th, 1847. Got all the necessary timber
and frame of the millbuilding.
" Augt. 25th. Capt Hart of the Mormon Battaillon
arrived, with a good many of his Men on their
Way to great Salt Lake, they had Orders for Govt.
Horses, which I delivered to them, (War Horses)
not paid for yet. They bought provisions and
got Blacksmith work done. I employed about
Eighty Men of them, some as Mechanics, some as
laborers, on the Mill and Millraise at Brighton, some
as laborers at the Sawmill at Columa.
"Augt. 28th. 1847. Marshall moved, with P.
Wisners family and the working hands to Columa.
and began to work briskly on the sawmill.
" Septr. 10th. Mr. Sam'l Brannan returned from
the great Salt Lake, and announced a largo Emigra
tion by land. On tho 19th the Garrison was
removed, Liout't Per Lee took her down to San
fran cisco.
" Novr. 1th. Getting with a great deal of trouble
and with breaking wagons the four Runs of Mill
stones, to tho Mill Sit (Brighton) from the Mountains.
"Decembr. 22. Received about 2000 fruit trees
with great expenses from Fort Ross, Napa Valley
and other places, which was given in Care of men
who called themselves Gardeners, and nearly all of
the trees was neglected by them and died.
"January 28th, 1848. Marshall arrived in the eve
ning, it was raining very heavy, but he told me that
he came on important business, after wo was alone
in a private Room he showed me tho first Specimens
of Gold, that is he was not certain if it was Gold or
not, but ho thought it might be; immediately I made
the proof and found that it was Gold, I told him
even that most of all is 23 Carat Gold; he wished
that I should come up with him immediately, but L
told him that I have to give first my orders to the
people in all my factories and shops.
"February 1th. Left for the Sawmill attended by
a Baquero- (Olimpio) was absent 2d, 3d, 4th, & 5th,
I examined myself everything and picked up a few
Specimens of Gold myself in the tail race of tho
Sawmill, this Gold and others which Marshall and
some of the other laborers gave to me (it was found
while in my employ and Wages) I told them that I
would arinirgotmade-of it so soon as the Goldsmith
would be here. 1 had a talk with my employed
people all at the Sawmill, 1 told them that as they
do know now that this Metal is Gold, I wished that
they would do me the great favor and keep it secret
only 6 weeks, because my large Flour Mill at Brighton
would have been in Operation in such a time, which
undertaking would have been a fortune to me. and
unfortunately the people would not keep it secret,
and so I lost on this Mill at the lowest calculation
about 25,000.
" March 7th. The first party of Mormons, em
ployed by me left for washing and digging Gold and
very soon all followed, and left mo only the sick and
the lame behind. And at this time 1 could say that
every body left me from the Clerk to tho Cook. What
for great Damages I had to suffer in my tannery which
was just doing a profitable and extensive business,
and the Vatts was left filled and a quantity of half
finished leather was spoiled likewise a large quantity
of raw hides collected by the farmers and of my own
killing. The same thing was in every branch of
business which I carried on at the time. I began to
harvest my wheat, while others was digging and
washing Gold, but even the Indians could not be
kceped longer at Work, they was impatient to run
to the mines, and other Indians had informed them
of the Gold and its value; and so I had to leave
more as of my harvest in the fields.
" April 18th, 1848, more curious people arrived.
bound for tho Mountains. I left for Columa, in
Company with Major P. B. Reading and Mr. Kembel
(Editor of the Alta-C alifornid) we wore absent 4
Days, wo was prospecting and found Silver and
iron or in abundance.
" April 28th. A great many people more went up
to tho Mountains. This day the Saw mill was in
Opei-ation and the first Lumber has been sawed in
the whole upper Country.
" May 1th. Saml Brannan was building a store at
Natoma, Mormon Islands., and have done a very
large and heavy business.
" May 15th. Paid of all the Mormons which has
been employed by me, in building these Mills and
other Mechanical trades, all of them made their pile,
and some of them became rich & wealthy, but all of
them was bound to the great Salt Lake, and spent
there their fortunes to tho honor and Glory of tho
Lord !
" May 19th. Tho great Rush from San Francisco
arrived at tho fort, all my friends and acquaintances
filled up tho houses and the whole fort, I had only a
little Indian boy, to make them roasted Ripps, etc.
as my Cooks left me like every body else, the Mer
chants, Doctors, Lawyers, Sea Captains, Merchants,
etc. all came up and did not know what to do, all
was in a Confusion, all left thoir wives and families
in San Francisco, and those which had none locked
their Doors, abandoned their houses, offered them
for sale cheap, a few hundred Dollars House & Lot
(Lots which arc worth now $100,000 and more)
some of these men were just like greazy. Some of
the Merchants has been the most prudentost of the
whole, visited tho Minos and returned immediately
and began to do a very profitable business, and soon
Vessels came from every where with all Kind of
Merchandize, the whole old thrash which was laying
for Years unsold, on the Coasts of South & Central
America, Mexico, Sandwich Islands etc. all found a
good market here.
"Mr. Brannan was erecting a very large Wai'ehouse,
and have done an immense business, connected with
Howard & Green; S. Francisco. -
" May 21th. Saml Kyburg errected or established
the first Hotel in the fort in the larger building, and
made a great deal of Money. A great Many traders
deposited a great deal of goods in my Store (an
Indian was the Key Keeper and performed very
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BIOGRAPHIC SKETCH OF GENERAL SUTTER.
45
well) afterwards every little Shanty became a Ware
house and Store, the fort was then a veritable
Bazaar. As white people would not be employed at
the Time I had a few good Indians attending to the
Ferry boat, and every night came up, and delivered
the received Money for ferryage to me, after deduc
tion for a lew bottles of brandy, for the whole of
them, perhaps some white people at the time would
not have acted so honestly.
' May 25th. The travelling to the Mines was
increasing from day to day, and no more Notice was
taken, as the people arrived from South America.
Mexico, Sandwich Islands, Oregon etc. All the Ships
Crews, and Soldiers deserted. In the beginning of
July, Col. Mason our Military Governor, with Capt
Sherman (Secretary of State) Capt. Folsom Quar
trmstr, and an Escort of which some deserted, and
some other Gentlemen, travelled in Company with
the Governor.
" As we wanted to celebrate the 4th of July we
invited the Governor and his suite to remain with
us, and he accepted. Kyburg gave us a good Diner
every thing was pretty well arranged. Pinkett was
the Orator. It was well done enough for such a new
Country and in such an excitement and Confusion.
And from this time on you know how every thing-
was going on here. One thing is certain that the
people looked on my property as their own, and in
the Winter of 1849 to 1850. A great Number of
horses has been stolen from me, whole Manadas of
MM res driven away and taken to Oregon etc. Nearly
my whole Stock of Cattle has been Killed, several
thousands and left me only a very small Quantity.
The same has been done with my large stock of
Hogs, which was running like ever under nobodies
care and so it was easy to steal them, I had not an
Idea that people could be so mean, and that they
would do a Wholesale business in Stealing.
"On the Upper Sacramento, that is, from the Buttcs
downward to the point or mputh of feather Eiver.
there was most all of my Stock running and during
the Overflow the Cattle was in a many bands on
high spots like Islands, there was a fine chance to
approach them in small Boats and shoot them, this
business has been very successfully done by one
party of 5 Men (partners) which had besides hired
people, and Boats Crew's which transported the bed'
to the Market at Sacramento City and furnished
that City with my own beef, and because these Men
was nearly alone, on account of the Overflow, and
Monopolized the Market.
" In the Spring of 1850, these 5 men divided their
Spoil of $60,000 clear profits made of Cattle, all of
them left for the Atlantic State; one of them
returned again in the Winter from 1850 to 51, hired
a new band of Robers to follow the same business
and kill of the balance of the few that was left. My
Baqueros found out this Nest of thiefs in ther Camp
butchering just some head of my Cattle, on their
return they informed, me what they have seen, in
the neighborhood of the same Camp they saw some
more cows shot dead, which the Rascal then butch
ered. Immediately I did send to Nicolaus for the
Sheriff (Jas Hopkins) as then at the time we had
laws in force?!? after all was stolen and destroyed
the Sheriff arrived at Hock farm I furnished him a
Posse of my employed Men. they proceeded over
on the Sacramento to where the thiefs were en
camped, as the Sheriff wanted to arrest them they
just jumped in their Boats and off they went, the
Sheriff threatened them to fire at them, but they
was all, and laughing they went at large.
"One day my Son was riding after Stock a few miles
below Hock farm, he found a Man (his name was
Owens) butchering one of our finest milch Cows (of
Durham stock of Chile, which cost $300.) He told
the Man that he could not take the Meat, that he
would go home and get people, and so he has done,
and he got people and a Wagon and returned to the
Spot, but Owens found it good to clear out. Two
brothers of this Man, was respectable Merchants in
Lexington,. Mo. and afterwards in Westport well
acquainted with me, he came one day in my house
and brought me their compliments, I received him
well, and afterwards turned out to be a thief. How
many of this kind came to California which loosed
their little honor by crossing the Istmus or the plains.
I had nothing at all to do with speculations, but
stuck by the plough, but by paying such high Wages,
and particularly under Kyburg' management, I have
done this business with a heavy loss as the produce
had no more the Value like before, and from the time
on Kyburg left I curtailed my business considerable,
and so far that I do all at present with my family
and a few Indian Servants. I did not speculate, only
occupied my land, in the hope that it would be before
long decided and in my favor by the U. S. Land Com
mission; but now already 3 years & two months have
elapsed, and I am waiting now very anxiously for
the Decision, which will revive or bring me to the
untimely grave.
" All the other Circumstances you know all your
self, perhaps I have repeated many things which I
wrote in the 3 first sheets, because I had them not
to see what I wrote, and as it is now s.everal months
I must have forgotten, well it is only a kind of mem
orandum, and not a History at all, Only to remember
you on the different periods when such and such
things happened.
" I need not mention again, that all the Visitors has
all ways been hospitably received and treated. That
all the sick and wounded found always Medical As
sistance, Gratis, as I had nearly all the time a Physi
cian in my employ. The Assistance to the Emi
grants that is all well known. I dont need to write
anything about this.
" I think now from all this you can form some facts,
and that you can mention how thousands and thou
sands made their fortunes from this Gold Discovery
produced through my industry and energy, (some
wise merchants and others in San francisco called
the building of this Sawmill, another of Sutler's
folly) and this folly saved not only the Mercantile
World from bankruptcy, but even our General Govt.
but for me it has turned out a folly, then without
having discovered the Gold, I would have become the
richest wealthiest man on the Pacific Shore.
J. A. SUTTER."
James C. Ward, who visited Gen. Sutter in 1848,
says of him :
" A Swiss by birth, he held during the reign of
Charles X. the rank of captain in the French army.
He purchased the buildings at Ross, just north of
Bodega, of the Russians, and as he proposed to set
tle the wilderness to the north of the Bay of San
Francisco with European immigrants, the Mexican
Government made him a grant of eleven leagues of
land on the Sacramento river. After landing he
camped, surrounded by hostile savages, in the open
plain where the fort was afterward built, and the
next morning, after dressing in full uniform, he went,
accompanied by his Indian servant, both well armed,
to the Indian village in the woods near by. The
46
HISTORY OF AMADOR COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
savages were informed through the interpreter that
he came to them as a friend, and if they would help
him a little with their labor, he would make them
presents.
"The Indians were set to work to make adobes,
of which the fort was built. It is a parallelogram
in form, with two bastions. In the middle of the
square is a building two stories high, containing four
rooms, and a counting-room upstairs. A black
smith shop, mill for grinding corn, scrape manufac
tory and dwelling are around it, built against the
walls of the fort. At one time he had a well-drilled
force of thirty Indians within its walls, with guards
posted night and day for its defense. No one reached
it without being fed and lodged.
" 1 passed the evening of my arrival, after supper,
in bis company. His manners arc polished, and the
impression he makes on every one is very favorable.
In figure he is of medium height, rather stout, but
well made. His head is round, features regular, with
smiling and agreeable expression; complexion
healthy and roseate. He wears his hair cut close,
and his moustache trimmed short, a la militaire. He
dressed very neatly in frock coat, pantaloons and cap
of blue, and with his gold-headed malacca in hand,
you would rather suppose him prepared for a saunter
on the Boulevards than a consultation with Simplon,
his Indian alcalde, about hands required for the day's
work, or ox-teams to be dispatched here and there."
CHAPTER XI.
THE KING'S ORPHAN.
His Observations in the Sacramento Valley in 1843 Indications
of Gold Life at Sutler's Fort Indian Gourmands Won
derful Fertility of the Land.
IN 1843 a young Swedish scholar visited Sutter's
Fort, and made observations which are now highly
interesting. He had been educated at a Government
institution, and, on that account, was known as one
of the " King's Orphans." One of the requirements
of the school was that the pupil, after receiving a
gratuitous education, should travel in foreign lands,
write out his observations and discoveries, and de
posit them in the library of the institution. In pur
suance of that duty, the young Swede found his way
to California, made drawings of the Golden Gate,
the town of Yerba Buena, and the old Presidio, vis
ited and described Sutter's Fort, and, on his way
home, died at New Orleans. His papers fell into the
hands of Col. T. B. Thorpe, who reported them to
the Associated Pioneers of the Territorial Days of
California. While examining the country surround
ing Sutler's Fort, in 1843, the " Orphan " wrote :
"The Californias arc rich in minerals. Gold, sil
ver, lead, oxide of iron, manganese, and copper ore
are met with throughout the country, the precious
metals being the most abundant."
Describing Sutter's establishment, the Swedish
traveler said :
" It has more the appearance of a fort than a farm
ing establishment. It is protected by a wall ten feet
high, made of adobes, or sun-dried brick, having a
turret with embrasures and loop-holes for fire-arms.
Twenty-four pieces of cannon, of different sizes, can
be brought to defend the walls. Against the walls
on the inside are erected the store-houses oi the es
tablishment ; also, a distillery to make spirits from
the wheat and grapes, together with shops for coop
ers, blacksmiths, saddlers, gi'anaiie, and huts for the
laborers. At the gate- way is always stationed a ser
vant, armed as a sentinel. 1 arrived at the estab
lishment in the morning, just as the people were be
ing assembled for labor by the discordant notes of a
Mexican drum. I found Captain Sutter busily em
ployed in distributing orders for the day. He re
ceived me with great hospitality, and made me feel
on the instant, perfectly at home under his roof. The
magical sound of the drum had gathered together
several hundred Indians, who flocked to their morn
ing meal preparatory to the labors of the day, reap
ing wheat. The morning meal over, they filed off to
the field in a kind of military order, armed with a
sickle and hook.
" Breakfast was by this time announced for the
family, which was served up in an out-house adjoin
ing the kitchen. It consisted of wholesome corn-
bread, eggs, ham, an excellent piece of venison, and
coffee. In the rear of the fort is a large pond, the
borders of which are planted with willows and other
trees. This pond furnishes water for domestic use,
and for irrigating the garden. The want of rain is
the greatest evil that befalls the country. In the
front of the fort there are inclosures for horses and
cattle, and places to deposit corn and wheat. The
manner of threshing was conducted on a most patri
archal plan, the grain being strewn upon the floor
and then trodden out by horses or cattle, which causes
it to bo much broken and mixed with the earth, and
almost impossible to clean.
"The raising of wheat, corn, horses, and cattle,
constitutes the principal business of Captain Sutter ;
but he has realized considerable income from the sal
mon fisheries of the rivers, the fish being uncqualed
in flavor, and found in the greatest abundance. He
also organized extensive hunting and trapping expe
ditions for the skins of the beaver, otter, elk, deer,
and antelope, but in this he was greatly interfered
with by the Hudson Bay Company, who sent their
hunters upon his grounds. Ho complained to the
proper authorities, but they paid no attention to the
matter. His enemies, not content with thus injur
ing him, informed the suspicious Mexican Govern
ment that Captain Sutter was concocting revolu
tionary plans, and that he encouraged deserters and
other disorderly persons to live at his settlement.
Captain Sutter replied to these charges by stating
that he had received the grant of his lands on condi
tion that he should obtain settlers, the principal por
tion of whom he expected from Europe. To make
amends, he had encouraged all the stragglers in the
country to flock to his central position, and they be
ing chiefly unmarried men, and some rather lalwess
spirits from the mountains, they soon formed a very
independent set of men, and were quite competent
to defend themselves.
" The Government at Monterey was not satisfied
with this explanation, and urged on by envious neigh
bors, it was prompted to send to Captain Sutter a
committee of investigation. The Captain was so en
raged at the indignity that he treated the committee
with great contempt, and said he could defend him
self against any force that might be employed against
him. Whereupon the Government at Monterey
threatened to send a military force, but thought bet
ter of the matter when they learned the character
of the men Sutter had about him, and the Russian
armament he had mounted on the walls of the fort;
BUTTER'S FORT IN 1846.
47
but they annoyed him with lawsuits, and, after a
great deal of difficulty, he was acquitted of any
treasonable designs against the Government.
" The Hudson Bay Company having destroyed his
trade in i'urs, he retaliated upon them by erecting a
large distillery, with the product of which ho se
cretly purchased from the hunters of the Company
the greater part of their furs, and managed to make
more by the operation than if he had kept up a large
hunting establishment of his own.
' ; Mr. Sinclair, a partner with Captain Sutter in
farming pursuits, and a Mr. Grimes, have large and
productive farms on the American Fork. Mr. Sin
clair is from Scotland, is a very interesting gentle
man in conversation, and possesses great enterprise
in business. He was a hunter for many years among
the Rocky Mountains, acting as a clerk to one of the
Hudson Bay Company's expeditions. Ho treated me
to a rural breakfast, and, in accordance with his old
habits, broiled his meat on a ramrod stuck up be
fore the fire. The limpid and beautiful river near
which his home is situated, is made doubly attractive
when compared with the sultry .plains in the vicinity,
upon which good water is not always to be ob
tained." .
The " Orphan " explains the process of Indian sig
nal-fires:
" A hole is dug in the ground much wider at the
bottom than at the top; this hole is filled with com
bustibles and set on fire; once well ignited the hole
is nearly closed at the opening. By this means the
smoke rises to a considerable height in a column, and
thus information is conveyed to different tribes of the
approach of an enemy or friend, and whether they
are coming in largo or small bodies."
The gluttonous habits of the Indians are described:
" The Indians that constituted the crew of the
schooner, having been rather stinted of food for a
day or two, determined on a feast as a recompense
for their previous fasting. They presented on that
occasion a spectacle I had never before witnessed of
disgusting sensual indulgence, the effect of which on
their conduct, struck me as being exceedingly
strange. The moat of the heifer, most rudely cooked,
was oaten in a voracious manner. After gorging
themselves they would lie down and sleep for a while,
and get up and eat again. They repeated this glut
tony until they actually lost their senses, and pre
sented in their conduct all the phenomena peculiar
to an over-indulgence in spirituous liquors. They
cried and laughed by turns, rolled upon the ground,
dozed, and then sprang up in a state of delirium.
The following morning they were all wretchedly
sick, and had the expression peculiar to drunken
men recovering their reason after a debauch."
The great fertility of the soil in parts of the Sac
ramento valley is referred to as follows :
" Vegetables of all kinds can be raised in the great
est abundance, frequently two or three crops a year.
Wormwood and wild mustard abound as weeds. Oats
grow wild, and the cultivated grow to an enormous
height. Wheat crops sown in the Fall, early the fol
lowing year have yielded one hundred and fourteen
bushels to the acre. At the Mission of St. Joseph it
was ascertained that the yield was one hundred and
twenty bushels to the acre, and the spontaneous crop
the following year was sixty bushels to the acre.
The wheat of Taos has six distinct heads. Clover
and the grasses are extraordinarily fine and pro
ductive. Indian flax grows wild all over the coun
try. Horses, cattle, sheep, and hogs thrive well, and
are possessed in greater or less numbers by all the
inhabitants, and are tended by herdsmen."
CHAPTER XII.
BUTTER'S FORT IN 1846.
Aspect of Sacramento Valley Sinclair's Ranch A Lady Pion
eer Captain Sutter at Home The Fort Described Condi
tion and Occupation of the Indians Farm Products and
Prices Dinner with the Pioneer New Helvetia.
THE following interesting and accurate description
of Sutler's Fort, before the gold discovery, is from
Edwin Bryant's work, " What I Saw in Calfforuia,"
published in 1849. Mr. Bryant, with a party of nine
persons, left Independence, Missouri, on the 1st of
May, 1846, and reached Sutter's Fort about midsum
mer, when he took the following observations :
" Sept. 1, 1846. A clear, pleasant morning. We
took a south course down the valley, and at 4 o'clock
p. M. reached the residence of John Sinclair, Esq.,
on the Rio de los Americanos, about two miles east
of Sutter's Fort. The valley of the Sacramento, as far
as we have traveled down it, is from thirty to forty
miles in width, from the foot of the low benches of
the Sierra Nevada to the elevated range of hills on
the western side. The composition of the soil ap
pears to be such as to render it highly productive,
with proper cultivation, of the small grains. The
ground is trodden up by immense herds of cattle
and horses, which grazed here early in the Spring,
when it was wet and apparently miry. We passed
through large evergreen oak groves, some of them
miles in width. Game is very abundant. We fre
quently saw deer feeding quietly one or two hundred
yards from us, and large flocks of antelopes.
"Mr. Sinclair, with a number of horses and In
dians, was engaged in threshing wheat. His crop
this year, he informed me, would be about three
thousand bushels. The soil of his rancho, situated
in the bottom of the Rio de los Americanos, just
above its junction with the Sacramento, is highly
fertile. His wheat-fields are secured against the
numerous herds of cattle and horses, which consti
tute the largest item in the husbandry of this coun
ty by ditches about five feet in depth, and four or
five feet over at the surface. The dwelling-house
and outhouses of Mr. Sinclair are all constructed
after American models, and present a most com
fortable and neat appearance. It was a pleasant
scene, after having traveled many months in the
wilderness, to survey this abode of apparent thrift
and enjoyment, resembling so nearly those we had
left in the far-off country behind us.
"In searching for the ford over the Rio de los
Americanos, in order to proceed on to Sutter's Fort,
I saw a lady of a graceful, though fragile figure,
dressed in the costume of our own countrywomen.
She was giving some directions to her female ser
vants, and did not discover me until I spoke to her,
and inquired the position of the ford. Her pale and
delicate, but handsome and expressive countenance,
indicated much surprise, produced by my sudden
and unexpected salutation. But, collecting herself,
she replied to my inquiry in vernacular English, and
the sounds of her voice, speaking our own lano-uao-e
and her civilized appearance, were highly pleasino-.
This lady, 1 presume, was Mrs. Sinclair; but I never
saw her afterwards.
" Crossing the Rio do los Americanos, the waters
HISTORY OF AMADOR COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
of which, at this season, are quite shallow at the
ford, we proceeded over a well- beaten road to Sut
ler's Fort, arriving there when the sun was about
an hour and a half high. Riding up to the front
gate, I saw two Indian sentinels pacing to and fro
before it, and several Americans, or foreigners (as all
who are not Californians by birth are here called),
sitting in the gateway, dressed in buckskin panta
loons and blue sailor shirts, with white stars worked
on the collars. I inquired if Captain Sutter was in
the fort. A very small man, with a peculiarly sharp
red face and a most voluble tongue, gave the re
sponse. He was probably a corporal. He said, in
Mibstanco* that perhaps I was not aware of the
great changes which had recently taken place in
California; that the fort belonged to the United
States, and that Captain Sutter, although he was in
the fort, had no control over it. He was going into
a minute history of the complicated circumstances
and events which had produced this result, Avhen I
reminded him that we were too much fatigued to
listen to a long discourse, but if Captain Sutter was
inside the walls, and could conveniently step to the
gate a moment, I would be glad to see him. A lazy-
iooking Indian with a ruminating countenance, after
some time spent in parleying, was dispatched with
my message to Captain Sutter.
"Captain S. soon came to the gate, and saluted us
with much gentlemanly courtesy and friendly cordi
ality. He said that events had transpired in the
country, which, to his deep regret, had so far de
prived him of the control of his own property, that !
lie did not feel authorized to invite us inside of the J
walls to remain. The fort, he said, was occupied i
by soldiers under the pay of the United States, and
commanded by Mr. Kern. I replied to him that, !
although it would be something of a novelty to sleep '
under a roof, after our late nomadic life, it was a
matter of small consideration. If he would supply
us with some meat, a little salt, and such vegetables
as he might have, we neither asked nor desired more
from his hospitality, which we all knew was liberal,
to the highest degree of generosity.
"A servant was immediately dispatched with
orders to furnish us with a supply of beef, salt, mel
ons, onions, and tomatoes, for which no compensa
tion would be received. We proceeded immediately
to a grove of live-oak timber, about two miles west
of the fort, and encamped within a half a mile of the
Sacramento river. *
" He [Captain Sutter], planted himself on the spot
where his fort now stands, then a savage wilderness, |
and in the midst of numerous and hostile tribes of
Indians. With the small party of men which he !
originally brought with him, he succeeded in defend
ing himself against the Indians, until he constructed
his first defensive building. He told me that, sev
eral times being hemmed in by his assailants, he
had subsisted for many days upon grass alone.
There is a grass in this valley which the Indians
cat. that is pleasant to the taste, and nutritious.
He succeeded by degrees in reducing the Indians to
obedience, and by means of their labor erected the
spacious fortification which now belongs to him.
''The fort is a parallelogram, about -five hundred
feet in length, and one hundred and fifty in breadth.
The walls are constructed of adobes or sun-dried
bricks. The main building, or residence, stands near
the center of the area, or court, inclosed by the
walls. A row of shops, store-rooms, and barracks,
:>re inclosed within, and lino the walls on every side.
Bastions project from the angles, and ordnance,
mounted in which, sweep the walls. The principal
gates on the east and the south are also defended
by heavy artillery, through port-holes pierced in the
walls. At this time the fort is manned by about
fifty well-disciplined Indians, and ten or twelve
white men, all under the pay of the United States.
These Indians are well clothed and fed. The gar
rison is under the command of Mr. Kern, the artist
of Captain Fremont's exploring expedition.
" The number of laboring Indians employed by
Captain Sutter during the seasons of sowing and
harvest, is from two to three hundred. Some of
these are clothed in shirts and blankets, but a lai'ge
portion of them are entirely naked. They are paid
so much per day for their labor, in such articles of
merchandise as they may select from the store.
Cotton cloth and handkerchiefs are what they most
freely purchase. Common brown cotton cloth sells
at one dollar per yard. A tin coin issued by Captain
Sutter circulates among them, upon which is stamped
the number of days that the holder has labored.
These stamps indicate the value in merchandise to
which the laborer or holder is entitled.
"They are inveterate gamblers, and those who
have been so fcfrtunate as to obtain clothing, fre
quently stake and part with every rag upon their
backs. The game which they most generally play
is carried on as follows: Any number which may be
concerned in it seat themselves cross-legged on the
ground, in a circle. They are then divided into two
parties, each of which has two champions or players.
A ball, or some small article, is placed in the hands
of the players on one side, which they transfer from
hand to hand with such sleight and dexterity that
it is nearly impossible to detect the changes. When
the players holding the balls make a particular
motion with their hands, the antagonist players
guess in which hand the balls arc at the time. If
the guess is wrong, ib counts one in favor of the
playing party. If the guess is right, then it counts
one in favor of the guessing party, and the balls are
transferred to them. The count of the game is
kept with sticks. During the progress of the game,
all concerned keep up a continual monotonous grunt
ing, with a movement of their bodies to keep time
with their grunts. The articles which are staked
on the game are placed in the center of the ring.
" The laboring or field Indians about the fort arc
fed upon the offal of slaughtered animals, and upon
the bran sifted from the ground wheat. This is
boiled in large iron kettles. It is then placed i/\
wooden troughs standing in the court, around which
the several messes seat themselves, and scoop out
with their hands this poor fodder. Bad as it is,
they eat it with an apparent high relish; and no
doubt it is more palatable- and more healthy than
the acorn mush, or afole, which constitutes the prin
cipal food of these Indians in their wild state.
" The wheat crop of Captain Sutter, the present
year [1846], is about eight thousand bushels. The
season has not been a favorable one. The average
yield to the acre, Captain S. estimated at twenty-
five bushels. In favorable seasons this yield is
doubled; and if we can believe the statements often
made upon respectable authority, it is sometimes
([uadrupled. ***** The wheat-fields of
< 'aptain S. are secured against the cattle and horses
by ditches. Agriculture, among the native Califor
nians, is in a very primitive state, and although Cap
tain S. has introduced some American implements,
st ill his ground is but imperfectly cultivated. * * '
" Wheat is selling at the fort at two dollars and
THE HISTORY OF THE DONNER PARTY.
49
fifty cents per fanegu, rather more than two bushels
English measure. It brings the same price when
delivered i*t San Francisco, near the mouth of the
Bay of San Francisco. It is transported from the
Sacramento valley to a market in launches of about
fifty tons burden. Unbolted flour sells at eight dol
lars per one hundred pounds. The reason of this
high price is the scarcity of flouring-mills in the
country. The mills which are now going up in
various places will reduce the price of flour, and
probably they will soon be able to grind all the
wheat raised in the country. The streams of Cali
fornia afford excellent water-power, but the flour
consumed by Captain Sutter is ground by a very
ordinary horse-mill.
"I saw near the fort a small patch of hemp, which
had been sown as an experiment, in the spring, and
had not been irrigated. I never saw a ranker
growth of hemp in Kentucky. Yegctables of several
kinds appeared to be abundant, and in perfection.
*********
"Captain Slitter's dining-room and his table fur
niture do not present a very luxurious appearance.
The room is unfurnished, with the exception of a
common deal table standing in the center, and some
benches, which are substitutes for chairs. The
table, when spread, presented a correspondingly
primitive simplicity of aspect and of viands. The
first course consisted of good soup, served to each
guest, in a china bowl, with silver spoons. The
bowls, after they had been used for this purpose,
were taken away and cleaned by the Indian servant,
and were afterwards used as tumblers or goblets,
from which we drank our water. The next course
consisted of two dishes of meat, one roasted and one
fried, and both highly seasoned with onions. Bread,
cheese, butter, and melons, constituted the dessert.
*********
"Such has been the extortion of the Government
in the way of import duties, that few supplies which
arc included even among the most ordinary elegan
cies of life, have ever reached the inhabitants, and
for these they have been compelled to pay prices
that would be astonishing to a citizen of the United
States or of Europe, and such as have impoverished
the population. As a general fact, they cannot be
obtained at any price, and hence those who have
the ability to purchase are compelled to forego their
use from necessity.
"The site of the town of Nueva Helvetia, which
has been laid out by Captain Sutter, is about a mile
and a half from the Sacramento. It is on an eleva
tion of the plain, and not subject to overflow when
the waters of the river are at their highest known
point. There are now but three or four small houses
in this town, but I have little doubt that it will soon
become a place of importance.
"Near the Embai-cadero of New Helvetia is a large
Indian 'sweat-house,' or temescal, an appendage of
most of the rancherias."
ess f-'
CHAPTER XIII.
THE HISTORY OF THE DONNER PARTY.
Scene of the Tragedy Organization and Composition of the
Party Election of George Donner as Captain Hastings'
Cut-off Ascent of the Mountains Arrival at Donner Lake
Snow-storms Construction of Cabins "Forlorn Hope
Party " Captain Reasin P. Tucker's Relief Party James
F. Reed's Relief Party "Starved Camp "Third Relief
Party Heroism and Devotion of Mrs. George Donner
Fourth Relief Party The Survivors.
THREE miles from Truckee, and resting in the
green lap of the Sierras, lies one of the loveliest
sheets of water on the Pacific coast. Tall mountain
peaks are reflected in its clear waters, revealing a
picture of extreme loveliness and quiet peace. Yet
this peaceful scene was the amphitheatre of the most
tragic event in the annals of early California. " The
Donner Party" was organized in Sangamon county,
Illinois, by George and Jacob Donner and James F.
Reed, in the Spring of 1846. In April, 1846, the
party set out from Springfield, Illinois, and by the
first week in May had reached Independence, Mis
souri, where the party was increased until the train
numbered about two or three hundred wagons, the
Donner family numbering sixteen; the Reed family,
seven; the Graves family, twelve; the Murphy family,
thirteen; these were the principal families of the
Donner party proper. At Independence, provisions
were laid in for the trip, and the line of journey taken
up. In the occasional glimpses we have of the party,
features of but little interest present themselves,
beyond the ordinary experience of pioneer life. A
letter from Mrs. George Donner, written near the
junction of the North and South Platte, dated June
16, 1846, reports a favorable journey of four hundred
and fifty miles from Independence, Missouri, with
no forebodings of the terrible disasters so soon to
burst upon them. At Fort Laramie a portion of the
party celebrated the Fourth of July. Thereafter
the train passed, unmolested, upon its journey.
George Donner was elected captain of the train at
the Little Sandy river, on the 20th of July, 1846,
from which act it took the name of "The Donner
Party."
At Fort Bridger, then a mere trading post, the
fatal choice was made of the route that led to such
fearful disasters and tragic death. A new route, via
Salt Lake, known as Hastings' Cut-off, was recom
mended to the party as shortening the distance by
three hundred miles. After due deliberation, the
Donner party, of eighty-seven souls (three having
died) were induced to separate from the larger por
tion of the train (which afterwards arrived in Cali
fornia in safety) and commenced their journey by
way of Hastings' Cut-off. They reached Weber
river, near the head of the canon, in safety. From
this point, in their journey, to Salt Lake, almost
insurmountable difficulties were encountered, and
instead of reaching Salt Lake in one week, as antici
pated, over thirty days of perilous travel were con
sumed in making the trip most precious time in
50
HISTORY OF AMADOR COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
view of the dangers imminent in the rapidly ap
proaching storms of Winter. The story of their
trials and sufferings, in their journey to the fatal
camp at Donner lake, is terrible; nature and stern
necessity seemed arrayed against them. On the
19th of October, near the present site of Wadsworth,
Nevada, the destitute company were happily repro-
visioned by C. T. Stan ton; furnished with food and
mules, together with two Indian vaqueros, by Cap
tain Sutter, without compensation.
At the present site of Eeno it was concluded to
rest. Three or four days' time was lost. This was
the fatal act. The storm-clouds were already brew
ing upon the mountains, only a few miles distant.
The ascent was ominous. Thick and thicker grew
the clouds, outstripping in threatening battalions
the now eager feet of the alarmed emigrants, until,
at Prosser creek, three miles below Truckee, October
28, 1846, a month earlier than usual, the storm set
in, and they found themselves in six inches of newly-
fallen snow. On the summit it was already from two
to five feet deep. The party, in much confusion,
finally reached Donner lake in disordered fragments.
Frequent and desperate attempts were made to cross
the mountain tops, but at last, baffled and despairing,
they returned to camp at the lake. The storm now
descended in all its pitiless fury upon the ill-fated
emigrants. Its dreadful import was well understood,
as laden with omens of suffering and death. With
slight interruptions, the storm continued for several
days. The animals were literally buried alive and
frozen in the drifts. Meat was hastily prepared from
their frozen carcasses, and cabins rudely built. One,
the Schallenberger cabin, erected November, 1844,
was already standing, about a quarter of a mile be
low the lake. This the Breen family appropriated.
The Murphys erected one three hundred yards from
the lake, marked by a large stone twelve feet high.
The Graves family built theirs near Donner creek,
three-quarters of a mile further down the stream,
the three forming the apexes of a triangle; the
Breen and Murphy cabins were distant from each
other about one hundred and fifty yards. The Don
ner brothers, with their families, hastily constructed
a brush shed in Alder Creek valley, six or seven
miles from the lake. Their provisions were speedily
consumed, and stai-vation, with all its grim attend
ant horrors, stared the poor emigrants in the face.
Day by day, with aching hearts and paralyzed ener
gies, they awaited, amid the beating storms of the
Sierras, the dread revelation of the morrow, "hoping
against hope " for some welcome sign.
On the sixteenth day of December, 1846, a party
of seventeen were enrolled to attempt the hazardous
journey over the mountains, to press into the valley
beyond for relief. Two returned, and the remaining
fifteen pressed on, including Mary Graves and her
sister; Mrs. Sarah Fosdick, and several other women,
the heroic C. T. Stanton and the noble F. W. Graves
(who left his wife and seven children at the lakes
to await in vain his return) being the leaders. This
was the " Forlorn Hope Party," over whose dreadful
sufferings and disaster we must throw a veil. A de
tailed account of this party is given from the graphic
pen of C. F. McGlashan, and lately published in book
form from the press of Crowley & McGlashan, pro
prietors of the Truckee Republican, to which we take
pleasure in referring the reader. Death in its most
awful form reduced the wretched company to seven
t\\o men and five women when suddenly tracks
were discovered imprinted in the snow. " Can any
one imagine," says Mary Graves in her recital, " the
joy these foot-prints gave us ? We ran as fast as Our
strength would carry us." Turning a sharp point
they suddenly came upon an Indian rancheria. The
acorn-bread offered them by the kind and awe-
stricken savages was eagerly devoured. But on they
pressed with their Indian guides, only to repeat their
dreadful sufferings, until at last, one evening about
the last of January, Mr. Eddy, with his Indian guide,
preceding the party fifteen miles, reached Johnson's
ranch, on Bear river, the first settlement on the
western slope of the Sierras, when relief was sent
back as soon as possible and the remaining six sur
vivors were brought in next day. It had been thir
ty-two days since they left Donner lake. . No tongue
can tell, no pen portray, the awful suffering, the ter
rible and appalling straits, as well as the noble deeds
of heroism that characterized this march of death.
The eternal mountains, whose granite faces bore wit
ness to their sufferings, are fit monuments to mark
the last resting-place of Charles T. Stanton, that cul
tured, heroic soul, who groped his way through the
blinding snow of the Sierras to immortality. The
divinest encomium " He gave his life as a ransom
for many" is his epitaph, foreshadowed in his own
noble words, " I will bring aid to these famishing
people or lay down my life.' 1 ' 1
Nothing could be done, in the meantime, for the
relief of the sufferers at Donner lake, without
securing help from Fort Sutter, which was speedily
accomplished by John Ehodes. In a week, six men,
fully provisioned, with Captain Reasin P. Tucker at
their head, reached Johnson's ranch, and in ten or
twelve days' time, with provisions, mules, etc., the
first relief party started for the scene at Donner lake.
It was a fearful undertaking, but on the morning of
the 19th of February, 1847, the above party began
the descent of the gorge leading to Donner lake.
We have purposely thrown a veil over the dread
ful sufferings of the stricken band left in their
wretched hovels at Donner lake. Reduced to the
verge of starvation, many died (including numerous
children, seven of whom were nursing babes) who,
in this dreadful state of necessity, were summarily
disposed of. Rawhides, moccasins, strings, etc.,
were eaten. But relief was now close at hand for
the poor, stricken sufferers. On the evening of the
19th of February, 1847, the stillness of death that
had settled upon the scene was broken by pro-
THE DISCOVERY OF GOLD.
51
longed shouts. In an instant the painfully sensitive
ears of the despairing watchers caught the welcome
sound. Captain Tucker, with his relief party, had
at last arrived upon the scene. Every face was
bathed in tears, and the strongest men of the relief
party melted at the appalling sight, sat down, and
wept with the rest. But time was precious, as storms
were imminent. The return party was quickly gath
ered. Twenty-three members started, among them
several women and children. Of this number two were
compelled to return, and three perished on the jour
ney. Many hardships and privations were expe
rienced, and their provisions were soon entirely
exhausted. Death once more stared them in the
face, and despair settled upon them. But assistance
was near at hand. James F. Reed, who had pre
ceded the Donner party by some months, suddenly
appeared with the second relief party, on the
25th of February, 1847. The joy of the meeting
was indescribable, especially between the family and
the long-absent father. Re-provisioned, the party
pressed on, and gained their destination after severe
suffering, with eighteen members, only three having
perished. Reed continued his journey to the cabins
at Donner lake. There the scene was simply inde
scribable; starvation and disease were fast claiming
their victims. March 1st (according to Breen's
diary) Reed and his party arrived at the camp.
Proceeding directly to his cabin, he was espied by
his little daughter (who, with her sister, was carried
back by the previous party) and immediately recog
nized with a cry of joy. Provisions were carefully
dealt out to the famishing people, and immediate
steps were taken for the return. Seventeen com
prised this party. Half-starved and completely
exhausted, they were compelled to camp in the
midst of a furious storm, in which Mr. Reed barely
escaped with his life. This was " Starved Camp,"
and from this point Mr. Reed, with his two little
children and another person, struggled ahead to
obtain hasty relief, if possible. .
On the second day after leaving " Starved
Camp," Mr. Reed and the three companions w.ere
overtaken by Cady and Stone, and on the night of
the third day, reached Woodworth's camp, at Bear
valley, in safety. The horrors of " Starved Camp "
beggar all description, indeed, require none. The
third relief party, composed of John Stark, Howard
Oakley, and Charles Stone, were nearing the rescue,
while W. H. Foster and W. H. Eddy (rescued by a
former party) were bent on the same mission.
These, with Hiram Miller, set out from Woodworth's
camp on the following morning after Reed's arrival.
The eleven were duly reached, but were in a starving
condition, and nine of the eleven were unable to
walk. By the noble resolution and herculean
efforts of John Stark, a part of the number were
borne and urged onward to their destination, while
the other portion was compelled to remain and
await another relief party. When the third relief
party, under Foster and Eddy, arrived at Donner
lake, the sole survivors of Alder creek were George
Donner, the captain of the company, and his heroic
and faithful wife, whose devotion to her dying
husband caused her own death during the last and
fearful days of waiting for the fourth relief. George
Donner knew he was dying, and urged his wife to
save her life, and go with her little ones, with the
third relief, but she refused. Nothing was more
heart-rending than her sad parting with her beloved
little ones, who wound their childish arms lovingly
around her neck and besought her with mingled
tears and kisses to join them. But duty prevailed
over affection, and she retraced the weary distance
to die with him whom she had promised to love and
honor to the end. Such scenes of anguish are seldom
witnessed on this sorrowing earth, and such acts of
triumphant devotion are among her most golden
deeds. The snowy cerements of Donner lake
enshrouded in its stilly whiteness no purer life, no
nobler heart than Mrs. George Donner's. The
terrible recitals that close this awful tragedy we
willingly omit.
The third relief party rescued four of the last five
survivors; the fourth and last relief party rescued
the last survivor, Lewis Keseberg, on the 7th of
April, 1847. Ninety names are given as members of
the Donner party. Of these forty-two perished, six
did not live to reach the mountains, and forty-eight
survived. Twenty-six, and possibly tAventy-eight,
out of the forty-eight survivors are living to-day
several residing in San Jose, Calistoga, Los Gatos,
Marysville, and in Oregon.
Thus ends this narrative of horrors, without a
parallel in the annals of American history, of appall
ing disasters, fearful sufferings, heroic fortitude, self-
denial and heroism.
CHAPTER XIV.
THE DISCOVERY OF GOLD.
Early Reports and Discoveries Marshall's Great Discovery at
Gutter's Mill His Account of the Event Views of the
Newspapers of that Time Political and Social Revolu
tion Great Rush to the Mines Results General Suiter's
Account of the Gold Discovery Building of Saw-Mill.
FROM the first discovery of California by the Span
iards the impression prevailed that the country was
rich in silver, gold, and precious stones. When set
ting out on his northern expedition, the object of
Cortez was to find another country like M.exico, in
habited by a semi-civilized people, whose rich treas
ures he might appropriate; and afterwards there
existed among the inhabitants of New Spain a strong
belief in the great riches of the new province, both
in gold and precious stones. The first published
report of gold in California is found in Hakluyt's
account of Sir Francis Drake's expedition to this coast
in 1579. The historian of the voyage says: "There
is no part of the earth here to be taken up wherein
there is not a reasonable quantity of gold or silver."
52
HISTORY OF AMADOR COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
It is not related that any of Drake's men penetrated
into the interior of the country or made any search
for these metals; and, since neither gold nor silver
is found in the neighborhood of Drake's or San Fran
cisco bay, it is to be inferred that this statement
was a falsehood, uttered for the purpose of giving
importance to Drake's supposed discovery.
There is no further account of gold or silver dis
coveries for two hundred and twenty-three years,
until 1802, when it is said that silver was found at
Alizal, in Monterey county, but the mine never pro
duced anything of consequence. Manfras says that
gold was found in San Diego county in 1828; but as
the discovery had not been heard of by Alexander
Forbes, the historian of California, in 1835, it could
not have been of any importance. On the contrary,
Forbes, in his book of that date, says: "No min
erals of particular importance have yet been found
in Upper California, nor any ores of metals." In
another place, referring to Hijar's migration to Cali
fornia in 1833, he says: " There were goldsmiths in
the party proceeding to a country where no gold
existed." Mr. Forbes was then the British Vice-
Consul at Monterey, and was doing all in his power
to interest the English Government in the country;
it is therefore certain that up to that time 1835
no mineral discoveries of any consequence had been
made in the province.
The first mine to produce any noticeable amount
of precious metal was the gold placers in the canon
of the San Francisquito creek, forty-five miles north
west of Los Angeles. It was discovered about the
year 1838, and was worked continuously for ten
years, when it was deserted for the richer discov
eries in the Sacramento basin. Its total yield was
probably not over sixty thousand dollars or about
six thousand dollars a year.
In 1842, James D. Dana, the geologist and miner
alogist with Wilkes' Exploring Expedition, traveled
from the northern frontier through the Sacramento
luisin to the Bay of San Francisco, and afterwards
published a work in which he said: " The gold rocks
and veins of quartz were observed by the author in
1842, near the Umpqua river, in southern Oregon,
and pebbles from similar rocks were met with along
the shores of the Sacramento, in California, and the
resemblance to other gold districts was remarked;
but there was no opportunity of exploring the
country at the time." Mr. Dana's professional
knowledge enabled him to perceive certain indica
tions of gold, but no practical discoveries were made.
On the 4th of May, 184IJ, Thomas O. Larkin, then
United States Consul at Monterey, wrote to the Sec
retary of State as follows: "There is said to be
black lead in the country at San Fernando, near
San Pedro. By washing the sand in a plate, any
person can obtain from one to five dollars per day of
gold that brings seventeen dollars per ounce in Boston.
The gold has been gathered for two or three years,
though but few persons have the patience to look for
it. On the south-west end of the Island of Catalina
there is a silver mine from which silver has been
extracted. There is no doubt that gold, silver,
quicksilver, copper, lead, sulphur and coal mines
are to be found all over California, and it is equally
doubtful whether, under their present owners, they
will ever be worked." Till May, 1846, no productive
mines were in operation, except the one on San
Francisquito creek, in what is now Los Angeles
county.
It was reserved for James W. Marshall to make
the great discovery, on the 19th of January, 1848,
at Suttev's mill, on the South Fork of the American
river, near the present town of Coloma, in El Dorado
county.
No account of the memorable event can be so
interesting as that of Mr. Marshall himself, who in
a letter of January 28, 1856, says:
"Towards the end of August, 1847, Captain Sut-
ter and I formed a copartnership to build and run a
saw-mill upon a site selected by myself (since known
as Coloma). We employed P. L. Weimer and fam
ily, to remove from the fort (Suiter's Fort) to the
mill-site to cook and labor for us. Nearly the first
work done was the building of a double log cabin,
about half a mile from the mill-site. We commenced
the mill about Christmas. Some of the mill hands
wanted a cabin near the mill. This was built, and
I went to the fort to superintend the construction of
the mill irons, leaving orders to cut a narrow ditch
where the race was to be made. Upon my return,
in January, 1848, I found the ditch cut as directed,
and those who were working on the same were
doing so at a great disadvantage, expending their
labor upon the head of the race instead of the foot.
"I immediately changed the course of things, and
upon the 19th of the same month, January, dis
covered the gold near the lower end of the race,
about two hundred yards below the mill. William
Scott was the second man to see the metal. He was
at work at a carpenter's bench near the mill. I
showed the gold to him. Alexander Stephens.
James Brown, Henry Biglcr, and William Johnston,
were likewise working in front of the mill, framing
the upper story. They were called up next, and, of
course, saw the precious metal. P. L. Weimer and
Charles Bennett were at the old double log cabin
(where Hastings & Co. afterwards kept a store),
and, in my opinion, at least half a mile distant.
"In the meantime we put in some wheat and peas,
nearly five acres, across the river. In February, the
Captain (Captain Sutter) came to the mountains for
the first time. Then we consummated a treaty
with the Indians, which had been previously nego
tiated. The tenor of this was that we were to pay
them two hundred dollars yearly in .goods, at Yerba
Buena prices, for the joint possession and occupation
of the land with them; they agreeing not to kill our
stock, viz.: horses, cattle, hogs or sheep, nor burn
the grass within the limits fixed by the treaty. At
the same time, Captain Sutter, myself, and Isaac
Humphrey, entered into a copartnership to dig gold.
A short time afterwards, P. L. Weimer moved away
from the mill, and was away two or three months,
when he returned. With all the events that sub
sequently occurred, you and the public are well in
formed."
TOMPSON 4. YVf-sr PUB
THE DISCOVERY OF GOLD.
53
The following additional particulars of the dis
covery appeared in the Coloma Argus in the latter
part of the year 1855, and were evidently derived
from Weimer himself:
"That James W. Marshall picked up the first
piece of gold, is beyond doubt. Peter L. Wimmer
(Weimer), who resides in this place, states positively
that Mr. Marshall picked up the gold in his presence;
they both saw it, and each spoke at the same time,
'What's that yellow stuff?' Marshall being a step
in advance picked it up. This first piece of gold
is now in the possession of Mrs. Wimmer, and weighs
six penny-weights, eleven grains. The piece was
given to her by Marshall himself. * * * The
dam was finished early in January, the frame for
the mill also erected, and the flume and bulk-head
completed. It was at this time that Marshall and
Wimmer adopted the plan of raising the gate during
the night to wash out sand from the mill-race, clos
ing it during the day, when work would be con
tinued wilh shovels, etc. Early in February the
exact clay is not remembered in the morning, after
shutting off the water, Marshall and Wimmer walked
down the race together to see what the water had
accomplished during the night. Having gone about
twenty yards below the mill, they both saw the
piece of gold mentioned, and Marshall picked it up.
After an examination, the gold was taken to the
cabin of Wimmer, and Mrs. Wimmer instructed to
boil it in saleratus water; but, she being engaged in
making soap, pitched the piece in the soap-kettle,
where it was boiled all day and all night. The fol
lowing morning the strange piece of stuff was fished
out of the soap, all the brighter for the boiling it
had received. Discussion now commenced, and all
expressed the opinion that perhaps the yellow sub
stance might be gold. Little was said on the sub
ject; but every one each morning searched in the
race for more, and every day found several small
scales. The Indians also picked up many small
thin pieces, and carried them always to Mrs. Wimmer.
"About three weeks after the first piece was ob
tained, Marshall took the fine gold, amounting to
between two and three ounces, and went below to
have the strange metal tested. On his return, he
informed Wimmer that the stuff was gold. All
hands now began to search for the 'root of all evil.'
Shortly after Captain Sutter came to Coloma, when
he and Marshall assembled the Indians, and bought
of them a large tract of country about Coloma, in
exchange for a lot of beads and a few cotton hand
kerchiefs. They, under color of this Indian title,
required one-third of all the gold dug on their
domain, and collected at this rate until the Fall of
1848, when a mining party from Oregon declined
paying 'tithes,' as they called it.
"During February, 1848, Marshall and Wimmor
Avcnt down the river to Mormon Island, and there
found scales of gold on the rocks. Some weeks later
they sent a Mr. Henderson, Sydney Willis, and Mr.
Fifield, Mormons, down there to dig, telling them
that that place was better than Coloma. These
were the first miners at Mormon Island."
In a little work entitled " Mining in the Pacific
States," published by H. II. Bancroft & Co., in 1861,
Mr. John S. Hittell presents the following interest
ing facts concerning the great discovery:
"Marshall was a man of an active, enthusiastic
mind, and he at once attached great importance to
his discovery. His ideas, however, were vague; he
knew nothing about gold-mining; he did not know
how to take advantage of what he had found. Only
an experienced gold-miner could understand the
importance of the discovery, and make it of practical
value to all the world. That gold-miner, fortu
nately, was near at hand; his name was Isaac Hum
phrey. He was residing in the town of San Fran
cisco, in the month of February, when a Mr. Bennett,
one of the party employed at Marshall's mill, went
down to that place with some of the dust to have it
tested; for it was still a matter of doubt whether
this yellow metal really was gold. Bennett told his
errand to a friend whom he met in San Francisco,
and this friend introduced him to Humphrey, who
had been a gold-miner in Georgia, and was therefore
competent to pass an opinion upon the stuff. Hum
phrey looked at the dust, pronounced it gold, at the
first glance, and expressed a belief that the diggings
must be rich. He made inquiries about the place
where the gold was found, and subsequent inquiries
about the trustworthiness of Mr. Bennett, and on
the 7th of March he was at the mill. He tried
to induce several of his friends in San Francisco to
go with him; they all thought his expedition a fool
ish one, and he had to go alone. He found that
there was some talk about the gold, and persons
would occasionally go about looking for pieces of it;
but no one was engaged in mining, and the work of
the mill was going on as usual. On the 8th he
went out prospecting with a pan, and satisfied him
self that the country in that vicinity was rich in
gold. He then made a rocker and commenced the
business of washing gold; and thus began the busi
ness of mining in California. Others saw how he
did it, followed his example, found that the work
was profitable, and abandoned all other occupations.
The news of their success spread, people flocked to
the place, learned how to use the rocker, discovered
new diggings, and, in the course of a few months,
the country had been overturned by a social and
industrial revolution.
"Mr. Humphrey had not been at work more than
three or four days before a Frenchman, called Bap-
tiste, who had been a gold-miner in Mexico for many
years, came to the mill, and he agreed with Hum
phrey that California was very rich in gold. He,
too, went to work, and being an excellent prospector,
he was of great service in teaching the new-comers
the principles of prospecting and mining for gold,
principles not abstruse, yet not likely to suggest
themselves, at first thought, to men entirely igno
rant of the business. Baptiste had been employed
by Captain Sutter to saw timber with a whip-saw,
and had been at work for two years at a place, since
called Weber, about ten miles eastward from Coloma.
When he saw the diggings at the latter place, he at
once said there were rich mines where he had been
sawing, and he expressed surprise that it had never
occurred to him before, so experienced in gold-min
ing as he was; but afterwards he said it had been
so ordered by Providence, that the gold might not
be discovered until California should be in the hands
of the Americans.
"About the middle of March, P. B. Reading, an
American, now a prominent and wealthy citizen of
the State, then the owner of a large ranch on the
western bank of the Sacramento river, near where
it issues from the mountains, came to Coloma, and
after looking about at the diggings, said that if simi
larity in the appearance of the country could be
taken as a guide, there must be gold in the hills
HISTORY OF AMADOR COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
near his ranch; and he went off, declaring his in
tention to go back and make an examination of
them. John Bid well, another American, now a
wealthy and influential citizen, then residing on his
ranch on the bank of Feather river, came to Coloma
about a week later, and he said there must be gold
near his ranch, and he went off with expressions
similar to those used by Reading. In a few weeks
news came that Reading had found diggings near
Clear creek, at the head of the Sacramento valley,
and was at work there with his Indians; and not
long after, it was reported that Bidvvell was at work
with his Indians on a rich bar of Feather river,
since called Bidwell's Bar."
Although there were two newspapers, the Cali
fornian and Star, published in San Francisco, the} 7
do not seem to have been either very credulous or
very enterprising. They did not hear of the dis
covery till some weeks after the great event; or, if
they did hear of it, they did not credit the report.
The first published notice of the gold discovery ap
peared in the California* on the fifteenth of March,
nearly two months after the event, and was as fol
lows:
"GOLD MINE FOUND. In the newly-made race-
way of the saw-mill recently erected by Captain
Sutter, on the American fork, gold has been found
in considerable quantities. One person brought
thirty dollars' worth to New Helvetia, gathered
there in a short time. California, no doubt, is rich
in mineral wealth; great chances here for scientific
capitalists. Gold has been found in almost every
part of the country."
Three days afterwards the Star made the follow
ing brief allusion to the subject:
"We were informed a few days since that a very
valuable silver mine was situated in the vicinity of
this place, and again, that its locality was known.
Mines of quicksilver are being found all over the
country. Gold has been discovered in the northern
Sacramento district, about forty miles above Sutter's
Fort. Rich mines of copper are said to exist north
of these bays."
The Star of March 25th says: "So great is the
quantity of gold taken from the new mines recently
found at New Helvetia, that it has become an article
of traffic in that vicinity."
It was three months after Marshall's discovery,
before the San Francisco papers announced that
gold-mining had become a regular and profitable
business. The Californian of April 26th says:
"GOLD MINKS OF THE SACRAMENTO. From a gen
tleman just from the gold region, we learn that many
new discoveries have very recently been made, and
it is fully ascertained that a large extent of country
abounds with that precious mineral. Seven men, with
picks and spades, gathered nine thousand six' hun
dred dollars within fifteen days. Many persons are
settling on the lands with the view of holding pre
emptions, but as yet every person takes the right to
gather all he can, without any regard to claims.
Ihe largest piece yet found is worth six dollars."
The Star of April 1, 1848, contained an elaborate
article on the resources of California, giving due
credence and importance to the great event which
was so soon to vitalize the sluggish province, in
which the writer said:
"It would be utterly impossible at present to make
a correct estimate of the mineral wealth of Cali
fornia. Popular attention has been but lately
directed to it. But the discoveries that have already
been made will warrant us in the assertion that
California is one of the richest mineral countries in
the world. Gold, silver, quicksilver, iron, copper,
lead, sulphur, saltpetre, and other mines of great
value have already been found. We saw, a few daya
ago, a beautiful specimen of gold from the mine
newly discovered on the American fork. From all
accounts the mine is immensely rich, and already
we learn the gold from it, collected at random and
without any trouble, has become an article of
trade at the upper settlements. This precious metal
abounds in this country. We have heard of several
other newly-discovered mines of gold, but as these
reports are not yet authenticated we shall pass over
them. However, it is well known that there is a
placer of gold a few miles from the ciudad de Los
Angeles, and another on the San Joaquin."
The Californian of August 14, 1848, contained an
article descriptive of the process and implements of
gold-mining at that time, and having related the
particulars of the discovery at Sutter's mill, the
writer continues:
"It soon began to attract attention, and some
persons discovered gold in the river below, and for
some distance above the mill, in large quantities;
so much so that persons who only gave credit to
one-third of what was said about it left their homes
and went to work in the mines. It was the work
of but a few weeks to bring almost the entire popu
lation of the Territory together, to pick up the
precious metal. The result has been that in less
than four months, a total revolution has been effected
in the prospects and fate of Alta California. Then,
the capital was in the hands of a few individuals
engaged in trade and speculation; now, labor has
got the upper hand of capital, and the laboring men
hold the great mass of the wealth of the country
the gold.
" There are now about four thousand white per
sons, besides a number of Indians, engaged in the
mines; and from the fact that no capital is required,
they are working in companies, on equal shares, or
alone, with their baskets. In one part of the mine,
called the dry-diggings, no other implement is nec
essary than an ordinary sheath-knife, to pick the
gold from the rocks. In other parts, where the
gold is washed out, the machinery is very simple,
being an ordinary trough made of plank, round on
the bottom, about ten feet long, and two feet wide
at the top, with a riddle, or sieve, at one end, to
catch the larger gravel, and three or four small burs
across the bottom, about half an inch high, to keep
the gold from going out with the dirt and water at
the lower end. This machine is set upon rockers,
which give a half-rotary motion to the water and
dirt inside. But far the largest number use nothing
but a large tin-pan, or an Indian basket, into which
they place the dirt, and shake it about until the gold
gets to the bottom, and the dirt is carried over the
side in the shape of muddy water. It is necessary,
in some cases, to have a crowbar, pick, or shovel;
but a great deal is taken up with large horns, shaped
spoon -fashion at the large end.
THE DISCOVERY OF GOLD.
55
"From the fact that no capital is necessary, a fair
competition in labor, without the influence of capital,
men who were only able to procure one month's
provisions have now thousands of dollars of the
precious metal. The laboring class have now become
the capitalists of the country.
" As to the richness of the mines, were we to set
down half the truth, it would be looked upon in
other countries as a Sinbad story, or the history of
Aladdin's lamp. Many persons have collected in
one day, of the finest grade of gold, from three to
eight hundred dollars, and for many days together
averaged from seventy-five to one hundred and fifty
dollars. Although this is not universal, yet the
general average is so well settled, that when a man
with his pan or basket does not easily gather from thir
ty to forty dollars in a day, he moves to another place;
so that taking the general average, including the
time spent in moving from place to place and in
looking for better diggings, we are of the opinion
that we may safely set down an ounce of pure gold,
or sixteen dollars per day, to the man. Suppose
there are four thousand persons at work, they will
add to the aggregate wealth of the Territory about
four thousand ounces, or sixty-four thousand dollars
a day.
Four months ago, flour was sold in this market
(San Francisco) for four dollars per hundred; now it
is sixteen. Beef cattle were then six; now they are
thirty. Ready-made clothing, groceries, and other
goods, have not risen in the same proportion, but are
at least double their former cost. If we make bread
and meat the standard by which to determine the
value of gold, then it is worth only one-fourth of
what it is elsewhere. But if gold and silver be the
standard, then the bread and meat is worth four
times what it was. But, the relative value of the
grain-gold, compared with gold and silver coin, can
only be changed by the action of Government; for,
however abundant the gold may be, it must produce
its relative value in coin; and, while a five-dollar
gold-piece will be received at the Treasury as five
dollars, so long must an ounce of gold be worth
sixteen dollars.
" As to the future hopes of California, her course
is onward, with a Vapidity that will astonish the
world. Her unparalleled gold mines, silver mines, iron
ore, and lead, with the best climate in the world,
and the richest soil, will make it the garden-spot of
creation.'
The Californian, of September 23, 1848, gives the
following graphic account of the grand rush to the
gold mines:
" It would seem that but little doubt was enter
tained of its being the Simon-pure stuff; for operations
immediately ceased at the mill, and all hands com
menced searching for gold. It was soon found that
gold abounded all along the American fork, for a
distance of thirty miles. But little credit however
was given the report, though occasionally a solitary
gold-hunter might be seen stealing down to the
launch, with a pick and shovel, more that half-
ashamed of his credulity. Sometime during the
month of May a number of credible persons arrived
in town from the scene of operations, bringing spec
imens of the ore, and stating that those engaged in
collecting the precious metal were making from three
to ten dollars per day. Then commenced the grand
rush. The inhabitants throughout the Territory
were in a commotion. Large companies of men,
women, and children could be seen on every road
leading to the mines; their wagons loaded down
with tools for digging, provisions, etc. Launch after
launch left the wharves of our city (San Francisco)
crowded with passengers and freight, for the Sacra
mento. Mechanical operations of every kind ceased.
Whole streets, that were but a week before alive
with a busy population, were entirely deserted, and
the place wore the appearance of a city that had
been suddenly visited by a devastating plague. To
cap the climax, the newspapers were obliged to stop
printing, for want of readers.
" Meantime, our mercantile friends were doing an
unwonted stroke of business. Every arrival from
the mining district brought more or less gold-dust,
the major part of which immediately passed into the
hands of the merchants, for goods. Immense quan
tities of merchandise were conveyed to the mines,
until it became a matter of astonishment where so
much could be disposed of. During the first eight
weeks of the golden times, the receipts at this place
(San Francisco) in gold-dust amounted to two
hundred and fifty thousand dollars. For the eight
weeks ending at this date (Sept. 23, 1848), they
were six hundred thousand dollars. The number of
persons now engaged in gold -hunting will probably
exceed six thousand, including Indians, and one
ounce per day is the lowest average we can put for
each person, while many collect their hundreds of
dollars for a number of days in succession, and
instances have been known where one individual has
collected from fifteen hundred to eighteen hundred
dollars worth of pure gold in one day. Explorations
have been progressing, and it is now fully ascertained
that gold exists on both sides of the Sierra JSevada,
from latitude forty-one degrees north, as far south
as the head-waters of the San Joaquin river, a dis
tance of four hundred miles in length and one
hundred in breadth. Farther than this has not been
explored; but from the nature of the country beyond
the sources of the San Joaquin, we doubt not gold
will also be found therein equal abundance. The gold
region already known is sufficiently extensive to
give profitable employment to one hundred thousand
persons for generations to come. The ore is in a
virgin state, disseminated in small doses, and is
found in three distinct deposits in sand and gravel
beds, in decomposed granite, and intermingled with
a kind of slate."
In April, 1848, Mr. Jonas Spect, an enterprising
pioneer, gave the following interesting account of
gold discoveries:
" Up to this time there had been little excite
ment about the gold diggings; but at Knight's
Landing we were overtaken by Spaniards, who were
on their way to Sutter's mill to dig gold, and they
reported stories of fabulously rich diggings. After
discussing the matter, we changed our course to the
gold mines and hurried on, arriving at the mill on
the thirtieth day of April. It was true that several
rich strikes had been made, but the miners then at
work did not average two and a half dollars per
day. Marshall and Sutter claimed the land and
rented the mines. Every one supposed gold was
confined to that particular locality. We did not
engage in mining, and concluded to resume our
journey across the plains. On our return trip we
learned that gold had been found on Mormon Island.
But we took no further notice of gold, and on the
12th of May arrived at Johnson's ranch. We
found one man there waiting our arrival, but we
expected many others in a short time. We waited
56
HISTORY OF AMADOR COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
until about the 2.">th, when we learned that
there was another rush to the mines, and then
vanished all prospect of any company crossing the
mountains that Summer. My partner left for the
American river, and I proposed to Johnson that we
should prospect for gold on Bear river. We went
some distance up the stream and spent three days in
the search without any satisfactory result, 1 then
suggested to Johnson that he should send his Indian
with me, -and I would prospect the Yuba river, as
that stream was about the size of the South Fork of
the American river. We prepared the outfit, and
on the 1st of June, we struck the Yuba near Long
Bar. After a good deal of prospecting. I succeeded
in raising ' color.' That night I camped in Timbuc-
too ravine, a little above where we first found the
gold. The next day, June 2d, I continued pros
pecting up the stream, finding a little gold, but
not enough to pay. The Indian was well acquainted.
and he piloted me up to the location of Rose's Bar.
where we met a large number of Indians, all entirely
nude and eating clover. I prospected on the bar,
and found some gold, but not sufficient to be remu
nerative. Greatly -discouraged, I started on my
return home. When I arrived at a point on the
Vuba river, a little above Timbuctoo ravine, I washed
some of the dirt and found three lumps of gold
worth about seven dollars. I pitched my tent here
on the night of June 2d, and sent the Indian home
for supplies. In about a week I moved down on the
creek, and remained there until November 20th,
when I left the mines forever. June 3d, the next day
after the location of my camp, Michael C. Nye and
William Foster came up the creek prospecting for
gold."
The discovery of gold on the American river led
Mr. Nye and party to start out on a prospecting
trip. In the Summer the exact date is not known
they found paying diggings on Dry creek, near its
junction with the Yuba, and commenced working on
an extensive scale. The discoveries by Mr. Spect
and Mr. Nye's company were nearly contqmpora-
neous, and as the parties started from different local
ities, and without any knowledge of the acts of the
other. -due credit should be given to each.
JKNERAL BUTTER'S ACCOUNT OF THE GOLD DISCOVERY.
The following extracts are from an article com
municated, in his own handwriting, by General
Sutter to Hutchinys 1 California Magazine for Novem
ber, 1857. As a part of the history of the great
event referred to, and as the personal narrative of
one of the chief actors in the golden drama, it is one
of the most interesting records of the time. General-
Suiter says:
" It was in the first of January, 1848, when the
gold was discovered at Coloma, where I was build
ing a saw-mill. The contractor and builder of this
mill was James W: Marshall, from New Jersey. In
the Fall of 1847, after the mill-site had been located.
1 sent up to this place Mr. P. L. Wimmcr, with his
family, and a number of laborers from the disbanded
Mormon Battalion; and a little later I engaged Mr.
Bennett, from Oregon, to assist Mr. Marshall in the
mechanical labors of the mill. Mr. Wimmer had
the team in charge, aseisted by his young sons to do
the teaming, and Mrs. Wimmer did the cooking for
all hands.
"I was.. very much in need of a saw-mill to iret
lumber to finish my flooring-mill, of four run of
stones, at Brighton, which was commenced at the
same time, and was rapidly progressing; likewise,
for other buildings, fences, etc., for the small village
of Yerba Buena, now San Francisco. In the City
Hotel (the only one) this enterprise \vas unkindly
called 'another folly of Sutler's;' as my first settle
ment at the old fort, near Sacramento City, was
called by a good many 'a folly of his,' and they
Avcre about right in that, because 1 had the best
chances to get some of the finest locations near the
settlements; and even well-stocked ranches had
been offered me on the most reasonable conditions.
But I refused all these good offers, and preferred to
explore the wilderness, and select a territory on the
banks of the Sacramento.
" It was a rainy afternoon when Mr. Marshall
arrived at rny office, in the fort, very wet. I was
somewhat surprised to see him, as ne was down a
few days previous, when I sent up to Coloma a num
ber .of teams with provisions, mill irons, etc. He
told me then that he had some important and inter
esting news which he wished to communicate secretly
to me, and wished me to go with him to a place
where we should not be disturbed, and where no
listeners could come and hear what we had to say.
I went with him to my private rooms; he requested
me to lock the door; I complied, but told him at the
same time that nobody was in the house except the
clerk, who was in his office in a different part of the
house.
" After requesting of me something which he
wanted, which my servants brought and then left
the room, 1 forgot to lock the door, and it happened
that the door was opened b}^ the clerk just at the
moment when Marshall took a rag from his pocket,
showing me the yellow metal. He had about two
ounces of it; but how quick .Mr. Marshall put the
yellow metal in his pocket again, can hardly be
described. The clerk came to see me on business,
and excused himself for interrupting me; and as
soon as he had left, 1 was told, ' Now, lock the door.
Didn't I tell you that we might have listeners?' I
told him he need fear nothing about that, as it was
not the habit of this gentleman'; but I could hardly
convince him that he need not be suspicious.
" Then Mr. Marshall began to show me this metal,
which consisted of small pieces and specimens, some
of them worth a few dollars. He told me that he
had expressed his opinion to the laborers at the mill
that this might be gold; but some of them laughed
at him and called him a crazy man, and could not
believe such a thing.
"After having proved the metal with aqua forth
which I found in my apothecary shop, likewise witt
other experiments, and read the long article 'Gold,'
in the Encyclopedia Americana, I declared this to be
gold of the finest quality, of at least twenty-thrc
carats. After this Mr. Marshall had no more rest 01
patience, and wanted me to start with him imm(
diately for Coloma; but 1 told him I could not
leave, as it was late in the evening, and nearly
supper-time, and that it would be better for him tc
remain with me till the next morning, and I woulc
then travel with him. But this would not do; h<
asked me only, ' Will you come to-morrow ?'
told him yes, and off ho started for Coloma, in th<
heaviest rain, although already very wet, taking
nothing to eat. I took this news, very easy, like
all other occurrences, good or bad, but thought
great deal during the night about the consequence
THE DISCOVERY OF GOLD.
57
which might follow such u discovery. 1 gave all
the necessary orders to my numerous laborers, and
left the next morning at seven o'clock, accompanied
bv an Indian soldier and a vaquero, in a heavy rain,
for Coloma. About half-way on the road, I saw at
a distance a human being crawling out from the
brushwood. 1 asked the Indian who it was. He
told me, ' the same man who was with you last
evening.' When I came nearer I found it was Mar
shall, very wet. I told him he would have done
better to remain with me at the fort, than to pass
such an ugly night here; but he told me that he went
to Coloma, fifty-four miles, took his other horse and
came half-way to meet me. Then we rode #p to the
new El Dorado.
"In the afternoon, the weather was clearing up,
and we made a prospecting promenade. The next
morning, we went to the tail-race of the mill,
through which the water was running during the
night, to clear out the gravel which had been made
loose for the purpose of widening the race; and
after the water was out of the race, we went in to
search for gold. This was done every morning. Small
pieces of gold could be seen remaining on the surface
of the clean-washed bed-rock. 1 went into the race and
picked up several pieces of this gold; several of the
laborers gave me some which they had picked up,
and from Marshall I received a part. I told them I
would get a ring made of this gold as soon as it
could be done in California; and I have had a Heavy
ring made, with my family's coat-of-arms engraved
on the outside, and on the inside of the ring is
engraved: ' the first gold discovered in January,
1848.' Now if Mrs. AVimmer possesses a piece which
had been found earlier than mine, Mr. Marshall can
tell, as it was probably received from him. I think
Mr. Marshall could have hardly known himself which
was exactly the first little piece, among the whole.
'The next day 1 went with Mr. Marshall on a
prospecting tour in the vicinity of Coloma, and the
following morning I left for Sacramento. Before my
departure, I had a conversation with all hands; I
told them I would consider it a great favor if they
would keep this discovery secret only for six weeks,
so that I could finish my large flour-mill at Brighton,
which had cost me already about twenty-four or
twenty-five thousand dollars. The people up there
promised to keep it secret so long. On my way
home, instead of feeling happy and contented, 1
was very unhappy, and could not see that it
would benefit me much; and I was perfectly right
in thinking so, as it came just precisely as I
expected. I thought, at the same time that it
could hardly be kept secret for six weeks; and
in that 1 was not mistaken, for, about two weeks
later, after my return, 1 sent up several teams, in
charge of a white man, as the teamsters were Indian
boj's. This man Avas acquainted with all hands up
there, and Mrs. Wimmer told him the whole secret ;
likewise the young sons of Mrs. Wimmer told him
that they had gold, and that they would let him have
some, too; and so ho obtained a few dollars' worth of
it, as a present. As soon as this. man arrived at the
fort, he went to a small store in one of my outside
buildings, kept by Mr. Smith, a partner of Samuel
Brannan, and asked for a bottle of brandy, for which
he would pay the cash. After having the bottle he
paid with these small pieces of gold. Smith was
astonished, and asked if he meant to insult him. The
teamster told him to go and ask me about it. Smith
came in, in great haste to see me, and I told him at
once the truth what could I do? I had to tell him
8
all about it. He reported it to Mr. S. Brannan, who
came up immediately to get all possible information,
when he returned and sent up large supplies of goods,
leased a larger house from me, and commenced a
very large and profitable business. Soon he opened
a branch house at Mormon Island.
" So soon as the secret was out, my laborers began
to leave me, in small parties at first, but then all left,
from the clerk to the cook, and I was in great dis
tress. Only a few mechanics remained to finish some
necessary work which they had commenced, and
about eight invalids, who continued slowly to work
a few teams, to scrape out the mill-race at Brighton.
The Mormons did not like to leave my mill unfin
ished; but they got the gold-fever, like everybody
else. After they had made their piles they left for
the Great Salt Lake. So long as these people have
been employed by me, they have behaved very well
and were industrious and faithful laborers; and when
settling their accounts, there was not one of them
w r ho was not contented and satisfied.
"Then the people commenced rushing up from San
Francisco and other parts of California, in May, 1848.
In the former village (San Francisco,) only five men
were left to take care of the women and children.
The single men locked their doors and left for ' Sut-
ter's Fort,' and from thence to the El Dorado. For
some time the people in Monterey and further south,
would not believe the news of the gold discovery,
and said it was only a 'ruse de guerre of Sutter's, be
cause he wanted to have neighbors in his wilderness.'
From this time on I got only too many neighbors,
and some very bad ones among them. .
" What a great misfortune was this sudden gold
discovery to me ! It has just broken up and ruined
my hard, industrious, and restless labors, connected
with many dangers of life, as 1 had many narrow
escapes before 1 became properly established. From
my mill buildings I reaped no benefit whatever; the
mill-stones, even, have been stolen from me. My
tannery, which was then in a flourishing condition,
and was carried on very profitably, was deserted; a
large quantity of leather was left xinfinished in the
vats, and a great quantity of rawhides became val
ueless, as they could not be sold. Nobody wanted to
be bothered with such trash, as it was called. So it
was in all the other mechanical trades which I had
carried on ; all was abandoned, and work com
menced, or nearly finished, was left, at an immense,
loss to me. Even the Indians had no more patience
to work alone, in harvesting and threshing my large
wheat crop; as the whites had all left, and other-
Indians had been engaged by some white men to work
for them, and they commenced to have some gold, for
which they were buying all kinds of articles at
enormous prices in the stores, which, when my Indians
saw this, they wished very much to go to the mount
ains and dig gold. At last I consented, got a num
ber of wagons ready, loaded them with provisions
and goods of all kinds, employed a clerk, and left
Avith about one hundred Indians and about fifty
Sandwich Islanders, which had joined those which I
brought with me from the Islands. The first camp
was about ten miles from Mormon Island, on the
South fork of the American river. In a lew weeks
we became crowded, and it would no more pay, as
my people made too many acquaintances. I broke
up the camp and started on the march further south,
and located rny next camp on Sutter creek, now in
Amador county, and thought that I should there be
alone. The work was going on well for awhile, un
til three or four traveling grog-shops surrounded me,
58
HISTORY OF AMADOR COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
at from one-half to ten miles distance from the camp.
Then, of course, the gold was taken to these places,
for drinking, gambling, etc., and then the following
day they were sick "and unable to work, and be
came deeper and more indebted to me, particularly
the Kanakas. I found it was high time to quit this
kind of business, and lose no more time and money. I
therefore broke up the camp and returned to the fort,
where I disbanded nearly all the people who had
worked for me in the mountains digging gold. This
whole expedition proved to be a heavy loss to me.
" At the same time, I was engaged in a mercantile
firm at Coloma, which I left in January, 1849, like
wise with many sacrifices. After this, I would have
nothing more to do with the gold affairs. At this
time the fort was the great trading-place, where
nearly all the business was transacted. I had no
pleasure to remain there, and moved up to Hock
farm, with all my Indians, who had been with me
from the time they were children. The placQ was
then in charge of a major-domo.
" It was very singular that the Indians never found
a piece of gold and brought it to me, as they very
ol'ten did other specimens found in the mountains.
I requested them continually to bring me some curi
osities from the mountains, for which I always recom
pensed them. 1 have received animals, birds, plants,
young trees, wild fruits, pipe-clay, red ochre, etc.,
but never a piece of gold. Mr. Dana, of the Wilkes'
Exploring Expedition, told me that he had the strong
est proof and signs of gold in the vicinity of Shasta
mountain, and further south. A short time after
wards Dr. Sandels, a very scientific traveler, visited
me, explored a part of the country in a great hurry,
as time would not permit him to make a longer stay.
He told me likewise that he found some signs of gold,
and was very sorry that he could not explore the
Sierra Nevada. He did not encourage me to attempt
to work and open mines, as it was uncertain bow it
would paj-, and would probably be only profitable for
a Government. So I thought it more prudent to stick
to the plow, notwithstanding I did know the country
\\:is rich in gold and other minerals. An old, at
tached Mexican sei-vant, who had followed me from
the "United States as soon as he knew that I was
here, and who understood a great deal about work
ing in placers, told me be found sure sijrns of gold in
the mountains on Bear creek, and that we would go
right to work after returning from our campaign in
1845; but he became a victim to his patriotism, and
fell into the hands of the enemy near my encamp
ment, with dispatches for me from General Michelto-
rena, and he was hung as a spy, for which I was
very sorry. J. A. SUITER."
CHAPTER XV.
EARLY CONDITION OF THIS REGION.
Mountains. Unexplored by the Spaniards The Trappers Fre
mont's Passage of the Mountains in 1844 Battles with the
Snow The Indian's Warning A Glimpse of the Valley
Subsisting on Horse Flesh Arrival at Sutter's Fort Early
Settlements An Immigrant Party of 1844 Captain Truckee
Truckee Kiver Alone on the Summit Death of Captain
Truckee Immigrants in 1846 Discovery of Gold on the
Yuba.
THE native Californians never penetrated into the
heart of the mountains that skirt the Sacramento
valley on the east; gazing from a distance upon their
snow-clad crests, they had named them Sierra
Nevada, the " snowy mountains," but beyond this
they remained terra incognita to them. The bold
and adventurous trappers of the American Fur Com
pany, and the Hudson Bay Company, passed over
them several times on their way to and from the
choice trapping grounds in the valley. The cele
brated trapper, Stephen H. Meek, claims to have
been the first white man who gazed upon the
Truckeo river, on which stream he set his traps in
1833. The river did not rceive its name, however,
until eleven years later, as will appear further on.
The Yuba and Bear rivers, having been explored by
the Spaniards in 1822, in the valley, had been named
at that time, the one Rio de las Uva (Grape river)
and the other Rio de los Osos (Bear river), but as to
their source and direction in the mountains nothing
whatever was known. To them were unknown
lakes Donncr, Tahoe, and the scores of lesser lakes
that are the pride of the mountains. A few misera-
able Digger Indians lived in huts, and subsisted on
acorns, grass, rabbits, etc., and were sovereign lords
of the beautiful Sierras.
The valleys of California were, during the early
part of this century, occupied and traversed by
bands of trappers in the employ of the many Ameri
can and foreign fur companies. The stories of their
wanderings and experiences are mostly related in the
form of sensational novels, whoso authenticity and
accuracy must be taken with a great degree of allow
ance. Few records concerning these fur-hunters
remain which are within the reach of the historian,
and the information given has been gleaned in part
from personal interviews with those whose knowl
edge of the subject was gained by actual experience,
or by a personal acquaintance with those who
belonged to the parties. In many cases their stories
differ widely in regard to facts and names.
As early as 1820, the Tulare, San Joaquin, and Sac
ramento valleys were occupied by trappers, who
had wandered there while searching for the Colum
bia river. Captain Sutter, in 1834, while in New
Mexico, heard from these California trappers of the
Sacramento valley, which afterwards became so
reputed as his home. The disputes arising in regard
to the occupation of the northern part of the Pacific
coast trapping region, in Oregon, led the American
hunters to occupy the territory in and about the
Rocky Mountains. In 1815, Congress, at the earnest
request of the people of the West, passed an Act
driving out British traders from the American terri
tory east of the Rocky Mountains. Immediately
the employes of the old North American Fur Com
pany, still under charge of John Jacob Astor, began
to trap and hunt in the region of the head-waters of
the Mississippi and Upper Missouri. In 1823, Mr.
W. H. Ashley, of St. Louis, an old merchant in the
fur trade, at the head of a party, explored the
Sweetwater, the Platte, the South Pass, and the
head-waters of the Colorado, returning in the Sum
mer. In 1824 he extended his explorations to Great
Salt Lake, near which, on a smaller lake named
EARLY CONDITION OF THIS REGION.
Lake Ashley, he built a fort and trading post, which
was occupied for three years by his men. In 1826
(or 1827) Mr. Ashley disposed of his business,
including the fort, to the Rocky Mountain Fur Com
pany, under the leadership of Jedediah Smith,
David Jackson and William Sublette.
During the Spring of 1825, Smith, with a party of
forty trappers and Indians, started from the head
quarters on Green river, traveling westward, crossed
the Sierra Nevada mountains, and in July entered
the Tulare valley. The country from the Tulare to
the American fork of the Sacramento river was
traversed in trapping for beaver. They found at the
fork another party of American trappers encamped,
and located their own rendezvous near the present
town of Folsom. In October, Smith, leaving the
remainder of the party at the camp, returned to the
company's head-quarters on Green river. In May,
1826, Smith again set out for the new trapping
region, taking a route further south than on the first
trip, but when in the Mohave settlements, on the
Colorado, all the party except Smith, Galbraith, and
Turner, were killed by Indians. These three escaped
to San Gabriel Mission, and December 26, 1826, were
arrested as spies or filibusters. They were taken to
the presidio at San Diego, where they were detained
until the following certificate from Americans then
in San Francisco was presented:
"We, the undersigned, having been requested by
Capt. Jedediah S. Smith to state our opinion regarding
his entering the Province of California, do not hesi
tate to say that we have no doubt but that he was com
pelled to, for want of provisions and water, having
entered so far into the barren country that lies
between the latitudes of forty-two and forty-three
west, that he found it impossible to return by the
route he came, as his horses had most of them per
ished for want of food and water ; he was therefore
under the necessity of pushing forward to California,
it being the nearest place where he could procure
supplies to enable him to return.
" We further state as our opinion, that the
account given by him is circumstantially correct,
and that his sole object was the hunting and trap
ping of beaver and other furs.
" We have also examined the passports produced
by him from the Superintendent of Indian affairs
for the Government of the United States of Amer
ica, and do not hesitate to say we believe them per
fectly correct.
" We also state that, in our opinion, his motives
for wishing to pass by a different route to the Co
lumbia river, on his return, is solely because he feels
convinced that he and his companions run great risk
of perishing if they return by the route they came.
" In testimony whereof we have hereunto set our
hand and seal, this 20th day of December, 1826.
WILLIAM G. DANA, Captain of schooner Waverly.
WILLIAM H. CUNNINGHAM, Captain of ship Courier.
WILLIAM HENDERSON, Captain of brig Olive Branch.
JAMES SCOTT.
THOMAS M. ROBBINS, Mate of schooner Waverly.
THOMAS SHAW, Supercargo of ship Courier."
Smith was liberated, and during the Summer of 1827,
with his party, left the Sacramento valley, journeying
toward the Columbia river. While encamped at the
mouth of the Umpqua river, near Cape Arago, the
Indians attacked them, and, with the exception of
Smith, Richard Laughlin, and Daniel Prior, killed
the entire party. These three escaped to Fort Van
couver, where they received a cordial reception and
kind treatment. Some writers state that Smith then
went directly to St. Louis, while others claim that,
with a party of the Hudson Bay Company's men, he
returned to the scene of his last battle, and meeting
no opposition, journeyed on and down the Sacra
mento valley until he reached the junction of the
Sacramento and Feather rivers, near which a camp
was located. This party, under command of a
Scotchman named McLeod, was the first of the
Hudson Bay Company to occupy California. If the
latter version is correct, then Smith soon after left
the party and returned to the trapping grounds of
his own company.
In the Spring of 1832, Capt. B. L. E. Bonne-
ville, an officer in the United States Army, on fur
lough, at the head of a company of one hundred
men, with wagons, horses, mules, and merchandise,
crossed the Rocky Mountains, leading parties of men
into the Colorado, Humboldt and Sacramento valleys.
Ewing Young, who had trapped with parties on
the upper part of the Del Norte, the eastern part of
the Grand and the Colorado rivers, pursuing the
route formerly traversed by Smith, in the Winter of
1829-30, entered the San Joaquin valley, and
hunted on Tulare lake and the adjacent streams.
During the last part of 1832, or early in 1833, Young,
having again entered the San Joaquin valley and
trapped on the streams, finally arrived at the Sacra
mento river, about ten miles below the mouth of the
American. He followed up the Sacramento to the
Feather river, and from there crossed over to the
coast. The coast-line was traveled till they
reached the mouth of the Umpqua, where they
crossed the mountains to the inland. Entering the
upper portion of the Sacramento valley, they pro
ceeded southerly till they reached the American
river. Then they followed down the San Joaquin
valley, and passed out through the Tejon pass, in
the Winter of 1833-4. Besides these parties and
leaders mentioned, during this period there were
several trappers or " lone traders," who explored
and hunted through the valleys.
The attention of the officers of the wealthy and
powerful Hudson Bay Company was first 'specially
called to the extent and importance of the fur trade
in California by Jedediah Smith, in 1827 or 1828.
The first expedition sent out by them was that
under the command of McLeod. A short time after
the departure of this company, a second one was
sent out under the leadership of Mr. Ogden, which
followed up the Columbia and Lewis rivers, thence
southerly over Western Utah, Nevada, and into the
San Joaquin valley. On their return they trapped
on the streams in Sacramento valley, and went out
60
HISTORY OF AMADOR COUNTY. CALIFORNIA.
at the northern limit in 1830. About the middle of
1832 another band of trappers, under Michael Lafram-
boise, came into the Sacramento valley from the
north, and until the next Spring spent the time in trap
ping on the streams flowing through the great val
ley. The Hudson Bay Company continued sending
out its employes into this region until about the year
1845. Their trappers in California belonged to the
"Southern Trapping Party of the Hudson Bay Com
pany," and were divided into smaller parties composed
of Canadians and Indians, with their wives. The
trapping was carried on during the Winter, in
order to secure a good class of furs. The free trap
pers were paid ten shillings sterling for a prime
beaver skin, while the Indians received a moderate
compensation for their services. The outfits and
portions of their food were purchased from the com
pany. The Hudson Bay Company employed about
ninety or one hundred men in this State. The
greater part of the Indians were fugitives from the
Missions, and were honest and peaceably inclined,
from the fact that it was mainly to their interest to
be 'so. From 1832 the chief rendezvous was at
French Camp, about five miles south of Stockton.
About 1841 the company bought of Jacob P. Leese
the building he had erected for a store in San Fran
cisco, and made that their business center for this
territory. The agents were J. Alex. Forbes, and
William G. Ray, both of whom were intelligent, dig
nified, and courteous gentlemen. Mr. Ray, who was
very sensitive, and given slightly to dissipation,
when some complaint of a trivial character was made
in reference to his acts, committed suicide in
1845. His death, and the scarcity of beaver and
otter, caused the company to Avind up their agency
and business in the territory. Mr. Forbes was, for
a long series of years, the British Consul at San
Francisco, and by his genial manners, superior cul
ture, and finished education, made a good record,
which places him among the noted men of the State.
This gentleman now resides in Oakland, and
although seventy-five years of age, his faculties are
as strong as ever. His memory is wonderful, and
this power of intention, with the vast fund of knowl
edge possessed, has been of great service to the his- .
torian. He has the. honor of being the first English
historian of California, his " California," published in
London in 1839, being written in Mexico four years
previous to the date of its publication.*
During.the months of January and February, 1844,
John C. Fremont, then Brevet Captain of Topo
graphical Engineers, on his return from his first
exploring expedition to Oregon, passed down the
east side of the Sierras, and crossed the snow-cov
ered summit of New Helvetia (Sacramento), suffer
ing many privations arid hardships. His experiences
are so clearly related in his report to the Chief of
Engineers, that the portion relating to this stage of
his journey is here given to show the character of
*Mr. Forbes died recently of heart disease.
the mountains, the nature of the inhabitants, and the
scarcity of knowledge of the Sierras, although the
passage was made in El Dorado county. Passing by
the account of his journey southward from the Dalles
wo take up his narrative on the evening of Jan
uary 31, 1844, upon reaching the Upper Truckee
river, south of Lake Tahoe.
"In the course of the afternoon, one of the men
had his foot frost-bitten; and about dark we had the
satisfaction of reaching the bottom of a stream tim
bered with large trees, among which we found a
sheltered camp, with an abundance of such grass as
the season afforded, for the animals. We saw before
us, in descending from the pass, a great, continuous
range, along which stretched the valley of the river:
the lower parts steep, and dark with pines, Avhilc
above it was hidden in clouds of snow. This we felt
satisfied was the central ridge of the Sierra Nevada,
the great California mountain, which now only inter
vened between us and the waters of the bay. We
had made a forced march of twenty-six miles, and
three mules had given out on the road. Up to this
point, with the exception of two stolen by Indians,
wo had lost none of the horses which had been
brought from the Columbia river, and a number of
these were still strong, and in tolerably good order.
We had now sixty-seven animals in the band. (The
party consisted of twenty-five persons.)
* * * -\y c gathered together a few of the more
intelligent of the Indians, and held this evening an
interesting council. I explained to them my inten
tions. I told them that we had come from a very
far country, having been traveling now nearly a year,
and that we Avere desirous simply to go across the
mountain into the country of the other whiles.
There were two who appeared particularly intelli
gent one, a somewhat old man. He told me that,
before the snows fell, it was six sleeps to the place
where the whites lived, but that now it was impossi
ble to cross the inountain on account of the deep
snow; and showing us, as the others had done, that
it was over our heads, he urged us strongly to fol
low the course of the river, which, he said, would
conduct us to a lake (Tahoe), in which there were
many large fish. There, he said, were many people;
there was no snow on the ground, and we might
remain there until the Spring. From their descrip
tions, we were enabled to judge that we were en
camped on the upper water of the Salmon Trout
river. It is hardly necessary to say that our com
munication was only by signs, as we understood
nothing of their language; but they spoke, notwith
standing, rapidly and vehemently, explaining what
they considered the folly of our intentions, and urg
ing us to go down to the lake. Tah-vc, a word
signifying snow, we very soon learned to know, from
its frequent repetition. I told him that the men and
horses were strong, and that we would break a road
through the snow; and spreading before him our bales
of scarlet cloth and trinkets, showed him what we
would give for a guide. It was necessary to obtain
one, if possible, for I had determined hereto attempt
the passage of the mountain. Pulling a bunch of
grass from the ground, after a short discussion
among themselves, the old man made us comprehend
that if we could break through the snow, at the
end of three days we would come down upon grass,
which he showed us would be about six inches hi-h.
and where the ground would be entirely free. So tar.
he said, he had been in hunting for elk; but beyond
EARLY CONDITION OF THIS REGION.
61
that (and ho closed his eyes) he had seen nothing;
but there was one among them who had been to the
whites, and, going out of the lodge, he returned with
a young man of very intelligent appearance. Here,
said he, is a young man who has seen the whites with
his own eyes; and he swore, first by the sky, and
then by the ground, that what ho said was true, i
With a large present of goods, wo prevailed upon this |
young man to bo our guide, and he acquired among j
us the name Melo a word signifying friend, which j
they used very frequently. He Avas thinly clad and J
nearly bare-footed, his moccasins being about worn
out. We gave him skins to make a new pair, to enable
him to perform his undertaking to us. The Indians re
mained in the camp during the night, and we kept
the guide and two 6thers to sleep in the lodge with
usCarson (Kit Carson) lying across the door, !
having made them acquainted with the use of our \
tire-arms. The snow, which had intermitted in the
evening, commenced falling again in the course of j
the night, and it snowed steadily all day. In
the morning I acquainted the men with my decision,
and explained to them that necessity required us to
make a great effort to clear the mountains. I
reminded them of the beautiful valley of the Sacra
mento, with which they were familiar from the
descriptions of Carson, who had been there some fif
teen years ago, and who, in our late privations, had
delighted us in speaking of its rich pastures and
abounding game, and drew a vivid contrast between
the Summer climate, less than a hundred miles dis
tant, and tho falling snow around us. I informed
them (and long experience had given them confi
dence in my observations and good instruments)
that almost directly west, and only about seventy
miles distant, was the great farming establishment
of Captain Sutter a gentleman who had formerly
lived in Missouri, and, emigrating to this country,
had become the possessor of a principality. I assured
them that from the heights of the mountain before
us, we should doubtless see the valley of the Sacra
mento river, and with one effort place ourselves
again in the midst of plenty. The people received
this decision with the cheerful obedience which had
always characterized them, and the day was imme
diately devoted to the preparations necessary to
enable us to carry it into effect. Leggins, mocca
sins, clothings-all were put into the best state to
resist tho cold. Our guide was not neglected. Ex
tremity of suffering might make him desert; wo
therefore did the best we could for him. Leggins,
moccasins, some articles of clothing, and a large
green blanket, in addition to the blue and scarlet
cloth, were lavished upon him, and to his great and
evident contentment. He arrayed himself in all his
colors, and, clad in green, blue and scarlet, he made
a gay looking Indian; and, with his various pres
ents, was probably richer and better clothed than
any of his tribe had over been before.
" * * * The river was forty to seventy foot wide,
and now entirely frozen over. It was wooded with
large cottonwood, willow and grain de bveuf. By
observation, the latitude of this encampment was
38 37' 18".
" February 2d. It had ceased snowing, and this
morning the lower air was clear and frosty; and six
or seven thousand feet above, the peaks of the Sierra
now and then appeared among the rolling clouds
which were rapidly disappearing before tho sun.
Our Indum shook his head as ho pointed to tho icy
pinnacles, shooting high up into the sky, and seem
ing almost immediately above us. Crossing the river
on the ice, and leaving it immediately, we com
menced the ascent of the mountain along the valley
of a tributary stream. The people were unusually
silent, for every man knew that our enterprise was
hazardous, and the issue doubtful. The snow deep
ened rapidly, and it soon became necessary to
break a road. For this service a party of ten was
formed, mounted on the strongest horses, each man
in succession opening the road on foot, or on horse
back, until himself and his hor.se became fatigued,
when he stepped aside, and, the remaining number
passing ahead, he took his station in the rear. Leav
ing this stream, and pursuing a very direct course,
we passed over an intervening ridge to tho river we
had left. On the way we passed two huts, en
tirely covered with snow, which might very easily
have escaped observation. A family was living in
each, and the only trail I saw in the neighborhood
was from tho door-hole to a nut-pine near, which
supplied them with food and fuel. We found two
similar huts on the creek where we next arrived,
and traveling a little higher up, encamped on its
banks, in about four feet of snow. To-day we had
traveled sixteen miles, and our elevation above the
sea was six thousand seven hundred and sixty feet.
'February 3d. Turning our faces directly towards
the main chain, we ascended an open hollow along a
small tributary to the river, which, according to the
Indians, issues from a mountain to the south. The
snow was so deep in tho hollow that we were obliged
to travel along the steep hill-sides, and over spurs,
where wind and sun had lessened the snow, and
where the grass, which appeared to be in good qual
ity along the sides of the mountain, was exposed.
We opened our road in the same way as yesterday,
but only made seven miles, and encamped by some
springs at the foot of a high and steep hill, by which
the hollow ascended to another basin in the mount
ain. The little stream below was entirely buried in
snow. * * * "We occupied the remainder of the day
in beating down a road to the foot of the hill, a mile
or two distant; the snow being beaten down when
moist, in the warm part of the day, and then hard
frozen at night, made a foundation that w r ould bear
the weight of the animals the next morning. Dur
ing the day several Indians joined us on snow-shoes.
These were made of a circular hoop, about a foot in
diameter, the interior space being filled with an open
not-work of bark.
"February 4th. I went ahead early with two or
three men, each with a led horse, to break the road.
We were obliged to abandon the hollow entirely, and
work along the mountain side, which was very steep,
and the snow covered with an icy crust. * * * To
wards a pass which the guide indicated, we at
tempted in the afternoon to force a road; but after a
laborious plunging through two or three hundred
yards, our best horse gave out, entirely refusing to
make any further effort; and, for a time, wo were
brought to a stand. The guide informed us that wo
were entering the deep snow, and here began the
difficulties of the mountain; and to him, and almost
to all, our enterprise seemed hopeless. 1 returned a
short distance back, to the break in the hollow, where
I met Mr. Fitzpatrick. The camp had been all the day
occupied in endeavoring to ascend the hill, but only
the best horses had succeeded, not having sufficient
strength to bring themselves up without the packs;
and all the line of road between this and the springs
was strewed with camp stores and equipage, and
horses floundering in snow. I therefore immediately
encamped on the ground with my own mess, which
62
HISTORY OF AMADOR COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
was in advance, and directed Mr. Fitzpatrick to en
camp at the springs, and send all the animals, in
charge of Taban, with a strong guard, back to the
place where they had been pastured the night before.
* * * Two Indians joined our party here; and one
of them, an old man, immediately began to ha
rangue us, saying that ourselves and animals would
polish in the snow; and that if we would go back, he
would show us another and a better way across the
mountain. He spoke in a very loud voice, and there
was a singular repetition of phrases and arrange
ment of words, which rendered his speech striking,
and not unmusical. We had now begun to under
stand some words, and, with the aid of signs, easily
comprehended the old man's simple ideas. 'Rock
upon rock rock upon rock snow upon snow
snow upon snow,' said he; 'even if you get over the
snow you will not be able to get down from the
mountains. He made us the sign of precipices, and
showed us how the feet of the horses would slip, and
throw them oif from the narrow trails that led along
their sides. Our Chinook, who comprehended even
more readily than ourselves, and believed our situa
tion hopeless, covered his head with his blanket and
began to weep and lament. ' I wanted to see the
whites,' said he; ' I come away from my own people
to see the whites, and 1 wouldn't care to die among
them, but here,' and he looked around into the cold
night and the gloomy forest, and, drawing his blanket
over his head, began again to lament. Seated around
the tree, the fire illuminating the rocks and the tall
bolls of the pines around about, and the old Indian
haranguing, we presented a group of very serious
faces.
" February 5th. The night had been too cold to
sleep, and we were up very early. Our guide was
standing by the fire with all his finery on; and see
ing him shiver in the cold, I threw on his shoulders
one of my blankets. We missed him a few minutes
afterwards, and never saw him again. He had de
serted. His bad faith and treachery were in per
fect keeping with the estimate of Indian character,
which a long intercourse with this people had grad
ually forced upon my mind. While a portion of the
camp \vere occupied in bringing up the baggage to
this point, the remainder were busy in making sledges
and snow-shoes, 1 had determined to explore the
mountain ahead, and the sledges were to be used in
transporting the baggage. * * *
"February 6th. Accompanied by Mr. Fitzpatrick, I
set out to-day with a reconnoitering party, on snow-
shoes. We marched all in single tile, trampling the
snow as heavily as we could. Grossing the open
basin, in a march of about ten miles we reached the
to]) of one of the peaks, to the left of the pass indi
cated by our guide. Far below us, dimmed by the
distance was a large snowless valley, bounded on the
western side, at the distance of about a hundred
miles, by a low range of mountains, which Carson
recognized with delight as the mountains bordering
the coast. ' ' There,' said he, ' is the little mountain
(Mt. Diablo) it is fifteen years ago since I saw it;
but I am just as sure as if 1 .had seen it yesterday.'
Between us, then, and this low coast range, was the
valley of the Sacramento; and no one who had not
accompanied us through the incidents of our life for
the last few months could realize the delight with
which we at last looked down upon it. At the dis
tance of apparently thirty miles beyond us were dis
tinguished spots of prairie; and a dark line, winch
could be traced with the glass, was imagined to be
the course of the river; but we were evidently at a
great height above the valley, and between us and
the plains extended miles of snowy fields and broken
ridges of pine-covered mountains. * * * All our en
ergies were now directed to getting our animals
across the snow; and it was supposed that, after all
the baggage had been drawn with the sleighs over
the trail we had made, it would be sufficiently hard
to bear our animals. * * * With one party drawing
sleighs loaded with baggage, I advanced to-day
about four miles along the trail, and encamped at the
first grassy spot, where we intended to bring our
horses. Mr. Fitzpatrick, with another party, re
mained behind, to form an intermediate station be
tween us and the animals. * * *
"February 8th. * * * Scenery and weather, com
bined, must render these mountains beautiful in Sum
mer; the purity and deep-blue color of the sky
are singularly beautiful; the days are sunny and
bright, and even warm in the noon hours; and if we
could be free from the many anxieties that oppress
us, even now we would be delighted here; but our
provisions are getting fearfully scant. Sleighs ar
rived with baggage about ten o'clock; and leaving a
portion of it here, we continued on for a mile and a
half, and encamped at the foot of a long hill on this
side of the open bottom. * * *
" February 9th. During the night the weather
changed, the wind rising to a gale, and commencing
to snow before daylight; before morning the trail was
covered. We remained quiet in camp all day, in the
course of which the weather improved. Four sleighs
arrived toward evening, with the bedding of the
men. We suffer much from want of salt, and all
the men are becoming weak from insufficient food.
" February 10th. Taplin was sent back with a few
men to assist Mr. Fitzpatrick; and continuing on
with three sleighs carrying a part of the baggage,
we had the satisfaction to encamp within two and a
half miles of the head of the hollow, and at the foot
of the last mountain ridge. Here two large trees
had been set on fire, and in the holes, where the
snow had been melted away, we found a comfortable
camp. Putting on our snow-shoes, we spent the
afternoon in exploring a road ahead. The glare of
the snow combined with great fatigue, had rendered
many of the people nearly blind; but we were fortu
nate in having some black silk handkerchiefs, which,
worn as veils, very much relieved the eyes.
" February llth. High wind continued, and our
trail this morning was nearly invisible here and
there indicated by a little ridge of snow. Our situa
tion became tiresome and dreary, requiring a strong
exercise of patience and resolution. In the evening
I received a message from Mr. Fitzpatrick, acquaint
ing me with the utter failure of his attempt to get
our mules and horses over the snow the half-hidden
trail had proved entirely too slight to support them,
and they had broken through, and were plunging
about or lying half buried in the snow. * * * I
wrote him to send the animals immediately back to
their old pastures; and after having made mauls and
shovels, turn in all the strength of his party to
open and beat a road through the snow, strengthen
ing it with branches and boughs of the pines.
" February 13th. We continued to labor on the
road; and in the course of the day had the satisfac
tion to see the people working down the face of the
opposite hill, about three miles distant. * * * The
meat train did not arrive this morning, and I gave
Godey leave to kill our little dog (Tlamatb), which
he prepared in Indian fashion; scorching off the hair,
and washing the skin with soap and snow, and then
EARLY CONDITION OF THIS REGION.
63
cutting it up in pieces, which were laid on the snow.
Shortly afterward, the sleigh arrived with a supply
of horse meat; and we had to-night an extraordinary
dinner pea soup, mule and dog. * * *
" February 16th. We had succeeded in getting our
animals safely to the first grassy hill; and this
morning I started with Jacob on a reconnoitering
expedition beyond the mountain.
" We traveled along the crest of narrow ridges,
extending down from the mountain in the direction of
the valley, from which the snpw was fast melting
away. On the open spots was tolerably good grass;
and I judged that we should succeed in getting the
camp down by way of these. Toward sun-down
we discovered some icy points in a deep hollow, arid,
descending the mountain, we encamped at the head
water of a little creek, where at last the water found
its way to the Pacific. * * * We started again early
in the morning. The creek acquired a regular
breadth of about twenty feet, and we soon began to
hear the rushing of the water below the ice-surface,
over which we traveled to avoid the snow; a few
miles below we broke through, where the water was
several feet deep, and halted to dry our clothes. We
continued a few miles further, walking being very
laborious without snow-shoes. 1 was now perfectly
satisfied that we had struck the stream on which
Mr. Sutter lived; and, turning about, made a hard
push, and reached the camp at dark. * * *
" On the 19th, the people were occupied in mak
ing a road and bringing up the baggage; and, on the
afternoon of the next day, February 20, 1844, we
encamped with the animals and all the material of the
camp, on the summit of the pass in the dividing
ridge, one thousand miles by our traveled road from
the Dalles of the Columbia. The people, who had not
yet been to this point, climbed the neighboring peak
to enjoy a look at the valley. The temperature of
boiling water gave for the elevation of the encamp
ment nine thousand .three hundred and thirty-eight
feet above the sea. This was two thousand feet
higher than the South Pass in the Rocky Mountains,
and several peaks in view rose several thousand feet
still higher. * * *"
From the summit the party passed down the
western slope of the Sierras, following the general
course of the stream, and suffering many hardships
and privations, encountering much deep snow and
Mistaining life on none too juicy mule meat. The
stream whose course was being followed was the
south fork of the American river. Describing the
happy termination of this perilous journey by an
advance party of eight, Mr. Fremont says:
"March Gth. We continued on our road through
the same surpassingly beautiful country, entirely
uncqualed for the pasturage of stock by anything we
had ever seen. Our horses had now become so
strong that they were able to carry us, and we trav
eled rapidly over four miles an hour ; four of us
riding every alternate hour. Every few hundred
yards we came upon little bands of deer ; but we
were too eager to reach the settlement, which we
momentarily expected to discover, to halt for any
other than a passing shot. In a few hours we reached
a large fork (North Fork of the American river),
the northern branch of the river, and equal in size to
that which we had descended. Together they formed
a beautiful stream, sixty to one hundred yards wide,
which at first, ignorant of the nature of the country
through which that river ran, we took to be the
Sacramento. We continued down the right bank of
the river, traveling for a while over a wooded upland
where we had the delight to discover tracks of cattle.
* * * We made an acorn meal at noon and
hurried on. Shortly afterwards we gave a shout
at the appearance on a little bluff of a neatly built
adobe house with glass windows. We rode up, but,
to our disappointment, found only Indians. There
was no appearance of cultivation, and we could see
no cattle, and we supposed the place had been aban
doned. We now pressed on more eagerly than ever;
the river swept round in a large bend to the right ;
the hills lowered down entirely; and, gradually enter
ing a broad valley, we came unexpectedly into a large
Indian village, where the people looked clean, and
wore cotton shirts and various other articles of dress.
They immediately crowded around us, and we had
the inexpressible delight to find one who spoke a lit
tle indifferent Spanish, but who at first confounded
us by saying there were no whites in the country ;
but just then a well-dressed Indian came up and
made his salutations in very well-spoken Spanish.
In answer to our inquiries, he informed us that we
were upon the Rio de los Americanos (the river of the
Americans), and that it joined the Sacramento river
about ten miles below. Never did a name sound
more sweetly! We felt ourselves among our country
men; for the name of American, in these distant parts,
is applied to the citizens of the United States. To
our eager inquiries he answered, 'lama vaquero
(cow herd) in the service of Captain Sutter, and the
people of this rancheria work for him;' Our evident
satisfaction made him communicative; and he went
on to say that Captain Sutter was a very rich man,
and always glad to see his country people. We asked
for his house. He answered that it was just over the
hill before us, and offered, if we would wait a moment
to take his horse and conduct us to it. We readily
accepted his civil offer. In a short distance we came
in sight of the fort; and passing on the way the house
of a settler on the opposite side (a Mr. Sinclair), we
forded the river; and in a few miles were met a short
distance from the fort by Captain Sutter himself.
He gave us a most frank and cordial reception con
ducted us immediately to his residence and under his
hospitable roof had a night of rest, enjoyment, and
refreshment, which none but ourselves could appre
ciate."
Gen. Fremont the next day started back with
provisions and horses to meet and relieve the main
body of the party, who were several days in the
rear. He met them near the forks of the river,
" Each man, weak and emaciated, leading a horse
or mule as weak and emaciated as himself." Of
sixty-seven horses and mules, only thirty-three had
survived that terrible journey across the mountains.
Many of them had been killed for food, while others
had died of starvation or exhaustion or lay at the
bottom of rocky canons, down which they had
plunged from the precipitous heights above. Many
valuable specimens, collected during the long jour
ney were lost.
It was in the few years prior to the discovery of
gold that the genuine pioneers of California braved
the unknown dangers of the plains and mountains,
with the intention of settling in the fair valley, of
which so much was said and so little known, and
HISTORY OF AMADOR COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
building a home for themselves and their children.
Many of these immigrants crossed the mountains by
nearly the same route pursued by the Central Pacific
Railroad, except that they followed down Bear river
to the plains. The first settlement reached by them
was that of Theodore Sicard, at Johnson's Crossing,
on the Placer county side, and a few miles below
'Camp Far West. This settlement was made in 1844,
and was the first point reached by the members of
the ill-starred Conner Party in 1847. Opposite
Sicard's settlement was Johnson's ranch, owned by
William Johnson and Sebastian Kyser, who settled
there in 1845. Johnson's Crossing was for years a
favorite landmark and rallying point.
The next Winter after Fremont made his perilous
crossing of the Sierras, another party, a band of
hardy pioneers, worked their laborious way through
the drifting snow of the mountains, and entered the
beautiful valley, one of them remaining in his snow
bound camp at Donner lake until returning Spring
made his rescue possible. The party consisted of
twenty-three men: John Flomboy; Captain Stevens,
now a resident of Kern county, Cal.; Joseph Foster;
Dr. Townsend; Allen Montgomery; Moses Schallen-
bcrger, now living in San Jose, Ca,!.; G. Greenwood,
and his two sons, John and Britt; James Miller, now
of San Rafael, Cal.; Mr. Calvin; William Martin;
Patrick Martin; Dennis Martin; Martin Murphy, and
his five sons; Mr. Hitchcock, and son. They left
Council Bluffs, May 20, 1844, en route to California, of
the fertility of whose soil and the mildness of whose
climate glowing accounts had been given. The dan
gers of the plains and mountains were passed, and
the party reached the Ilumboldt river, when an
Indian named Truckee presented himself, and
offered to guide them to California. After question
ing him closely, they employed him as their guide,
and as the}' progressed, found that the statements
he had made about the route were fully verified.
lie soon became a great favorite among them, and
when they reached the lower crossing of the Truckee
river, now Wadsworth, they gave his name to the
beautiful stream, so pleased were they by the pure
water and abundance of fish to which he had
directed them. The stream will ever live in history
a- the Truckee river, and the fish, the famous
Truckee trout, will continue to delight the palate of
tin- epicure for years to come.
From this point the party pushed on to the beauti
ful mountain lake, whose shores but two years' later
witnessed a scene of suffering and death uncqualed
in the annals of America's pioneers. Here, at Don-
ncr lake, it was decided to build a cabin and store
their goods until Spring, as the cattle were too
exhausted to drag them further. The cabin was
built by Allen Montgomer}-, Joseph Foster, and
Moses Schallcnbcrger, all young men used to pioneer
life, and who felt fully able to maintain themselves
by their rifles upon the bears and dear that seemed
so plentiful in the mountains. The cabin was built
of pine sapplings, with a roof of brush and raw
hides; it was twelve by fourteen feet and about eight
feet high, with a rude chimney, and but one aperture
for both a windoAv and door; it was about a quarter
of a mile below the foot of the lake, and is of
peculiar interest, as it was the first habitation built
by white men within the limits of Nevada county,
the entering wedge of civilization that in a few years
wrested these beautiful hills with their wealth of
gold from the hands of the barbarous Digger, and
brought one more country under the dominion of
intelligence.
The cabin was completed in two days, and the
party moved on across the summit, leaving but a
few provisions and a half-starved and emaciated
cow for the support of the young men, who had
undertaken a task, the magnitude of which they
little dreamed. It was about the middle of Novem
ber when the party left Donner lake, and they
arrived at Suiter's Fort on the 15th of December,
1844, the journey down the mountains consuming a
month of toil and privation. The day after the
cabin was completed a heavy fall of snow com
menced and continued for several days, and Avhilc
the journeying party were plunging and toiling
through the storm and drifts, the three young men
found themselves surrounded by a bed of snow from
ten to fifteen feet deep. The game had fled down
the mountains to escape the storm, and when the
poor cow was half consumed the three snow-bound
prisoners began to realize the danger of their situa
tion. Alarmed by the prospect of starvation, they
determined to force their way across the barrier of
snow. In one day's journey they reached the sum
mit, but poor Schallenberger was here taken Avith
severe cramps, and was unable to proceed the follow
ing day. Ever} few feet that he advanced in his
attempt to struggle along, he fell to the ground-
What could they do? To remain was death, and
yet they could not abandon their sick comrade among
the drifting snows on the summit of the Sierras.
Foster and Montgomery were placed in a trying
situation. Schallenberger told them that he would
remain alone if they would conduct him back to the
cabin. They did so, and providing everything they
could for his comfort, took their departure, leaving
him, sick and feeble, in the heart of the snow-locked
mountains.
A strong will can accomplish wonders, and a deter
mination to live is sometimes stronger than death,
and young Schallenberger by a groat exertion was
soon able to rise from his bod and seek for food.
Among the goods stored in the cabin he found some
steel-traps, with which he caught enough foxes to sus
tain himself in his little mountain cabin, until the
doors of his prison were unlocked by the melting
rays of the vernal sun, and a party of friends came
to his relief. On the 1st of March, 1845, he, too,
arrived at Sutter's Fort, having spent three months
- ; ' ~*
EARLY SETTLEMENT.
65
in the drifting snows of the "Snowy Mountains "-
the Sierra Nevada.
The after history of the Indian Truckee, whose
name so many objects bear, is an interesting one.
Passing down the mountains, he arrived at Sutter's
Fort with the main party, and remained until the
breaking out of the war in 1846, when ho joined
Fremont's Battalion, and was ever afterwards
known as Captain Truckee. He was quite a favorite
with Fremont, who presented him with a Bible with
the donor's autograph on the fly leaf. This with a
copy of the St. Louis Republican, Captain Truckee
jealously preserved until the time of his death.
After the American conquest, Truckee returned to
his people, east of the Sierras, and when the rich
silver discoveries in the Washoe region brought
thousands of white men there, he became their fast
friend and a universal favorite among the miners.
The Indian camp where he lived was in the Palmyra
District, Lyon county, Nevada, about a mile from
Como, and near the spring where the town of
Palmyra was subsequently built. One day in 1860,
Captain Truckee went to the mining camp at Como
to ask the men what remedy he should use for a
large swelling on his neck. The men thought he
had been bitten by a tarantula and advised him to
apply a slice of bacon. Poor Captain Truckee died
that night, his last request being to be buried by the
white men and in the white man's style. The miners
dug a grave near Como, in the croppings of the old
Goliah ledge, and good Captain Truckee was laid
away to rest, the Bible and the paper he had
cherished so long lying by his side.
The terrible sufferings of the Donner party have
been already portrayed. The groans of the starv
ing, and the wails of the dying, crazed with hunger;
will ever haunt the shores of Donner lake, and the
winds as they moan among the drooping branches
of the pines, will whisper tales of suffering such as
few have seen, and the most vivid imagination fails
to realize. The two cabins built by the Donner
party near that of Schallenberger, and which formed
the camp of the Breens, Graves, and Murphys, were
the second monuments of civilization in Nevada
county. About two weeks before the Donner party
found the way across the summit barred by the snow,
another immigrant train passed in safety. Among
those immigrants were Claude Ghana, who now lives
at Wbeatland, Yuba county, and Charles Covillaud,
one of the original proprietors of Marysville, and
who married Mary Murphy, a member of the Don
ner party, from whom the name Marysville was
derived. The widely different experiences of these
two parties in crossing the mountains, but illustrate
the changes that can there be wrought by a few days
of snow. This party also followed down Bear river
to Johnson's ranch, from which point the relief parties
were sent to Donner lake. The years 1846, 7 and 8,
saw many trains of immigrants on their way to
Oregon and California, those for this State crossing
the mountains by several routes, though most of
them came by way of Truckee river.
CHAPTER XVI.
AMADOR COUNTY. *
Early History Origin of the Name of Carson Pass River and
" Valley First White Men in the Territory Sutter's Whip-
saw-mill Discovery of Gold Organization of Calaveras
County Removal of County-Seat from Double Springs to
Jackson Second Removal to Mokelumne Hill First Set of
County Officers Second Set of County Officers Members
of the Legislature Miscellaneous Matters in Calaveras Joa-
quin's Career Chased by Indians Mokelumne Hill in Early
Days Green and Vogan's Line of Stages Stories of Griz
zlies Bull and Bear Fight.
A GENERAL history of the State has been given, in
which but little mention has been made of that por
tion of the territory out of which Amador county
was afterwards carved.- It is probable that some
trappers occasionally visited the lower portions of
Mokelumne river, though not often, for the Indians,
who inhabited that portion of the country, watched
with jealous eye the intrusion of strangers for any
purpose whatever. The Hudson's Bay Company
had a trail from French Camp to Oregon, which
was most of the way through the tides, and of
course far to the west of the present limits. The
' ; Arroyo Seco " grant purports to have been made
in 1840, but it is quite certain that no Mexican had
ever set his foot on the hills, oV had ever seen
them except far away, from the Diablo range of
mountains. Those persons who accompanied Gen
eral Sutter in his campaign against Mikelkos in
1843, might have seen the Lyons mountains twenty
miles to the east. As early as 1840, according to
James Alexander Forbes, then the agent for the
Hudson Bay Company in Alta California, all attempts
to raise cattle on the east side of the San Joaquin,
had been an utter failure, the Indians invariably
driving off the stock and destroying the ranches.
CARSON PASS, VALLEY, AND RIVER.
The impression is generally prevailing that Carson
discovered the pass bearing his name. In the famous
trip across the mountains Fremont and Carson trav
eled northward from Walker's river, crossing the
river bearing Carson's name in their course, making
the crossing of the summit by way of Truckee and
Lake Tahoe. The river was then named in honor of
Carson, the pass and valley being named from the
river, so that it is quite probable that Carson never
crossed the mountains at that point until 1853, when
he came through with a division of U. S. troops
under Colonel Steptoe.
The first authentic report of the presence'of white
men in the county was in 1846, when Sutter, with a
party of Indians and a few white men, sawed lum
ber for a ferry-boat in a cluster of sugar pines on
the ridge between Sutter and Amador creeks, about
four miles above the towns of Amador and Sutter.
In 1849 the remains of the timbers and the sills over
66
HISTORY OF AMADOR COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
the pit were in good preservation though showing
indications of being older than the gold-hunting
immigration. The partially filled-up pit may still be
seen.
At this time the country was one unbroken forest
from the plains to the Sierra Nevadas, broken only
by grassy glades like lone valley, Volcano flats and
other places. The tall pine waved from every hill,
the white and black oak alternating and prevailing
in the lower valleys. The timber in the lower foot
hills and valleys, though continuous, was so scattering
that grasses, ferns, and other plants grew between,
giving the country the appearance of a well-cared-for
park. The quiet and repose of these ancient forests,
seemed like the results of thousands of years of
peaceful occupation, and at every turn in the trails
which the immigrants followed, they half expected
to see the familiar old homestead, orchard, cider-
press and grain fields, the glories of the older settle
ments in the Eastern States. These things, after
thirty years' residence, are beginning to appear, but
this settlement is the subject of our history, and
must not be anticipated. How much the ancient syl
van gods were astonished and shocked at the irrup
tion of the races that tore up the ground and felled
the woods, the poets of some other generation will
relate.
DISCOVERY OF GOLD IN AMADOR COUNTY.
In the latter part of March, 1848, a man arrived
in Stockton, then called Tuleburgh, bringing with
him specimens of scale-gold, from Sutler's mill. He
informed the people there of the recent discoveries
on the American river, the specimens confirming his
report; whereupon, Captain Weber, catching a spark
from the flame, fitted out a prospecting party, con
sisting of settlers on his grant, some strangers that
chanced that way, and a force of Si-yak-um-na In
dians, and commenced the exploration of the country
east of Stockton, beginning at the Stanislaus, and
working north. The fever Avas on them; haste and
nuggets their watchwords; inexperience their com
panion, and failure the result, until they had reached
Mokelumne river, where the Captain decided to
make a more deliberate search, the result of which
was the discovery by him, on that river, of the first
gold found in the section of country, that was after
wards known as the Southern mines. Owing to
their more careful search and added experience,
gold was found north from this river, in every gulch
and stream to the American river. Arriving at Sut-
ter's mill, it was decided to commence mining at
what was called afterward Weber's creek, near
Placerville. As soon as he had got work on Weber
creek well under way, he returned to Stockton, and
organized a party to explore the country south of
the Mokelumne river. In a short time they re
turned with finer specimens than had been found at
Coloma. A mining company was formed, which
afterwards gave name to Wood's creek, Murphy's
creek, Angel's Camp, and other places. Then com
menced the general working of the " Southern mines,"
the rush of miners, the immigration which built up the
flourishing counties of Amador, San Joaquin, Cala-
veras, Tuolumne, and the changing of the world's
commerce.
The ..Mokelumne river, the gulches at Drytown,
Volcano, and lone, were mined extensively in 1848.
General Sutter and party tried it near the town of
Sutter, but he was disgusted Avith the opening ol a
saloon near his works, and left the mines, never to
return. The emigration from the Eastern States,
by way of the plains and the Horn, brought a large
accession to the population, and brought about the
, necessity of some political organization. El Dorado
county was organized with Dry creek as its southern
boundary, Calaveras, with Dry creek as its northern
limits. From these two territories, Amador was
afterwards carved, first in 1854, by setting oif the
territory north of the Mokelumne from Calaveras,
and in 1856-57, by the addition of the strip from El
Dorado lying south of the Cosumnes, the boundaries
farther east being rather indefinite, as will bo here
after seen. A short account of the organizations of
these two counties, will suffice for this work. Gala- ;
veras county was organized in the session of the
Legislature, in 1849-50. It is said that it took its
name from an immense number of skulls found on
that river. The story was that a great number of
Indians coming down from the Sierras to fish for
salmon, were all slaughtered. There is a probability
that they were the result of the fearful mortality,
before mentioned, occurring among all the valley
tribes, from the head waters of the Sacramento to
those of the San Joaquin, in 1830. The county took
its name from the river.
The first officers were William Fowle Smith, County
Judge; John Hanson, Sheriff; Colonel Collyer, County
Clerk; A. B. Mudge, Treasurer; H. A. Carter, Prose
cuting Attorney. Pleasant Valley, better known an
Double Springs, was designated as the county seat.
The courts were held in a long tent, eight or ten
feet wide, imported from China. The first Grand
Jury held its sessions under a big tree. According to
all accounts, justice was anything but a blind god
dess. Very contradictory reports are current in
regard to the characters of the officers. "Fowle
Smith," an Eastern man, was represented by some
as a miserable concentration of all meanness that
was supposed to characterize that kind of men;
stinginess, cowardice, and "all that sort of thing."
Others say that he was honest, and would not
countenance Colonel Collyer's peccadillos, hence, their
mutual dislike. He has since taken to preaching,
and is said to be causing great revivals in some of
the Eastern States.
Colonel Collyer, according to the same authority,
was a southern man, with southern virtues in excess
pompous, portly, genial, brave, and reckless, with a
habit of calling everybody, who crossed his will, a
EARLY SETTLEMENT.
67
d d son of a , and threatening to cut his heart
out; a treatment he had applied to Judge Smith,
until the latter was seriously afraid the Colonel was
in earnest. Among the peculiarities of Collyer, was
the pocketing of all fees received in his official capac
ity, leaving JudgT? Smith to collect his salary, or
extras, as he might. Collyer js said to have natural
ized sixty foreigners in one day, charging them one
ounce each, all of which he applied to his own benefit.
Mudge may be described in a few words, as putting
all the money received into his own pocket, and
decamping when it became too heavy to carry
around. John Hanson, Sheriff, now engaged in
business in San Francisco, was a native of Maine,
and. probably by attending strictly to his business,
made no extraordinary history. The same may be
said of H. A. Carter, the Prosecuting Attorney, a
native of New York. He now resides in lone valley.
CHANGE OP COUNTY SEAT.
According to the laws of the sessions of the Leg
islature of 1849-50, whenever a majority of the
voters of any county petitioned for an election fixing
the county seat, the Judge might order an election
on thirty days' notice. In accordance with this pro
vision an election was held in 1850, the two contest
ing places being Jackson and Mokelumrie Hill. When
the first count or estimate was made up, Mokelunme
Hill was said to have been the successful town, and
a team was sent to Double Springs to remove the
archives ; but a subsequent count by Judge Smith
made Jackson the county seat. Smith was openly
charged with fraud in the second counting. The
whole affair was probably as near a farce as elections
ever get to be. The manner of changing the archives
from Double Springs will be more fully set forth in
the township history of Jackson. The seat of- jus
tice remained at Jackson unjil 1852, when it was
transferred by election to Mokelumne Hill. The
general vote in 1851 was: Democratic, 1,780; Whig,
1,207.
County officer:-!, 1852: Sam. Booker, District At
torney; A. Laforge, Treasurer; Jo. Douglass, County
Clerk; Ben. Marshall, Sheriff; C. Creaner, District
Judge.
1852 Pierce, 2,848; Scott, 2,200.
1853 The officers of Calaveras county were :
Treasurer, A. Laforge; County Clerk, Jo. Douglass;
Sheriff, Ben Marshall; Prosecuting Attorney, Win.
Higby; County Judge, Henry Eno.
Members of the Legislature: Senators E. D.
Sawyer, Charles Leake. Assemblymen A. J.
Houghtaling, Martin Eowen, W. C. Pratt, C. Daniels
vice Carson, deceased.
The vote for Governor was: John Bigler (Demo
crat) 2,545; William Waldo (Whig) 2,212.
JOAQUIN'S CAREER IN AMADOR.
This renowned bandit commenced his career in
this county. His exploits are notorious, and like all
events of that kind, are multiplied and exaggerated
until the clearest sight can no longer distinguish the
true from the fabulous. Whether he was induced to
commence a career of murder and robbery on account
of being flogged at Jamison's ranch, will always
remain an uncertainty. His first operations were to
mount himself and party with the best horses in the
country. Judge Carter, in 1852, had a valu&ble and
favorite horse which for safety and frequent use was
usually kept staked a short distance from the house.
One morn-ing the horse was missing. Cochran, a
partner in the farming business, started in pursuit of
the horse and thief. The horse was easily tracked,
as in expectation of something of this kind the toe
corks on the shoes had been put on on a line with
the road instead of across it. The track led Cochran
across Dry creek, across the plains and thence toward
the mines several miles, where the rider seemed
accompanied by several other horsemen. Coming to
a public house kept by one Clark, he saw the horse
with several others, hitched at the door. Going in
he inquired for the party who rode his horse, saying
that it had been stolen. He was told he was a Mex
ican, and was then at dinner with several others.
Clark, who was a powerful and daring man, offered
to arrest him, and suiting the action to the word,
entered the dining-room in company with Cochran,
and, placing his hand on Joaquin's shoulder for it
was he said: "You are my prisoner." "I think
not," said Joaquin; at the same time shooting Clark
through the head, who fell dead. A general fusil
lade ensued, in which one of the Mexicans was shot
by the cook, who took part in the affair, Cochran
receiving a slight wound. The Mexicans mounted
their horses and escaped, leaving Carter's horse
hitched to the fence.
VISIT TO SUTHERLAND'S RANCH.
Jack Sutherland, now residing on King's river,
had, in early days, a ranch on Dry creek, below
lone, and also one near Plymouth. Soon after mov
ing to the former place, Billy Sutherland, then
seventeen or eighteen, who had charge of the place
in the absence of his father, sold a band of cattle for
several thousand dollars in gold. After the pur
chasers had gone with their property, he took a
notion to count the money again, before putting it
away in the safe, which, in this instance, was a hole
in a log, and emptied the sack on the table. While
piling it up in hundreds and thousands, a shadow
darkened the door. Looking up, who should he see
but Joaquin, the famous bandit. To say that he
was not afraid would be incredible, for Joaquin
usually traveled with a band, which, probably was
not far oft'; but he immediately conceived a plan to
save his money and life. .Resistance was out of the
question; for he was alone, and no houses within
miles. He politely invited Joaquin to alight, and
in answer to the question whether he could stay all
night with his party, replied in the affirmative.
Joaquin called to his party, in Spanish, that he had
found some friends, telling them to unsaddle. They
68
HISTORY OF AMADOR COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
were fierce and sullen looking fellows, but he trusted
to out-maneuver them. He pretended not to know
his guests, and set about getting their suppers
After eating, the lender asked young Sutherland if
he was not afraid to stay alone with so much money
in the house; and inquired what he would do if
Joaquin should come around? Sutherland replied
that Joaquin was a gentleman, and would not harm
his friends; that he and his father were acquainted,
and referred to some transactions which had oc
curred, in which his father had benefited Joaquin.
"Are you Jack Sutherland's son?" says Joaquin.
"1 am," says Sutherland. After some further
conversation, they laid down on their saddle blan
kets, and slept until morning. At parting, Joaquin
paid his bill, remarking that if any persons coming
along during the day should inquire for a party
answering their description, it would be as well for
him to remember nothing about their having been
there. Young Sutherland thought so also.
During the latter part of October, 1852, Joaquin
was prowling around the northern part of Calaveras.
in the vicinity of Oleta (Fiddletown): One day, one
of the Mexican women told an American that Joaquin
was in the town. As it was a common thing for
Mexicans to ride from one camp to another, the
presence of strangers caused no remark. His name,
however, was sufficient to raise a storm, and in a
few minutes he was being hunted. He was dressed
in the usual Spanish style, with wide-brimmed hat,
serape, white drawers, and pantaloons opening up
the sides. When he found he was betrayed, he
jumped on a table in a gambling room, flourished a
pistol around his head, said he was Joaquin, and
defied the town to take him. This bravado may
have been necessary to ensure his retreat, for he
and his party left immediately, with half the town
in pursuit. As it was, he came near being sur
rounded, and had to force his way out. "Am.
Parks " had hold of his bridle, but was induced to
let loose by a shot in his face, which, however, only
grazed the skin. The party of three or four left,
amid a shower of bullets from revolvers, none of
them taking effect, except, perhaps, on the horses;
either this or the party were not well mounted, for
in the pursuit which took place, the footmen kept
well up, some Indians, who joined in the chase,
being in the advance. Joaquin took the trail to
wards Slate creek, and thence across Dry creek
towards Lower Rancheria. Fresh men joined the
pursuers at every gulch. To get rid of the Indians,
the Mexicans stripped themselves first of serape,
spurs, and everything that could be thrown off
hastily. At the crossing of Dry creek, a half mile
below Dead Man's creek, a long-legged Missourian,
with a still longer rifle, 'came up within forty or
fifty yards, but was afraid to fire on account of that
terrible revolver of Joaquin's, which never missed. -
The Missourian never will get out of the range of
ridicule, that has been heaped on him ever since.
The Mexicans left their horses, and escaped in the
thick chaparral on the divide between Rancheria
and Dry creeks. That night they made their way
into Lower Rancheria, accounting for their demor
alization by saying they had been chased by Indians
which was true.
CHASED BY INDIANS.
In the Winter of 1850-51 a party of four or five
men, of whom A Askey, now of Jackson, was one,
were hunting deer in the mountains a few miles
above Volcano. Venison being worth fifty cents a
pound they could afford to take some risks. One
day, while following a wounded deer, Askey dis
covered a party of Indians, whom, by their dress, he
judged to be Washoes, who had the reputation of being
much better fighters than the California Indians.
They saw him about the same time, and, com
ing up, professed to be very friendly, wanting to
shake hands, which he prudently declined. A con
ference, mostly by signs, ensued, in which both par
ties agreed to pursue the deer, Askey taking one
side of the hill, the Indians the other. He did not
follow the deer far, but made the very best time to
the camp that his short legs would admit of. In the
morning, reinforced by his companions, he made a
reconnaissance in force, and, as he expected, found
that the Indians had made an effort to cut him off,
the tracks in the snow showing that they had fol
lowed him until they sighted the camp. The follow
ing day an old Indian came peering about, and, by
signs, intimated that the bark and wood set around
the hut would keep out arrows. Suspecting him of
being a spy, they thought best to detain him until
morning, when ho was dismissed with an application
of a number ten boot to his rear that accelerated his
departure.
MOKELUMNE HILL IN EARLY DAYS.
In early days Mokelumnc Hill was reputed one of
the liveliest places in the mines. It had the misfort
une to be settled by a heterogenous population
Yankees, Westerners^ and Southerners, from the
United States; and French, German, and Spanish,
from Europe; and Chilenos and Mexicans. Death by
violence seemed to be the rule. For seventeen suc
cessive weeks, according to Dr. Soher, of San Fran
cisco, a man was killed between Saturday night and
Sunday morning. Five men were once killed within
a week. The condition of things became so desper
ate that a vigilance committee was resolved upon,
which, however, did not continue in existence long.
One man, who was hung for stealing, confessed, just
before his death, to having committed eight mur
ders between Mokelumne Hill and Sonora. He was
a Mexican, of powerful physique and desperate
character. Shooting was resorted to on the most
trivial occasions. Two strangers sat quietly taking
a dinner at a restaurant, and talking with each other.
A gambler seated near, fancying that he heard his
name mentioned, drew his revolver and shot one
EARLY SETTLEMENT.
69
man dead. The conversation proved to be about
mining matters which did not concern the gambler.
'A year after, to a day, the surviving man, who
was talking with the person slain, had occasion to
pass through the town, and remembering the former
shooting of his partner, concluded not to stop, but a
roysterer saw him, and disliking something in his
appearance, drew a bead on him and fired; the aim
was spoiled by some one throwing up the pistol at
the moment of the explosion. The stranger thought
it a curious country; his partner was killed a year
before for some harmless talk; he was shot at while
quietly passing along the streets.
THE MINES.
The gulches around the hill were very rich, and in
the Winter of 1850-51 the leads were traced into the
hills. The yield was enormous, even fabulous. The
hill is supposed to be a continuation of the same
wash that made Tunnel Hill rich.
THE FRENCH WAR.
A party of Frenchmen opened a hole in the rich
est part of the hill. Some Americans mining near
them conceived the plan of driving them out, on the
score of their not being citizens. The Frenchmen
resisted, and the Americans raised the cry that the
French had hoisted a French flag and defied the
Government, and called on everybody to arm and
drive them out. One Blankenship was foremost in
the matter. The Frenchmen lost their claim. Dur
ing the time of the difficulty, hundreds of persons
jumped into the hole, which was about fifty feet square,
and carried away dirt which would pay from fifty to
one hundred dollars per sack. The Frenchmen had
camped in the hole, cooking, eating, and sleeping
there, to prevent other parties stealing the dirt or
jumping the claim. Though the people generally
united to drive the original holders out, none can
now be found to justify the expulsion, which is now
looked upon as a downright robbery.
STAGING GREEN AND VOGAN's LINES.
Charles Green and John Vogan commenced the
business in 1853, running from Jackson, through
Drytown, to Sacramento in one day. The line prov
ing profitable, it was extended through Mokelumne
Hill to Sonora, making the whole distance in one
day, through fare being twenty dollars. The cost
of stocking a line was enormous. None of the
horses cost less than three hundred dollars each, and
some of them twice that. Concord wagons cost
from six hundred to one thousand dollars, and Troy
coaches twenty-five hundred to three thousand dol
lars. A good driver was worth one hundred and
fifty dollars per month; hostlers one hundred dol
lars. Hay and barley were also high, sometimes
one hundred dollars per ton. Notwithstanding
these expenses, the line was profitable, the coaches
generally being loaded to their utmost capacity.
Staging then and now were quite different affairs.
Then there were no roads, the coaches following the
trails, or zigzaging around the dust-holes in Sum
mer, and mud-holes in Winter. There were no
bridges, and sometimes driver and horses were lost.
During the Summer season the trip was rather
pleasant, but when the coach stuck in a raging
stream of water four or five feet deep, the situation
made a timid man pray and a wicked one swear.
The highwaymen occasionally levied tribute on the
passengers, who, though armed, would find them
selves unexpectedly confronted with a pistol in such
close proximity that it was useless to resist. The
line was afterwards consolidated with the California
Stage Company, which proved to be a. losing con
cern.
MYSTERIOUS SICKNESS.
In early days N. W. Spaulding, since Mayor of
Oakland, and Judge Thompson, of Mokelumne Hill,
now a resident of San Francisco, were living in the
same cabin, and both had a kind of rash or breaking out
on the skin, which was very annoying, causing an
intolerable itching. Dr. Sober, an eminent physician,
was consulted in the matter. He said it was pro
duced by a feverish condition of the blood, induced
by a change from the cool air on an ocean voyage to
the dry atmosphere of California, and recommended
laxative medicines, which they took for several
weeks without a.ny beneficial effects. The matter
became rather serious. A closer inspection revealed
the cause of the sickness to be an army of grey-
backs, who had taken up all the available ground
on their bodies, and were doing their best to work it
out, their operations being, happily, on the surface,
however, tunnel mining not having 'been discovered.
The clothing and cabin, even, were swarming with
the vermin. A three days' campaign with boiling
water, supplemented with a little unguentim,
expelled the trespassers. The matter was considered
too disgraceful to speak of publicly, and they paid
the doctor's bill, sixty-five dollars each, without
grumbling. Thirty years' silence over so good a
thing having become painful, mutual threats of
exposure brought out the story at a recent meeting
of the San Francisco Pioneer Society, amid shouts
of laughter. They were not the first or last
persons thoroughly astonished at the unexpected
presence of grey-backs in overwhelming numbers.
ADVENTURE WITH A GRIZZLY NEAR VOLCANO.
A genuine grizzly was discovered in a ravine a
mile or two from town, and a valiant party, armed
with axes, knives, pistols, and a few guns, started
after him. When the huge fellow, curious to see
what all the fuss was about, raised himself up on
his quarters to look around, all wisely ran but one
man, who had faith in his rifle, which carried a ball
about as large as a pea. He fired and hit the bear,
only to enrage him however, for the ball hardly
more than stung him. He soon came up with the
man, caught his head in his mouth, tearing off
70
HISTORY OF AMADOR COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
nearly the whole scalp, and otherwise lacerating the
man, who surrendered at discretion, leaving the
bear to make his own terms. By remaining entirely
passive, the man induced his bearship, Ursa, the ter
rible, to suspend farther punishment. After the
bear left, the man contrived to crawl towards his
home. A short time after a party better armed pur
sued the bear and killed him. Curious to see what
effect the pea rifle had on the bear, they examined
his hide, and found that the ball penetrated it and
lodged against the shoulder-blade, without injuring
the animal at all. The bear was a monster.
When loaded into an ordinary wagon-bed, eleven
feet long, his legs stuck out behind fully three feet,
making his total length not far from fourteen feet.
He was poor and tough, and was not considered fit for
food. When discovered he was feeding on carrion.
THE JOHNSTONS' ENCOUNTER WITH A GRIZZLY.
This occurred near the El Dorado county line.
The bear had been seen several times and was known
to frequent a patch of thick chaparral. A party of
ten or twelve persons, among whom were the John-
etons, Jim and Jack, started out to find him. They
succeeded in getting a fatal shot at his majesty the
bear, which contrary to all expectation, retreated
into the thick brush. From the amount of blood
along his trail they judged that he was too severely
wounded to be dangerous, and they imprudently fol
lowed him. The infuriated animal charged upon the
Johnstons, who were foremost, and brought one of
them to the ground, his gun during the encounter
being thrown out of reach. The other fired when the
opportunity presented itself to do so without endan
gering his brother's life, again wounding the bear,
which left the first one to pursue the other. It does
not seem that they succeeded in loading again, but
each endeavored to draw the bear away from the
other by pounding him over the head with the gun,
when the animal would get the other down and com
mence again gnawing and lacerating his arms,
head and body. It was a despei-ate fight now to get
away. The balance of the party had deserted them
at the first sight of the animal, when he made his
charge, leaving the two to their fate. Jack's arms
were now so useless from the repeated crushings, that
he could no longer raise the gun to strike the bear,
but still intent to get his brother away, he pushed
his shoulder against the animal, which would leave
the other for a moment. The creature was a monster
in size, his back being nearly on a level with Jack's
shoulder. The struggle seemed hopeless, but at the
last moment the bear, becoming exhausted "or sub
dued by the severe wounds, gave a kind of snarl and
again beat a retreat. One of the men was now
utterly helpless and the other one not much better; he
however, succeeded in dragging his brother out of
the brush to the open ground. He was taken away
in a wagon and cared for, and recovered after several
months. The crippled hand and arm, and terrible
scars 'all over his person, attest the severity of the
contest. After their recovery they revisited the
place. They found the skeleton of the bear, which
was of unheard-of dimensions. The stories of bears
weighing fifteen hundred pounds, to those who have
seen only the bears of two or three hundred pounds
weight, which frequent the mountains of the Eastern
States, seem utterly absurd. Making allowance for
the exaggeration natural under some circumstances,
there can be no doubt of their occasionally reaching
to a monstrous size, perhaps weighing seventeen or
eighteen hundred pounds.
KILLING A GRIZZLY.
In 1850 grizzlies were occasionally met with, and
they hardly ever gave the road, though not apt to
attack man unless provoked. It was Mr. Spaulding's
good fortune to have one of the most thrilling
adventures with one, that is recorded. At that time he
was in charge of a saw-mill and had occasion to visit
Mokelumne Hill late in the day. The trail led
through a deep, shadowy glen which the animals
sometimes visited, trampling down the brush and leav
ing tracks twice as large as a Hoosier's. As a mat
ter of prudence he took his rifle promising himself to
" fight it out on that line" if he met one. The day
light trip was well enough, no " bars " putting in an
appearance, but on his return after night-fall, as he
descended into the cool, shadowy part of the glen, he
heard the ominous cracking of the brush, and the
sound of footfalls along the trail. Nearer and nearer
came the animal that was never known to give the
road. To turn back was contrary to our hero's prin
ciples. Pierpont's
"Stand!
The ground's your own, my braves.
Will ye give it up to slaves ?
Look ye for greener graves ?"
From the old school reader, flashed through his mind,
and he stood! With gun cocked and hair on end, he
waited the onset. As the outline of the animal came
dimly into view he took as good aim as possible and
fired. An unearthly growling was succeeded by the
monster's tumbling, rolling, and tearing down the
trail to the bottom of the deep ravine. It was evi
dent the animal was severely wounded, and like all
grizzlies, would be then most dangerous, even if the
wound was mortal. To go down into the dark and
thick woods and fight the grizzly alone, would be
dangerous, perhaps fatal to him, for had not the
grizzly proved a match for many men even when
fatally wounded? Life was bright before him; hopes
of meeting well, no matter whom, and renewing
the tender relations; hopes of wealth, of political
success, of honor were not these worth more than
the chance of killing a grizzly ? He went back on
the trail, and making a wide circuit, reached the
camp at a late hour, exhausted with the excitement
and his long walk. After hearing his adventuresthc
men made up a company to visit the ravine the next
EARLY SETTLEMENT.
71
morning and finish the monster. All the guns were
heavily loaded, and plans laid for approaching the
animal with the least danger. The most vulnerable
parts of the grizzly were duly discussed, some con
tending for an eye shot, others a side shot, at the
heart, etc. Cautiously they descended into the deep
ravine, avoiding clumps of trees or chaparral. At
the bottom they found signs of the conflict blood
and broken brush. One, bolder than the rest, fol
lowed the trail, and a great roar of laughter, with
"Darned if it aint Dr. Herschner's old jackass,"
changed the sentiment of the party. The poor,
patient old fellow had packed many a load of grub to
the miners, and would, when relieved of his burden,
return home alone, but he had made his last trip.
Forty dollars paid for the animal, but many forties
would not pay for the liquors and cigars at Spaulding's
expense; and the end is not yet, for a mention of hunt
ing grizzlies will still bring out the best in the house.
BULL AND BEAR FIGHT.
In the days when Calaveras and Amador were
one, the population of the ancient capital were wont
to amuse themselves with bull and bear fights. Sun
day, by custom, was the day set apart for these
exhibitions, for, on that day, everybody came to
town. A large portion of the population was Span
ish, and anything pertaining to the fighting of bulls
would draw out the full Mexican population, sefiors
senoras, and senoritas. Spanish cattle were plenti
ful, and there were plenty of men who had been
trained to handle them; but bears, real grizzlies,
were not so easily caught and handled. They were
valued all the way from one to four thousand dol
lars; consequently, when a real grizzly was caught
and caged, he was generally given an unfair advan
tage. The bull- was lassoed just before the fight,
his horns sawed off, and the fight pretty well taken
out of him before he was turned into the ring. On
one occasion, the miners, and other spectators, got
rampant over the way in which a steer was sac
rificed, " without any fight at all worth speaking of."
Unfortunately, for the exhibitors, the bull-pen close
by had several fierce, untamed, and undaunted
steers, any one of which felt amply able to avenge
their slaughtered companion. One of them espe
cially attracted the notice of the spectators. He
would have filled the old Mosaic requirements, being
perfect in all his parts. Lithe as a cat, his horns
long and slender, he commenced bounding around
ht< limited arena as soon as he heard the bellowing
O
of his less able companero, that was being chawed and
clawed in the hug of the grizzly.
The vaqueros were ordered to turn the anxious
steer into the pen, a hundred revolvers being drawn
to enforce the request. The proprietors knew that
business was on hand, unless the request was acceded
to, as the grizzly was sure to be shot, and, perhaps,
some of their own number, too. There was no alter
native, and they turned the anxious fellow in, though
they expected the bear would be slain in a short
time. The bull came in, proud and defiant, gave a
snort of contempt, whirled his tail high in the air,
lowered his head, and made a charge. His majesty
seemed not to be aware of any unusual company,
and looked as placid and serene as though he had
just made an ample dinner of young and tender pig,
and was going to take his daily afternoon nap. He
received the bull with his usual affectionate hug,
the bull's horns passing each side of his body. He
caught the bull by the back of the neck with his
mouth, and with the aid of his forepaws, held him
firmly to his bosom, using his hind feet with terri
ble effect on the bulls neck and sides. One ear was
stripped off in a twinkling. Every dig of those
terrible claws left gaping wounds, while the bull
seemed utterly powerless to inflict any damage on
the bear. About five minutes of this kind of one
sided fighting, served to convince the bull that he
was not so invincible after all. His bellowings of
defiance changed to notes of rage, and then to
terror, and finally to cries for mercy; the last howls
being so loud as to be heard a mile away. After
punishing the bull for a while, the bear, entertaining
no malice, magnanimously let the bull loose, which,
blinded by blood and rage, made a charge at the
picket-fence, which separated him from the specta
tors, and went through it, scattering the crowd in
every direction, like a whirlwind. A dozen vaqueros
mounted their horses and started after him. Down
through the town went the bull, charging with his
bloody head at every gathering of men, until he got
to the clothing stores, kept by the Jews. The bright
red shirts attracting his attention, he demolished
these places one after another, monarch of all around,
until the oaqueros succeeded in getting their lariats
around his horns and legs, curbing the further
exhibition of his varying moods of temper. It is
unnecessary to say that the several acts of the exhi
bition were highly satisfactory to the crowd, the
general verdict being, " That thar bar's some, you
bet."
It was not always the case that the bear whipped
the bull. In early days, a bear and bull fight was
advertised to come off at Coloma. No Spanish bulls
being at hand, a lazy, good-natured old fellow, that
crossed the plains some years previously, and had
since lounged around the street^ at will, was selected
to fight the bear, much to the disgust of the assem
bled multitude. The fight was very short, the bull
killing the bear in two or three minutes, by goring
him through. In this instance, as in the one before
related, the victory was won by the cool and wary,
the victorious bull retiring from the contest, seem
ingly unconscious of any unusual event.
72
HISTORY OF AMADOR COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
CHAPTER XVII.
DOMESTIC HABITS OF THE MINERS.
Exaggerated Accounts of Bret Harte and Joaquin Miller Cook
ing and Washing Hawks, Squirrels, Quails, and Other
Game for Food Getting Supper Under Difficulties
Laundry Affairs Prevalence of Vermin The Sanguinary
FleaMiners' Flea Trap Fleas versus Bed-bugs Rats and
Other Animals Visits of Snakes A Romantic Affair
Spoiled by a Skunk.
FOR the satisfaction of curious women who wish
to know how their fathers and brothers man
aged housekeeping, we have added this chapter.
Men who never tried pioneer life, and have no pros
pect or necessity of trying it, may omit reading this
altogether, or forever hold their peace. Many exag
gerated stories are in circulation concerning the
habits and characters of our early settlers. Bret
Harte, Joaquin Miller, and a score of other writers,
have taken some odd sample of humanity, added
some impossible qualities, and set him up to be
laughed at, or perhaps admired; when the fact is, the
caricature is about as near the original as the Indian
maiden of romance is to the filthy squaw that would
eat the raw entrails of a horse or bullock without
adding anything to the dirt, that already ornamented
her hands and face. The '49er is represented as hav-
iog pounds of dust loose in his pockets, which he
passed out by the handful for whisky or whatever
struck his fancy; as carrying an arsenal of knives
and revolvers which he was wont to use on the
slightest provocation " rough but generous, brave,
and kind." While it is true that an ideal '49er occa
sionally made an appearance in those days for it is
almost impossible to draw a monster, physical,
moral, or intellectual, that has not some familiar
features the fact is, that the mass of the people had
no resemblance to the ideals of Bret Harte or Joaquin
Miller. They were sober, industrious, and energetic
men, who toiled as men with ambition and strength
can toil. The labor these men performed in dam
ming and turning rivers, or tunneling mountains,
was not the -spurt of enthusiasm born of whisky.
Many of the men had families at home whose letters
were looked for with the most eager interest. The
younger men, who had not families, had ties perhaps
equally as strong. The exceptions, which have
given such a false character to the '49cr, were unprin
cipled adventurers from every State and nation, gam
blers in bad repute, even among their own kind,
frontiersmen who acknowledged no law, and fugi
tives from -justice everywhere. This was the class
that made a vigilance committee necessary in San
Francisco in 1850 and 1856; which occasionally
aroused the wrath of the mass of miners by robbing
or killing u peaceable citizen. The description of
this class is not the object of this chapter; they
have already, in the hundred books which have
been written of them, had more notice than they
deserved. The substantial, honorable, and indus
trious must now claim our attention.
When the lucky prospector had found a paying
claim, the next thing was to set up his household.
From two to four was the usual number of the mess.
The Summers were long and dry, and there was no
discomfort in sleeping out of doors. But even in
Summer a house, though humble it might be, had
many advantages over a tent for comfort and secu
rity. A stray horse or ox would sometimes get into
the flour-sack or bread-sack, upset the sugar, or
make a mess of the table-ware. Wandering Indians
would pilfer small things, or take away clothing
which might be left within reach; but in a cabin
things were tolerably secure from depredation. A
site for a cabin was selected where wood and water
were abundant. These things, as well as the pres
ence of gold, often determined the location of a
future town. Bottle Spring (Jackson), Double
Springs, Mud Springs, Diamond Springs, and Cold
Springs, at once suggest their origin. In the earlier
days, log-cabins were soon put up, for suitable logs
were found everywhere. Though these cabins are
in the dust passed into history there is no need
of describing them,' as the books are full of the
"settlers' log cabin," and no boy of the present gen
eration, who has arrived to the age of ten, would
need instruction in building one.
In the western settlements a floor made of hewn
timbers (puncheons) was usual, but the ground
served for a floor, and was considered good enough
for a man. The sleeping places were as various as
the minds of men. Sometimes a kind of Jais, or
elevation of two or three feet, was made on one side
of the cabin, where the men, wrapped in their blank
ets, slept with their feet to the fire. Generally,
bunks were made by putting a second log in the
cabin at a proper elevation and distance from the
sides, and nailing potato or gunny sacks across from
one to the other, making in the same way a second
tier of bunks, if necessary. Some fern leaves or
coarse hay on these sacks, with blankets, made a
comfortable bed. A good fire-place was necessary.
Most of the mining was in water, necessarily involv
ing wet clothes. A rousing fire, especially in Winter,
was necessary to " get dried out." Some of these fire
places would be six feet across, and built of granite
or slate rocks, as each abounded. There was not
much hewing done to make them fit. When the
structure had been carried up four or five feet, an
oak log was laid across as a mantle-piece, and on
this the chimney, generally made of sticks or small
poles plastered with mud, was built. A couple of
rocks served for rests for the backlog and forestick.
A shelf or two of shakes, or sometimes an open box
in which pickles or candles had come around the
Horn, would serve for a cupboard to keep a few tin
plates, and cups, and two or three cans containing
salt, pepper, and soda. A table of moderate t-i/.e was
also made of shakes, sometimes movable, but oftcner
nailed fast to the side of the house. Those who
crossed the plains would often take the tail-gate of
RESIDENCE OF CHARLES GREEN,
D i v^ xm ITLI AkjiAnriD PD PAI
DOMESTIC HABITS OF THE MINERS.
the wagon for this purpose. A frying-pan, coffee
pot, Dutch-oven, and water-bucket completed the
list of household utensils. As the miners became
pi-osperous, a soup-kettle for boiling potatoes, and
also for heating water to wash their clothes on a
Sunday was added. Somewhere in a corner was a
roll of paper, with pen and ink, with which to cor
respond with the folks at home. Cooking was some
times done turn-about for a week, and sometimes
seemed to fall to the lot of the best-natured one of
the crowd, the others bringing wood and water by
way of offset. Not much attempt was made at
neatness, and oftentimes one had to console himself
with eating only his own dirt, for there were camps
where the dishes were not washed for months.
Sometimes a little hot coffee turned on a plate would
take off the last-formed dirt; but washing dishes
the everlasting bane of woman's housekeeping was,
if possible, more repugnant to man, and wasfrequenfly
omitted; it made the gold-pan greasy (the miner's
prospecting-pan served for washing dishes as well as
gold, also as a bread-pan, and wash-tub on Sunday);
there was no time to stop after breakfast, and they
worked so late that they could not delay supper for
the dishes to be washed, and so they were left from
day to day. The cooking was a simple matter,
boiling potatoes, making coffee, frying slap-jacks and
meat, being the usual routine. Bread? yes, I am
going to tell you about that. All sorts of bread but
good bread, were made at first. The miners knew
that their wives and mothers put in soda, so they
put in soda. Some of them brought dried yeast
across the plains, and undertook to make raised
bread, but as a general thing miners' bread was but
sorry, sad stuff. The most successful plan was to
keep a can of sour batter (flour and water mixed),
with which to mix the bread, neutralizing the excess
of acid with soda. Some of the miners became quite
expert with this, judging to a nicety the exact
amount of soda required. Dough mixed in this way
and set in the sun, would soon raise, and, if the soda
was rightly proportioned, was palatable and whole
some. The sour batter was splendid for slapjacks!
The old story that a California miner could toss his
slap-jack up. a chimney, run out doors, and catch it
as it came down, right side up, is too old to bo re
peated; but it is a fact that they would turn the slap
jacks with a dexterous flip flop of the frying-pan,
though when the batter was made stiff enough to
O
stand this kind of usage, the cake would answer for
half-soling a boot. The better Avay was to have two
frying-pans, and turn the cakes by gently upsetting
the contents of one into the other. Thirty years'
experience and observation suggest no improvement
on this method.
Practice made many of the miners expert cooks.
New methods of cooking were sought out, and new
dishes invented. Think of using a dry-goods box
for an oven, and baking a pig or shoulder of pork
in it! No trick at all. Drive down a stake or two,
and on them make a small scaffold, on which to
place your roast; now build a very small fire of
hard wood, at such a distance away that a moderate
sized dry-goods box will cover it all, and your
arrangements are complete. The fire will need re
plenishing once or twice, and in two or three hours,
according to the size of the roast, you may take it
out, done in a rich gold color, with a flavor unat
tainable by any other method. Steaks were roasted
before a fire, or smothered, when sufficiently fried
by the ordinary process, in a stiff batter, and the
whole baked like a batch of biscuit, making a kind
of meat pie. Game sometimes entered into the
miner's bill of fare. Quails, rabbits, hares, coons,
squirrels, and hawks, were all converted into food,
as well as deer and bear. Some Frenchmen in 1852,
during a time of scarcity, killed and eat a coyote,
but their account of his good qualities was not such
as to induce others to try the experiment. In 1851,
some miners getting out of both money and meat,
shot a young and fine-looking hawk. He was fat,
and, the flesh looking toothsome, they cooked him,
and reported that "he was better nor a chicken."
Some neighbors tried the same experiment, but,
unfortunately, killed the old fellow that was pre
served from drowning a great many years ago,
through the kindness of one of our forefathers. His
flesh was about the color and consistency of sole-
leather, and after boiling him for three days in the
vain attempt to reduce his body to an eatable con
dition, he was cast away. Even the rice with which
he was boiled acquired no hawk flavor, which
induced one of the miners to remark, "They's much
difference 'n hawks as 'n women" A second trial re
sulted in a splendid dish, and after that hawks
learned to avoid that settlement. On Christmas-
day, 1852, a company of miners got up a big dinner.
They put a fine largo hawk in the center of a Dutch-
oven, about twenty quails around it, and around
them, potatoes. Some slices of salt pork on the
hawk and quails, seasoned the birds, and tempered
the upper heat of the oven. The hawk was pro
nounced the best of all. The Winter of 1852-53, was
perhaps the roughest time ever seen in California.
The long spell of high water utterly prevented the
transportation of provisions from the cities, and
there was much want, though no actual cases of
starvation. Many men lived for weeks on boiled
barley. Beans, without even a ham-bone to season
them, furnished, in some cases, the only food for
weeks. At one camp, a pork rind was borrowed
from one house to another, to grease the frying-pan
for slap-jacks.
A narrative of personal experience of one who
lived on the south branch of Dry creek, in 1852, will
give an iaca of the troubles of that year:
"It had been raining for about six weeks, and our
claim had been four feet under water for a month.
There were no gulches there that would pay, and we
had been waiting for the rain to ceasp until every bit
HISTORY OF AMADOR COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
of provision of any description was gone, as well as
money or dust. Something had to be done, even if
the rain was coming down in torrents. There were
four of us, one Yankee, two young married men
from Illinois, and a man who had served in the
United States army in the Seminole war, and. also
as a volunteer in the Mexican war. We shouldered
our pick, shovel, and rocker, and started up towards
Indian gulch. After going a short distance, one of
the Illinoisians got to thinking of his young wife, and
the pleasures of home compared with this country,
and, overcome by his feelings, burst into a blubber
of despair, and started on the run for the cabin,
where he was found at night hovering over the cold
ashes of the fire-place, the fire totally extinguished
by his floods of tears.
:< At the head of Indian gulch we found some pay
ing dirt. We went to work, and by dint of ground
sluicing, rocking and panning, about four o'clock we
had, probably, an ounce of dust. With this I started
to Fiddletown to buy a supper for the boys. An
ounce of gold dust, in 1881, will buy almost a year's
provisions for a man, but in 1852 (flour at one hun
dred dollars per barrel, and meat seventy-five cents
per pound), it was not much. After standing and
aheminy awhile, I remarked that I thought the rain
would hold up shortly, so that provisions would get
cheaper; believed that I would buy but a small
quantity to-night, etc. Mr. Wingo, the gentlemanly
trader, did not seem to notice my embarrassment,
but politely sold me the little dab of flour and a
piece of meat, which went down into the corner of
the sack out of sight. I started for the cabin, dark
ness coming rapidly on, and the rain still falling.
The creeks were now nearly waist deep, but I safely
got through them all until I got to Dry creek. The
log on which I crossed in the morning was gone,
and the water was running high over the banks.
Two or three hundred yards away was the cabin,
and I knew, by the bright light shining through the
cracks of the door, that a big fire had been built to
cook our suppers, out of the proceeds of our day's
work, and to dry our clothes, soaked by twelve
hours' rain. A council of war was called, and all
attainable information regarding roads, bridges, and
ferries, called for. The creek was nowhere fordable;
that proposition was disposed of without delay.
One witness, or member of the council, had an
indistinct recollection of having seen a tree across
the creek a mile or two below, some days since, but
could not vouch for its being there at present. This
being the only information attainable, the com
mander ordered a change of base, to the possible
bridge. Down the creek, in utter darkness, over
rocks and bushes, stumbling and falling, and after
an hour's hard work, the bridge was found. It was
a cedar tree, the butt resting on the stump, the
large top reaching to the opposite shore, and the
middle sagged down so that the water was running,
perhaps, two feet deep over the trunk, and threaten
ing every moment to sweep the tree off its moorings;
for, standing on its upper end, I could feel it sway
ing to the movement of the water. But- the sub
merged part had limbs standing up out of the stream,
and a charge in force across the bridge was ordered, I
with this caution, ' My boy, if you go overboard, the
boys will go without their suppers.' The opposite
bank was gained in safety, by feeling the way and
holding to the limbs; and, an hour later, some bread
and fried pork, and a roaring fire, brought us to a
comfortable condition, and gave us the spirit to
laugh at all our troubles."
LAUNDRY AFFAIRS.
Necessity compelled every man to do some kind
of cooking. The calls of a ravenous stomach three
or four times a day could not be disregarded with
impunity; but the matter of having clean shirts and
beds, though quite as necessary, was not so forcibly
called for, and the washing was postponed from one
Sunday to another until the traditional washing-day,
in many camps, was well-nigh forgotten. A clean
shirt was hauled over a dirty one, until the accumu
lations of sweat and red clay would afford a study
for a geologist. The blankets, too, were slept in for
months, for no miner ever dreamed of having clean
sheets, and as for pillows, his boots tucked under his
blankets served as a support to his head. When a
shirt was changed, the cast-off garment was laid
aside, or left in his bunk to be washed at a more con
venient time which never came. No wonder then
that the gray-backed lice, the genuine army vermin,
colonized every blanket and shirt. For months
respectable men, who would as soon have been
accused of stealing as being lousy, went scratching
around without a suspicion of the trouble. Poison
oak, hives, change of climate, and a hundred other
things were supposed to produce the intolerable,
persistent itching. When the true cause became
known, for sooner or later the discovery was sure to
come, the conduct of the victims became amusing.
Some would swear, some would cast their clothing
away, or perhaps bury it, and purchase an entire
new outfit but the fact was the louse had taken
possession of the whole country; like the angel of
the apocalypse, he had a foot on the sea and on the
dry land; in the store as well as in the cabin. A
vigorous war with hot water, on everything that
would scald, would exterminate him, though some
lazy, and consequently lousy, miners contended that
hot water would not kill them. The louse event
ually abandoned the country; but whether from the
neater habits of the miners, or the coming of the
avenger,
THE FIERCE SANGUINARY FLEA,
Is still an open question. Between 1851 and '53,
contemporaneous with the irruption of the rat, the
flea fought his way into every camp, and held the
fort, too, against all enemies. If unwashed shirts
and blankets were favorable to the existence of
myriads of gray-backs, not less so was the swarming
lice for the flea, for he made meat and drink of them.
Hot water had no terrors for the flea; he was out
and off before a garment would go into the water.
During the day he made his home in the dust floor
of the cabin, and at night sallied out of his lair,
thirsting for blood. And he must be a good sleeper
indeed, who could close his eyes in slumber, while
hundreds of lancets were puncturing his cuticle.
Sometimes a cabin was abandoned on account of
them. A person happening to come in would have
hundreds crawling on his pants in a few minutes.
DOMESTIC HABITS OF THE MINERS.
75
Sometimes a man would leave his cabin and blankets
and sleep on the naked ground on the outside to get
rid of his persistent bed-fellows.
THE MINERS' PLEA-TRAP.
If necessity is the mother of invention, the flea-
trap was a sure corollary. It was a simple and
effective affair. It was known that fleas would
gather around a light; taking advantage of this
habit, the miners would set a lighted candle on the
floor, and around it set their pans with a small
quantity of slippery soap-suds in each. The flea
would fall in, struggle vigorously for awhile to get
out, and finally drown. A tablespoonful of the
rascals in the morning was considered a satisfactory
catch. Later the bed-bugs drove out, to some
extent, the flea, and still hold the land. The good
housewife is often reduced to despair by the per
sistence of these unwelcome tenants of her rooms,
who neither pay rent nor vacate.
The following article, from the Oakland Times, is
commended to the attention of housekeepers who
are still in the thick of the doubtful and unequal
contest :
" Stockton is celebrated for its mosquitoes, Sacra
mento for its bed-bugs, San Francisco for its rats,
and Oakland for its fleas. They are larger and there
are more of them; they can jump further and higher,
bite oftener and deeper, than any fleas in the world.
They are more persistent than a book agent, and
hold with a tighter grip than a money-lender. They
swarm everywhere in the streets, the stores, and
the public places. Everybody ' has 'em bad.' The
young and the old, the tender and the tough, alike
are meat for them. If you wish to say a compli
mentary thing to a lady, ten to one a flea will bite
you where it is impossible to scratch, while, likely,
the lady, troubled in the same way, will manifest
impatience. Do not misjudge her, or be discouraged.
" You may fancy that your neighbor in the cars has
the itch; no such thing; only the irrepressible flea.
Flea catching is one of the accomplishments of our
belles. They never disrobe without taking a hunt,
and boast of the numbers they slay. Even the
sanctuary is invaded by them; in fact, the church flea
is the most ravenous of all. Starved during the
week, he has an extraordinary appetite when the
Sabbath comes. No bells calling a laboring man to
his dinner ever brought such joy as the Sunday
chimes do to the fasting flea. How ho rushes to the
attack as the people take their seats! How the vic
tims writhe and squirm as the flea plunges his jaws
into them! Preachers unaccustomed to the phenom
enon, imagine it to be the sword of the spirit bring
ing sinners to a lively sense of their condition, and
they lay on and spare not. Fleas, reverend sir;
nothing more.
" Those who have studied phlebotomy think they
can distinguish the bites of the different denomina
tions. There is the flea of the gushing Methodist,
that is gentle and affectionate; of the iron-bound
Presbyterian, that bounces you like a bull-dog ; but
for downright, hard work, take the flea of the hard
shell Eaptiat. liaised amidst difficulties, like the
Scotchman among his crags, and the New Englander
among the granite boulders, he is fitted for every
possible emergency in a race for life. None but the
hardiest survive, which proves Darwin's theory of
the survival of the fittest.
" The fleas are not without their benefits, however.
Half of the success of our business men is supposed
to be due to the irritation of the fleas, who never let
them rest, day nor night. And then no w housekeeper
listen no bed-bugs can live where such a race of
fleas has taken the land. To use the words of a
noted housekeeper, "the fleas eat 'em up." Not a
bed-bug is known in all Oakland. What a blessing
these fleas would be in our interior towns, whore the
bed-bugs have had possession for a quarter of a
century. How the sangrados would riot in blood !
What consternation among the respectable, alder-
manic old bugs, as the bloodthirsty flea, his jaws
reeking with gore, dashed in among them ! The
irruption of the hordes of Alaric into Rome, or the
contemplated raid of Kearney's hoodlums into China
town, could not compare with it.
" If our country neighboi-s want some of these fleas,
I think the Oaklanders would be willing to spare
them. Though usually anxious to drive a good bar
gain, in the sale of fleas they would be generous.
They will help you catch them. You have only to
sleep a night or two in the churches, and you will
have enough. Negotiations may be opened with our
Mayor or any of the city officers."
RATS AND OTHER VERMIN.
Rats have been mentioned as coming in with the
fleas. The mild climate, exposed condition of eat
ables, and absence of cats and dogs, the natural
enemies of rats, caused them to multiply with extraor
dinary rapidity. They were as much at home in
the country as in the town, and a miner, camping in
the hills away from the town, soon received visits
from the rats, who thenceforth managed to have a
share of all he brought into his camp. After he
had retired to his blankets, the rats in troops would
run over his body, making it the jumping-off place
in their playful gambols. They left their tracks on
his butter, gnawed holes into his flour-sack, danced
cotillions on his table, and kicked up a fuss generally.
Nothing but boxes of tin or heavy lumber would
keep them from eating, destroying, or dirtying every
article of food around the cabin. It will be borne
in mind that the houses or cabins were made of logs
daubed with mud, without floors or windows, and
were accessible to all kinds of vermin, as well as
rats. Rattlesnakes sometimes crawled into the
interstices of the logs, and first made their presence
known by the sharp rattle or perhaps the deadly
thrust of their poisonous fangs into the sleeper's
limbs. A young man living on the Slate-creek side
of American hill, near Oleta, was bitten in this way
without any warning on the part of the snake. He
felt the sting, felt the deadly paralysis coming over
him, and, in company with two or three companions,
started for town, but sunk helplessly to the ground
before getting there, dying shortly after. The fol
lowing morning an examination of the bed revealed
the presence of a young and vigorous rattlesnake,
three feet or more in length. A Frenchman in the
vicinity, was bitten about the same way, though he
was living alone and was unable to reach the town,
76
HISTORY OF AMADOB COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
perishing on the way, being found in the trail some
days afterwards without any visible wound. A
rattlesnake, dead on the floor of his cabin, indicated
the cause of his death. The long, yellow chicken
snake would sometimes crawl into the cabin and
create consternation among the rats and lizards, as
well as among the miners. As the miners got to
building their cabins of sawed lumber and elevating
them above the ground, snakes, rats, mice, and
skunks, became less frequent visitors. When dogs
and cats were called in as friends and protectors,
men, and women as well, could sleep without fear of
disturbance. Since skunks have been mentioned,
the reader may feel an interest in the adventures of
a young and romantic miner with an animal of this
kind, which, possibly, exerted a great influence in
shaping his destiny:
" I had been mining on the South fork, in the
Summer of '52, and came down to Dry creek in the
Fall, a little the worst-busted individual you ever
saw. Save some old, worn-out shovels and picks, I
had nothing, not even a decent pair of pants. About
that time two or three families had settled on Dead
Man's creek, a little above my camp. I had seen a
slender, willowy form flitting in and out of a cabin,
and all the powers of my imagination were sum
moned to describe her charms. ' Young and fair
with bright golden hair,' was not then written, but
I thought it though, as well as many other fine
things, and spent some days in composing compli
ments to her musical ability, sweet voice, beautiful
eyes, mouth, teeth, feet, ' and all that sort of thing.'
I worked like a Trojan ' panning-out,' to get money
enough to buy raiment fit to appear in her presence.
At length, one Saturday evening, the task was per
formed, and I hung the suit up by my bed and
slept fondly dreaming etc. I was awakened in
the night by a scratching on the logs above my
head, which I supposed was by the rats. NOW T , they
had annoyed me so often in that way, that I had lost
all patience with them, and resolved to 'fix 'em.'
A gun was standing by my side, and I proceeded to
gently draw out a ramrod, with which to kill some
of them, for, from the scratching I concluded there
must be a dozen or two, at least. I succeeded in
getting the rod out without alarming my visitors,
and suddenly whipping it into the corner over my
head, did my best to kill the whole of them. There
were three other persons sleeping in the cabin.
Hearing the racket, t.hcy all roused up with:
< \VnE w!!' 'WHAT IN H L!!' 'Oil. JE RUSA-
LEM! ! ' We all leaped into the middle of the floor,
and, hastily stirring the coals in the fire-place, raised
light enough to see our friend crawling out of a hole
in the unfinished gable of the cabin. lie did not
take the atmosphere with him. Clothing, blankets,
provisions, boots and shoes, and even the very logs
of the cabin, were saturated with the essence of all
that is villainous. Months afterwards when the
scent had become so diffused that wo could no
longer perceive it, I made a visit to Fiddletown
(Oleta). There was a ball going on, and 1 stepped
into the ball-room to get a glimpse, once more, of
a woman's face. Several persons made the remark
that somebody must have killed a skunk. I did not
tell them that the skunk was not killed, but quietly
retired. Somebody else got that girl."
CHAPTER XVIII.
ORGANIZATION OF AMADOR COUNTY.
Election for or Against Division, June 17, 1854 Proceedings
of the Board of Commissioners Strife for the Possession of
the County Seat The Owl Sketches of the First Candi
datesCourts Established Efforts to Suppress Disorderly
Houses Amusing Procession Election in 1854 Condition
of Society.
JACKSON and Mokelumne Hill had been rival
towns. When Calavcras county was organized,
Double Springs became the county seat; for a short
time only, however, for it was captured by a coup de
main, and transferred to Jackson, where it remained
for nearly two years. From that place it was trims
ferred to Mokelumne Hill, as the result of a choice,
by election, of the people, called in accordance with
an Act of the Legislature of 1851-2, the particulars
of which will be set forth more particularly in the
township histories. The politicians never rested
contentedly under this change. They asserted that
men on the south side of the Mokelumne river got
the offices, and they went to work to convince the
people that their interests would bo better served by
having a new county organized. By this time
(1853) there were several ambitious towns that were
willing to take charge of the county scat and fur
nish grub and whisky, particularly the latter, to all
who were rich enough to indulge in the luxury of
going to law. It was also urged, with too much
reason to be disputed, that the taxes were being
wasted at Mokelumne Hill; that no money was
paid into the State Treasury, more that the officers
wasted the county funds on loose women. It was
assorted that whenever you wished to see an official on
business, you must look for him in one of the half-
dozen dance-houses that ornamented and conserved
the morals of that high-toned town.
In 1853-4 the Legislature passed an Act calling
for the vote of the people in regard to a division,
fixing the 17th of June following as the day. and
appointing W. L. McKimm, E. W. Gemmill, A. G.
Sncath, Alexander Boileau, and Alonzo Platt as
Commissioners, to organize the new county in case
the people voted for a division. The bill was drawn
by E. D. Sawyer, one of the Senators from Cala-
veras, Charles Lcake being the other Senator. The
name originally given in the bill for the new county
was Washington, but the name Amador was substi
tuted in the Assembly, and concurred in by the Sen
ate. The bill was read three times, and passed the
same clay the motive for this hurry being expected
opposition. A delegation from Mokelumne Hill had
arrived to oppose the measure, but they had been
wined until all ideas of county scats were obliterated:
so a bill was hurried through before the drunk was off,
lest convincing arguments should bo urged against it
when they returned to their senses.
The prospect of having a county scat enlisted
a great many in the matter who otherwise would
have been utterly indifferent. lone was beginning
C. WELLER
C. WELLER.
RESIDENCE "'CONRAD WELLER,
JACKSON, AMADOR COUNTY^ CAL.
ilTH BaiTTOM **EV", S.
ORGANIZATION OF A MA DOR COUNTY.
77
to flourish on the sale of water-melons, vegetables,
hay, and barley, to the miners; had plenty of level
ground on which to build a town, and had no diffi
culty in proving that it was the proper place for dis
pensing justice and the disbursement of the peo
ples' money. Sutter Creek was growing from the
development of the quartz mining, which was likely
to be permanent. It claimed to be the town par
excellence, having a high-toned, moral people, where
no dance-houses or kindred institutions, were likely
to demoralize the public officers, as at Mokelumne Hill.
The latter reason was a sly thrust at Jackson, which
had early supported several of these resorts. There
was also a good place for a picturesque town, the hills
closing together around the place like an amphithea
ter. Volcano well it could not urge many rea
sons except that it wanted the benefit of a county
seat. It was true that it was on the outside of the
county to be created, or any possible, county for that
matter; it was down in a deep hole where people
had to be hoisted up to get out; the roads beyond
Volcano went to no place but the deep caves, or some
place still deeper; the town was hot in the Summer,
and muddy in the Winter, but it was growing rap
idly, had plenty of men to vote, and might get the
county seat any way. So Volcano became interested.
Jackson had been the county seat, and had had a
taste of the profits "and pleasures. It had the old
jail; that might be repaired and used again, and had
many reasons to urge for a new organization. Every
town, too, had a set of candidates for the offices
men who were willing to sacrifice their own business
for the public good.
On the south side of the river some towns con
ceived the idea that in case the county was divided,
the seat of justice might be moved from Mokelumne
Hill, so the interest in favor of division became
general.
On the day appointed the election came off, result
ing in a majority, though a small one, for the division.
But Mokelumne Hill was not to be taken that way.
The laAv required that the returns should be trans
mitted, sealed, to the Board of Supervisors. "When
the returns were handed in, it was found that all
from the north side of the river were opened had
been tampered with ! They were consequently
rejected. Here was a dilemma. The matter was
investigated, and it was found that the returns from
Mokelumne Hill hud also been opened, though after
wards sealed again. Several persons, among whom
was J. T. Farley, had seen the returns from Mokelumne
Hill, and knew that they had been opened also. The
fact was, all of them had been opened as soon as they
were received, and the party in power had resolved
to take advantage of their own mistakes. A deputy
Clerk was induced to make out the certificates of the
election, and the Board of Commissioners resolved to
organize the county notwithstanding the decision of
the officers. The proceedings are copied in full from
a small book, the first of the records of Amador
county. The phraseology and quaint style have been
preserved, believing that the original form will be
most interesting. Tucker's ranch mentioned, has
since been known as the T Garden, and was situated
at the junction of the Sutter Creek, lone, Jackson,
and Volcano roads, and was selected both for con
venience and because it was not likely to give
umbrage to any of the aspiring towns.
" Be it remembered that on the third day of July,
in the year of Our Lord one thousand eight hundred
and fifty-four, the Board of Commissioners appointed
under an Act granting to the electors of Calaveras
county the privilege to vote for or against a division
i of said county, and to organize the county of Amador
Approved May the Eleventh A. I). 1854. Met at the
house of Martin Tucker in said county of Amador
; present William L. McKimm, E. W. Gemill, A. G.
| Sneath, Alexander Boileau and Alonzo Platt; And on
I motion of Alonzo Platt seconded by E. W. Gemill
j William L. McKimm was chosen President of the
I Board. And on motion of Alexander Boileau, Alonzo
! Platt was chosen Secretary of the Board:
" The President then called for the reading of the
j Law appointing the Board of Commissioners and
defining their duties and the same was read by the
Secretary; and having been considered by the Board,
it was on motion resolved by the Board to proceed
to establish Election Precincts in and for the county
of Amador.
"And thereupon the Board having considered the
matter and being fully advised in the premises
directed the Secretary to enter the following Order
on the Record:
" Ordered, By the Board of Commissioners that
there shall be twenty-one Election Precincts in the
county of Amador and that they shall be known and
designated as follows, to-wit: Dry Town, Upper
Rancheria; New York Ranch, Grass Valley, Ranch-
eria, Amador, Lancha Plana, Gales Ranch, Butte City,
Russell's, Volcano, Jackson, Plattsburgh, Fort John,
Strceter's Ranch, Q Ranch, lone City, Clinton, Sutter,
Armstrong's Mill, White's Bar.
" And on motion the Board proceeded to consider
the matter of the application for an Election Precinct
at ' AVhale Boat Ferry,' on the Moquelumnie River :
and proof being introduced and heard, it appearing
to the satisfaction of the Board that 'Whale Boat
Ferry' was not two miles from Butte Cit3 T , another
election precinct; It was by the Board
" Ordered, That the application for an Election Pre
cinct at 'Whale Boat Ferry' be not allowed, and the
Board then proceeded to consider the matter of the
appointment of Inspectors and Judges of Election in
the several Election Precincts established by them;
it was
" Ordered, That In Dry Town Precinct Chas.. W.
Fox be appointed Inspector, and J. T. King and J.
D. Cross Judges of Elections.
" Upper Rancheria Samuel Loree, Inspector; Dr.
Cartmill and Mr. Votaw, Judges.
"New York Ranch S. Spears, Inspector; John
Elkins, John Decks, Judges.
" Grass Valley Abner P. Clough, Inspector ; J.
O'Neal, G. Shoemaker, Judges.
"Rancheria Wm. Snediker, Inspector; S. Neese,
Andrew Onstott, Judges.
" Amador J. M. Scott, Inspector; M. M. Glover,
G. W. Taylor, Judges.
"Lancha Plana J. W. D. Palmer, Inspector; J.
Bullard, G. Wagner, Judges.
78
HISTORY OF AMADOR COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
" Gales Ranch E. J. Martin, Inspector ; William
Moon, J. Albertson, Judges.
" Butte City John Reno, Inspector; J. Northup,
William Young, Judges.
"Russell's William Foster, Inspector; Harrison
Freals, D. Robinson, Judges.
" Volcano^-C. B. Woodruff, Inspector; J. K. Payne,
M. K. Boucher, Judges.
" Q Ranch L. C. Patch, Inspector; A. R. Phillips,
A. K. Sexton, Judges.
" lone City Robert Reed, Inspector; T. Rickey,
J. E. Hunt, Judges.
"Clinton F. M. McKenzie, Inspector; Thomas
Loehr, S. L. Robinson, Judges.
"Sutter William Loring, Inspector; Herbert
Bowers, N. Harding, Judges.
"Jackson 1 T. Hinkley, Inspector; E. C. Webster,
Ellis Evans, Judges.
"Plattsburgh J. A. Dunn, Inspector; F. B. Case,
A. S. Richardson, Judges.
" Fort John P. Vaughn, Inspector; L. Sehon, -
Gilbert. Judges.
" Streeter's Ranch Wm. Porter, Inspector; Thos.
Jones, Wm. Amick, Judges.
"Armstrong's Mill John Hewlett, Inspector; J.
McDonough, Gofjf Moore, Judges.
" White's Bar J. E. Weeks, Inspector; James
Gregg, , Judges.
"And the Board then proceeded to consider the
form of the proclamation ordering an election on the
seventeenth day of July instant, for county officers
and the location of the seat of justice of the county
of Amador, and it was
"Ordered, That the Secretary propose a form and
submit the same to the Board for their considera
tion.
" The Secretary submitted to the Board a form for
an election notice with an appendix of instructions,
and the Board having considered the same, it was
" Ordered, By the Board that the following form of
an " Election Notice" for the county of Amador be
adopted, and that the President of this Board be
authorized and instructed to procure the same to
be printed together with the appendix of instructions,
and that he be further authorized to name one or
more executive officers, and appoint them to post (in
pursuance of the law) in the several election pre
cincts in this county at least ten days before said elec
tion the said election notice, to- wit:
"Election Notice Amador county. The under
signed, a Board of Commissioners appointed to or
ganize the county of Amador under the authority
and by virtue of ' An Act granting to the electors of
Calavcras county the privilege to vote for or against
a division of said county, and to organize the county,'
Approved May llth, A. D. 1854, do hereby order
an election to beheld by the qualified electors at the
several precincts, hereinafter named, on Monday the
seventeenth day of July instant, for the election of
the following officers, to-wit: One County Jud^e,
one County Clerk, one District Attorney, one Sheriff,
one Assessor, one Treasurer, one Coroner, and one
Public Administrator; and do hereby, under said law,
appoint the persons whose names are placed opposite
to each said precinct. And we do further order under
said law, that on said day and at each of said pre
cincts, the qualified electors do also vote for a place
for the location of the seat of justice of said county
of Amador. The election precincts are established
and the inspectors and judges of election appointed
as follows:
[Here follows a list of the officers of the election,
already mentioned on a former page.]
" Given under our hands and seals at Tucker's
ranch, in the county of Amador, on- Monday, the
third day of July, A. D. 1854.
(Signed) W. L. McKiMM,
E. W. GEMMILL,
A. G. SNEATH,
A. BOILEAU,
ALONZO PLATT.
"Appendix of Instructions: Inspectors, judges and
clerks of election should be sworn by a Justice if one
is present; if not, the Inspector will swear the judges
and clerks, and one of the judges then swear the
Inspector.
" The returns should be securely sealed with wax
wafer or paste, so that the envelope cannot be
removed.
" The returns may be made to either one of the
Board of Commissioners, but with all the require
ments of the law in the revised statutes in relation to
sending, forwarding or delivering election returns to
the County Clerk with the exception of returning to
one of the Board; the returns must by the law, organ
izing the County of Amador, be made within five
days.
" The votes for county officers and seat of justice
are to be on one ballot.
"If the inspectors and judges are not present to
conduct the election the voters will appoint them.
W.M. L. McKiMM,
President of (he Board of Commissioners.
ALONZO PLATT, Secretary.
"It was
"Ordered, That the President be authorized and
required to notify the inspectors and judges of their
appointments. It was
" Ordered, That when this Board adjourn it ad
journ to meet at Jackson, in the County of Amador,
on Saturday, the twenty-second day of July, A. D.
1854, to canvass the votes and proceed to a final dis
charge of their duties as Commissioners.
" There being no further business before the Board
the motion to adjourn having been made and sec
onded, it was ordered that the Board of Commission
ers now adjourn.
(Signed) W. L. McKiMM,
E. W. GEMMILL,
A. G. SNEATH,
A. BOILEAU,
ALONZO PLATT.
" Be it remembered that on the twenty-second day
of July in the year of our Lord one thousand eight
hundred and fifty-four, the Board of Commissioners
appointed bylaw to organize the County of Amador,
met in pursuance to their adjournment at Jackson in
the county of Amador.
"Present W. L. McKimm, President of the
Board; A. G. Sneath, E. W. Gemmill, Alexander Boi-
leau and Alonzo Platt, Secretary.
" The record of the last meeting of the Board was
read and approved and signed by all the Board, and
the Board proceeded to open the returns from the
several precincts and draw up a statement thereof;
and the said statement having been compared with
said returns and read and examined was approved,
and the President was ordered to file the said state
ment with the County Clerk of the County of Ama
dor.
" It was then ordered that the President and Sec
retary forward a transcript of the same certified by
ORGANIZATION OF AMADOR COUNTY.
79
them officially, to the Secretary of the State of Cali
fornia and to the Governor thereof. It was then
" Ordered, That a statement of the whole number
of votes received by each person for each office, and
by each place for' county seat, be entered on the
records of this Board.
" Which statement is here entered and is as fol
lows, to-wit:
"For County Seat: Briggs Ranch, 1 vote; Upper
Rancheria, 1; Jackson City, 2; Jackson, 1002; Sutter
Creek, 539; lone Valley, 496; Volcano, 937; Dry-
town, 3; lone, 2; Fort John, 1; Amador Creek, 1;
Rancheria, 1; Amador Mills, 1.
"For County Judge: James F. Hubbard, received
1354 votes; M. W. Gordon, 1484.
"For County Clerk: Chas. Boynton, received
1447 votes; James C.-Shipman, 1779.
" For Sheriff : Wm. A. Phcanix received 1500 votes ;
James Harnett, 1410.
" For Treasurer: James T. Farley received 1384
votes; W. L. McKimm, 1522.
" District Attorney: VV. W. Cope received 1372
votes; S. B. Axtell, 1528.
"Assessor: James L. Halstead received 1345 votes;
H. A. Eichelberger, 1579.
"Public Administrator: J. T. King received 1316
votes; E. B. Harris, 1569.
" Coroner: Wm. M. Sharp received 1350 votes: G-
L. Lyon, 1553.
" The whole number of votes polled in said county
was 3021."
The following persons were declared elected
being the first persons elected to these offices in the
county of Amador :
M. W. Gordon, Judge; William A. Phoenix, Sher
iff; James C. Shipman, County Clerk, W. S. Mc
Kimm, Treasurer; S. B. Axtell, District Attorney;
H. A. Eichelberger, Assessor; E. B. Harris, Public
Administrator; G. S. Lyons, Coroner.
The Judges, Inspectors, and Clerks, at this elec
tion were allowed eight dollars per day for services,
many of them receiving sixteen dollars each for the
day and night.
It will be seen that the county seat question was
one of the principal elements in the election, the
results among the contestants being: For lone, 496
votes; for Sutter Creek, 539 votes; for Volcano,
937 votes; for Jackon, 1,002 votes.
The following table will give an idea of the com
parative size of the several towns:
FIRST ELECTION HELD IN AMADOR COUNTY. JULY 17, 1854. LIST OF VOTES BY PRECINCTS.
Clinton.
Butte City.
Dry town.
Sutler Creek.
Jackson.
Lancha Plana.
Volcano.
IN
1
O
Piattsbui-gh.
Gale's Ranch.
v'
New York Ranch.
lone City.
Armstrong's Mill.
Fort John.
Russell's Diggings.
Upper Rancheria. v
White's Bar.
Lower Rancheria.
Amador.
-=
i
6"
o
H
COUNTY SEAT.
139
47
33
5
675
11
q
14
g
14
1
4
10
1 002
Sutter Creek
6
23
7
275
6
9
22
5
9
1
4
6
7
6
1
42
27
30
50
3
539
9
31
2
11
146
q
g
228
1
3
61
496
13
3
22
2
4
1
646
8'?
13
16
35
6
38
24
6
1
937
COUNTY JUDGE.
James F. Hubbard
103
18
58
164
234
41
369
54
18
16
29
123
6
16
18
28
7
9
29
30
1,354
M. W. Gordon
47
48
40
111
445
139
281
46
7
5
124
22
29
4
19
19
13
26
47
1,484
COUNTY CLERK.
Chas. Boynton
113
35
46
36
443
55
105
10
13
8
32
131
6
12
20
9
28
45
1,447
James C. Shipman
SHERIFF.
W. A. Phoenix
41
119
30
42
52
30
235
107
242
408
125
45
582
372
90
73
18
19
19
21
2
32
121
98
22
6
45
15
11
18
29
29
26
4
21
8
28
27
31
97
1,779
1,500
James Harnett
34
24
65
166
285
135
312
26
19
8
9
153
24
31
5
20
22
2*2
49
1,410
TREASURER.
James T. Farley
60
41
36
103
319
31
459
6
IT)
33
114
6
42
16
17
9
24
1,384
Wm. L. McKimm
DISTRICT ATTORNEY.
W. W. Cope
91
106
27
40
62
78
172
106
373
281
148
44
215
364
94
44
16
14
9
16
1
32
140
99
23
5
2
29
5
18
25
25
26
.1
21
9
28
30
45
33
1,522
1,372
S. B. Axtell
35
26
21
170
407
135
318
55
16
19
3
150
20
17
5
24
25
90
?5
44
1,528
ASSESSOR.
James L. Halstead
H. A. Eichiberger
89
61
20
45
41
57
103
173
278
414
42
139
428
256
50
49
15
16
17
12
7
26
118
132
5
25
15
28
18
5
31
18
"26
7
26
28
28
32
44
1,345
1,579
PUBLIC ADMINISTRATOR.
Jerry T. King
83
36
69
101
282
44
346
50
15
16
19
119
4
16
18
26
9
35
1,316
E. B. Harris
66
29
28
175
411
134
337
50
16
19
16
191
30
5
24
26
98
40
1 569
CORONER.
W. M. Sharp
86
36
42
103
319
41
351
55
15
16
31
113
5
16
18
26
9
99
39
1 350
L. G-. Lyon
60
29
57
173
374
138
323
45
Hi
19
3
138
93
29
5
23
26
91
97
31
1 553
NUMBER OF VOTES CAST.
154
73
99
284
696
131
696
100
31
31
41
254
32
46
26
50
27
35
56
77
2,989
80
HISTORY OF AMADOR COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
Immediately after the determination to organize,
the activity became remarkable.
Sutter Creek offered to give towards county
buildings ten thousand dollars; Jackson ten thou
sand dollars, and lone about six thousand dollars.
Volcano offered nothing, but ridiculed the offers
of money as all bosh, that Jackson would prob
ably donate the old county jail, which was made of
logs so small that a man could cut his way out in
an hour or two with his jack-knife, and, moreover,
the logs were so rotten that an enterprising pig
would root his way out. Volcano relied upon votes,
and it is probable with a little outside exertion
would have carried the matter for itself, as it only
lacked sixty or seventy votes of the selection. Real
estate in Volcano and Jackson went up with a booni.
Town-lots were staked off everywhere, and, until
the evening of the election, people were in a high
financial fever. Volcano patients soon recovered,
but the Jackson unfortunates were afflicted for some
years.
It will be noticed that the candidates at this elec
tion were mostly men of ability. Some of them will
have biographies in the chapter devoted to lawyers.
Others have become lawyers since leaving the
county.
M. "W. GORDON remained in the county, occupying
many times stations of honor.
JAMES F. HUBBARD was originally a surveyor;
studied law, practiced awhile in Amador county,
moved to San Francisco, and has drifted out of sight.
CHAS. BOYNTON, the brilliant editor and poet, will
be mentioned again in connection with newspapers.
JAMES C. SHIPMAN, several times elected County
Clerk, was from Virginia one of the genuine, old
stock. His honor and integrity have never been
questioned even by his political opponents enemies
he never had.
W. A. PHOENIX was a young man of energy,
integrity, and ability. He was killed in the unhappy
Rancheria affair, in which account ho will be further
mentioned.
JAMES HARNETT was a farmer of good standing in
lone valley. He returned to the East and has drifted
out of sight.
JAMES T. FARLEY is our present United States Sen
ator, and will have further mention in the proper
place.
\V. L. McKiMM, the first Treasurer, occupied many
positions of honor and profit; was Government Sur
veyor, and was employed to settle disputes in regard
to lines, having the confidence of all parties. He
was killed by being thrown from a buggy, while
descending the hill south of Jackson, in company
with the Hon. John A. Eagen.
W. W. COPE, now resident of San Francisco, once
a Judge of the Supremo Court will have further
mention.
S. B. AXTELL, since member of Congress from the
First District, Governor of Salt Lake and
Mexico, will be further mentioned.
JAMES L. HALSTEAD farmed in the early days on
Volcano Flat, has since been a member of the Leg-
* o
islature from Santa Cruz, and is now a prominent
lawyer in that county.
II. A. EICHELBERGER was a trusted citizen of Ama
dor county several years; went to Nevada in the
beginning of the mining excitement, and was acci
dentally killed while trying to prevent a quarrel
between two of his friends. Ilia remains lie in the
cemetery of lone.
J. T. KING has drifted out of sight.
DOCTOR HARRIS acted quite a prominent part in the
early settlement of Amador county. He was a
successful physician as well as miner. He built and
run for some time the Newton Hotel; was largely
instrumental in the organization of Amador county;
found time to help build up the State Agricultural
Society; mingled in politics; taught singing, and did
many things to help build up society. He Avas among
the foremost who went to the \\ r ashoe mines, put up
a custom mill, and made thirty thousand dollars
before other men had time to look around. When
the civil war broke, out, he joined the Union army,
and was made Assistant Surgeon General, where his
known skill as a surgeon, bis great executive abil
ity, and energy, were invaluable. Though genial
and social in his habits, he never, either by his
presence or conversation, promoted or countenanced
gambling, drinking, and other vices, that swept into
the vortex of ruin so many brilliant and talented
young men in early days. At present he is practic
ing medicine in Nevada.
DOCTOR SHARP was an able and successful physi
cian for many years in Jackson.
DOCTOR LYONS was a farmer and physician in lone.
Ho was unfortunate in his domestic relations, in
being connected, by report at least, in the drowning
of his wife, which happened in a well in his own
yard. He was acquitted by the jury of the charge
of murder, and soon after left the country.
"THE OWL.''
This was a paper published occasionally in the
early days of Jackson a sort of bubbling or froth
ing over of wit that was too lively to be bottled up.
A reproduction of some of its articles will recall
many incidents, in connection with the county scat,
long forgotten :
In Snougerville's romantic bay
A gallant bark at anchor lay,
Whose banner bore this strange device :
Inquire at Logan's for the price
Of passage up Salt river.
The Owl, upon its office door,
The following flaming placard bore:
"Here Logan, agent of the line,
From four o'clock till half-past nine,
Sells tickets for Salt river.'
At four o'clock, the anxious crew,
With vacant looks and pockets, too,
. Crowded around the sanctum door
Of him, who oft had made before,
The passage up Salt river.
RANCH a RESIDENCE <" WILLIAM H. PROUTY, JACKSON VALLEY, AMAOOR COUNT/, CAL.
RESIDENCE * EDGAR BISHOP,
(ONE CITY, AMAOOR COUNTY; CAL
ORGANIZATION OF AMADOR COUNTY.
81
Towering above the east was seen
A stove-pipe hat* of doubtful mien;
Battered and bruised, and crushed, it looked
As if its owner had been booked
Already for Salt river.
The poem had eighteen verses of this kind, filled
with allusions to noted persons. Snougerville was
a name given to what is now called Water street.
One of its citizens was nicknamed Snouger hence,
Snouger bay.
From the Owl, August 25, 1854:
There was a sound of revelry by night,
And our new county seat had gathered then
Her miners, and her merchants; and the light
Of tallow candles shone on drunken men.
A dozen hats had bricks in them; and when
Some jolly fellow, tighter than the rest,
Invited the whole crowd to drink again,
Not one among them needed to be pressed;
But hush! hark! a deep sound strikes every guest.
Did ye not hear it ? No, 'twas but the wind,
Or some damned jackass braying in the street.
Give us our drinks let joy be unconfined;
Nor part till morn we've got the county seat.
What fellow was it offered to stand treat ?
But hark ! that heavy sound breaks in once more,
As if the walls its echo would repeat,
And nearer, more distinctly than before
It is ! it is, to be concluded next week.
COURTS ESTABLISHED.
The first term of the Court of Sessions was held
in McKimm's Building, near the present Central
House; M. VV. Gordon, acting as Judge; O. P.
Southwell and William Wagner, as Associate Judges.
These last were selected from the Justices of the
Peace elect. The names of the first Grand Jury
were D. W. Aldrich, C. Derthick, D. L. Wells, W.
S. Birdsell, James Beckman. W. P. Jones, A. L.
Harding, I. Bell, Leon Sompayrac, Robert Reed, B.
S. Sanborn, Simeon Burt, Thomas Jones, Frank
Wayne, A. B. Andrews, E. Evans, S. D. Herrick,
and J. T. King.
Levi Hanford not appearing in season, and hav
ing no satisfactory excuse, was fined twenty-five
dollars, which he paid.
The first indictment for murder was against John
Chapman, for the murder of E. P. Hunter, of Lancha
Plana. The case of C. Y. Hammond, who had the
previous Summer killed his partner Elliot, as it was
alleged, with a blow of his fist, came before them
and was dismissed. Indictments for assault with
intent to commit murder, were found against one
Mexican, and several Chinamen. They also recom
mended the suppression of the houses of prostitution,
so frequent and conspicuous in Jackson, and the
other towns; the division of the county into town
ships, also the purchase of a safe, for keeping the
public funds.
The first trial jury was in the case, "The people
vs. Domingo Verjara," the names of the jurors be
ing Nathan Coon, John T. Griggs, E. H. Williams,
Charles Towles, A. H. Kirby, William Jennings,
John Rawley, John McKay, James Creighton, Will
iam Horton, J. L. Averill, and B. Ashton.
"Referring to Colonel Platt.
11
EFFORTS TO SUPPRESS DISORDERLY HOUSES.
The first Grand Jury had called the attention of
the authorities to the houses conspicuously kept for
the purposes of prostitution. The courts paid little
attention to it, perhaps thinking the Puritanic
spasm would soon pass away, or that the matter was
a dangerous one to touch, on account of so many of
the courts' constituents making their living by it.
But the second Grand Jury, summoned for Decem
ber, 1854, took the creature by the horns, and in
dicted several prominent citizens for renting houses
for the purposes of prostitution. The parties were
duly arraigned in court. After some skirmishing the
charge was dismissed on motion of the District
Attorney, S. B. Axtell, on the ground of want of
evidence. The jury also found true Bills against the
town authorities for obtaining money under false
pretenses, for licensing the aforesaid places as busi
ness houses. On motion of the District Attorney the
Court dismissed the charge.
The names of the Grand Jury, which made these
efforts at reform: George L. Gale, Foreman; James
L. Harnett, T. H. Loehr, Thomas S. Crafts, I. Stew
art, J. W. D. Palmer, G. M. S. Matthews, L. L. Robin
son, Silvester Streeter, D. C. Ferris, James Johnson,
A. D. Follett, James M. Ballard, I. S. Roy, A. Boi-
leau, Scott Cooledge, and Samuel Davis.
Though these efforts miscarried, they showed that
the leaven of reform was beginning to work. The
practices were not stopped, but. the stamp of con
demnation was set on them, so that a man seeking
office at the hands of the people, made a practice at
least of decency. In - a man of education and
apparent respectability, with M. D. to his name, in
the town of Yolcano, waited upon a prostitute to a
circus. There were numbers of respectable females,
young and old, present, and though the doctor had
an undoubted right to select his company, the act
was looked upon as at war with the better interests
of society. The roads were rather muddy, and the
portly doctor took the soiled dove in his arms and
carried her home, the act being as coolly done in the
presence of hundreds, as though the woman was a
cherished wife or daughter. The following Autumn
he came up as a candidate for Sheriff. He was met
with such a rebuff that he withdrew his name, and
shortly left the town. In the earlier days persons
high in office were often seen in the dance with the
frail ones.
AMUSING PROCESSION.
It will be remembered that the several towns anx
ious to have the honor of being the county seat, Yol
cano excepted, offered liberal sums for the erection
of county buildings. Some of the croakers pre
dicted that the promises would be forgotten after the
election. The prediction did not prove true, for
Jackson went to work in good faith, and at the end
of three or four months presented to the county a
nice and comfortable Court House. The county
officers had been occupying rooms at the foot of
82
HISTORY OF AMADOU COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
Broadway, in and around the American Hotel. A
procession was formed here to take possession of the
new Court House. The order of the procession was
as follows :
BAND,
Consisting of cracked drum and asthmatic clarionet.
[This was as good as the band which escorted Na
poleon to his palace on the island of Elba, which,
according to Sir Walter Scott, consisted of four
wretched fiddles.]
FIREMEN (In red Shirts).
M. W. GORDON, County Judge,
Flanked by
WM. WAGNER and O. P. SOUTHWELL, Associate Judges,
John Phoenix, Sheriff; S. B. Axtell, District
Attorney; J. C. Shipman, County
Clerk; Wm. L. McKimm,
Treasurer;
Followed by Citizens generally.
They marched to the Court House in a body, when,
after Court was called, A. C. Brown, in behalf of the
citizens of Jackson, presented the building to the
county. Judge Gordon accepted it in a neat speech,
complimenting the citizens of Jackson on their liber
ality and public spirit. Some four or five hundred
dollars, back on the erection of the building, was
made up by subscription, Major Shipman, the
recently elected County Clerk, giving fifty dollars
towards it. The location of the county seat at Jack
son, was supposed to insure the permanent prosperity
of the town. In the burst of enthusiasm following
the settlement of the matter, the Court, county
officers, and citizens generally, were invited to par
take of the hospitalities of several of the leading
saloons and bars of the town. The procession
reformed in the same order as before. The Court being
still in session (according to our informant) the offi
cers, jurors and witnesses were compelled to follow,
or subject themselves to a fine for contempt! There
is no record of any punishment for contumacy or
even of failure to partake of the proffered hospital
ities, so it is presumed that the arrangement was
mutually satisfactory. Our informant, though a
juror, and consequently obliged to follow the Court
while it was in session, may have been mistaken in
thinking the Court was not adjourned, but, as sus
pecting his veracity would spoil a good story, it is
best to give the story the benefit of the doubt.
ELECTION, 1854.
Dwight Crandall (Democrat) was elected Senator
and James T. Farley and J. W. D. Palmer (Whigs)
were elected Assemblymen. The county was con
sidered Democratic, but the Know-Nothing or Native
American party had organized and made itself a
power in politics. The campaign was conducted
mostly by James T. Farley and Alonzo Platt, the
latter, though an old politician, being no match for
the young candidate, who, though in his early twen
ties, showed canvassing powers of the highest order.
He did not carry any angular notions into the can
vass, but professed to be willing to be governed by
the will of the people.
The vote for Governor stood: J. Neely Johnson
(Know-Nothing), 2,035 ; John Bigler (Democrat),
1,719.
FIRST TAX LEVY.
The Legislature of 1853-4 having abolished the
office of Supervisors in Calaveras county, the Court
of Sessions was empowered to transact the business
of the county. August 26, 1854, the Court ordered
a tax of fifty cents on each one hundred dollars of
property, five cents of which was to be devoted to
school purposes, and forty-five to county purposes.
CONDITION OP SOCIETY IN 1854.
The introduction of improved methods of mining
brought a great increase of population to Amador,
as well as the other counties of California. Along
with prosperity came the institutions, the dance-
house and the gambling saloons, looked upon then as
a peculiar feature in California society, but which is
now found to be a natural growth wherever sudden
wealth comes to those unacquainted with its proper
use. The absence of the family influence also fav
ored a condition of society in which the influence of
woman was in the descending scale. The soiled
doves were mostly natives of Mexico, " dusky daugh
ters of Montezuma " as the poets termed them, and
of Peru. It is said that at one time two hundred of
the frail beauties were resident in the town of Jack
son. Their daily appearance on the street or danc
ing during the evening in sight from the street,
called forth no remark of disapproval but had come
to be regarded as a matter of course. Some respect
able citizens made left-handed wives of them, and
wealthy men did not hesitate to build houses and
rent them for these institutions. Men who had left
families in the East were seen in friendly chat, and
young men by the score or hundreds rather poured
their gold into wanton laps. Some of these women
would accumulate ten thousand dollars, or in some
instances double that, in a Winter's campaign.
Faro, monte and other games gave the lucky miner
a chance to double his money or lose it, the latter
being the ordinary result. Many men who now
bewail their bad luck in California, turned their earn
ings into these banks that receive deposits but never
pay interest or principal. Whisky, too, had its dev
otees, and the principle was indulcated that he who
would not drink was a mean man. Nearly all social
intercourse was based upon " drinks all around."
When men met and when they parted, drinks
were in order; when they traded, drinks for all
were ordered as a matter of course. When a
man ran for office, whisky was his trump card.
An old politician said to a man about running for
office: "If you will not treat, you may as well
stay at home and give it up." Another one said:
RANCHERIA MURDERS.
83
" Twelve hundred drinks elected me." To decline
these social observances was to become to some
extent ostracised. There were exceptions it is true;
there were men who would shut themselves in their
cabins and decline all intercourse rather than indulge
in the prevailing vices. These would remain
unknown until fortune in the shape of a rich claim
smiled on them, and then they were mentioned in no
complimentary terms. Every day men might be seen
in all stages of intoxication; some crazy with rough
fun. others ready for a brawl. One day one man in a
cabin was on a spree and requiring the restraint of
his companions, the next another. Whether because
the whisky was bad or because the hot, dry climate
aggravated the ills of the fiery liquors, or both, the
effect was disastrous, morally, physically, financially.
The men capable of writing a solid article on politi
cal or scientific subjects, or of delivering an oration
off-hand, could be seen ranting and howling through
the streets or sleeping off the effects of a debauch.
CHAPTER XIX.
RANCHERIA MURDERS.
Ill-feeling between the Americans and Mexicans Frequency of
Murders The Band First Seen at Hacalitas Up Dry Creek
At Rancheria To Drytown A Second Time to Kancheria
Slaughter Departure of the Eobbers Excitement the
Next Day Immense Gathering Trial and Hanging of the
Mexicans Death of Roberts Borquitas Presence ot County
Officers Pursuit of the Murderers Hunt Around Bear
Mountain The Murderers Overtaken Death of Phoenix
Expulsion and Disarming of Mexican Population Outrages
at Drytown Burning of the Church Mass Meeting at
Jackson Review After a Lapse of a Quarter of a Century.
THIS affair happened something over a quarter of
a century since. Many of the witnesses are dead,
others are gone, and many have forgotten some of
the important matters. Those who are" accustomed
to criminal trials, know how contradictory testi
mony may be among candid, truth-telling men, even
while the events are fresh in the mind. How much
more difficult then to get at the truth when a quarter
of a century has rolled over the events, inevitably
obliterating much that would be necessary to form
a rational opinion of the murders, and the resulting
events of the following month. A somewhat retro
spective view of the relations between the Mexican
population and our own, seems necessary, to get a
correct view of the situation.
There never was a good feeling between the
native population and the Americans. The indolent
native, fond of his siesta and cigarette, proud of the
smallest quantity of Castilian blood, and holding
in utter abhorrence laborious occupations, had, at
first, contempt, and then hatred, for the wild Ameri
canos, or Gringos (green-horns), as the Americans
were termed, who seemed to be endowed with an
infernal energy that tore up all the ordinary routine
of life, and made men almost maniacs, in the search
for wealth.
This feeling was older than the war in which Cal
ifornia was conquered. Years before that Alexander
Forbes, an Englishman, now a resident of Oakland,
who wrote the " History of California," as early as
1835, speaks of occasional parties of Americans who
came from the frontiers of the United States, whom
no danger could appall and no difficulty deter; who
would be likely in time to take California and hold
it as they had taken Texas, if some foreign power
did not step in and forestall them. At the time of
the war, there were some two hundred Americans
who had often made their power felt. Isaac Graham,
with some fifty or sixty men, had taken possession
of the Capital (Monterey), and made Juan B. Alva-
rado, Governor. They were always in a quasi
rebellion. Fremont with his battalion, had gone in
force through the country, stubbornly refusing to
be whipped. The Mexican Government had an
article inserted in the treaty, that the rights of the
Mexicans to their property in California should be
respected. But this did not prevent the Americans,
on the discovery of gold, from taking possession of
the best lands, and parceling them out into farms
and cultivating them. The native owner was wont
to consider himself lucky if he could save even his
houses and his herds. The latter, the Americans
would drive off and slaughter by the thousand, with
hardly a pretense of secrecy. In this way the herds
of nearly all the old dons were exterminated. The
titles to their lands were scarcely ever recognized
until they had passed into the hands of the Amer
icans. In the gold mines, they were treated as
intruders, and the discovery of a placer was sure to
bring a swarm of men about, who believed in
" Americans ruling America." This ill-feeling often
culminated in murder and robbery. Particular
roads frequented by parties of Mexicans, were found
to be dangerous to travel. Several persons had been
murdered on the road between Drytown and
Cosumnes. Murderer's gulch, north of the town, had
witnessed several murders, which, as the people
believed, had been traced to the native population.
Several attempts had been made to banish them from
the country, but when driven from one camp they
would go to another. As the miners were roving
about and the population changing, the expulsion
was soon forgotten, and the natives would return
embittered and sullen. Joaquin's raids through the
country had not been forgotten, and when the news
of the slaughter of six or seven persons at Rancheria
had spread over the county, it is not strange that
the community should bje terribly excited, and should
be moved to deeds which were afterwards looked
upon with regret.
The murders were committed by twelve men, one
of whom seemed to be white, and one a black man,
the rest appearing to be of the ordinary Mexican type.
Some of these were men of education, others had
been vaqueros in the valleys; and all perhaps felt
that they had some grievance to avenge, for we
cannot account for their subsequent career on any
84
HISTORY OF AMADOR COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
other hypothesis. They were first heard from at
Hacalitas (hard camp) not far from the Q ranch,
on the night of the 5th of August, 1855, where they
stayed all night.
The following morning, Monday, August 6th, they
left the camp and made their way towards Drytown,
first robbing a China camp, leaving the Chinamen tied.
They passed some white men without disturbing
them, however. It happened that George Durham,
foreign tax collector, had started on much the same
route and found that all the China camps from there
to Eancheria had been robbed. He got a very good
description of the numbers and appearance of the
men, and found that they had been at Eancheria at
Francis' store; also saw their camp just out of the
town. He warned Francis against the men, saying
that he thought they were the same men who had
recently committed some depredations at Tuttle's
store in Tuolumne county, and told Francis that he
was in danger of being robbed. Durham then went
towards Drytown, passing their camp. There
seemed to be some difficulty among them, as two
were well stripped apparently to fight, but were
quieted by a tall, slender man, who seemed to be
recognized as a chief. Two of the party followed
Durham as if to attack him, but turned back after
going a short distance. At Drytown, Durham en
gaged Cross, the constable, to assist in collecting the
tax from the Chinamen at Milton's ranch, as they had
dodged him before when he went alone. They got
back to Drytown about dark, and went into Mizen-
er's store. While there Judge Curtis came in and said
that a Spanish woman had come to his office and
told him that the town was full of robbers; that she
was afraid that they were all going to be robbed.
The description of the party corresponded with the
party which had been seen at Rancheria, and Cross
and Durham resolved to visit the place on Chile flat
where the robbers were taking supper. On coming
to the house, they had left, but were found a short
distance to the rear. Both parties, as they met,
commenced firing, some thirty or forty shots being
exchanged. The Mexicans were on an elevation,
and Durham and Cross were in a depression; these
circumstances as well as the darkness prevented any
fatal results, one person only, a Mexican, being
wounded. Both parties now withdrew, the Mexicans
going to their camp on the hill a half mile away, and
Durham and Cross to the American part of the town.
It was now evident that no small job was on hand.
Twelve desperate men thoroughly armed would take
the town. The citizens had heard the firing and
many of the bullets had struck the buildings, though
without doing any damage to persons. Although
this was in 1855, only a few years away from the
time that the men crossed the plains each with his
rifle in order, but few fire-arms could be found.
When these had been gathered up, it was learned
that the banditti had decamped and gone toward
Rancheria. Whether it was a ruse to draw the
armed party away from the town or not was uncer
tain, but it was now evident that one or both places
was to be attacked. It was also evident that, but for
the premature alarm, Drytown would have been the
first victim, and probably Rancheria afterwards.
Two persons, Robert Cosner being one, volunteered
to go to Rancheria to inform them of the danger.
They avoided the road, going up Rattlesnake gulch;
but while the party were discussing the matter the
Mexicans had done the work. On the arrival of Cos
ner and , the robbers appeared to be leaving the
town on the opposite side. There were no lights and
a dreadful silence prevailed. They called aloud sev
eral times before they heard any reply. David Wil
son was found hiding in a ditch; when he heard
their voices he said: " My God! The whole town is
slaughtered; my brother Sam is killed, and I don't
know how many more." At Francis' store they
found Dan Hutchinson, his clerk, dead behind the
counter, also Sam Wilson and - . Francis was
missing but was found not far away with both legs
broken and several severe wounds, but still alive. It
seemed that he had fought them to the last and
eventually ran out of the back door on the stumps
of his legs. While searching for Francis they found
the dead body of an Indian. The safe was blown
open and the contents, about twenty thousand dol
lars, abstracted. At Dynan's Hotel they found Mrs.
Dynan dead, shot through the body, and Dynan
wounded. Mrs. Dynan seemed to have been shot
while putting her child out of the window. Francis
died the next day. One leg was amputated and the
other set with the hope of saving his life. After
death it was discovered that his back bone was
nearly severed, apparently by a blow from an axe.
Altogether there were six men, one woman and an
Indian killed" and two men wounded. It seemed that
the party divided, a part going to each house, com
mencing the attack at about the same moment. At
Dynan's a party were playing cards when the house
was attacked. Dynan escaped up stairs and through
the windows. A man by the name of Foster, the
simpleton of the party, had wit enough to throw
himself under the table and remain there until the
trouble was over and thus saved his life.
THE NEXT DAY
The news rapidly spread. By nine the next morn
ing perhaps five hundred people were present. The
atrocious character of the murders, the unprovoked
and causeless attack, raised the anger of the mass of
the people almost beyond control. Some were for an
immediate war on all of the Mexican race. Parties
were engaged in arresting and bringing in all in the
vicinity. It is difficult now to ascertain whether any
trial was held or not. There was no organization of
the crowd which was continually coming and going.
A few elderly men, among whom may be mentioned
two Hinksons, acted as a sort of jury, to give a form
of deliberation to the affair. Judge Curtis is said
RESIDENCE OF O. E.MARTIN, AMADOR CITY, AMADOR C CAL.
RANCH, RESIDENCE AND BUSINESS PLACE OF S.W.EMNIONS,
PINE: GROVE, AMADOR Cf? CAL.
CALIFORNIA
RANCHERIA MURDERS.
85
also to have taken part in the proceedings. These
men were noted for their moderation and prudence.
They probably prevented the crowd from doing
much worse than it did. "Let us proceed cau
tiously; let us be just; let us hang no innocent men,"
said they. They were men in whom the people had
confidence. Some thirty-five men were brought
within the rope circle and guarded. A motion was
put to hang the whole of them, all but a few voting
for it. They were then asked to give the men a
trial. This was reluctantly consented to; and a com
mittee it could not be called a jury set themselves
to ascertain the evidence against the men. All that
could be found was that James Johnson, a miner
who lived iu a cabin near by, and looked out through
a crack in the door when the shooting was going on,
thought he heard a Mexican, called Port Wine (because
he was always drunk, or nearly so, on port), shout
ing for Mexico. Another one had placed a light in
the road in front of his house. The third one was
seen running around with the banditti during the
shooting. This was on the testimony of one man
who thought he saw it through a slight opening of his
cabin door. The committee reported that this was
all that could be found against any of them. It was
determined to hang them immediately. Port Wine
was a half-witted man, almost incapable of commit
ting a crime. He cried and begged, to no purpose;
ho was hung while his wife was begging for him,
two others being hung at the same time. The jury,
whose names it is impossible to learn, must not bo
blamed in this matter. It is impossible to tell what
any one would do until they are tried. Hundreds of
exasperated people were clamoring for the death of
somebody. It is likely that the hanging of the three
appeased, to some extent, the thirst fer vengeance.
William O. Clark, a well-known citizen of Drytown,
made a speech advocating a trial by law, by the
Courts, and made an appeal to the people to place
themselves, in imagination, in a foreign country, and
about to bo hung for a crime some of their own
countrymen had committed; but the people were in
no mood to hear finely constructed sentences, and
he was silenced. It was even proposed to hang him
for being friendly to the Mexicans. A Mrs. Ketch um
was particularly active in creating a sentiment
against Clark. The balance of the party arrested
were liberated on condition of leaving the camp
within four hours.
DEATH OP ROBERTS.
About this time a terrible accident occurred. A
man by the namo of Roberts, or Robinson, who had
been one of the most violent in demanding a whole
sale hanging, shot himself in the breast, dying imme
diately. There are so many conflicting reports that
it is with reluctance the subject is mentioned. One
person says they were about to go home, and Rob
erts was taking the gun towards him, neither angry
nor intoxicated, when it went off, striking him in
the breast. Another one says that Robinson or
Roberts was violently demanding the death of
another prisoner, which was not immediately
assented to, whereupon he said he would settle the
question himself, snatching up the gun with the
result heretofore stated.
BORQUITAS.
William Sutherland, whose veracity no one will
question, relates the following circumstances in
regard to it: A young Spaniard by the namo of
Borquitas, General Castro's business agent, happened
to be visiting Sutherland's at the time of the mur
ders Being a well educated man, speaking the
English language fluently, he remarked that he
might be of assistance in ferreting out the criminals,
and would go up to Rancheria. When he got there,
he found himself one of the criminals, or, at least,
he was reckoned among the criminal class. During
the affair, trial it could not be called, he conversed
with one of the accused. Becoming convinced of
the innocence of the party of any complicity in the
murders, he told the people so; whereupon, it was
proposed to hang him (Borquitas) also. It was
then that Roberts undertook to shoot him, with the
result of death to himself. Sutherland then told
Borquitas that he could do no good by staying and
risking his own life; that he had better leave. Tak
ing the advice of Sutherland, he left in the con
fusion, caused by the death of Roberts.
It is said that Judge Gordon, S. B. Axtell, District
Attorney, Judge Hubbard, and others, were present;
but as the hanging took place before noon, and the
Court met at ten, as usual, on the morning after the
murders, it is almost impossible that they should
have witnessed the hanging, though they probably
were present during the afternoon.
Port Wine had a good claim, which was considered
forfeited at his death, James Robinson, on whose
testimony he was hung, taking possession of it the
same evening. He worked it for a few days, but
finding work a burden, he sold it for two hundred
dollars, which ho spent in a week's spree, shortly
after.
WHERE "WERE THE OFFICERS?
Phoenix, and some of his deputies, visited the
Bceno of the disturbance, in the early mornin^.
After looking at the mutilated bodies, he merely
said, " Follow me." A party was immediately organ
ized to pursue the banditti, Avhich, as before stated,
left Rancheria, taking the road towards El Dorado
county. This proved to be a false scent. They
went as far as Indian Diggings, and, finding them
selves off the trail, returned to Jackson. There they
learned that the gang had crossed the Mokelumne
at Diamond bar. Phoanix, Cross, Porrin, Sherry,
Eichelberger, and Durham, went to Mokelumne
Hill that night. They there learned that Sheriff
Clark, Paul McCormick, and six-fingered Smith of
Camp Seco, had attacked the murderers at Texas
86
HISTORY OF AMADOR COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
bar, on the Calaveras, and had wounded and cap
tured one of the party, who had told the history
and names of the others. His name was Manuel
Garcia, and he had been a vaquero for Charles
Stone, at Buena Yista. He was sent to Jackson
with Eichelberger and Perrin. The crowd had
assembled to receive him; parting to the right and
left, and closing up after him, they escorted the
prisoner to the tree, which was already provided
with a noose. When his head was placed in it, the
buggy was moved along, and the body left dangling.
This was the eighth time the tree had borne its fruit.
It was now ascertained that the balance of the
party were concealed around Bear mountain. Two
days spent in hunting failed to find them; and then
the officers went to Jenny Lind -where they learned
that the Mexicans were camped near Reynold's
ferry on the Stanislaus. A large number of Mex
icans at Jenny Lind were disarmed, to prevent
any assistance reaching the banditti from that settle
ment, and the pursuit continued, but somebody had
given notice of the approach of the officers and
the party had left going towards the Tuolumne
river. A guard was set at Reynold's ferry, but the
robbers did not attempt to cross. The next day the
officers visited Tuttletown, Sonora, Campo Seco, and
Jamestown. At the latter place they again struck
the trail, and found some of the horses, which had
been stolen at Rancheria, dying of exhaustion.
The reader will bear in mind that the ground at
this season of the year (August) is hard as a rock,
receiving scarcely any impression from a hoof or
a shoe passing along; and besides the Mexicans
traveled in the night time, concealing themselves in
the thick chaparral, with which the hills around
Bear mountain abound during the day, so that
closely following the trail was out of the question;
but it was now evident that they were nearing the
objects of their search. Chinese Camp and a Mexican
camp, at what is called Old Chinese Camp, were
visited. At the latter place was a large dance-house
near the hills, the thick chaparral coming down close
to the house. It was out of the question to get any
correct information with regard to the party they
were in search of, but they concluded to stop awhile
and watch events. Drinks around and the usual
hospitalities followed, as a matter of course. While
some of the party engaged the senoritas in conver
sation, others kept a general lookout. A girl at the
door was seen making signals to some one in the
rear, as if to go away. Durham sprang to the door,
and saw some of the men they were in search of.
Phoenix was anxious to capture them alive, and to
this reluctance to kill them, was due the fatal result;
but shooting commenced at once. It is difficult to
recall events in their order, in which two or three
seconds make a failure or success of a movement;
but in the affray Phoenix was the first to fall; his
slayer the next the latter though severely wounded,
still kept fighting, being finally dispatched by a blow
on the head with an axe. The party dispersed in a
short time, the officers holding the ground. A boy,
who had witnessed the affair from a distance, told
the officers that he had seen a wounded man crawl
into a cloth shanty, blood stains indicating the cor
rectness of the statement. The man was told to
come out, but as no answer was received, the hut
was set on fire, as it was deemed dangerous to follow
him in. Not until it was blazing all over, so that it
was thought impossible for any living being to be
there, did he appear. He rushed out, covered with
blood, clothes and hair on fire, with a pistol in each
hand, shooting as he came. He was more frightful
than dangerous, and was soon quieted. Phoenix
was shot through the heart, dying immediately. He
was buried by the Masonic order at Sonora. He was,
perhaps, thirty years old, of social character, open-
hearted, holding malice towards none, and was
universally esteemed. He was in poor health at the
time, hardly fit for such an enterprise, as he took
upon himself to lead. On his return from the
unsuccessful search in El Dorado, he was urged to
rest; was told that, considering the disturbed con
dition of the county, his presence was needful which
was true. But he replied that if he should decline
pursuing the murderers, his courage would be called
in question, and he started the same evening. His
attempt to capture the men alive, was a fatal mis
take. It was no kindness to the party, for, in the
excited condition of the people, every one taken was
sure to be hung without a trial.
This affair occurred Sunday evening, August 12,
1855.
A day or two after these occurrences, Marshall
Wood, of the town of Columbia, telegraphed the
party that ho4iad arrested forty or more Spaniards,
and thought that some of the men they were in
search of, were among them. On visiting Sonora,
Durham recognized one of the party, a well-dressed,
educated, young man, who had formerly lived at
Dr3 T town. At first, he understood no English, knew
nothing about the matter, but upon being called by
name, Manuel Escobar, and being told that Garcia,
the one taken at Camp Seco, had given the names of
the whole party, he commenced cursing in good
English, and did not deny his connection with the
murders. He was taken to Jackson, and hung, being
the tenth and last hung on the famous tree. A
photograph was taken of the scene, and the picture
lithographed, some copies of which are still pre
served by the people of Jackson.
Shortly after this, an old Mexican from Algerino
Camp, told the officers that the man who had
killed Phoenix, came to his house wounded in sev
eral places, he thought fatally, wanting to be taken
care of; that he did not wish to harbor him, as he
thought that the Americans would kill him if they
found it out, and so told the wounded man, who,
however, threatened to kill him if he refused assist
ance. The old Mexican had put him down a shaft
RANCHERIA MURDERS.
87
which had a short tunnel connected with it, in which
the wounded man was hiding. Durham and his party
visited the place, and called upon the man to come
out; receiving no answer, some brush was thrown
into the shaft and set on fire, shortly after which
the report of a pistol was heard. He had shot him
self rather than surrender. When the fire had gone
out, he was brought out dead. He was shot in five
o
places around the neck, and could hardly have recov
ered under any circumstances.
EXPULSION AND DISARMING OF THE MEXICAN
POPULATION.
The excitement all through the county was such
that business was nearly suspended. Extravagant
rumors of the intention of the Mexican population
to rise and take the county, got into circulation. The
same excitabilit}^ that demanded the hanging of a
whole nationality, formed a good material to float
impossible stories of an insurrection. The second
day after the murders, a great number of people
came around Rancheria. The Mexicans had left the
day of the hanging. It is said that some of the
wives and friends of the executed had hardly time to
bury the dead. VV^hen the crowd came the second
day they destroyed all the huts and houses belong
ing to the Mexicans. It was then resolved that they
should leave the country. A large body of those
that had been expelled from Rancheria were en
camped in Mile gulch, which runs north into Dry
creek, its head being near the town. Thither the
party proceeded. An indiscriminate shooting com
menced. Some Indians, who seemed to be watching
the Spanish, were told to kill all they could. Some
were known to be killed it is hoped, however, not
as many as were reported but the whole people
left as rapidly as they could. One Mexican was seen
packing two trunks on each side of a donkey. The
overloaded animal could not keep up and he was
obliged to abandon them. They were broken open
and found to be filled with shirts and finery, appar
ently goods plundered from Francis' store. The
Indians drew these on, one over another, until they
would have on five or six each. This prevented the
Indians from killing many of the fugitives, though
when questioned about it afterwards, they said they
had killed ocho, meaning eight. Some were found
dead in holes and shafts, others at springs, where
they had dragged themselves after being wounded.
Several persons say they have seen the hogs devour
ing the bodies of the slain. Pork was at a discount
during the season, on that account. At Sutter
Creek an extravagant rumor got into circulation that
five hundred men were coming to take the town. A
committee of safety was organized, and some fifty or
sixty Mexicans who were mining on Gopher flat,
were arrested and brought to town. One man was
unfortunate enough to have some connection, in some
way, with the Rancheria affair. He was traced into
the Mexican camp and a thorough search made for
him. It was about to be abandoned when a large
pile of clothes, just ironed, lying on a bed, attracted
attention. Underneath was found the man. He was
dragged out and hung on a gibbet made by lashing
wagon-tongues together, forming an A, the wagons
being locked to prevent separation. The fifty on
Gopher Flat were ordered to leave, which they con
sented to do provided an escort was given them, for
they dared not leave the town disarmed and alone.
They were escorted across the Mokelumne river. At
that time nearly the whole of the street below the
bridge, was occupied by the Mexican population.
They were ordered to leave and senoras and senoritas,
as well as the children (of which there was a con
siderable number), were seen climbing the hills on
their way out of the town. At Nacalitas, the camp
where the banditti stayed the Sunday night previous
to the outrage, the people were disarmed and ordered
to leave. One white man was left to make out the
passports, the others leaving for a similar duty at
another camp. The Mexicans at Hacalitas pleaded
utter ignorance of any knowledge or participation
in the operations of the murderers, but went without
making any resistance. A company from Dry town
went towards El Dorado county, disarming and driv
ing all the Mexicans away. Men came back with
numbers of revolvers and other arms taken from
them.
OUTRAGES AT DRYTOWN.
There were but few Mexicans at Drytown, the
Spanish population being mostly Chilenos; hence,
the name Chile Flat, the portion of the town where
they lived. Though speaking the same language,
the Chilenos and Mexicans had very little to do
with each other; and, consequently, the Chilenos
were not charged with any complicity in the out
rages at Rancheria, and were generally living on
good terms with the people of Drytown.
On the following Sunday, about dark, some fifteen
or twenty men on horseback, came into Drytown,
and set fire to the Chilenian part of it, and in a few
minutes the whole was in a blaze. The people,
most of whom were poor, some being women and
children, ran in dismay to some of their friends,
among the Americans. It is said that William O.
Clark's house was filled with crying women and
children, who had fled from their burning homes.
One man, by the name of Williston, usually called
Boston, from his native city, set fire to the Catholic
church, which was soon in ashes. The persons
engaged in this evening's work, seemed to have had
all their plans laid before coming into town, appar
ently consulted no one, and permitting no interfer
ence. Some of the citizens of Drytown have been
charged with assisting the rioters, but a thorough
investigation fails to connect any one of its citizens
with the affair, which was generally condemned as
cruel and wanton.
88
HISTORY OF AMADOU COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
CONVENTION, OR MASS MEETING, AT JACKSON.
A meeting was called to consider the propriety
of outlawing all of the Mexican population. Some
of the more violent approved of the measure, but
the hanging of the men at Jackson and Rancheria,
the excesses committed at Mile gulch and vicinity,
had caused the more thoughtful to doubt the pro
priety or necessity of turning all the blood-thirsty
loose, with license to kill Mexicans wherever they
could be found, for such would be the result of out
lawry. R. M. Briggs, especially, violently opposed
the measure, and it was abandoned. Most of the
Mexicans had left the county, and the necessity of
such a measure, was questionable on several grounds.
W. O. Clark, who opposed it, perhaps in imprudent
words, came near being lynched, his speeches at
Rancheria, the day after the murders, being remem
bered. Many of the Mexicans who fled the county
on that occasion, settled near Jenny Lind, in Cala-
veras county, where they have made peaceable and
quiet citizens.
GENERAL FEELING A QUARTER OP A CENTURY AFTER.
There are few, and the number is few, who helped
to vindicate justice, as they term it, who are proud
of the part they took in the matter. But the more
thoughtful look at it as one full of excesses to be re
gretted. There are many who believe that the three
persons hung at Rancheria the day following the out
rage were entirely innocent of any complicity in the
crimes committed. There appeared to have been
two classes of the Mexicans, the caballeros or horse
men and the peons or laboring class. The first were
accustomed here, as they were in Mexico, to help
themselves to whatever they wanted of the peons.
who occupied much of the former position of the
blacks in the Southern States, having no rights which
a caballero was bound to respect. It is said that when
ever these gentry were known to be in a Mexican
camp, or expected, the lights were blown out and
everything kept as quiet as possible so as to at
tract no attention. Old residents say that though
a Mexican with a crowbar and bataya might steal
an axe or a piece of meat, he was never known
to commit an outrage. The fact that half a dozen
white men would go to a Mexican camp of ten times
their number and disarm them does not prove them
very belligerent. It would seem that most of the
crimes, and they were many, committed by the Mex
ican population may be justly charged to the cabal-
leros. who were generally gamblers and horse-thieves,
or worse; who never worked for themselves but
appropriated the results of others' industry, not hes
itating at murder when necessary to accomplish their
object.
CHAPTER XX.
POLITICAL PARTIES IN 1855.
Success of the American Party List of Officers Elected
Rivalry Between Towns Financial Matters Efforts to
Suppress Gambling Political Parties in 1856 Names of
Officers Elected Calaveras Indebtedness Tax Levy in 1857
Disbursements for 1857 Table of Receipts for all Moneys
up to 1857 Political Parties in 1857 Officers Elected in ,
1857 Officers Elected 1858 Tax Levy 1858 Condition of
Treasury Financial Matters in 1859 Condition of Polit
ical Parties.
THE Know-Nothing, or Native American Party,
had become the most numerous of any. The almost
annihilation of the Whig party in the Presidential
contest of 1852, and the subsequent growth of the
free soil element into a party, had left the Whigs to
form new combinations. As the defeat of the Whigs
was largely due to the solid, foreign Democratic
vote, it is not strange that the defeated Whigs should
organize to control or resist the foreign element.
The epithet, " Know-Nothing," seems to have been
first given in derision, from a constant assertion, "I
know nothing about it," when the members were
interrogated about the existence of such an organi
zation, and afterwards partially adopted, or, at
least, quietly received by them. The object was a
practical exclusion from power of the foreign ele
ment. It was urged that a few individuals often
controlled hundreds of votes, and could be influ
enced by improper means; that the foreigners, as a
rule, when they come to this country, had no knowl
edge of the nature of our institutions, and, from hav
ing been subjected to unjust laws in Europe, were
instinctively opposed to all wholesome restraints;
that the percentage of crimes and misdemeanors
committed by the foreign element was much greater
than their percentage of the population. The meet
ings, at first, were held secretly, and nearly all the
members of the Whig party, as well as many Dem
ocrats, were induced to act with them, so that until
the day of the election, few men, not belonging to
it, were aware of the extent of the organization,
and were surprised to find the new party in posses
sion of nearly all the offices, from the Governor
down. When the election was over, and conceal
ment no longer necessary, the members showed
themselves in processions and public meetings.
RIVALRY BETWEEN TOWNS.
While Volcano was making some pretensions to
superior size, the /Sentinel at Jackson published, as
amusing matter, the experience' of a Jackson man
in Yolcano; the latter town being represented as so
poverty-stricken, that a five-dollar piece had not
been seen for weeks. When our Jackson friend was
transacting some little business, he accidentally dis
played a ten-dollar piece. The sight was so unusual
that a crowd immediately gathered around to
admire and wonder. He good-naturedly allowed
them to view and handle it, after which ho treated,
paid his bill, and left. The Sentinel made quite an
amusing article of it; but the Yolcano man was to
VOLCANO LIVERY STABLE , STAGED EXPRESS OFFICE.
R.S.HINKSDN & BRO. PROP.? VOLCANO, AMADOR C DAL..
ST. GEORGE HOTEL.
A. PETTY, PROP., VOLCANO, AMADOR C.9 CAL.
OF THE
TJNIVERSITT^
OF
POLITICAL PARTIES IN 1856.
89
have his turn now. He acknowledged the story as
true in most of the statements. "It was astonish
ing that a man coming from Jackson should have ten
dollars, and still more unusual for a Jackson man to
treat; but when he paid his bill before leaving, the
astonishment of the people exceeded all bounds;
they were still talking about it."
LIST OF OFFICERS ELECTED IN 1855.
Members of the Assembly J. T. Farley, G. W.
Wagner.
Public Administrator Wm. Jennings.
School Commissioner J. Goodin.
County Surveyor David Armstrong.
JUSTICES OF THE PEACE.
Township No. 1 Bruce Husband, Hugh Robin-
son.
Township No. 2 J. W. D. Palmer, N. C. F. Lane.
Township No. 3 Geo. L. Gale, N. Harding.
Township No. 4 E. B. Howe, W. C. Bryant.
Township No. 5 J. B. King, W. B. Caswell.
Township No. 6 E. R. Yates, James Burt.
E. B. Howe and E. R. Yates were elected Associate
Justices to act with JVL VV. Gordon.
FINANCIAL.
Jan. 1, 1855, the total amount of warrants
issued since Sept 14, 1854, was $41,144.78
Warrants redeemed during same time .... $41,041.29
Total amount outstanding 103.49
Amount on hand $6,117.07
The second assessment for taxes was as follows :
On personal and real property for county purposes,
on each $100 , 50c.
For school purposes, on each $100 lOc.
Support of indigent sick, " " lOc.
Roads and highways, " " ... 2c.
State purposes " " . 60c. $1.32
Poll-tax 3.00
On January 1, 1856, the Supervisors made the fol
lowing report:
Jan. 1, 1855, cash on hand $6,117.07
Received during the year on account of prop
erty tax 3,068.24
On account of poll tax 2,270.90
Foreign miners' licenses 10,309.68
County licenses 13,258.75
Fees from Probate Court . . 61.50
Sale of county property 120.00
Refunded from State treasury 182.18
Total receipts for 1855 $35,957.67
Total disbursements for 1855 34,741.10
Balance on hand Jan. 1, 1856 $1,216.57
Total amount of warrants issued since
Sept. 14, 1854, to present $41,144.78
Amount redeemed 40,041.29
Outstanding $103.49
EFFORTS TO SUPPRESS GAMBLING.
At the February term, 1856, the Grand Jury made
some effort to suppress gambling. Up to this date
monte, faro, and other games were openly dealt in
many places in the county, demoralizing a great
many men. Laws against banking games had been
passed a year or two previous, but it was thought to
be impossible to enforce them in the mountain towns.
All laws are inoperative until sanctioned by public
opinion; in this instance only a movement was
needed to show that public gambling was not coun
tenanced by the community at large. The names of
the Grand Jury that first grappled with this evil are
S. G. Hand, who acted as foreman, John Bean, Thos.
Luther, Elias Kratzer, Z. Crane, Wm. Cochran, Wm.
Goode, David Beach, A. P. Clough, Samuel Folger,
Heman Allen, Ellis Evans, Thomas Skidmore,
Luther Morgan, Wm. Glenn, D. B. French, B. Dav
enport, J. H. Young, D. W. Aldrich, E. W. Rice, and
S. M. Streeter. Several indictments were found
against persons for gaming, also against the own
ers of houses permitting it. Though gambling never
was entirely suppressed it was forced to retire from
public sight.
POLITICAL PARTIES IN 1856.
Three parties made their appearance this season:
The Democratic party, confident in strength from a
sway of nearly a quarter of a century; the Know-
Nothing, flushed with a recent victory; and the
Republican, having nothing, with everything to hope
for. The fact that the Republicans had carried sev
eral Eastern States with rapid increase of numbers
everywhere, encouraged them to nominate a full
county ticket. They first called a general meeting
at Drytown on the 4th of October, met in mass meet
ing numbering about seventy-five, and nominated a
full ticket. Col. Baker addressed the meeting in
the evening and spoke afterwards at several places
in the county. Some little disposition to mob out the
Republicans was manifested in several places. At
Yolcano the sign of the Republican club was torn
down and destroyed an da notice served on Mahoney,
the owner of the hall, that if the meetings were per
mitted his hall should be torn down. Leading Dem
ocrats hastened to disavow any countenance of the
violent proceedings and assured the Republicans
that they should not be molested again. At Lancha
Plana, M. Frink, a candidate for the Assembly, was
torn from the stand, though this was said to have
been in consequence of remarks of a personal nature.
The fact that mobbing a speaker, however obnoxious
his sentiments are, is an argument generally in his
favor, is well known and serves to keep the appear
ance of peace at least.
The Know-Nothings held an imposing convention.
J. T. Farley, flushed with the honors of Speaker of
the Assembly, acted as president. A huge cannon
was fired at intervals of a few minutes through the
day, reminding the people for twenty miles around
that the Know-Nothing Convention was in session.
The Democratic ticket was elected, the Republi
cans casting a little over six hundred votes, or about
one-sixth part of the entire vote.
The vote for President was: Buchanan (Dem.),
1784; Fillmore (K. N.), 1557; Fremont (Rep.), 657.
90
HISTORY OF AMADOR COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
OFFICERS ELECTED NOVEMBER, 1856.
Assemblymen Wm. M. Seawell, James Livermore.
Sheriff W. J. Paugh.
County Clerk H. S. Hatch.
District Attorney S. B. Axtell.
Treasurer Ellis Evans.
Assessor H. A. Eichelberger.
Public Administrator J. B. King.
County Surveyor James Masterson.
Coronor A. B. Kibbe.
SUPERVISORS.
District No. 1 J. G. Severance.
District No. 2 E. A. Kingsley
District No. 3 J. A. Brown.
Superintendent Common Schools E.B. Mclntyre.
JUSTICES OF THE PEACE.
Township No. 1 L. N. Ketchum, Bruce Husband.
Township No. 2 N. C. F. Lane, J. W. D. Palmer.
Township No. 3 A. M. Ballard, Geo. Monkton.
Township No. 4 E. B. Mclntyre, D. R. Gans.
Township No. 5 C. N. W. Hinkson, G. W. Haynes.
Township No. 6 Stephen Kendall, I. F. Ostrom.
CALAVERAS INDEBTEDNESS.
When Amador was set off from Calaveras a pro
vision was made that the new county should assume
a just proportion of the common debt. As no
especial methods of determining this amount was
provided, the matter was neglected until Calaveras
brought suit, January 27, 1857, against J. C. Ship-
man, as Auditor of Amador county, to recognize the
obligation. James H. Hardy was employed as a
lawyer to defend Amador county, and was allowed .
one thousand dollars as a fee for his services. Feb
ruary 3d there is a minute to the effect that the
Board adjourned to meet the Board of Calaveras
county to effect an amicable arrangement. The
records of the Board of Supervisors do not make
mention of the matter again until the 7th of August
following, when Alonzo Platt and James F. Hubbard
were appointed as a Commission to meet an equal
number on the part of Calaveras county, to deter
mine the amount of the indebtedness. This confer
ence resulted in fixing the ameunt at twenty-six
thousand five hundred and seventeen dollars and
thirty-two cents. A warrant was issued for this
amount, and, as Number 103, became famous in the
financial history of the county as the source of eva
sions, injunctions and lawsuits.
The Board of Supervisors ordered that one-half
of the general fund should be set aside for the pay
ment of this warrant. From the records, it appears
that an arrangement had been made with the Cala
veras authorities, that evidence of Calaveras indebt
edness, or " county scrip," might be applied in pay
ment of this debt. George Durham was appointed
a broker, to buy up the scrip, sixty-five cents on the
dollar being the price he was to be paid for it, " and
no more." One thousand dollars was advanced to
him, as capital to begin with, and directions made
that he should settle as often as once a month. J.
C. Shipman, Alvinza Hayward, John C. White, Will
iam Sharp, and Wesley Jackson, were his sureties
for the faithful performance of the duties. It is to
be regretted that the records of the Board of Super
visors are not more complete. The high price of
ink, or some other freak of economy, kept them
from keeping a full account, and we are obliged to
write history out of hints and disjointed memoranda.
The purchase of scrip does not seem to have been
satisfactory, for suit was commenced against Dur
ham on account of the matter. There is a minute
to the effect that the District Attorney be directed
to suspend the suit against Durham, as long as M.
W. Gordon should pay to the County Treasurer fifty
dollars a month; that the stay of proceedings should
cease whenever the said M. W. Gordon should neg
lect or refuse to pay the fifty dollars per month.
TAX LEVY OF 1857.
.50c.
.10c.
.20c.
.30c.
.70c. $1.80
For county purposes, on eack
School purposes, "
Indigent sick,
Calaveras Fund, "
State taxes,
A poll-tax of $3.00 was ordered on account of roads, and the
same also for State and county purposes.
January 1, 1858, the Supervisors made the fol
lowing report:
Warrants issued during the year exclusive of the
famous 103 for Calaveras indebtedness was $42,457.27
Outstanding for previous year ' 103,49
$42,560.76
Warrants redeemed during the time $35,078.40
Warrants outstanding $ 7,482.36
26,517.32
Including Calaveras indebtedness $33,999.68
Inventory of county property.
Delinquent taxes $ 5,881.40
County jail and improvements 7,017.80
*Court House and lot improvements 2,379.10
Furniture of clerk's office 400.00
Sheriff's and other offices 270.00
County hospital 200.00
Total $16,148.30
September 18, 1857, the Supervisors ordered the
Treasurer to make no payment at all to S. L. McGee,
the holder of warrant No. 103, drawn on account of
the Calaveras indebtedness. From this item it
would appear that McGee had become the owner of
the warrant, and refused to take script on it.
The funds set aside for the payment of this war
rant accumulated until they amounted, in January,
1859, to $20,198.27, less $605.00, which had been
allowed the outgoing Treasurer as percentage.
This concatenation of awkward events was inau
gurated by J. G. Severance, E. A. Kingsley, and
James A. Brown, acting as the Board of Supervisors.
* The Court House having been donated by the town of Jack
son, only the improvements are estimated.
POLITICAL PAUTIES IN 1857.
91
ACCOUNTS ALLOWED PROM JANUARY 1, 1857, TO JAN
UARY 1, 1858.
County Judge $ 2,500 00
County Clerk and Auditor 3,104 53
District Attorney 1,810 00
Associate Justices .... 874 00
Assessor , 2,653 34
Sheriff. : 7,406 22
Supervisors.. . . 1,095 55
Justice's Fees 624 10
Constable's Fees 1,318 49
Witnesses' Fees 113 50
Jurors. 4,384 50
Superintendent and Marshals Common Schools 581 00
Hospital 4,33661
Officers of Election 568 00
Repairs on Court House and Jail 1,550 92
Stationery 494 92
Scaffold and Execution of Cottle 100 00
Attorneys' Fees in Criminal Cases 135 00
P. M. Examinations and Taking Insane to Asylum . . 484 30
Attorneys' Fees in County Suits 1,400 00
Supplies for Jail 27500
Printing 917 00
Roads 12 25
Taxes Refunded 45 24
Miscellaneous 224 80
Total $37,039 35
Table Showing the Amounts of Money Received into the
Treasury to 1 857.
COMPILED BY F. MCBRIDE, THOMAS H. LOEHR, AND T. G. HOARD,
SUPERVISORS.
ON WHAT ACCOUNT.
1854.
1855.
1856.
1857.
TOTAL.
Property Tax
$7561 30
6946 50
6951 36
2671 50
380 10
464 40
$ 7172 02
14061 25
24065 7'2
4138 33
569 35
182 18
61 50
120 00
1 9054 10
14736 25
18248 04
3414 12
357 20
1848 44
42 00
100 00
1821 99
S06 25
161 24
408 00
$30144 77
142S2 62
22944 16
9234 85
626 20
1372 53
53 00
'5659" 62
5020 41
$5393-2 79
50026 62
72209 28
19458 80
1932 85
3867 55
156 50
220 00
9951 66
5826 66
361 24
453 00
5841 85
872 00
197 38
State and County Licenses
Foreign Miners' Tax
Poll-Tax
Fines
Refunded from State
Probate Court
Sale of County Property.
School-Tax
Hospital
Propertv Tax (Roads) ....
Jurors' Fees
45 00
5841 85
872 00
80 38
Calaveras Tax
Bridge and Ferry Licenses
45 00
63 00
Total
$250-20 76
^50370 35
$51129 93
195586 89
$222108 93
POLITICAL PARTIES IN 1857.
Three tickets were put into the field as usual.
The Democrats flushed with the recent Presidential
victory, and strong in the possession of the public
funds, the other two suffering from overwhelming
defeats. E. M. Briggs, of the moribund Know-Noth
ing party, was the only one elected on that ticket
in the county, and almost the only one in the State.
In the Assembly, "he chewed the bitter cud of Know-
nothingism, to the end, alone." There was little
interest in the election outside of the scramble among
the office-seekers. Every town had a full set of
candidates for all the positions.
The following list was elected:
State Senator L. N. Ketchum.
Assemblymen E. M. Briggs, Homer King.
County Surveyor John E. Dicks.
Superintendent Common Schools E. B. Mclntyre.
JUSTICES OF THE PEACE.
Township No. 1 J. M. Douglass, Geo. S. Smith.
Township No. 2 J. T. Poe, J. W. D. Palmer.
Township No. 3 John Doble, Geo. Monkton.
Township No. 4 D. E. Gans, E. B. Mnlntyre.
Township No. 5 C. N. K. Hinkson, E B. Styles.
Township No. 6. Steve Kendall, Hugh Bell.
Vote for Governor J. B. Weller (Dem.), 1619;
G. W. Bowie (K. N.), 997; Ed. Stanley (Eep.), 492.
OFFICERS ELECTED IN 1858.
Assembly W. W. Cope, J. A. Eagan.
County Judge M. W. Gordon.
Sheriff W. J. Paugh.
County Clerk T. M. Pawling.
District Attorney J. G. Severance.
Treasurer C. A. Lagrave.
Assessor F. P. Smith.
Public Administrator E. Gallagher.
Superintendent Common Schools H. H. Eheese.
Coroner John Vogan.
Surveyor Albert Moore.
SUPERVISORS.
District No. 1 E. D. Stiles.
District No. 2 Eobert Stewart.
District No. 3 Jacob Linzee.
JUSTICES OF THE PEACE.
Township No. 1 Geo. S. Smith, J. W. Hutchins.
Township No. 2 C. English, J. C. Wicker.
Township No. 3 John Doble, A. M. Ballard.
Township No. 4 E. B. Howe, D. E. Gans.
Township No. 5 E. B. Stiles, C. N. W. Hinkson.
Township No. 6 Hugh Bell, B. Nichols.
Township No. 7 SamLoree, D. Cartmill.
RATES OF TAXES FOR 1858.
For State purposes on each $100 50c.
County purposes, 50c.
School purposes, 10c.
Indigent Sick, 20c.
Calaveras Fund, 30c.
Board purposes, , 15c. $1.75
Also $3.00 poll-tax for roads, and also the same for general pur
poses.
There is no report found of the state of the
finances at the end of the year. Ellis Evans, the
County Treasurer, reports the total indebtedness at
$24,409.43. This must have been a balance, as the
famous warrant, No. 103, still remained with no por
tion paid, with accumulated interest. On the first
of July, in his second quarterly report, he fixes the
amount of outstanding warrants at $46,717.77.
There was in the Treasury credited to the
General Fund $ 1,799.02
Hospital Fund 305.73
Road Fund 74.84
Calaveras Fund 14,897.45 $17,077.45
Total indebtedness $29,640.63
At the end of 1858 the Calaveras Fund had accu
mulated until it amounted to $20,198.27, which, less
3 per cent., $605.94, Treasurer's commission, was
turned over to the incoming Treasurer, C. A.
Lagrave.
FINANCIAL MATTERS IN 1859.
Rates of taxes for State purposes on each $100 60c.
County purposes, " " 50c.
School purposes, " " lOc.
Calaveras Debt, " " 20c.
Road purposes, " " 5c. $1.45
Poll-tax, $3.00 for roads, and the same for general purposes.
HISTORY OF AMADOR COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
During the first quarter of the year there was paid on the Cal-
averas debt (warrant 103) the sum of $19,005.50, leaving due the
sum of $19,577.75, of which sum $9,281.05 was interest.
On the 7th of November, Treasurer Lagrave reported the
county debt, exclusive of warrant 103, "at $6,644.18; Calaveras
debt, $9, 109. 17; making a total of $15,753.35.
This estimate was made after deducting moneys on hand
which were as follows:
General Fund $7,168.91
Hospital Fund $2,248.82
School Fund 2,348.42
Road Fund 567.72
Calaveras Fund 3,759.40 $16,091.27
DISBURSEMENTS PROM JULY 1, 1858, TO AUG. 1, 1859.
Salary of County Judge $ 2,499.96
County Clerk and Auditor 3,231.73
District Attorney, salary and fees 2,175.00
Associate Justices 726.00
Assessor 2,880.00
Sheriff fees in criminal cases $4,189.95
" boarding prisoners 3,426.50
" jailor and assistant 1,886.009,502.45
Supervisors per diem and mileage 1,063.05
Hospital expenses and burials 5,596.57
Officers of election 561,00
Supplies for Court House and jail 1,387.07
Stationery
Attorneys' fees in criminal cases 884.95
Printing 1,385.00
Road purposes 1,367.02
Inquests 298.60
Interpreting 98.00
Collecting county licenses extra per cent .... 129.47
Deficiences in gold-dust 156.25
Miscellaneous expenses 1,303.19
Total warrants issued $43,995.86
The interest on the Calaveras debt had accumulated to
$9,281.05, making the whole debt $35,798.37 before any payment
was made thereon.
CONDITION OP POLITICAL PARTIES.
With the close of the election of 1857, the Know-
Nothing party ceased to be a formidable element in
politics. The leaders, generally, having been promi
nent members of the defunct Whig party, now found
little difficulty in falling into the ranks of their ancient
foemen, the Democrats. Early in the season of
1857, a number of prominent Know-Nothings, J. O.
Goodwin of Yuba, and James T. Farley of Amador,
being of the number, agreed that, in view of the
breaking up of old parties, and the formation of new
parties in the East, and the expressed sentiments of
President Buchanan in regard to some of the objects
sought by the American party, it was not necessary
to continue the organization. Farley became a
member of the party, working in the ranks, until,
as he was wont to say, he had been forgiven. R.
M. Briggs also trained with the Democrats until the
Spring of 1861. W. W. Cope, D. W. Seaton, J. W.
Bicknell, and others, old Whigs, also fell into
the Democratic ranks. The Republican party was
mostly made up' of men who did not put themselves
forward for office. A lawyer was not often to be
found in their ranks, occasioning some trouble to
find a suitable candidate for District Attorney.
Hearing some Republicans lamenting the want of
a suitable man in their ranks to run for attorney,
D. W. Seaton remarked: "Never mind. You will
have lawyers enough on your side when you come
to a majority." During the first four years of the
organization, it was in a hopeless minority, with
few politicians or orators to meet the attacks of
ridicule and sarcasm, always given to the hindmost
in the race.
With the breaking up of the Know-Nothing party,
and the affiliation of most of the members with the
Democratic party, came the distinction "Lecompton"
and "Anti-Lecompton," growing out of the attempt
of Northern and Southern men to colonize the Terri
tory of Kansas, and bring it in as a free or slave
State; one wing of the Democratic party favoring,
and the other opposing the admission of Kansas
with the Lecompton Constitution, which established
slavery.
The vote for Governor, stood as follows: Latham
(Democrat), 2,023; John Curry (Anti-Lecompton),
985; Stanford (Republican), 232.
OFFICERS ELECTED IN 1859.
State Senator J. A. Eagan.
Assemblymen P. C. Johnson, J. H. Bowman.
Coroner J. C. Shepherd.
SUPERVISOR.
District No. 1 C. Y. Hammond.
JUSTICES OF THE PEACE.
Township No. 1 J. W. Hutchins, G. S. Smith.
Township No. 2 Chas. English, J. A. Peters.
Township No. 3 John Doble, S. S. Hartram.
Township No. 4 D. R. Gans, H. Wood.
Township No. 5 C. N. W. Hinkson, R. C. Brown.
Township No. 6 H. Bell, B. Nichols.
Township No. 7 Jacob Emminger, Sam Loree.
About this time the office of Supervisor was made of
three years duration and the elections so arranged
among the districts that one new member should be
elected each year.
CHAPTER XXI.
AMADOR COUNTY AT THE BEGINNING OF 1860.
County Officers Financial Situation Political Parties First
Appearance of R. Burnell First Appearance of Tom Fitch
Officers Elected in 1860 Amador Wagon Road Voted
On Names of Amador Mountaineers Financial Affairs in
1861 Calaveras Indebtedness Denied Enormous Profits
of Officers Political Parties in 1861 The Amador Wagon
Project Renewed Vote on the Project, May 10, 1862
Rates of Toll Impeachment of James H. Hardy Political
Parties in 1862 Great Fire in Jackson Petition of M. W.
Gordon Supervisors Order the Building of a Court House
Political Parties in 1863 French -Bar Affair Officers
Elected in 1863 General Vote Political Parties in 1864
Vote of 1864 Financial Matters Political Parties in 1865
Arrest of Hall and Penry Election Returns by Precincts,
1865 Seaton's Defection Counting the Votes Clinton
Vote List of Officers Elected in "1865 Death of G. W.
Seaton, and Election of A. H. Rose, his Successor Finan
cial Matters in 1865.
UP to this period, which seems a natural point in
time for a review, Amador county met with unre
mitting prosperity. The placers were yielding
undiminished sums; the quartz mines were begin
ning to show their inexhaustible treasures; agricul
ture had assumed a permanent and profitable
RESIDENCE , RANCH ** ORCHARD OF J. W. VIO LETT, IONE VALLEY, AMADOR COUNTY, CAL.
RESIDENCE or j. M EEHAN,
JACKSON, AMADOR COUNT/, CAL.
AT THE BEGINNING OF 1860.
93
character; schools were established, and in working
condition; churches, and other beneficiary institu
tions were prosperous, proving that society was being
built on a healthy basis; and, last though not least,
the county finances had been generally economically
managed, so that, notwithstanding the inevitable
expenses of organization and commencing a govern
ment, moderate taxes were sufficient to liquidate all
expenses. According to the Assessor's report there
were fifteen saw-mills cutting 11,500.000 feet of
lumber per year; thirty-two quartz-mills crushing
yearly 61,000 tons of quartz; six hundred miles of
main canal, besides distributors; 10,000 acres of cul
tivated land, yielding 6,000 tons of hay, 34,800
bushels of wheat, 46,000 of barley, 28,000 of corn,
besides other produce. There were nearly 10,000
head of cattle, 1,700 head of horses, 6,000 swine,
60,000 fruit trees, and 300,000 grape vines.
This condition of affairs would justify a hope that
prosperity might continue; but the failure of the
placer mines, disastrous fires, injudicious manage
ment of county finances, with unfortunate national
affairs, so changed the current of events, that
Amador came near taking her place among the
bankrupt counties of California.
January 1, 1860, found the following persons in
office:
District Judge Chas. Creanor.
County Judge M. W. Gordon.
District Attorney J. G. Severance.
County Clerk and Eecorder T: M. Pawling.
Sheriff W. J. Paugh.
Treasurer C. A. LaGrave.
Supervisors District No. 1, E. D. Stiles; District
No. 2, Eobert Stewart; District No. 3, J. Linzee.
February 6, 1860, the Supervisors allowed J. C.
Shipman one hundred and sixty dollars for acting as
Clerk of the Board of Supervisors for twenty days,
also seventy-eight dollars for acting as Clerk of the
Board of Equalization. These allowances seem but
the entering wedge to other and more extravagant
appropriations, which followed in the course of a
few years.
FINANCES.
Tax levy for 1860, adopted February 9th.
For State purposes, on each $100 60c.
County " " " 50c.
School " " .10c.
Indigent Sick, '' " 20c.
Calaveras indebtedness, on each $100 30c.
Road Fund " " 5c. fl.75
In the following report of the indebtedness of the
county the interest seems to have been omitted:
May 1, 1860
Warrants outstanding on General Fund.$ll, 581.44
" Calaveras " 10,797.57 $22,379.01
Cash on hand
General Fund $2,990.36
Hospital " .36
School " 1,797.23
Road " ... . . 19.80
Due from Sacramento County 426.85
Calaveras " 94.38
State to Hospital Fund 156.68$ 5,485.66
On the 7th of November previous, the Calaveras debt was
estimated at $19,577.75, of which sum $9,281.05 was for interest.
July 7, 1860, F. Eichling, Geo. L. Gale, and D. L
Triplett, appointed a commission, by Board of Super,
visors, to purchase a site for hospital grounds; which
was done, for the price of sixteen hundred dollars.
The erection of a suitable building on this tract
commenced a series of debts which hung over the
tax-payers for the next twenty years.
REPORT NOVEMBER 5, 1860.
Calaveras indebtedness, excluding interest $10,086.05
Other " " " 12,249.51
Total $22,335.56
Cash on hand
Calaveras Fund $4,108.05
General " 7,907.47
Hospital " 2,575.98
Road " 684.56
Due from Sacramento county 2,120.00
" Calaveras " 116.00
Total $17,512.06
Total debt, exclusive of interest, and less the amount in
the treasury $,823.504
This method of making reports was not well cal
culated to give the people any correct idea of the
state of the finances. The interest on warrant 103
alone, now amounted to twenty thousand dollars or
more; much of it was due, having accumulated
to upwards of ten thousand dollars before any por
tion of principal or interest was paid.
The Supervisors, beginning with September 3d }
were :
District No. 1 C. Y. Hammond.
District No. 2 E. Stewart.
District No. 3 Geo. McWilliams.
The latter taking his seat September 3d, succeed
ing J. Linzee.
POLITICAL PARTIES IN 1860.
Some of the waves raised by the political storm that
was raging in the Eastern States began to be felt in
California. The prospect of carrying the Presiden
tial election and sharing the official patronage
induced the Eepublicans to put forth greater efforts,
and for the first time in the history of the party, it
looked possible to carry some of the county offices.
The Democratic party seemed to be disintegrating,
having divided into the Douglass and Breckenridge
factions, while members of the old Whig party, con
fident in their principles, thought to rally round
them all the conservative elements and quiet the
storm which threatened to engulf the nation. There
are some questions that are so positive in their
nature as to admit of no compromise; all or nothing
being the only terms of settlement. The Eepublicans
took strong ground against the extension of slavery,
though denying any thonght of interfering with it
where it then existed. The Douglass Democrats
wished to leave it to the Territories and States to
determine for themselves whether slavery should or
should not exist within their boundaries, thus exclud
ing the matter from Congressional action. The
Breckenridge party contended that having been
94
HISTORY OF AMADOR COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
recognized by the Constitution as an element in the
social compact of States, it could not be excluded
from the Territories either by National or Territorial
legislation without manifest injustice to the States
wherein slavery existed. Each party endeavored to
prove that a true interpretation of the Constitution
would justify the proposed measures of exclusion, rele
gation of the matter to the States and Territories,
or general protection and recognition everywhere
under the flag. Careful readers of the early history
of the United States cannot fail to discover the ten
derness, evasion even, with which the subject of
slavery was treated. The word slavery had no
mention in the Constitution, those opposed to it hop
ing that it would cease of itself; those in favor of it
satisfied with its partial recognition. Able writers
on political economy assert that Constitutions are
growths of public opinion; that no constitutional
enactments can stand long against overwhelming
public sentiment; that the courts and government
shape the enactment when they execute the law, and,
that public sentiment establishes the government.
Three large parties accused each other of trying to
subvert the Constitution, each professing to see, in
the success of either of the others, utter ruin and
destruction. We shall see, as history progresses, the
truth of the principles alluded to, for the meaning of
the Constitution was eventually fixed at a cost of a
million of lives and billions of money.
First-class orators, as well as many who were
not rated at all, traversed the country, not omitting
Amador in their labors. Thousands of documents
bearing on the question, were sent through the mails
or circulated by means of committees.
R. Burnell, afterwards conspicuous in Amador poli
tics, made his appearance for the first time. He was
a lawyer by profession, from the central part of New
York. Having accumulated considerable money by
raising stock on the plains around Sacramento, he
spent a Winter in the capital, took a notion to mingle
in political affairs, and made Amador County a start
ing-point. He was a man of graceful presence,
pleasing address, a fluent speaker, with a good train
ing in the New York school of politics, of which
Martin Van Buren was the best specimen and ideal,
whose political gospel was " neither give nor take
offense." He rapidly made his way upwards, being
first elected to the Assembly, where he was elected
Speaker, and afterwards two terms to the Senate.
He was also a prominent candidate for Congress.
FIRST APPEARANCE OP TOM FITCH.
This celebrated orator was sent into the country
to try his strength of wing in the woods and chap
arral. Though he had spoken once or twice on the
steamer on which he was a passenger to this State,
and again once or twice after landing, the general
impression was that he was speaking a piece that
some one had written for him. His appearance was
boyish in the extreme. His plump and rather girlish
face, his lips with the babyish cupid's bow still giving
them shape, and his extremely youthful appearance,
(not over twenty at least), did not impress one at
first sight, or give any indication of his oratorical
powers. The first meeting at which he appeared
was in lone. Very few had heard of him, and it was
supposed that the State Central Committee had sent,
as they often had done before, some troublesome
aspirant for oratorical honors, where he would do the
least harm. James M. Hanford, M. W. Belshaw and
two or three local politicians were announced to
speak, and confident in their strength, inquired of
Fitch which part of the evening he would prefer, and
also how much time he Avould like to occupy, for it
was intended to give the boy a chance for success. He
rather dignifiedly answered that he would be satis
fied with any arrangements that might be made; so
he was generously allowed the closing speech ! After
the several speakers had plodded wearily through
the evening, the President introduced Thomas Fitch.
The writer of this, who was present, recollects well
the shade of disgust that passed over the faces of
the audience at the prospect of sitting out another
hour of dullness. He bowed dignifiedly to the Pres
ident and audience. His boyish appearance was
already gone, giving place to the ease and self-posses
sion born of conscious strength. He. commenced
with a few long, Ciceronian sentences, as stately and
beautiful in structure as a. Grecian temple, and what
was more, he kept them up for a full hour, never
faltering for a word, never missing a note in the lofty
song which he commenced, winding up with a bui-st of
eloquence in favor of universal freedom that Colonel
Baker might have equaled, but never surpassed.
There was none of the school-boy in the oration.
The sentences, ponderous as they were, came out of
his mouth as if propelled by an intellectual steam
engine. Had the people seen a train of cars dragged
by a single pony, going a hundred miles an hour, their
astonishment could not have been greater. The fol
lowing night he spoke at Lancha Plana to a large
audience, that had gathered, as much out of cui'iosity
as anything else, to hear the prodigy. Those who
had not heard him still contended that he must have
repeated what had been written for him by some one
else; but a circumstance occurred which set that
question at rest. A few minutes before he ascended
the stand the news came that Colonel Baker had
been elected United States Senator for Oregon
Oregon, the home of Joe Lane, the immovable Dem
ocratic State! The subject was one worthy the
power of an orator, and Fitch did it justice. " The
waves of public opinion, sweeping a continent in their
course, are rocking the strongest citadels of slavery."
Those who came out of curiosity remained, entranced.
Perhaps he was the only man who ever spoke in
Amador county that would hold every one of his
audience to the close.
Though a born orator, of unsurpassed ability, his
AT THE BEGINNING OF 1860.
95
moral qualities were not of corresponding great
ness. He sadly disappointed the hopes of his early
admirers, and is now only a fourth rate lawyer.
Among the prominent speakers engaged in this
campaign was James H. Hardy, candidate for Judge
of the Sixteenth Judicial District, who ably sup
ported the Breckenridge side of the question.
The general vote was : Lincoln, 995; Douglass,
1866; Breckenridge, 945; Bell, 178; total, 3984, being
the largest vote ever polled in the county.
OFFICERS ELECTED IN 1860.
Judge of 16th Judicial District J. H. Hardy.
Assemblymen E. Burnell, Thomas Horrell.
Sheriff E. Cosner.
Clerk J. W. Bicknell *
Treasurer C. A. LaGrave.
District Attorney J. Foot Turner.
Assessor F. McGrath.
Public Administrator E. Gallagher.
Superintendent of Schools Samuel Page.
Surveyor J. M. Griffith.
Coroner W. E. Fifield.
JUSTICES OF THE PEACE.
Township No. 1 H. J. Bostwick, M. J. Little.
Township No. 2 W. C. Pratt, Charles English.
Township No. 3 J. M. Hanford, S. S. Hartram.
Township No. 4 Harvey Wood, D. E. Gans.
Township No. 5 C. W. N. Hinkson, George W.
Haines.
Township No. 6 H. Bell, B. Nicholls.
Township No. 7 J. McMurren, S. H. Loree.
AMADOR WAGON ROAD VOTED ON.
The discovery of the Comstock mines gave an
increased desire for the building of a wagon road
to Carson valley. The Legislature, by an act ap
proved March 23. 1861, required the Board of Super
visors of Amador, to call a special election of the
voters of Amador county to submit to them a pro
position to issue bonds of said county, not exceeding
in the aggregate the sum of forty thousand dollars, to
be expended in the construction of a wagon road, com
mencing at Antelope Springs, in Amador county, on
the ridge dividing the waters of the Mokelumne and
Cosumnes rivers, and following thence the best practi
cable route to Hope valley on the eastern slope of the
Sierra Nevada Mountains, and for the purpose at the
same time of electing one Eoad Commissioner in each
Supervisor District of said county.
The proposition was rejected by the folio wing vote:
For building the road, 1495; against, 1683.
A year later the subject was revived and carried
through.
*J. W. Bicknell was nominated in the Convention by a bit of
sharp practice. Alviaza Hayward, a friend of Bicknell's, went
around among the delegates, asking them to give the old gentleman
a complimentary vote, saying that he could not get the nomi
nation, but it would please him to get a good vote. When
the complimentary vote was counted, it was found to lie the
requisite number to nominate him. There was no chance to
retreat; so the Convention bore the joke as well as they could.
NAMES OF AMADOR MOUNTAINEERS,
Enrolled 1861, for service on the plains, guarding
the mail route to Fort Laramie:
Wm. McMullen, Capt. A. E. Abbott,
D. B. Haskell, 1st. Lieut. John Davis,
E. M. Crandall, 2d. Lieut. Joseph Willet,
John Parsons, Brev. Lieut. J. Dennis,
F. Eobjent,
John Ennis,
J. P. Ewing,
Albert Moore,
D. B. Trimble,
J. Hall,
T. J. Yager,
B. J. Thompson,
Geo. Monroe,
John Evans,
H. E. Brown,
John Dickinson,
T. H. Dickin,
Chas. Walton,
A. Carpenter,
P. Brady,
E. McCaugherty,
W. Kelly,
W. L. Ehynerson,
J. M. Griffith,
J. H. Bradley,
A. Allen,
W. E. McCormick,
C. H. Ashby,
L. D. Winchester,
Geo. Teas,
John Ferguson,
I. N. Swan,
F. Brill,
J. Johnson,
P. H. Eepp,
John Morris,
Isaac Perrin,
W. S. Cooledge.
Joseph Alyea,
A. E. Martin,
J. C. H. Wagner.
[The publishers intended to furnish a list of all the
volunteers who left the county, but were unable to
get their names.]
The Supervisors made the following report of finan
cial matters May 7, 1861:
Amounts of all warrants drawn on Treas
ury from Nov. 5, 1860, to May 7, 1861,
on General Fund $22,991.26
Total receipts for same time exclusive of
Calaveras and School Funds 31,366.81
Total amount of indebtedness exclusive of
interest on outstanding warrants and
Calaveras debt 4,936.05
! Calaveras indebtedness 'including interest
on same 5,769.69 $10,754.74
i Assets County buildings and furniture. . 14,500.00
Cash on hand including solvent debts . . 6,955.86 $21,455.86
: Above indebtedness .' $10,701.06
RATE OF TAXES FOR 1861.
For State purposes on each $100 60c.
.50c.
.10c.
.20c.
.30c.
. 5c $1.75
County purposes,
School purposes,
Indigent sick,
Calaveras debt,
Road purposes,
Also $6. 00 poll-tax for State and County purposes.
CALAVERAS INDEBTEDNESS DENIED.
At a meeting of the Board of Supervisors, Decem
ber 26, 1861, the following proceedings were had:
"WHEREAS, By the quarterly financial report of
the Auditor and Treasurer of Amador county, sub
mitted to the Board on the first Monday of Decem
ber, 1861, it appears that there was, upon that day,
in the hands of said Treasurer, the sum of six thou
sand one hundred and fifty-five dollars and four
cents, credited to a fund known as the Calaveras
County Fund; and,
" WHEREAS, It is the opinion of this Board that
the object for which said fund was created, no longer
exists (the debt formerly due from Amador county
to said Calavcras county, having been fully paid).
"It is therefore ordered that the said Treasurer of
Amador county be, and is hereby directed, to trans-
HISTORY OF AMADOR COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
fer from the said Calaveras County Fund to the Gen
eral Fund of Amador county, the sum of six thousand
dollars, and also that all such sum or sums as may
be paid into the said Treasury after the said first
Monday of December, 1861, upon said Calaveras
County Fund, be credited to the General Fund of
Amador county."
From the records of the Board of Supervisors, it
appears that on the second day of December, 1861 ?
they entered into an agreement with J. Foot Tur
ner, by which the said Turner agreed to evade or
satisfy the payment on the part of Amador county,
of the sum of six thousand one hundred and fifty-
eight dollars, then on hand and in the treasury, due
to the county of Calaveras as a part of the Cala
veras indebtedness on warrant 103, which he seems
to have done, as he was allowed the commission of
ten per cent, on the same, at a meeting of the Board
September 1, 1862. Subsequently, however, the mat]
ter came before the District Court. In the suit
of Beals, the holder of warrant No. 103, against the
Supervisors of Amador county, in 1864, the records
showed that a writ of mandamus was issued from
the District Court, S. W. Brockway presiding, to
the Board of Supervisors of Amador county, requir
ing them to levy a special tax for the payment of
the balance of the Calaveras indebtedness, amount
ing to $7,556.16, in accordance with a law approved
April 27, 1855. The matter was appealed to the
Supreme Court, where the decision of Judge Brock-
way was confirmed. The amount of the warrant
when drawn, was $26,517.32; up to 1865, $31,292.83
had been paid on it when the county, by the advice
of J. Foot Turner, refused to pay anything further.
The judgment given by Brockway, $7,556.16, was
avoided until it amounted to $11,000, making over
$40,000 in all that was paid on the warrant, the
costs, and attorneys' fees, swelling it to at least $50,-
000, before the demand was settled.
ENORMOUS PROFITS OF THE OFFICE-HOLDERS.
It is said that the offices of Sheriff and County
Clerk were worth from fifteen to twenty thousand
dollars per year. The latter was also Recorder of
Deeds, and acted as the Clerk of the Board of Super
visors and Equalization; also, as Auditor of Accounts,
for all of which he drew high pay. At a meeting of
the Board of Supervisors, February 6, 1861, present,
James H. Allen and George McWilliams, it was
ordered that the Auditor, J. W. Bicknell, be paid, as
salary, two hundred and forty dollars per month, in
quarterly installments; though October 9th, follow
ing, his salary was reduced to one hundred and sixty-
five dollars per month. The following items from
the records of the Board of Supervisors will show
how the money went:
November 18, 1861 Allowed J. W. Bicknell $300
for making assessment roll; also, $58 as Clerk to
the Board of Equalization.
October 3, 1862 $100 per month for signing poll-
tax receipts, and foreign miners' licenses.
October 3, 1862 (Page 435, Vol. B, minutes of
Board of Supervisors.) Allowed J. W. Bicknell quar
terly salary as Auditor, $495; quarterly salary as
Clerk of Board of Supervisors, $167.50.
October 8th Recording bonds of county officers,
$153.
November 8th Allowed for acting as Clerk of
Supervisors, $96. Each of the Board also allowed
themselves, November 8, 1862, $48, as members of
the Board of Equalization.
July 1, 1861 George F. Tripp, allowed fees in
criminal cases, $2,155, a fourth claim $810 being
rejected. For a few minutes' services as interpreter,
involving no loss of time worth mentioning, $5.00
was allowed. $24 was allowed for moving a person
twelve miles.
February 14, 1863 Treasurer LaGrave allowed
three per cent., amounting to $64, for apportioning
School Fund.
June 2, 1862 C. Y. Hammond and other Super
visors allowed each $32 for services on the wagon-
road election, which services should have been
included in the ordinary duties of Supervisor. The
Chairman was allowed $25 per month for signing
road receipts.
July 7, 1863 Board of Supervisors allowed them
selves $8.00 per day for twenty-three days, for act
ing as members of the Board of Equalization.
July 7, 1863 Allowed fees to Sheriff for month of
June, $549 53; also, for copying summons to Jurors,
$339.
March 3, 1863 Allowed County Treasurer $143
for signing licenses; same date, J. W. Bicknell $330
for acting as County Auditor.
April 8, 1863 Treasurer allowed $88.40 for appor
tioning School Fund; June 6th, for same, $119.34.
January 6, 1863 For printing blank road receipts,
$150.
April 8, 1863 Allowed $251 for printing county
blanks; also, June 2d, for same, $120.
June 6, 1863 Quarterly salary of $495 allowed
J. W. Bicknell as Auditor.
September 9th $285 rent allowed for county
buildings for month of August.
September 9, 1863 $627 allowed as Sheriff's fees
for last month.
September 21, 1863 Supervisors allowed them
selves $8.00 a day as canvassers of the election
returns.
October 7, 1863 J. W. Bicknell allowed $200 for
making out duplicate military list.
December 16, 1863 County Auditor allowed $495
as quarter's salary.
All services rendered seemed to be the subject for
special fees. It is not strange that candidates
should spend a thousand or two in trying to get a
nomination when a nomination was equivalent to an
election, or as much when the result of the election
was doubtful.
POLITICAL PARTIES IN 1861.
Soon after the election of Lincoln, the old land
marks, which had stood for many years as guides to
the various political crafts, went down out of sight.
Men who had for a quarter of a century anchored to
the Whig or Democratic doctrines, found themselves
without soundings. Professed politicians, who were
accustomed to weigh public opinion and move
accordingly, were now unable to tell where the
surging waters and contrary currents would permit
RESIDENCE OF D. B. SPAGNOLI, JACKSON, AMADOR COUNTY, CAL.
SPRINGDALE R ESI DENCE >" D FARM of A. CAMINIETTl
FOUR MJLES N. E. OF JACKSON, AWADOR COUNTY, CAL.
OF THE
[TJNIVERSITT,
AT THE BEGINNING OF 1860.
97
secure anchorage. When everything is in confusion,
it sometimes happens that a single commanding
voice will turn a wavering crowd to its own course.
The steady disruption of the Southern States, the
boldness of their friends in California, who certainly
evinced no fear of consequences, made the prospect
of cutting out California from the Union, quite
imminent. The newspapers, usually, are but the
mouth-pieces of public sentiment. During this uncer
tain condition of affairs, the Ledger, which, since
1856, had been acting with the Democratic party,
while speaking of the breaking off from the Union of
Southern States, remarked: " For the present the
interests of California seem to be, to remain with the old
Union."
This sentiment prevailed to a great extent among
the politicians. Among the first to raise the alarm
of danger, was E. M. Briggs, a Douglass Democrat,
who called public meetings in different parts of the
county, and proclaimed to the people the designs of
some of the ultra-Breckenridge Democrats to carry
California out of the Union. He made speeches in
his peculiar style of oratory, in several of the larger
towns; introduced strong Union resolutions, with no
uncertain sound, which were usually adopted. At
lone he was met with a solid Union club of one
hundred, from Muletown, headed by the president,
Jack Miller, who pledged his company to the main
tenance of the Union, though some of his political
friends persuaded him afterwards that he was a little
premature in his promises. There is no doubt that
these demonstrations, made previous to the firing on,
and surrender of, Fort Sumter, helped to shape
public sentiment, so that when the time came for an
expression of public opinion, it was overwhelmingly
in favor of the perpetuity of the Union. The Fourth
of July celebrations in the different towns of the
county were hearty and enthusiastic nearly the
whole population participating.
The Douglass Democratic Convention at Sacra
mento, which met to nominate a candidate for
Governor, took strong Union grounds, denouncing
hesitation as cowardice, and doubt as treason.
The three parties put forward full sets of candi
dates. All professed to be in favor of union. The
Eepublicans favored the maintenance of the Union
by prosecuting the war until all rebellion was crushed
out, at whatever expense; the Douglass Democrats, by
conducting the war according to the Constitution,
with Democratic generals under a Democratic admin-
ELECTION RETURNS BY PRECINCTS- 1861.
PRECINCTS.
GOVERNOR.
LT. GOVERNOR.
MEMBERS OF CONGRESS.
ASSEMBLYMEN.
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I
1
et-
*4
f
o
Amador
11
10
16
18
23
17
27
46
45
2
17
W
51
1
12
11
21
28
53
14
101
14
73
11
25
"ii
45
8
68
73
16
32
8
128
117
48
4
25
4
21
c
27
18
35
186
39
236
6
15
22
10
14
18
25
21
26
48
46
3
20
33
131
232
62
6
8
35
30
25
36
24
33
112
21
236
O"
50
1
14
11
22
28
53
14
101
14
"l2
67
97
38
7
12
8
"e
21
84
55
100
64
11
25
12
42
9
64
71
15
29
8
112
103
47
2
24
4
6
8
25
20
30
106
38
195
5
15
23
10
14
18
26
23
26
49
48
4
20
30
139
328
67
5
8
37
31
25
36
26
33
113
25
241
37
22
10
14
18
25
22
26
49
46
4
20
30
136
328
66
6
8
37
30
25
36
25
31
112
25
241
36
51
1
14
11
22
28
53
15
102
14
51
1
14
11
22
28
53
15
102
14
64
11
25
62
11
25
63
11
25
1
18
12
17
9
24
20
17
81
48
5
18
30
111
275
58
6
1
35
29
21
35
23
32
106
41
231
29
22
11
12
18
24
30
29
49
30
3
21
33
127
329
86
6
8
36
30
25
35
24
33
110
33
233
35
48
52
65
9
24
63
10
26
Badger's Store
9
20
19
48
51
15
98
14
14
11
9
48
52
13
103
14
Buena Vista
12
40
9
63
72
15
29
8
106
97
42
3
24
2
6
8
25
18
30
103
35
189
3
15
8
1
11
41
9
62
68
15
29
8
109
96
42
2
24
2
6
8
24
19
27
107
35
189
3
15
8
1
11
37
9
63
8
11
35
9
38
63
13
27
11
j07
jlS
42
2
31
2
7
7
23
19
25
99
19
188
6
15
8
1
13
41
10
59
83
14
28
8
112
108
40
2
24
2
5
12
24
19
27
102
26
195
6
15
8
1
Butte City
Clinton
Drytown
Fiddletown
29
8
109
62
5
2
19
2
Iowa Flat
33
117
306
61
4
7
35
15
24
33
26
28
34
22
201
34
12
66
97
38
8
12
8
"e
"21
82
53
95
12
66
98
38
7
12
66
98
38
8
12
63
95
29
8
12
64
100
31
8
lone City
Jackson
Lancha Plana
Martin's Ranch
Middle Bar
Muletown
12
7
12
8
12
7
12
8
Rich Bar
8
24
18
26
72
35
179
3
15
"26
Pine Grove
6
6
7
7
Putt's Bar
Ranch
21
84
54
102
21
84
55
101
1
23
84
50
105
21
83
50
101
1
Sutler Creek
Upper Rancheria
Volcano
Willow Springs
White's Bar
4J
22
1
t
1
2
43
22
1
9
1
2
43
2
43
22
1
22
1
2
36
2
43
21
1
21
1
French Bar :
Totals
1258
827
1299
1448
838
1099
1487
1478
841
844
1063
1058
843
27
1370
1477
819
826
1024
1083
13
98
HISTORY OF AMADOR COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
istration, believing that genuine Democracy was a
cure for all the ills that could befall a State. The
Breckenridge Democrats were supposed to be, to
some extent, in sympathy with the Rebellion, but
they confined their arguments mostly to charging
the Administration with numerous faults, and a
systematic violation of the Constitution. Axtell,
Farley, and Eagan were able speakers, and repre
sented the Nation as having been hurried into a
needless war by the infatuation of half-crazy
fanatics, who, unless prevented, would ruin every
thing to give liberty to a race that was little above
the beasts of the field in intellectual and moral devel
opment. It was their object generally to represent
the South as the aggrieved party, that was willing,
even anxious, to return to the Union when their
rights were secured to them. Occasionally a speaker,
like the Hon. A. B. Dibble, of Nevada, would take
up the old story of negro equality, and draw a lively
picture of a
"Nigger in the bed
With your sister wed."
But the more thoughtful knew that two opposing
civilizations had met in the " irrepressible conflict;"
the one based on the rights of all men to pursue
their own substantial happiness; the other, on the
customs which made privileged, classes of kings,
nobility, and hereditary masters, with the concom
itants of subjects and slaves. It must be confessed
that in the history of the ages that have gone before,
the privileged classes have usually won the field.
The relative strength of the parties, as manifested
by the vote for Governor, was: For Stanford (Repub
lican), 1,299; Conness (Douglass Democrat), 1,258;
McConnell (Breckenridge Democrat), 827.
The following persons were elected in Amador
county:
State Senator R. Burnell.
Assemblymen G. W. Seaton, W. A. Waddell.
Supervisor, District No. 3 James H. Allen.
JUSTICES OF THE PEACE.
Township No. 1 J. G. High, G. S. Smith.
Township No. 2 Chas. English, J. A. Peters.
Township No. 3 H. T. Barnum, John Doble.
Township No. 4 J. S. Hill, H. Wood.
Township No. 5 R. C. Brown, E. B. Styles.
Township No. 6 Green Aden, B. Nichols.
Township No. 7 S. H. Loree, N. Yipon.
AMADOR WAGON ROAD REVIVED.
The increasing importance of the Nevada mines,
the discovery of the veins at Markleeville, Silver
City, and other places in the eastern part of Amador
county, the transportation of enormous quantities
of goods over the Placerville route, and the conse
quent prosperity of that portion of El Dorado county,
traversed by the road, induced the friends of an
Amador tramontane road, to make another effort.
Accordingly, in answer to the requests of a large
number of petitioners, the Legislature granted a
second trial, specifying how the road should be built,
in case the people voted for it. An election was
held May 10, 1862. About sixty per cent, of the popu
lation voted, the measure being carried by less than
half of the voters in the county. Towns along the
proposed line of the road, or connected with it,
voted nearly unanimously for it. Towns outside,
like Lancha Plana, were equally opposed to it. The
question was decided by a vote of 1,307 for, and 542
against.
VOTE BY PRECINCTS
For or Against the Amador Wagon Road, May 10, 1862.
PRECINCTS.
For the Road and
Issuance of Bonds
$s$
&.
^PS-
Is
g^
w
o
&
i-n PJ
Amador
14
54
Sutter Creek
117
29
Badgers Store
40
8
Forest Home
34
1
Fiddletown
209
Dry town
18
80
Arkansas
19
Aqueduct City
30
5
Fosters Ranch
24
Upper Rancheria
50
13
Pine Grove
64
1
Volcano ;
416
7
Butte City ,
22
9
Clinton
21
7
Lancha Plana
126
Q. Ranch
25
3
New York Ranch
26
9
Jackson
97
101
French Bar
15
1
lone City
65
64
Iowa Flat
1
24
Total -
1307
542
A. J. Potter, Wm. Crangle, and W. C. Jennings
were chosen a Board of Commissioners to build the
road.
The franchise for building this road was granted
to C. D. Burleson, James Tullock, E. B. Wooley, Geo.
Johnson, R. M. Briggs, David Coblentz, M. Tynan,
and Leroy Worden. The county was permitted,
by Act of the Legislature, to assist these parties
to the extent of twenty-five thousand dollars in
bonds bearing twelve per cent, interest per annum,
payable in one, two, three, four and five years from
date. In case the county donated these bonds, the
road was to be finished by the 1st of October of the
same year, or the franchise was to be forfeited. The
road was to be sixteen feet wide, and the maximum
grade eighteen feet to the hundred. Tolls were per
mitted as follows:
For each loaded wagon, one dollar; for each ani
mal attached, twenty-five cents; loaded pack-ani
mals, each twenty -five cents; pleasure carriages
and buggies, one dollar; empty freight wagons and
unladen pack-animals, half rates. The tolls were to
be reduced twenty per cent, at the end of five years.
The route was divided into five sections, begin
ning at Antelope Springs, thence to Tragedy Springs,
which formed section No. 1; thence to the crossing
AT THE BEGINNING OF 1860.
99
of the outlet of Silver lake, which formed section
No. 2; thence to Carson Spur, No. 3; to Summit lake,
No. 4; and Hope valley, No. 5; the road at the latter
place intersecting the Big Tree and Carson Valley
road. The payment of the bonds was provided for
by taxes as follows, levied on all property:
1862 Twenty-five cents on each $100.
1863 Fifty cents on each $100.
1864 Forty-five cents on each $100.
1865 Forty cents on each $100.
1866 Thirty-five on each $100.
1867 Thirty cents on each $100.
When the vote was found to be in favor of the road,
quite a rush was made to get favorable locations for
public houses, and several fine buildings were erected
at different points along the road. Saw-mills were con
structed with the expectation of supplying both the
W ashoe mines and the Sacramento market. On com
pletion of the road a stage line, in connection with the
Sacramento and Stockton lines, took passengers to
Silver Lake and other way places. Quite a trade
sprang up over the road, the farmers carrying their
fruit and produce to Washoe. The travel had to be
abandoned as winter came, on account of the snow,
which fell to the depth of from three to twenty feet,
the last named being the usual depth at Silver Lake.
The deep snow very often crushed the houses and
destroyed the furniture. A fine house near Corral
Flat, owned by Goldsworthy and Mayo, was de
stroyed in this way. The road did not answer the
expectations of thepublic. Thetrade was not diverted
from the Placerville road, and, on the completion of
the railroad to Nevada, both roads fell into compara
tive disuse. The lower portion of the road is used
to take lumber from the mountains, and, in Summer,
a few visitors to Silver Lake give a little life to the
higher portion.
IMPEACHMENT OF JAMES H. HARDY.
Hardy was Judge of the Sixteenth Judicial District
comprising the counties of Amador and Calaveras.
He was a man of undisputed talents, great inde
pendence of character, amounting to recklessness.
Like all men of that character, he took no middle
course, was always in one extreme or the other,
and made hosts of friends as well as enemies. Early
in the contest he took the side of the South; often
boasted of being a rebel, expressed the opinion that the
Government had gone to hell, drank to the success
of the Southern Confederacy, and conducted himself
generally in a way hardly suitable to the position
he occupied. 'Early in the session of the Legislature
of 1862, Judge Campbell of Calaveras, prepared
articles of impeachment, numbering some twenty or
more, charging him with malfeasance in office on
divers occasions; one specification being a charge
of violating his oath of office in procuring the dis
charge of David S. Terry, on his trial for killing
Broderick. The article alleged that a change of
venue had been made to Marin county, where Hardy
was holding Court; that, with his knowledge and
consent, the clock had been put forward; that he
opened Court at ten according to the clock, although
it was much earlier by the true time; that the trial
was hastily and indecently hurried through, with
out giving time to get the witnesses on the part of
the State; that, although the important witnesses
were then on the way from San Francisco, and,
even in sight on the bay, being detained by con
trary winds (there then being no steam-ferry), ho
refused to continue the Court, and ordered the jury
in the absence of the witnesses, to find for the
acquittal of Terry, setting him free. On this charge,
the Assembly, sitting as a High Court of Impeach
ment, was evenly divided, standing eighteen to
eighteen. On the charge of uttering disloyal senti
ments, and using language unbecoming his high posi
tion, he was found guilty, and suspended from per
forming the duties of the office.
Judge W. H. Badgely, afterwards unanimously
elected to the position, was appointed to fill the
unexpired portion of the term.
POLITICAL PARTIES IN 1862.
The disruption of the Douglass Democracy, became
apparent early in the season. The efforts put for
ward by the South to maintain the Confederacy,
and, by the Administration to break it down, con
vinced the most skeptical that peace could come
only by the utter defeat of one or.' the other. The
Democracy now assumed a stronger tone. The
Dispatch, their ably edited organ, did not hesitate
to avow its sympathy for the Kebellion, and kept in
its columns the Kentucky resolutions of 1798, which
held to the right of each State to judge of any infrac
tion of the compact by any other State, as well as
the right to choose it own remedy therefor, mean
ing that each and every individual of the family
of States had a right to step out, at its will or con
venience. About this time, the " Knights of the
Golden Circle " were organized in different parts of
the county. Their meetings were generally held
in out-of-the-way places, and as quietly as possible.
The object of the organization was probably made
known to but few of the members even, the design
being to have the material well in hand to use in
case an opportunity offered, rather than the execu
tion of any well-digested plan of aiding the .Rebellion,
or carrying the State of California out of the Union.
A hundred and twenty-eight men had monthly
meetings in the hills west of the Blue Eidge, near
where Stony creek comes into Jackson creek;
though, it is said, that a few meetings were held
near Buena Vista. The " organization was met by
another, the "Loyal League," and also by the
organization of the " Home Guards," who were sup
plied with guns and ammunition by the Govern
ment. The fact that' the population of California
was composed of people from all the States, ren
dered it quite certain that an insurrection would be
100
HISTORY OF AMADOR COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
attended with a fearful destruction of life and prop
erty. Property is always a powerful conservator
of the peace; and it was much harder to arouse the
people into a war of ideas than it would have been
ten years before, when the farms, residences, and
valuable stores, had not yet made their appearance;
and no insurrection occurred.
When the Republican Convention met, a petition,
signed by three hundred Douglass Democrats, was
handed in, asking the Convention to drop the name
"Republican," disorganize, and form a Union party.
As there was nothing in a name, and the objects of
the two were essentially the same, the request was
acceded to. It will be remembered that the Doug
lass Democrats in the county, only a year before,
had a much larger number of votes than the Breck-
enridge Democrats; the relative numbers of the
parties on the vote for Governor being for Stanford,
1,299; Conness, 1,258; McConnel, 827.
They had swept all the county offices by majori
ties from three to eight hundred.
The vote for State Senator in 1861 was: For Bur-
nell, 1,546; Farley, 1,029; Hanford, 753.
Mr. Burnell joined the Union party. The move
ment seems to have been preconcerted throughout
the State, as from this date the Douglass party dis
appeared. The Democratic party ceased to wear
any qualifying prefix, and became, thenceforth, the
" Simon Pure." The old and well-known war horses,
Farley, Gordon, Axtell, and Eagan, still held their,
places as leaders in the ranks; but Porter and Briggs
were now found with the Republicans. It will be
seen that Wm. H. Badgely, who had been appointed
to fill the unexpired term, made vacant by the
impeachment of James H. Hardy, received the unani
mous vote of all parties.
ELECTION RETURNS IN 1862.
(Showing the relative standing of parties. )
State Supt. Public Instruction. VOTES.
John Swett (Rep.) . . 1497 -
J. D. Stevenson (Dem.) 1327
0. P. Fitzerald (A. D.) 391
District Judge.
Wm. H. Badgely [wt'ce Hardy impeached]
received the entire vote of ... 3067
Assembly.
A. B. Andrews (Dem.) 1563
E. M. Simpson (Rep.) 1550
Edward Gallagher (Dem.) 1496
J. G. Severance (Rep.) 1524
County Judge.
M. W. Gordon (Dem.) 1595
J. M. Porter (Rep.) 1560
County Clerk.
James W. Bicknell (Dem.) 1712
C. C. Belding (Rep.) 1464
County Recorder.
A. Day (Dem.) 1692
Isaiah Heacock (Rep.) .... 1501
Sheriff.
R. Cosner (Dem.) _ . 1765
S. F. Dexter (Rep.) . 1431
District Attorney.
S. B. Axtell (Dem.) 1657
R. M. Briggs (Rep.) . 1505
County Treasurer.
F. McGrath (Dem.) 1609
Antonio Arata (Rep.) 1556
Superintendent of Public Instruction.
Samuel Page (Dem.) 1790
E. B. Mclntyre (Rep.) 1403
Public Administrator.
Geo. W. Beers (Dem.) 1668
Wm. Pitt (Rep.) - 1510
Coroner.
Louis Wentzel (Dem.) . 1670
J. Shumer (Rep.) 1506
Surveyor.
Geo. Kress (Dem.) 1633
J. M. Griffith (Rep.) . 1500
Supervisor, District No. 1.
I. B. Gregory (Dem.). 769
G. W. \V ithington (Rep.) 502
Township System.
For... 327 Against 2075
THE GREAT FIRE
On the 23d of August, 1862, will be more particu
larly described under the head of " Jackson," in the
township histories. The principal interest at this
point of our view is the destruction of the county
buildings. It will be remembered that the town of
Jackson donated the Court House, costing some ten
thousand dollars, to the county, the jail being after
wards added at an expense of more than six thousand
dollars. On the morning of the 24th, the county
was without a place of meeting for the Courts.
Rooms were hired in different places for transacting
the county ^business, at high rates one hundred
dollars per month being paid for the use of a hall in
which to hold Court. The offices of Sheriff', County
Clerk, Treasurer, and District Attorney, were kept
from necessity in inconvenient and improper places.
These circumstances induced Judge Gordon to set
forth the necessity of erecting county buildings, and
the powers of the Supervisors in the premises, in the
following petition:
PETITION OF M. W. GORDON.
"To the Board of Supervisors, of Amador county, Cali
fornia: Your petitioner, a resident citizen and tax
payer of said county, respectfully represents to said
Board, that, by article eleven, section five, of the
Constitution of said State, the Legislature thereof
"have power to provide for the election of a Board
of Supervisors in each county; and that these Super
visors, shall jointly and individually perform such
duties as may be prescribed by law." Your peti
tioner states, that, in pursuance of said law, the said
Legislature, at its sixth session, by ait Act approved
March 20, 1855, did create and establish, in each of
the counties of this State, a Board of Supervisors.
" Your petitioner says, that, both by the said Con
stitutional provision and by the provisions of said
law, the sole power over the property of each county,
is given to the Board of Supervisors, and is pro
hibited to the Legislature of the State, the Legisla
ture having the power to provide only for the election
of a Board of Supervisors, who shall perform such
duties as may be prescribed by law.
... ...... :-:,.-. ;,,:
nc.aiuE.riwE. AND RANCH OF JAMES W. SHEALOR.
6 MILES E. FROM VOUCANO, AMAPOR COUNTY, CAL
RESIDENCE AND SAWMILL OF F. M.WHITMORE.
ANTELOPE CREEK .NEAR VOLCANO, AMADORCOUNTY,CAU.
AT THE BEGINNING OF 1860.
101
" Your petitioner says that amongst the duties pre
scribed by law, to be performed by said Board,
(Wood's Digest, page 692, section 91), is the duty
" To cause to be erected and furnished a Court House,
jail, and such other public buildings as may be neces
sary, and to keep the same in repair." It is true,
that section 16, page 696, says: "The Board of
Supervisors shall not, for any purpose, contract debts
or liabilities, except those fixed by, or in pursuance of
law; and whenever debts or liabilities shall have been
created, which, added to the salaries of county
officers and other estimated liabilities fixed by law
for the remainder of the year, will equal the revenue
of the county for current expenses, no allowance
whatever shall be made of any account; nor shall
any expense be incurred other than the salaries and
fees expressly prescribed by, or in pursuance of, the
law." But it will be observed that the erection and
furnishing of a Court House and jail are fixed bylaw
in section 91, clause 11.
" Your petitioner says that the granting of the
powers in said Act to the Board of Supervisors by
the Legislature, and the specification of the duties
to be performed by said Board excludes the Legis
lature from all power over the : airs of each and
every county in the State, and iixes those duties
exclusively on the Board of Supc visors.
" Your petitioner says that, by article 514, section
2, page 127, Wood's Digest, Jac son is the county
seat of Amador county; and tnat, by article 670,
section 59, page 154. the Court House must be situated
at the county seat.
" Your petitioner says that the Court House and
county jail of Amador county was destroyed by fire
on the 23d of August, 1862; that these public
buildings are necessary for the conducting of
the civil and criminal business of the county,
and that the public business cannot be transacted
without them; that, as already shown, it is the
duty of the Board of Supervisors to proceed, as soon
as practicable, to erect and furnish a Court House
and jail at Jackson, for the use of said Amador
county.
"Your petitioner, therefore, 'moves the Honorable
the Boajd of Supervisors of Amador county, on the
3d of October, A. D. 1862, to hear this petition,
to examine the law and the facts in said petition
alleged; and upon the allegations herein being
proved, that said Board will decide upon erecting, as
soon as practicable, a Court House and county jail, on
the site of the late Courc House and jail, not to
exceed in cost the sum of twenty thousand dollars.
September 15, 1862. M. W. GORDON."
Board of Supervisors District No. 1, J. B. Greg
ory; District No. 2, H. B. Bishop; District No. 3,
J. H. Allen.
On the 4th of October the Supervisors invited pro
posals for the building of a Court House and jail,
according to plans presented, but on opening the
bids at the following session they were found too
indefinite for acceptation, and new ones were called
for, according to a plan presented by S. D. Mandell,
architect of the M. E. Church of lone. It will be
seen that during this year the debts were made
which hung over the county for twenty years,
bonds being issued for Amador wagon road,
twenty-five thousand dollars; for Court House and
jail an indefinite sum; for hospital, also uncertain.
October 3d, the Commissioners reported the com
pletion of the wagon road, and the full amount of
the bonds authorized to be issued was paid over to
the contractors.
POLITICAL PARTIES IN 1863.
The doubtful result of the war, the loss of friends
and relatives on one side or the other by nearly all,
begat an ill-feeling between the two parties that, at
times, looked like the forerunner of hostilities. The
Ledger and Dispntch now flung terms of reproach,
more true than polite, perhaps, but bitter and unre
lenting. It was difficult to tell whether national
issues, personal animosity, or desire for office, was
the greatest motive in the conduct of the campaign.
Men would be found first on one side and then on
the other, as one or the other of these motives pre
vailed, and, it would seem, buried all doubts by an
increased or simulated enthusiasm for the side
adopted. An old politician expressed the sentiment
that each side accused the other of all kinds of venal
ity, and knew themselves guilty of it. Every tech
nicality was used to further the interests of the dif
ferent individuals.
Some men were bold enough to throw technicali
ties to the winds, and fix up ballots by the hun
dred. The famous
FRENCH BAR AFFAIR
Occurred this season. At night the poll list num
bered twenty-six, but, during the counting, it
swelled to one hundred and thirty-eight, with votes
in the ballot-box to correspond. Jim Saultry was
credited with planning and executing this brilliant
raid on the enemy's ranks, which, however, failed to
elect anybody. The names were said to have been
taken from a Panama passenger list.
The eastern part of the county, up among the
pine trees, had rather uncertain boundaries, and
pleasure parties, or others could, according to the
existing law, get up a precinct* almost anywhere,
and shape or influence elections. When the tempta
tions for fraud were so great, and the opportunities
so frequent, nothing less than divine strength would
take the just course, and we have to look in century-
old annals for politicians of that character.
Complaints, that the collecting of taxes by the
Sheriff gave too much importance to that office, hav
ing become general, the Legislature provided for
township Assessors and Collectors; and for six years,
from 1863 to 1869, the latter method was in use.
At the election for Supervisors, held in 1863, quite
a contest occurred as to the boundaries of Amador
County in the vicinity of the Summit. The follow
ing extract from the Ledger will show the animus of
the affair:
".Out of curiosity, however, and for the purpose of
branding Copperhead demagogues with the eternal
and ineffacable stamp of burning infamy and dis
grace which of right belongs to them, the recount
was made, and that same count did disclose and fasten
102
HISTORY OF AMADOR COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
upon the so-called Democratic party of Amador
county, the most disgraceful, hellish, diabolical, and
deep-dyed villainous scheme to commit a crime upon
the body politic that ever disgraced the criminal
calendars of the whole world. The bare thought of
what he has done to the " tool " employed to execute
it, must be a coal of fire in his brain, an enraged
adder in his heart. He must feel as if every hair of
his head were a serpent, like the hair of Eumenides,
and his aids and abettors, the devil's scanty leavings,
over whom, in their last hours, black despair shall
sit, with carrion birds and secesh owls hovering over
their heads."
As the article does not give any clue to the crime,
it may be explained that tampering with the votes
was suspected.
Having given a sample of the editorial style of
the Ledger, the Dispatch must be equally favored. In
the edition of June 4, 1864, referring to Lincoln,
it said:
"Is it possible that this long-shanked, flop-eared,
jimber-jawed, mule-countenanced, backwoods, rail-
splitting boor is wiser, purer, more far-seeing, and
understands better the power.8 of the Government
than the great Father of bis country, who presided
over the deliberations of the Convention that made
it?"
OFFICERS ELECTED IN 1863.
State Senator R. Burnell.
Members of Assembly Wm. B. Ludlow, A. C.
Brown.
County Judge J. Foot Turner.
District Attorney R. M. Briggs.
County Clerk E. S. Hall.
Recorder H. Wood.
Sheriff B. B. Redhead.
Treasurer Otto Walther.
Surveyor J. M. Griffith.
Supt. Schools D. Townsend.
Public Administrator H. Robinson.
Coroner C. II. Kelly.
From the minutes of the Board of Supervisors it
appears that some doubt existed as to who was
elected Supervisor from District No. 3. E. B.
Woolley and E. A. Kingsley both appeared and
claimed the seat. The latter had acted as Super
visor one month, and drawn pay therefor. On the
22d of November, Bishop and Gregory recognized
E. B. Woolley as the member, Kingsley filing a pro
test thereto. The latter appeared for several days as
a claimant to the seat. November 6th, he was
allowed thirty-seven dollars salary and mileage,
Woolley retaining his position.
GENERAL RESULT IN 1863.
Governor.
F. F. Low (Rep.) 2,245
J. G. Downey (Dem.) 2,046
Congress.
T. B. Shannon (Rep.) 2,25g
Wm. Higby (Rep.) 2,256
C. Cole (Rep.) 2,257
John B. Weller (Dem.) 2,042
John Bigler (Dem.) 2,043
N. E. Whitesides (Dem.) ... - . 2,044
County Ticket.
Senator.
R, Burnell (Rep.) 2,165
J. T. Farley (Dem.) ... 2,022
Assemblymen.
W. B. Ludlow (Rep.). 2,166
A. C. Brown (Rep.) ... 2,182
Woodburn (Dem.) 1,908
Lea (Dem.) 1,948
Sheriff.
B. B. Redhead (Rep.) ..2,153
R. Cosner (Dem.) 2,043
County Clerk.
E. S. Hall (Rep.)... 2,152
J. W. Bicknell (Dem.) 2,036
Treasurer.
Otto Walther (Rep.) 2,184
Francis McGrath (Dem.) 2,008
District Attorney.
R. M. Briggs (Rep.) ..2.210
S. B. Axtell (Dem.) ... 1,869
Public Administrator.
H. Robinson (Rep.) 2,196
- Beers (Dem.) 2,009
Surveyor.
J. M. Griffith (Rep.) 2,185
-Kress (Dem.)... .2,003
This estimate includes the vote of the territory
afterwards incorporated into the territory of Alpine.
TOWNSHIP ELECTIONS, 1863.
No. 1 John Burke, Collector; J. G. High, C. Y.
Hammond, Justices of the Peace.
No. 2 J. Farnsworth, Collector; H. M. Roberts,
Chas. English, Justices of the Peace.
No. 3 T. A. Goodwin, Collector; H. T. Barnum,
J. H. Bradley, Justices of the Peace.
No. 4 Thomas Dunlap, Collector; J. S. Hill, J.
S. Porter, Justices of the Peace.
No. 5 Chas. D. Smith, Collector; W. W. Swadley
R. C. Brown, Justices of the Peace.
No. 6 A. P. Wood, Collector; J. T. Phelps, B.
Nichols, Justices of the Peace.
No. 7 M. B. Oliver, Collector; W. H. Jones, Jacob
Emminger, Justices of the Peace.
No. 8 S. A. Hawkins, Collector; O. Bonney, J.
B. Marshall, Justices of the Peace.
No. 9 D. N. McBeth, Collector; Geo. J. Newman,
J. C. Ransom, Justices of the Peace.
TAXES FOR 1863 BY TOWNSHIPS.
Township No. 1 $11,349.11
2 (for '63-' 64) 24,681.41
3 10,252.30
4 10,389.33
5 6,674.34
6 7,219.63
" 7.. 1.034.91
TAXES ASSESSED FOR 1863.
For State purposes, on each $100 62c.
Federal Tax ' 62c.
Road Fund 10c.
School purposes " 20c.
Hospital " " 25c.
Sierra Wagon road " 50c. $2.29
AT THE BEGINNING OF 1860.
103
During this season the Court House, which was to
cost $18,900, was swelled into a $50,000 structure,
by the changes from the original plan, involving
stone basement and water tables, and stone steps
in front and rear.
March 3, 1863. "Ordered (by the Supervisors)
that the steps to the Court House be made of stone
instead of brick, as specified in the original plan;
also, that the balustrade of the steps be made of
stone, and that the top step be made four feet
wide." A special superintendent, Francis McGrath,
was employed to measure and examine the work.
February 3, 1864. The Supervisors ordered a
warrant to be drawn for $9,174.76, in favor of Mat.
Canavan, assignee of Epley, Canavan, and Meloney,
he having obtained a judgment in the District Court
to that amount, as a balance due on the Court House
contract. Farley and Armstrong, attorneys for the
county, were allowed $500.00 as fees.
During 1863, townships eight and nine were
organized east of the Sierra Nevadas, out of terri
tory that was afterwards incorporated into Alpine
county; also the election precincts of Silver Mount
ain, Mogul, Mineral City, and Markleeville. The
uncertainty of the boundaries of these precincts,
especially on the Calaveras side, was the source of
much trouble until the final separation of the terri
tory from Amador county. Communication could
only be maintained in the Summer months. In the
Spring of 1864, the delegates attending the Conven
tions for nominating delegates to the Electoral Con
vention, came over by way of Placerville. The
county of Alpine was created March 16, 1864, by
Act of the Legislature, out of territory of El Dorado,
Amador, and Calaveras. By this Act, the eastern
boundary of Amador county was fixed at Hope
valley, Kirkwood's house being just within Amador.
Alpine county was to issue two warrants in favor
of Amador, for $5,000 each, payable out of the gen
eral fund, and bearing interest at the rate of six
per cent, per annum, payable in one and two years,
as her part of the common debt. The two counties
were made one district, for choosing Legislative
officers.
POLITICAL PARTIES IN 1864.
Biennial instead of annual sessions of the Legis
lature having been established, and the election of
members of the Legislature made to correspond in
time with that of the county officers, there were no
local interests to fan politics into the usual white
heat; but the great questions of union and freedom,
which had convulsed the nation for years, were still
in abeyance and proved ample enough to arouse the
highest feeling and bring out a full vote. The
habitual leaders, having no inducements to accom
modate their sentiments to those of the public, were
comparatively candid in expressing their opinions.
At 'the Convention held to elect delegates to the
Electoral State Convention, John Eagan, J. T. Farley,
E. Stewart, Long Primer Hall, and A. H. Eose,
opposed the prosecution of the war as unjust, uncon
stitutional, and inexpedient under any circumstances.
The sentiment, afterwards incorporated into the
National Democratic platform, that ''four years of
war having demonstrated the impossibility of con
quering the South, hostilities should cease, with a
view of peaceable separation, if satisfactory terms
of union could not be agreed upon," was generally
advocated. M. W. Gordon, however, was opposed
to acknowledging the independence of the Confed
eracy, under any circumstances, but believed the
Union could be restored, only by employing Demo
cratic generals, under a Democratic Administration,
with a Demoratic President. He would prefer
Thomas H. Seymour, of Connecticut, for President,
but would accept Grant, McClellan, or Sherman.
These sentiments did not suit the majority of the
Convention, but M. W. Gordon was a man of too
much talent andjnfluence to be slighted or left out
in the cold, and J. T. Farley, with his usual skill and
tact, advocated his having a place in the delegation.
James Meehan, J. T. Farley, M. W. Gordon, and E.
Cosner f were sent from the county at large, and T.
D. Wells, Lanning, Gerhard Sphon, Eobert Mc-
Lellan, Dickinson, and J. W. Leslie, from the
several townships.
Those of our readers who are not old enough to
remember the famous campaigns of " Tippecanoe
and Tyler too," of 1840, may form some idea of that
memorable affair, by the processions, bon-fires, and
illuminations of this season. Every town had its
turn, but, as usual in all such excitements, the active,
the aggressive, swept the conservative away, and the
Union demonstrations were the most brilliant and
noisy. Long processions, with all trades and employ
ments in active operation, were the usual beginnings
of a political meeting. Eail- splitting, tailoring, shoe-
making, blacksmithing, weaving, printing, and every
thing that could be done on wheels, were made parts
of the display. Abraham Lincoln split a lot of
rails once, and the three or four stalwart men swing
ing the mauls, were sure to bring out the enthusiasm.
There was a touch of the humorous in these dis
plays, which would have been enjoyable, but for the
solemn fact, that a million of our noblest and best,
were, at the moment, locked in a death struggle.
The whole nation went on a frolic in 1840, but no
such shadows of death rested on the people as in
1864. But, as a politician expressed it, the party
that could do the most of this work, would get the
bulge, and it was done.
VOTE OF 1864.
Presidential ticket Eepublican, 1392; Demo
cratic, 1200.
Congressional ticket Higby (Eep.), 1390; Coffroth
(Dem.), 1200.
TOWNSHIP COLLECTORS AND JUSTICES OF THE PEACE.
Township No. 1 John Burke, Collector; J. G.
High and T. Masterson, Justices of the Peace.
104
HISTORY OF AMADOR COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
Township No. 2 J. Farnsworth, Collector; J.
Bo wen and C. English, Justices of the Peace.
Township No. 3 T. A. Goodwin, Collector; H. T.
Barnum and H. Cook, Justices of the Peace.
Township No. 4 I. N. Randolph, Collector; H.
Wood and J. S. Hill, Justices of the Peace.
Township No. 5 F. (or N.) King, Collector; J. W.
Morgan and R. C. Brown, Justices of the Peace.
Township No. 6 A. P. Wood, Collector; J. W.
Whitaker and B. Nichols, Justices of the Peace.
Township No. 7 M. B. Oliver, Collector; R.
Saunders and A. J. Lucas, Justices of the Peace.
At the judicial election in the Autumn of 1863,
the average Republican majority was seven hundred,
in a total vote of about three thousand.
FINANCIAL MATTERS, 1864.
The rate of taxation for all purposes, made May
7th, was three dollars and twenty-five cents on each
hundred dollars.
On the 7th of June, the Treasurer reported out
standing warrants over and above sums in the
Treasury to apply on General Fund, $74,159.42; on
Sierra Wagon Road Fund, $15,125.00; on Road fund,
$1,467.35; making a total of $90,751.77.
This estimate does not include interest, which
would swell the amount to $100,000. The extrav
agance of the two previous years, laid a foundation
for the permanent debt.
The following December the amount of the debt,
exclusive of interest, was estimated at $111,139.94.
Before the taxes were collected, it was apparent that
the levy was insufficient to meet current expenses,
and a new schedule was made out, as follows:
For State purposes
County "
" General Fund
" Hospital "
" School
Sierra Nevada Wagon Road
Redemption Road Fund
on each $100
92c
200c
lOOc
25c
20c
45c
lOc $4 92
TAXES ASSESSED BY TOWNSHIPS.
Township No. 1 $ 9,597.71
2 (for 1863-64).. 24,681.41
3 4,947.48
" 4: 9,701.93
5 6,879.10
6 6,844.26
7 1,014.24
8) afterwards j 9,627.72
9 j Alpine Co. } 3,030.46
POLITICAL PARTIES IN 1865.
This, the last year of the bitter strife, witnessed
the most exciting scenes of all. The year opened
with the defeat of the rebel armies in all quarters,
and soon saw the surrender of the last of them*
Whether from indiscreet rejoicing on the part of
the Republicans, or embittered feelings on the part
of the Democrats, or both, the Democratic news
papers became more bitter and vituperative than
ever. Public opinion was in a highly excited con
dition in consequence, and when the news of the
assassination of Lincoln was flashed across the Conti
nent, the danger of riots, and destruction of life and
property, was imminent. Human nature is much the
same the world over. It is but two hundred
years since our ancestors thought it expedient and
right to burn, slay, destroy, torture, and harass, all
who differed with them, either religiously or politi
cally, and, notwithstanding all our boasted improve
ment, the desire to do so is still an active element
in our characters. The animus of the parties may
best be shown by extracts from the papers.
Dispatch, March 5, 1865:
"The first act of Lincoln's administration was
stained by falsehood, and shortly afterwards by
deliberate, palpable, tongue-blistering, soul-damning
perjury."
"The first officer under our Government, whose
moral conduct should reflect the virtues and dignity
of a great country, and be an example for all classes
of people to imitate, stands before the world with
the brand of perjury upon his brow!"
" The rebels fight for the priceless boon of liberty
as did their fathers of the Revolution; the merce
naries of the federal army, for Government green
backs."
March 12, 1865:
"If to sympathize with a brave and gallant peo
ple who are struggling to throw off the yoke of a
merciless despot, * * * be seeessionism, then we
are secessionists."
March 26, 1865:
"Abraham Lincoln, the self-confessed perjurer;
* * * the buffoon; the vulgar joker; the spiritu
alist; the abolitionist; the man who believes the
negro his equal."
ARREST OP L. P. HALL AND W. M. PENRY.
A company of cavalry had been stationed in lone
valley to eject settlers from the Arroyo Seco grant.
After the assassination of Lincoln, persons were
arrested in different parts of the State for sympathy
with the Rebellion, or for treasonable expressions.
The Dispatch had been one of the ablest and most
outspoken Democratic papers in the State, and
although not coming within the boundaries of giving
" substantial aid and comfort to the enemy," it had
advocated the right, if not the policy, of secession;
had eulogized the President and officers of the Con
federate States; had abused the Union President in
severe terms, and had, in fact, been a magazine of
Southern ideas and arguments, on Northern soil.
Some of the ablest articles in defense of the South had
come out in the Dispatch] in fact, there was no writer
in the county, on the Union side of the question,
that was a match for the editor of the Dispatch. It
was quite natural that the wrath of the Union men
should seek victims in the editors and writers of the
paper, though it was not charged that it had ever
sanctioned the assassination of Lincoln. On the
morning of the 8th of May, about daylight, the
persons mentioned awoke to find themselves sur
rounded by a troop of cavalry under the command
of Captain Starr, acting presumably, under the com
mand of General McDowell, at San Francisco. The
printing office was closed up, and two or three hours
AT THE BEGINNING OF 1860.
105
afterwards the entire party left for Camp Jackson, in
lone valley, our friends walking through the hot
sand, with the thermometer at 100 in the shade.
From thence they were taken in irons to Fort Alca-
traz, where an eighteen-pound ball with chain, was
attached to the legs of each man. They had the
choice of hard labor on the works, under guard, or
confinement in the sweat-box, and wisely chose the
former. They were kept here, in company with
other sympathizers, until about the middle of the
following month, when peace, law, and order were
so far established, that it was considered safe for
them to be at large. It is said that neither of the
men ever had the remotest suspicion of the cause of
their incarceration !
In justice to the Dispatch and its conductors, it
must be said that they picked up the cudgels of war
fare at the place where they dropped them at the
time of the arrest, and when they resumed the pub
lication of the paper, which they did on the 23d of
September following, it had lost none of the vigor
which characterized it through the four years of the
great Rebellion.
L. P. Hall, who was arrested with Penry, was one
of the most original men ever connected with the
press in Amador county, or, perhaps, in the State.
He was able to stand up to the case and set up his most
vituperative articles without manuscript, a feat that
few editors or printers are capable of. He was
thoroughly aggressive in his character, and if he had
been on " Southern Soil " at the time of the breaking
out of the Rebellion, his temperament would have
been as likely to have carried him into the opposition
as anywhere. He was previously the editor of the
Equal Rights Expositor, at Visalia, a paper as pro
nounced in its disloyal sentiments as the Dispatch. It
was suppressed by the order of General McDowell,
and the editor, and three others arrested with him,
set free on taking the following oath:
STATE OF CALIFORNIA, )
County of Tulare. \
We, L. P. Hall, of Tulare, State of
California, Citizens of the United States, do solemnly
swear that we will support the Constitution and Gov
ernment of the United States against all enemies,
whether foreign or domestic, and that we . will
bear true faith and allegiance, and loyalty to the
same, any ordinance, resolution, or any State Con
vention or law of any Legislature to the contrary,
notwithstanding; that .we will give no aid, assistance
or encouragement, by word or act, to any person or
persons, or pretended Government, engaged in
rebellion against the Government of the United
States. And further, that we will do this with a
full determination, pledge, and purpose, without
any mental reservation whatsoever, so help us God.
(Signed) L. P. HALL, *
Subscribed and sworn to before me, this fifth day of
January, 1863. M. A. MCLAUGHLIN,
Cop'ain %d Cavalry, C . V., Commanding.
Whatever difference of opinion may have existed
with regard to his course as an editor, there was
none with regard to his ability.
14 * There were three other signatures.
John Gaver, of Sutter Creek, who had written
many of the articles in the Dispatch, was arrested
about the same time, and subjected to the same
treatment. He was charged with rejoicing over the
assassination, which, however, he denied, or asserted,
that if he did, he was drunk, and unconscious of
what he said. He was arrested on complaint of
0. L. Chamberlain, F. Tibbetts, and T. Frakes.
After the assassination of Lincoln, more than one
Union meeting was held to consider the expediency
of demolishing the Dispatch establishment, but better
counsels prevailed. It is quite likely, however, that
the arrest of Penry and Hall, and the suppression of
the paper for awhile, saved the material from
destruction. The excitement gradually wore away,
and better feeling began to prevail.
SEATON'S DEFECTION.
There was a full set of county officers, as well as
members of the Legislature, to elect, and the politi
cians set about arranging these matters. The national
question having to some extent been settled, per
sonal ambitions and antipathies began to be more
manifest. When the Republican Convention met,
R. Burnell was nominated, after some opposition, as
candidate for Senator. G. W. Seaton, who had been
acting with the Republican party for years, arose
and denounced Burnell as having tried to throw the
State into the hands of the secessionists, by voting
for giving the seat to a Democrat in a contested
election case. This affair had happened some years
before, and, if true, Burnell was only voting to
decide who was elected, the politics of the man,
properly, having nothing to do with his right to a
seat. It is likely that personal antipathy was the
ruling motive, for Mr. Seaton had supported Burnell
in Convention and on the stump, after the occur
rence of the contested election case; but, at any
rate, he announced his intention of defeating Mr.
Burnell if it cost ten thousand dollars. As he had a
very rich quartz vein just then to draw on for funds,
the threat was very serious. He immediately
announced himself as an independent candidate for
Senator, and took the stump. The Democrats left
the nomination for the Senatorship vacant, with the
understanding that Seaton's name was to be used.
The contest of course was very spirited, Seaton's
gold mine being a powerful influence in his favor.
It is not supposed that votes were directly pur
chased, but money, which Seaton had in abundance,
would purchase fire-works, orators, music, gun-pow
der, and whisky, which certainly have the power of
moving many people in their political opinions.
It is generally believed too, that in the early days
the Italian vote was practically purchasable, that
is to say, that from fifteen hundred to twenty-five
hundred dollars would buy the influence of one or
two men, who would control the greater portion of
the Italian vote, which was numerous enough to
decide, in many cases, the election. (It is said, now,
106
HISTORY OF AMADOR COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
by those best acquainted with the Italians, that that
condition no longer exists; that individual indepen
dence is becoming as common with them as with
other nationalities.) When the contest was over,
Seaton was elected. Amador and Alpine had
remained one district for the election of members of
the Legislature, Alpine being allowed one member
and Amador the other three. O. F. Thornton and
Harvey Lee were candidates by the respective
parties, Republican and Democratic of Alpine
county Lee being elected. The following table of
the returns will be interesting, as not only showing
the names, and popularity of the different candidates,
but also as showing the names of many precincts
which were abolished when the registry law was
established, this election being the last held under
the old law:
ELECTION RETURNS BY PRECINCTS, SEPTEMBER 6, 1865.
>
03
03
03 DO O
O
i i
M JH t"i !Z
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olcano.
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eomet.
OFFICES.
NAMES.
g
ffi
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p
oT
at
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i
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CD
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p
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-T.
S enators ]
R. Burnell
G. W. Seaton. .
12
29
33
109
15
15
27
8
25
21
21
22
33
4
28
11
6
64
19
19
55
112
92
104
13
23
20
25
24
145
65
169
221
60
39
18
10
43
122
120
8
26
157
112
17
23
33
55
1
M. Frink. .
|9
40
17
96
95
19
?9
97
6
93
,59
88
13
98
16
115
159
78
16
44
I3S
S
jg-T
*">4
31
0. F. Thornton
Assemblymen... j H arvey Lee . . . .
13
29
41
104
17
14
26
8
25
21
21
22
29
7
27
12
6
64
22
16
59
105
89
104
14
11
27
14
16
30
116
88
154
233
60
30
17
13
44
32
131
112
8
26
162
10!)
24
17
34
56
[A. C. Brown...
29
105
14
8
21
24
7
12
64
17
107
99
13
12
26
91
232
18
14
32
107
26
107
13
56
Sheriff |
I. N. Randolph
11
59
13
23
25
14
25
23
7
24
71
89
14
24
15
89
155
49
18
33
145
8
143
23
44
R. Cosner
3o
So
9(1
IV
9|
99
9(1
IS
liii
lo
9V
1 16
IV
2C
39
|9(i
94 |
h9
Id
44
101
2G
ISO
IV
53
County Clerk j
J. A. Robinson
J. C. Shipman.
15
31
41
103
14
17
23
17
26
21
21
23
27
20
28
13
20
53
24
15
71
97
90
115
14
12
27
17
16
32
120
98
176
223
49
52
18
16
42
35
133
114
8
26
158
116
29
10
38
59
DA j
M. J. Goodrich
12
39
17
26
24
22
30
28
7
25
57
90
14
27
16
118
160
56
18
43
120
8
171
26
34
A. C. Hinkson.
32
105
15
14
23
22
16
13
66
14
111
114
11
17
32
99
240
54
14
34
124
26
101
13
61
Otto Walther..
13
39
19
27
23
22
30
28
10
25
75
88
15
20
16
125
169
5(5
16
45
114
8
188
27
33
L. Rabolt
33
ION
13
11
2j
9?
17
11
63
14
93
115
11
93
39
9"
907
45
17
39
132
og
85
IS
61
District Attorney j
R. M. Briggs. .
J. A. Eagon. . .
16
30
29
107
19
13
25
15
24
23
24
20
30
17
28
13
8
64
25
14
75
94
86
116
14
11
28
16
14
33
97
112
225
170
63
34
18
16
44
33
137
110
8
26
164
1JO
30
10
32
65
Supt. Schools j
D. Townsend . .
S. G. Briggs...
13
33
40
103
16
16
26
14
25
21
22
22
28
17
28
13
7
66
25
14
72
96
96
110
14
11
27
17
16
32
121
96
159
L'.SS
60
39
17
17
45
32
137
109
8
26
161
113
30
10
34
63
Pub. Adminis'or. -]
H. Robinson . .
M.Tynan
13
33
40
103
16
16
27
13
25
21
22
22
29
17
28
13
14
56
25
12
69
98
89
114
9
17
27
16
16
32
121
95
171
228
60
39
17
17
44
33
138
107
8
26
165
109
29
11
34
62
Surveyor
J. M.Griffith..
T. C. Stowers. .
13
33
40
103
16
16
'26
14
25
21
22
22
29
16
28
13
6
66
25
14
72
97
90
115
14
11
27
17
16
32
122
95
169
230
60
40
17
17
46
30
136
109
8
26
165
107
30
10
34
63
r j
V. Stacy
13
40
16
33
25
22
29
25
7
25
71
89
14
30
16
118
157
32
18
44
135
8
163
30
34
C. Boarman . . .
33
103
16
6
21
22
18
16
66
14
96
115
11
11
32
93
243
66
16
33
110
26
109
10
62
Sup. Dist. No. 1. j
C. Ingalls
James Carroll . .
25
14
17 ...
25
14
25
45
12
36
110
98
203
190
40
56
18
1(5
COUNTING THE VOTES.
It is difficult to gather the facts in the matter of
the counting of the votes. There was much ill-
feeling about it, and many charges of fraud, and
much filing and counter-filing of protects. Judge
Badgely asked that the Supervisor votes for District
No. 1 be canvassed, which was r6fused. The two
candidates were James Carroll and C. Ingalls. The
custom had prevailed, whether lawful or not, of
holding elections in the camps in Arizona and Utah,
where the volunteers from Amador were stationed,
and returning their votes as from a precinct. Though
these soldiers were known to be of both parties, the
returns were generally all one way. It was alleged
by the Democrats that no fair election was held;
that the officers made out the returns to suit them
selves. The Democrats further urged that voting
in Arizona for officers in Amador, was carrying the
doctrine of constructive residence a little too far;
that it was unconstitutional. The Eepublican argu
ments in favor of counting their votes, were rather
necessity and expediency, than law. They showed
the absurdity of the Union men all going to the
war, and having no voice in the choice of officers,
and leaving the secessionists in the rear to rule; and
the votes were counted, though protests were filed
by D. Worley, John Eagon, A. C. Brown. Henry Lee,
James Carroll, E. M. Bradshaw, and John Surface.
There were also other irregularities. At Clinton,
D. B. Spagnoli acted both as Inspector and Clerk.
There was no appearance of fraud in the matter,
though the proceeding was evidently illegal. Here
was a chance for a contest. The vote was generally
six Eepublican, and 'sixty-four Democratic, making
a difference of fifty-eight votes. If the soldiers' vote
was rejected and Clinton accepted, most of the
Democrats would be elected, otherwise, most of the
Eepublicans. J. W. Armstrong, now a noted law
yer in Sacramento, then a young man, taking his
first flights in law and logic, contended for the
legality of the Clinton proceeding, and asserted the
principle, that the statute permitted what it did not
prohibit. The returns from Lower Eancheria hav-.
ing no certificate attached, were rejected.
END OF THE SECOND DECADE.
107
LIST OF OFFICERS ELECTED IN 1865.
State Senator G. W. Seaton.
Members of Assembly M. Frink, H. Lee.
Sheriff R. Cosner.
County Clerk J. C. Shipman.
Recorder A. C. Hinkson.
Treasurer Otto AValther:
County Surveyor T. C. Stowers.
District Attorney R. M. Briggs.
Superintendent of Schools S. G. Briggs.
Coroner J. Boarman.
Public Administrator M. Tynan.
Supervisor District No. 1 C. Ingalls.
TOWNSHIP ELECTIONS.
No. 1 John Burke, Collector; E. Turner, Thomas
Jones, Justices of the Peace.
No. 2 J. W. Surface, Collector; Wm. H. Scudder,
Win. Shelley, Justices of the Peace.
No. 3 R. M. Bradshaw, Collector; H. T. Barnum,
George S. Fake, Justices of the Peace.
No. 4 Thomas Dunlap, Collector; C. K. Johnson,
P. Cook, Justices of the Peace.
No. 5. D. Worley, Collector; R. C. Brown, G.
Devore, Justices of the Peace.
No. 6 A. P. Wood, Collector; W. W. Swadley,
H. D. Ford, Justices of the Peace.
DEATH OF G. W. SEATON AND ELECTION OF HIS
SUCCESSOR.
This was caused by the explosion of the steamer
To Semite, October 12, 1865, between Sacramento
and San Francisco, W. A. Rogers, of Jackson, being
killed at the same time. A more particular account
of his life will be given in the account of the Amador
Bar. This accident necessitated the calling of another
election, which was fixed on the 2d of December.
A. H. Rose was nominated by the Democrats and O.
N. Morse by the Republicans.
Quartz again, as was said, influenced the election.
Rose had money to loan where it would do him good.
The M. E. Church Society at lone borrowed some
$1,500. It was not charged that this purchased any
votes, but having shown a disposition to accommo
date the church, he was a good man and ought to be
supported. He also obtained quite a support from
the recently ejected settlers in lone, inducing them
to think that Congress could be persuaded to remun
erate them by a memorial which he promised, to get
through the Legislature. His part of the contract
he fulfilled; the memorial, containing a concise, well-
written history of the Arroyo Seco grant, being trans
mitted to Congress with the official seal of the State
on it. These things are not related to cast reflec
tions on Mr. Rose's method of conducting the canvass,
but to show, as a soldier would, how battles are lost
and won.
The returns showed the following result: A. H.
Rose, 1,342; 0. H. Morse, 1,099.
H. Lee, the member from Alpine county, was killed
some months after by being thrown from a buggy.
Miner Frink's seat was contested by A. C. Brown,
who received but two or three votes less in the elec
tion than Frink. Brown proved that two or three
illegal votes were cast for Frink, and obtained the
seat.
Frink afterward got a position in the office of
Internal Revenue, but a year or two later, was
found dead in his bed at the hotel, in San Francisco.
FINANCIAL MATTERS.
The tax levy for 1865 was
For State purposes on each $100 $1 15
General Fund " " 1 00
Amador Wagon Road " " 40
Hospital Fund " " 25
School Fund " " 30
Redemption Road Fund " " 10 $3.20
In February, the outstanding warrants were
reported as being
On General Fund $74,308.18
Hospital Fund 11,619.71
Wagon Road Fund 9,918.55
Redemption Fund. 185.27-$96.031.7l
This did not include interest which was then accu
mulating at the rate of about ten thousand dollars
per year, which would have carried the debt up to
about one hundred and thirty thousand dollars.
This season the famous warrant, No. 103, was
liquidated, the balance due being $7,556.16.
REPORT OF AN EXPERT, 1865.
E. G. Hunt was appointed to examine the state
of the finances, and reported receipts from all
sources, from March, 1864, to December, 1865, as
follows:
Credited to General Fund $61,907.48
" State '.' 58,751.63
School " 17,643.39
" Hospital " 10,905.04
Road " 3,328.28
" Sierra W. R 13,906.57 $166,442.39
Taxes assessed in 1864 amounted to $75,753.20;
delinquent, $15,072.26; making a net of $60,680.94.
CHAPTER XXII.
END OF THE SECOND DECADE.
Politics in 1866 Financial Matters Rabolt Declared Ineligible
to the Office of Treasurer, and Otto Walther Appointed-
Political Parties in 1867 New Registry Law Election
Returns Showing the New Precincts Judiciary Election
Financial Matters Financial Matters in 1868 Contest for
Supervisor in the First District Ingalls Declared Unseated
Carroll Installed Act of the Legislature in Reference
Thereto Wealth and Population Political Parties in 1868,
Election Returns by Precincts Politics in 1869 Election
Returns by Precincts.
THE year 1866 opened with little attention to
politics. No elections occurring this season, the
strife was over the far away subjects of reconstruc
tion, taxing bonds, and negro suffrage, which did
not immediately concern the people.
June 2d, the Treasurer reported outstanding war
rants as follows:
108
HISTORY OF AMADOR COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
On General Fund 183,343.93
Hospital Fund 13,342.40
Road Fund 3,569.31
To this must be added the bonds of the
Sierra Nevada Wagon Road, amount
ing to 6,000.00 $106.255.64
This does not include interest, which, since 1863,
has been steadily accumulating, at the rare of ten
thousand dollars yearly.
December 1st, the outstanding warrants were
reported as
On General Fund $92,229.30
Wagon Road Fund 4,860.86
Hospital Fund 14,698.001111,788.16
No mention made of interest.
The assessment roll was reported at $1,874,817.75;
taxes on same, $58,685.70.
L. Rabolt, who had been elected Treasurer the
previous season, was declared ineligible to the posi
tion, on the ground that he was not a citizen; and
the office being vacant, Otto Walther was appointed
to fill it.
POLITICAL PARTIES IN 1867.
The election of State and county officers, as well
as members of Congress, caused the politicians to
set their standards early in the field.
H. H. Haight was nominated for Governor by
the Democrats, and George C. Gorham, by the
Republicans. Higby and Coffroth, both representa
tive men from the mines, were put forth by the
Republicans and Democrats respectively, for Con
gress. The failure to impeach Andrew Johnson,
which project was a Republican measure, had given
the Democrats courage everywhere in the county,
State, and nation. The Democrats had, to some
extent, adopted his financial views about the pay
ment, or rather, non-payment of the national debt;
and the traveling orators, including Farley and Cof
froth, roundly asserted, not only the right, but the
expediency of taxing national bonds, while Edger-
ton, and other Republican speakers, as roundly
denied it, and referred to numerous decisions of the
Supreme Court, establishing the non-taxability of
national securities. The bitterness of war times
was evidently passing away. The discussion of
financial questions involved figures rather than feel
ings; and not every one was capable of entering
into the spirit of large numbers. Bloated bond
holders and prospective negro suffrage, all could
understand, and a general interest, rather than the
intense bitterness of former years, marked the cam
paign.
The following table will show the relative strength
of the parties, and the names of the new polling
places under the registration law, which, though
somewhat difficult to put into operation, worked to
the general satisfaction of the public. Under the
old form of election, any out-of-the-way place could
get up a precinct. A poll list was kept, it is true,
but so loosely, that a man might vote in several
places, or several times a day, without detection.
Unnaturalized foreigners were voted in some places,
by the dozens. Men were chosen for judges and
inspectors, who could hardly read; and it was pos
sible to make up a general result only by condoning
a multitude of mistakes and irregularities.
ELECTION RETURNS-1867.
OFFICES. NAMES.
Jackson
Volcano
lone
Forest Home.
Drytown
Kiddletown . .
i
p
Sutler
g
E
1 H H Ha trht (D )
40:1
147 280
18
6t>
161
4f.
214
13. ; )8
Governor < p, ' n ,-, fe _i ' /;,' \
( woo. o. Urornam, \K..^
286
124 237
9'J
89
4'J
220
1076
Lieut. Governor . . -1 j f u 1 .', p jones / ")' '
401
25S
144 287
137 245
17
73
96
1(14
106
44
46
215
_>:KI
1345
1147
f, ( J. W. Coffroth, (D.). .
897
143 2S6
17
78
KM
44
224
1347
Longressmen -^ \Vm. Higby, (R.)
260
135 248
SO
90
105
46
226
1151
(\. B. Gregory, (D.). .
408
154 286
17
59
169
6!
_'14
1336
Assemblymen | chas D SmiTh (11)'
405
268
154 286
131 248
17
42
M
118
104
1(1(1
47
41
228
228
1361
1166
^William Pearson, (R.j
24*
132 245
36
loo
98
42
213
1114
. ._ I Geo. Durham, (D.). .
897
259
143 282
141 253
20
ta
71
98
168
110
53
37
199
246
1323
1178
' ( Samuel Smith, (R.). .
County Clerk { A ; Jg <2&;
ill
246
142 28li
135 24(i
17
35
85
82
163
111
40
BO
237
208
1330
1111
Recorder .. \ : ^ ^1^ ' ^ \
390
267
125 236
155 296
IB
B6
61
102
188
129
40
fiO
220
228
1228
1263
( Ph. Seibenthaler, (R.)
) James Mcehan, (D.). .
Treasurer 1 Henry Ginnochio, (R.)
866
287
154 294
137 246
i;
86
74
94
169
99
f.l
41
2 IS
227
1341
1146
i H. L. Waldo, (D.)....
District Attorney. - R M B r:ggs, (R.). . . .
398
262
145 288
137 246
20
81
75
114
L66
108
46
47
219
VS.4
135-2
1143
q,._ ( A. Specr, (D.)
402
145 283
17
75
168
44
2i;
1348
Surve > or '(Sam Loree , (R. )
260
134 248
86
96
107
46
228
114S
Coroner i Chas ' Boarllian - ( D -)
409
145 283
17
76
168
35
216
1342
246
138 249
35
97
1* )"
4*>
230
1148
Public Administ'r -j Q/L Br-njiv (R )
867
282
144 291
134 215
17
86
75
96
1(14
106
45
47
16!
280
1256
1229
( S. G. Briggs,'(D.) ..
bupt. Schools ] j D Ma s n| fej
403 134 291
253'l47 241
17
86
71
SMi
168
106
45
49
-'17
1333
1155
The entire Democratic ticket was elected with the
exception of Seibenthaler, for County Clerk, who
was chosen by a small majority. It was currently
reported, and believed by many, that Otto Walther,
who became acting County Clerk, owed his election
to a commercial transaction rather than to political
preferences. If it was so, it was so quietly done that
no member of a Grand Jury ever got an inkling of it.
The Collectors and Assessors for 1867 were
Township No. 1 N. M. Bowman.
Township No, 2 J. W. Surface.
Township No. 3 J. Foster.
Township No. 4 Thomas Dunlap.
Township No. 5 J. T. Maffitt.
Township No. 6 F. L. Sullivan.
At the judiciary election, J. Foot Turner, Repub
lican, was re-elected over J. T. Phelps, Democrat, by a
large majority. This apparent change in the polit
ical cast of the vote was explained by the fact that
Judge Turner never was an active politician, and
was supported by persons of both parties.
FINANCIAL MATTERS IN 1867.
January, 1867, the reported outstanding warrants,
over and above the funds on hand to meet them,
was
On General Fund $94,761 74
Hospital Fund 13,691 53 $108,453 27
The Wagon Road Fund was $122.19 in excess of
liability. This did not take into account the fifth
bond which matured during the year, as the next
report mentions it with the accrued interest, amount
ing to 85,510. In this estimate no mention is made
of the interest which is steadily increasing.
RESIDENCE**' RANCH. * CAPT.M. J . LITTLE, JACKSON/MADOR COUNTY, CAL.
RESiOENCE > R.C. DOWNS,
SUTTER OR EEK.AMAOOR COUNTY, CAL.
OF THE
END OF THE SECOND DECADE.
109
TAX RATE FOR 1867.
For State Fund, on each $100 $1 13
General Fund " " 1 00
Wagon Road Fund " 30
Hospital Fund " 25
School Fund " 35
In March the total indebtedness, exclusive of inter
est, was reported at $84,110.01. How it was reduced
$24.000 since January does not appear.
March 12, 1867, John Burke, Collector of Town
ship No. 1, was declared defaulter to the amount of
nine hundred and eighty-three dollars, by A. C.
Hinkson, County Auditor, for which act, as well as
other improper transactions, he was removed, and J.
M. Griffith appointed in his place. Among other things,
Burke was charged with making out receipts with
pencil, and collecting money thereon, and afterwards
procuring the receipts again for a trifle, erasing the
name and amount, and using them again, or return
ing them to the Board of Supervisors as unused.
FINANCIAL MATTERS IN 1868.
Rate of taxes for State purposes on each $100 $1.00
General Fund, " " 60
Hospital Fund, " " 25
School Fund, " " 35 $2.20
March 3d, the outstanding warrants were
General Fund $87,074.97
HospitalFund. 11.403.20 $98,478.17
Exclusive of interest!!
The Supervisors making this report were C. In-
galls, L. McLaine and D. M. Goif. James Carroll
was afterward declared by Judge Brockway entitled
to the seat occupied by C. Ingalls for nearly three
years. Many rumors were in circulation of a bar
gain between Carroll and Ingalls, that the latter
should allow himself to be ousted that the former
might draw a salary for the whole term; at any rate,
Carroll presented a bill for $1,665.50, salary for the
full term, which was allowed by the Supervisors, but
payment was stopped by means of an injunction
served on the Treasurer by District Attorney Waldo.
In 1872 the Legislature ordered the Supervisors of
Amador county to draw a warrant for $1,050 as back
salary, II. Waldo, John Eagon, and J. T. Farley
being members for Amador county. Since the allow
ance was made by the Supervisors, lines in ink have
been drawn through the minutes as if for erasure.
Carroll took his seat July 6th; the allowance was
made August 3d, following.
THE WEALTH AND POPULATION
According to reports were as follows: Real estate,
$962,284; improvements, $247,549; personal property,
$527,625; total, $1,737,458. Population, 11,400;
registered votes, 2,552.
POLITICAL PARTIES IN 1868.
There being no local officers to elect, this was the
off year in politics. The county officers, securely
fixed in their seats for a year, rested serenely on their
comfortable salaries. Some of the politicians and
orators, scenting places in the Custom House or office
of internal revenue, put on their armor, loaded their
mental guns with the heaviest shot, and plunged into
the thickest of the fight, making a great smoke and
noise whether they hit anybody or not.
The State had been divided into Congressional
Districts so that but a single Congressman was to be
voted for. Coffroth and Sargent, Democratic and
Republican candidates respectively, stumped the dis
tricts, taking Amador county in their course. The
questions of payment of the national debt, the taxa
tion of the bonds, and the reconstruction of the
Southern States, again came before the people.
Grant, the Republican nominee for President, was
reviewed, and, as was to be expected, was bitterly
assailed and as warmly defended. The danger of
electing soldiers to office was held up to view. Many
professed to believe that he would, with the aid of
the army, make himself Emperor; that in case he
was elected he would be the last President the United
States would ever have; that in a short time we
should have an order of hereditary nobility estab
lished. Others professed to think Grantonly a lucky
fool, who would be the tool of designing politicians;
that he was not much of a General anyhow; that
Sherman, Thomas, Sheridan, Logan and others
whipped the Rebellion. On the other hand Seymour
was represented as heartless, treacherous and un
worthy. The microscope was turned on him and
every possible mistake of his life magnified into a
monstrous crime. His treatment of the New York
rioters at the time of the draft was made construc
tive treason. "He ought to have turned loose the
dogs of war on the rioters; ought never to have
addressed them calling them his friends." Illustrated
editions of the New York riots in which brutal Irish
men were slaying defenseless negro orphan children
were everywhere circulated; in short, the old, old
stories, told every year from the time of Jefferson
down, were brought out, colored and re-shaped to
suit the times and persons, so that they were almost
as good as new. Strangers to our country and its
style of conducting a campaign, whether national or
local, would imagine that we were on the eve of
ELECTION RETURNS BY PRECINCTS IN 1868.
PRECINCTS.
SEYMOUR .
GRANT . . .
COFFROTH-
SARGENT .
Jackson .-- -
H20
236
320
223
lone City
142
127
142
157
Lancha Planu
42
49
42
49
Clinton -
70
23
72
21
Volcano .
246
222
247
221
Fiddletown . .
91
81
92
81
Enterprise - - -
54
28
54
28
Sutter Creek . - - .
138
188
133
188
Amador - -
42
48
41
48
Drytown
62
64
62
64
Forest Home -
16
42
16
42
Total -
1223
1098
1221
1112
Democratic majoritv
125
110
110
HISTORY OF AMADOR COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
anarchy, a general breaking up of all order and indus
tries; but the elections pass away, the people, satisfied
with masquerading, return to their avocations and
prosperity continues.
POLITICAL PARTIES IN 1869.
A full set of county officers to be elected, set things
to going early. The interest was the most intense
in the Democratic party as being the most likely to
win, though much of the work was given to obtaining
the nominations.
The railroad question began to be agitated this year,
the question of regulating fares and freights having
become an element in politics. To what extent, if
any, candidates were supplied with the material for
making a successful campaign, by pledging them
selves, will always be a matter of mystery. The
Democrats, as usual, elected their whole ticket. It
will be observed that the township system was
discontinued, a County Assessor and Collector being
chosen.
ELECTION OP JUSTICES OF THE PEACE, 1869.
Township No. 1 E. Turner, J. S. Campbell.
Township No. 2 Charles Walker, William Shelby.
Township No. 3 Louis Miller, Louis Ludiken.
Township No. 4 C. K. Johnson, U. Nurse.
Township No. 5 M. B. Church, C. D. Smith.
Township No. 6 E. R. Yates, F. Shearer.
ELECTION RETURNS- 1869.
NAME.
Jackson
Clinton
;
o
O
v?
r
g
"r:
9
^
Vol/ano
Sutter Creek .
Amador
Drytown
Forest Home.
Fiddletown . .
-.
9
o
|
H
o
STATE SENATOR.
J. T. Farley, (D.)-
::M
ir;4
293
J01
196
178
:U7
us
808
170
889
14!)
887
188
876
tat
:',-2'.',
\M
:>::
179
78
10
77
72
26
20
73
23
82
14
74
a
69
26
n
'21
!s2
14
77
M
126
104
122
m
105
li 4
110
89
l.'il
or
ISS
01
120
00
177
40
12.-,
I Of,
12.-,
Ulf,
89
25
39
86
29
2fc
48
IS
37
M
40
26
U
20
55
11
80
27
88
ts
2t5
171
203
218
189
182
10!)
-01
217
1*4
21 Hi
177
;>:;<.
100
224
178
228
L78
2f,S
142
[94
142
166
188
168
147
228
in
176
ICO
107
1:12
170
in
198
14.'.
100
14:,
181
156
10
86
43
46
88
88
M
86
41
12
51
31
45
:is
47
:;7
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87
45
:i:i
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M
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44
74
JS
50
is
11
86
40
48
86
60
81
47
4S
50
47
BO
B
27
T
7
80
80
10
27
(1
81
a
29
7
8Q
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if
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80
80
98
.-,!*
7. r ,
SI
M
68
S7
68
69
75
90
66
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so
56
88
66
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86
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27
21
4ft
21
20
37
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21
40
2f>
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21
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21
45
21
1209
815
1082
1151
946
854
1278
749
1107
925
1221
780
1156
862
1240
795
1222
814
1214
824
M. W. Goruon, (R.)
ASSEMBLYMEN.
A. C. Brown, (D.)
J. M. Johnson, (D.)
Wm. Jennings.
Foltrer
SHERIFF.
Geo. Durham. (U.)
Foster. (R )
COUNTY CLERK.
D. B. Spagroli, (D.). .
B. F. Richtmyer, (R.)
TREASURER.
James Meehan, (D.)
F. McBride. (R.)
DISTRICT ATTORNEY.
H. L. Waldo, (D..)
E. G. Hunt, (R.)
COUNTY ASSESSOR.
James Surface, (D.)
Getche)l,(R.(. ..
rUBLIC ADMINISTRATOR.
A. Yoak
W. T. Wildman.
SUPERINTENDENT SpIIOOLS.
S. G. Britrgs
E. B. Mclntyrc.
CHAPTER XXIII.
CONDITION OF THE COUNTY AT THE BEGINNING
OF THE THIRD DECADE-- 1870.
Condition of the County at the Beginning of the Third Decade
Statistics of the Wealth and Indebtedness Politics in 1870
Financial Condition Redemption Fund Condition of
Other Counties The Miners' League Death of McMenemy
and Hatch Political Parties in 1872 Election Returns by
Precincts, 1871 Persons Elected in 1871 Financial Mat
ters 1872 Political Parties in 1872 Election Returns for
1872 Comparison of Vote with Previous Years Financial
Matters, 1873 Political Parties in 1873 John Eagon's Posi
tion Judge Gordon's Stand J. T. Farley's Position Elec
tion Returns by Precincts Officers Elected in 1873 Alpine
county Left out in the Election Financial Matters in 1874
The Funding Project Political Parties in 1874 Financial
Matters in 1875 Robbery of the Treasury May 9, 1S75
Conclusion of Butterfield Matter in 1877 Political Matters
in 1875 Officers elected in 1875.
ACCORDING to the reports of the Assessor the value
of all property, personal and real, was $2,241,070.
The county debt had been estimated as being less
than $100,000, but as was written in the previous
chapters of the history, it was constantly increasing,
the sums paid not being equal to the interest, and con
sequently no portion was applied to the payment of
the principal. At the beginning of this decade the
debt was nearly, if not quite, $200,000. It seems to
be the fate of political organizations, as well as of
individuals, to go into extravagant and wasteful
expenditure in prosperous times, and pay up when
times are hard. At the beginning of 1860 we found
placer mining remunerative to a high degree; quartz
mining established on a paying basis and agriculture
and horticulture profitably employing a great num
ber of men. The farms on the Mokelumne river, in
Jackson, lone and Dry Creek valleys, as well as on
the heads of the latter creeks, with their waving
fields of grain, orchards, and vineyards, were all that
could be desired.
Many causes combined to arrest this tide of pros
perity. The Frazer river excitement drew away a
great many miners. Still later the discovery of the
Washoe mines caused another outflow of hundreds
of able, industrious men. The copper excitement
took a great many away from moderately profitable
work; and, when copper failed in the subsequent
years to prove remunerative, at least five hundred
men were set adrift, most of whom left the county
in search of some more promising place. During
the years of 1861-64, the price of cattle of all
kinds went down with a panic, so that many, who
considered themselves well fixed, became poor men.
The wine business, which promised so much, had
proved an utter failure, every attempt to market the
wine in the East resulting in loss; so that many per
sons were induced to tear up their vineyards and
give up the business. The orchards, which pro
duced a great quantity of the finest fruit, were also
poor property; for the emigration of many of the
miners left no market for such products. The quartz
mining alone saved the county from comparative
poverty. The mines along the mother lodes, as well
as in the eastern part of the county, on the Volcano
AT THE BEGINNING O:
F THE THIRD DECADE. Ill
range gave employment to perhaps one thousand
Number of Sheep 23,914 3990
" Swine . 5,380
Mahoney and Hayward at Sutter Creek, and others at
Diytown, Amador, and Plymouth, took out sums
varying from ten thousand to sixty thousand dol
lars per month. Large quantities of wood and lum
ber were required, which furnished labor to as many
Bushels of Wheat raised 16,678 39,000
" Corn 36,370 19,000
Barley " 51,815 31,175
Potatoes " 9,988 9,200
" " Sweet " 1,060
Pounds of Wool.. _. 73,010
more men as were engaged in the mines.
Gals. Wine made 54,165
With all this there was little increase in the pop
Pounds of Butter 43,700
ulation and prospective wealth The vote which in
" Cheese 950
Gals. Milk sold. 1 600
1860 had closely reached four thousand, in ten years
Tons Hay raised 5.908 3000
was reduced to about two thousand, though there
Pounds of Hops 12,050
was no decrease in population in proportion to the
" Honey 2,520
vote, as the roving part was composed mostly of
Quartz Mills . 33 27
men without families
Tons of Eock crushed... . 61,736 70,360
The gradual improvement in financial standing,
through wise management, and a gradual and
healthy growth in all the business industries of the
country will appear as the third decade passes away.
A FEW STATISTICS
As to the comparative wealth and population will be
POLITICAL PARTIES IN 1870.
This was a year of quiet, as neither national, State,
or county officers were to be elected. The mutter-
ings of the storm, that was prevailing in the East,
were but little heeded in the off years. It took the
loaves and fishes of the county offices to arouse the
interesting:
PRECINCTS-
Population in 1870.
Population
in I860.*
ff
^
S>
ct-_
5'
<t>
1170
1094
840
1157
48(3
702
|
CD
CK)'
|
<rf-
CD
1
^O
"o
O
9
5
CD
B
CD
H
1
1344
2712
1545
1214
1559
1191
478
10930
g
H- '
y
Q
c"
i
P.
O
g
CD
CD
Jackson
2408
1779
1357
196(5
853
1219
1328
685
517
809
367
517
1988
1330
1218
1858
6iO
849
3
24
2
30
2
5
417
425
137
7^
211
3(35
1822
2098
15-7
1022
852
824
382
8527
17
21
5
IM
IS
6
J
81
505
539
113
179
689
361
95
2535
lone
Volcano
Sutter
Drytown
Oleta
Total
9582
5449
4223
7883
72'l627
In making these estimates the Government gave
the township the name of the largest town.
1870 1860
Assessed value of Eeal Estate 01,167,525
" <> Pers. Property 785,419
Total $1,952,944 $2,395,684
True value.. $4,428,490
State Taxes $19,944 $28,855.90
County Taxes $29,293
Total.
County Debt
Improved Land (in acres). .
Unimproved " '
Cash value of Farms
" ' Farm Impl'ts.. ..
" Orchard Products
Farm "
Market Gardens . .
Manufacturies. . ..
Animals for Food
Live Stock
Number of Horses
" Mules
" Milch Cows
" Working Oxen...
" Other Cattle. .
$48,237
$165,000
41,534
19,782
$486,400
4j,015
43,350
363,983
11,605
26,000
62,232
280,587
1,686
141
MSI
$4,823.50
38,483
1,749
2,497
68 v - - - 9,633
' There is a slight discrepancy in the census returns .
politicians to a full sense of the dangers impending
over our Constitution, our country or our race. No
livery teams were hired to carry the men, ambitious
to serve their country in easy, lucrative offices, around
to alarm the people. No twenty-dollar pieces were
left at the saloons to pay for beer doled out where it
would do the most good. In fact, everything was dis
tressingly dull, and the people were allowed to attend
quietly to their business.
FINANCIAL CONDITION OF THE COUNTY.
Nobody knew exactly how it stood. It is true
that quarterly returns were made by the Sheriff,
Auditor, Treasurer, and Supervisors, and occasion
ally the Grand Jury would have a spasm of economy
and make an inquiry into the financial condition; but
who among the Grand Jurors had time to look over
the stubs of the outstanding warrants, to see for
what purpose, or when they were drawn, or how
much interest had accumulated, or whether even the
interest had been paid! A few persons were con
scious of the painful uncertainty and to these the
county is indebted for the arrangements which not
only brought the accumulating debt to view, but pro
vided means for its gradual liquidation.
REDEMPTION FUND.
As early as February 7th the Supervisors, L. Mc-
Laine, Henry Peck, and D. M. Goff, took the matter
under consideration and recommended a plan which,
however, was said to have been first suggested by
James Meehan, the Treasurer, that sixty cents on
each one hundred dollars should be raised to be used
as a sinking fund for outstanding registered war
rants. Meehan went to Sacramento and personally
solicited the support of the members not interested
in the matter, his position as Treasurer enabling him
to explain the necessity of some such measure, to
prevent the county from becoming bankrupt. Messrs.
112
HISTORY OF AMADOR COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
Farley and Brown, Senator and Assemblyman
respectively, ably supported the Bill, and on the 12th
of March it became a law. It provided a sinking
fund of sixty cents on each one hundred dollars
which was sacred for this purpose; also that no war
rant should be drawn unless there was money to
meet it; a certificate of indebtedness, bearing no
interest, being given when occasion demanded.
Though the sum specially assessed was sufficient to
check the accumulation of interest, and also assisted
materially in bringing to light the different items, it
was not until December 3, 1872, that the full amount
of liabilities was known and reported, the debt having
been estimated at one hundred and sixty-five thou
sand dollars. To anticipate the result it was then
reported that the outstanding warrants
On General Fund with interest was.. .$157,126 02
On Hospital Fund, " "... 38,00783
On New Certificates not bearing interest 13,751) 23 $208,884 58.
CONDITION OF OTHER COUNTIES.
About this time, general attention was attracted
towards some of the older mining counties, which,
in former years, had contained much the largest
share of the population. At one time, El Dorado
county, now numbering less than ten thousand
inhabitants, had fifty thousand. Tuolumne, Cala-
veras, and some others, aleo showed a great reduc
tion. In Calaveras, the condition was much worse
than in Amador. The population reduced to less
than ten thousand; the assessment roll yearly
decreasing; the debt, principal and interest, con
stantly accumulating, so that five per cent, taxes
was hardly sufficient to meet current expenses; was
a condition calculated to depress and crush out all
industrial energy. It was known that stock-men,
who grazed their flocks in the mountains of Cala
veras, would hold them in other counties, where the
rates of taxation were lower, until the time for
assessing was past, before they would drive them
to their pastures. A tax rate as high as five per
cent, was considered as a mortgage for all the prop
erty was worth. Things were looking so serious
that the Legislature felt called upon to investigate
the matter before the question of State responsibility
for county indebtedness, should meet them in the
shape of a judgment.
In making these investigations, Amador was con
sidered one of the counties possibly requiring the
aid of the State. Happily, it has passed any such
probable contingency.
THE MINERS' LEAGUE.
Any history of Amador county which failed to
give an account of the Miners' League, would be
lamentably deficient. This Society organized as a
kind of mutual benefit association. It does not
appear that any unlawful measures were at first
contemplated; but organization gave the members
an idea of strength and influence. Merchants joined
the league, for fear of losing the trade of the miners;
politicians, to make a few votes; and the lawless and
desperate, to work against law and order in society.
In Sutter Creek, it numbered about three hundred
members, composed of Irish, Cornishmen, Austrians,
and Italians, and had a membership of perhaps as
many more in other parts of the county. They
built a large hall, costing several thousand dollars.
Luke Burns, who had had some experience in simi
lar associations in Virginia City, was President, and
L. J. Marks, Secretary.
The immediate cause of the outbreak was the
reduction of twenty-five cents a day on the wages
of the hands working on the surface, in the Consoli
dated Amador mine. After much discussion a gen
eral strike was agreed upon, also a determination to
enforce it everywhere, and not permit the working
of the mines unless at the proposed rates. The
schedule of wages demanded by the Miners' League
made very little advance over the existing rates,
but the right to make even a small advance im
plied a right to control the working of the mines,
and the mine owners refused to accept the rates.
Members of the league to the number of two hun
dred visited the different mines, and ordered the
stopping of the work. They carried no arms that
were in sight, though according to some reports they
supplied themselves with clubs from the wood-piles
of the mills. It is now contended by some that no
threats or force was used; that the miners went
rather as a committee of conference than as a menac
ing party. They would not permit any work to be
done, not even allowing an engine to be run to keep
the water out. John Eagon, since State Senator,
and James Meehan, as well as other prominent men,
were members of the league. The former person
accompanied the body of miners to the mills, as he
asserted, to prevent them from committing any
excesses, though others say, that having raised a
storm he could not control he was swept along in
the whirlwind. The mills at Amador, Sutter, and
Oneida were all stopped. It is true that some of
these mines, like the Keystone, Consolidated, Ama
dor, and others, were paying mines, and could have
paid higher wages and dividends also; but other
mines like the Oneida had never paid dividends, but
had always been worked at a loss. The wages paid
varied from two dollars and a half a day for top
hands, to four dollars for underground men. There
was no plea that the wages were insufficient to sup
port the families, or less than were paid in other
laborious occupations, but it was intended to raise
them to the Virginia and Gold Hill standard, where
the expenses of living were much higher. The daily
threats of destruction of life and property showed
the existence of so much ill-feeling that the Governor
was invoked for aid, and a body of volunteers,
under General Cazenau, came from San Francisco
and camped on the hill near the old Wolverine
shaft. They had several pieces of artillery, and
formed a regular military camp, sending out and
RESIDENCE' JUDGE GEORGE MOORE
JACKSON, AMADOR COUNTY. GAL.
RESIDENCE" HO N.JAMES T.FARLEY.
JACKSON. AMADOR COUNTY, CAL.
AT THE BEGINNING OF THE THIRD DECADE.
113
relieving guards every evening for the different
mines. Correspondents from the cities accompanied
the troops, and reported the conditions every day.
Never, at any time in the history of the county,
was the apprehension of danger to life and property
so strong. The members of the league were men
who were accustomed to danger, for what does a
man care for life who risks it every day as a
miner does. And then the mass of the miners felt
amenable to no laws but their own. There is no
class of people who have so little intercourse with
the outside world, who have their own codes of
ethics and modes of thought, as the professional
miners. The threats of life and property, extended
to other parts of the county. It seemed that the
officers of justice were paralyzed. The newspapers
of the county said little about it, as if fearful that a
word might bring destruction upon them.
The result was a general prostration of business.
The towns around the quartz mines had been the
principal market for produce for some years, and
when a thousand or more men were thrown out of
employment and the money which was usually paid
as wages ceased to circulate, the depression in
business was universal, producing in some instances
actual distress.
The soldiers remained in the county for several
weeks, and prevented any destruction of pioperty.
Some kind of concession was made which termi
nated the siege, and the soldiers left, although the
ill-feeling engendered by the operation remained for
some time. The damage to the county by this affair
can hardly be estimated. The mines of gold and
copper, as well as other minerals, require the aid of
capital to be made profitable. Capital must be pro
tected, or it silently shuts itself up. In subsequent
years, the memory of the Amador war diverted
many thousands of dollars from investment in the
county.
DEATH OP M'MENEMY AND HATCH.
Several altercations grew out of the matter, one
resulting in the death of two men and the wounding
of a third. The following from the Dispatch of July
29, 1871, gives the only account of the matter to be
found:
" The wounds received by Hatch and McMenemy
have both proved fatal. Both of the wounded men
were attended by the best of medical aid, but human
effort proved of no avail. McMenemy lingered
until half-past twelve p. M., on Wednesday, when he
died; Mr. Hatch, till halt-past four the. same after
noon, when he breathed his last. He was conscious
to the last, but unable to speak for some hours before
his death.
" AVe will not attempt to give any of the particu
lars of this truly melancholy affair, as there are so
many conflicting statements and rumors afloat that
it is almost impossible to arrive at the truth of the
matter. The immediate cause of the shooting, how
ever, grew out of an attack made on Mr. Hatch the
Friday night previous, at a concert given in Sutter
Creek. The result has created much feeling and
15
excitement in our county,
can now tell."
Where it will end no one
Hatch was the confidential clerk of the Amador
Consolidated Co. Bennet was his friend, who took
up the quarrel that was forced on Hatch. He was
obliged to leave the county. Hatch left a young
wife to mourn her loss.
Wriggles worth, an engineer, who persisted in
running an engine for pumping, after notice to quit,
was set upon in the streets, and escaped through the
kindness of a woman in the Exchange Hotel, who
hid him away while the crowd was searching for
him. He also had to leave the county.
The reign of terror gradually passed away, though
the influence of the Miners' League was felt in polit
ical matters sometime after.
POLITICAL PARTIES IN 1871.
A full set of county and State officers was to be
elected and, consequently, the politicians began early
to take advantageous positions and set their forces in
the field. There were no great national issues to
arouse public interest, but a combination, or perhaps
a bidding for the vote of the Miners' League, hereto
fore mentioned, gave a great deal of interest to the
campaign. John Eagon, a member of the League,
was supposed to control three hundred votes, which
number would ensure the election of any one nomin
ated by either party. Few of the better citizens of
either party would countenance the proceedings of
the League, but as one old politician said, three
ELECTION RETURNS -1871.
CANDIDATES.
Jackson
Clinton
o
=
c
Q
^
Lancha Ptana.
1 Volcano
1 Sutter Creek .
Amador
f ~T.
c"
B
Forest Home.
1 Fiddletown . .
I Enterprise. ..
GOVERNOR.
H H Haight (D )
208
209
270
208
273
204
314
23,'
104
IhO
14
:;i!>
107
277
195
300
Kin
27,x
185
290
ISO
2!)0
1S4
285
IS!)
319
1 55
2*2
188
105
24
105
24
10!i
23
83
107
23
45
104
25
117
11
59
ae
75
52
in;)
2(1
101
23
1(14
25
lot;
a
105
23
103
137
10f>
135
10:i
14(1
107
lul)
133
115
13
117
123
97
142
55
180
96
140
150
89
102
13!)
104
130
11)4
130
106
134
30
51
31
50
30
51
22
24
53
02
30
4!)
25
56
29
51
18
02
25
54
27
52
25
50
27
54
33
4S
187
180
185
187
IV.
180
100
187
182
15S
4
18!)
184
188
187
10! I
203
100
1!)2
234
137
291
83
188
187
189
180
18S
180
11(5
238
158
210
148
211
97
100
17!)
211
52
101
204
132
234
12'i
218
0?
257
10S
252
151
215
128
211
124
238
147
218
0(i
68
76
58
75
58
59
70
00
00
4
47
87
51
80
67
5!)
OS
65
58
75
78
54
76
55
70
57
75
59
30
70
40
00
3S
0!)
30
38
08
01)
1
32
70
18
88
36
07
35
07
47
58
38
68
40
00
36
68
41
65
14
36
15
35
14
M
15
14
35
29
14
30
j
12
38
14
34
17
33
11
39
15
35
10
39
16
33
92
82
94
81
93
SO
02
83
85
7'J
3
78
93
63
108
83
80
70
92
11!)
54
79
90
SB
87
86
85
85
87
46
31
47
30
46
31
45
40
31
24
46
31
32
45
48
28
45
28
50
26
38
3!)
40
31
45
3-2
46
31
Newton Booth (R.)
LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR.
E. J. Lewis (D.)
R. Pacheco (R. )
CONGRESSMAN.
Coffroth (D ) . ...
Sargent ( R )
ASSEMBLY MEN.
Waldo (D.)
Swift (Ind.)
SHERIFF.
H. Kelly(R.)
COUNTY CLERK.
Spagnoli (D.)
Rithtmyer (R.)
TREASURER.
Meehan (D.)
Button (R.)
DISTRICT ATTORNEY.
Turner (D ) ....
Briga-s (R.)
ASSESSOR.
Surface
Mullen
SUPERINTENDENT SCHOOLS.
Brings
Kerr
SURVEYOR.
McKimm
PUBLIC ADMINISTRATOR.
Yoak
Winnegar
CORONER
Sharp :
HISTORY OF AMADOR COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
hundred votes were hard to pick up, so the three
hundred were treated with distinguished considera
tion. What diplomatic feats were performed; what
promises made and broken none will tell. The elec
tion returns form the best history of the transaction.
OFFICERS ELECTED IN 1871.
District Judge A. C. Adams.
County Judge T. M. Pawling.
Assemblymen H. A. Waldo, J. A. Eagon.
District Attorney R. M. Briggs.
County Clerk B. F. Richtmyer.
Sheriff H. B. Kelley.
Treasurer 0. Button.
Surveyor D. D. Reaves.
Assessor J. W. Surface.
Superintendent of Schools S. G. Briggs.
Coroner Charles Boarman.
Public Administrator A. Yoak.
JUSTICES OF THE PEACE.
Township No. 1 J. C. Shipman, Hugh Robinson.
" " 2 L. Brusie, L. M. Earle.
" 3 S. F. Mullen, L. Ludekin.
4 P. Cook, J. S. Hill.
" " 5 M. B. Church, D. Worley.
" " 6 E. R. Yates, James Gregg.
FINANCIAL MATTERS IN 1872.
This may be distinguished as the year of waking
up, when every cranny and pigeon hole was ran
sacked to find the amount of the county debt. In
February the Treasurer estimated the debt as 8179,-
265.47. On the sixth day of June the report indicated
outstanding warrants on
General Fund with interest $153,551.00
Hospital Fund " " 36,995.68
New Certificates l,97i), 64 $192,526.32
The following note is appended to the report:
"Upon a thorough examination of the registration
of outstanding warrants against the redemption and
hospital funds of the county, as the same appears on
the books of the County Treasurer, it appears that
the reports made of the indebtedness of the county
for the past years have been incorrect, the true
indebtedness being much greater than reported. The
presumption is, the error was committed by report
ing the interest paid as a reduction of the principal
to that amount, when in fact it did not reduce it at
all."
The last quarterly report, December 3, 1872, was,
outstanding warrants on
General Fund .$157,121.02
Hospital Fund 38,007.33
New General Fund 13,756.23 $208,884.58
The Assessor, J. W. Surface, catching some of the
economic spirit, doubled the assessment roll and aston
ished the people with the amount of wealth in the
county.
Assessment roll for 1872:
Real Estate $ 359,133
Improvements 269 105
Town Lots . v .. v . 90 ; 965
Improvements thereon 279 800
Mining Claims .'..!'..'. 1,2*4200
Improvements 150,350
Telegraph 800
Water Ditches 82,950
Personal Property 3,027,119 $5,556,442
Rate of taxation, $2.35 on each $100.
Taxes assessed, including special school taxes, $77,531.17.
TAX RATES.
Sinking Fund 70c.
General Fund. . . .45c.
School Fund 30c.
Hospital Fuud...40c.
State Fund 50c. $2.35
Producing .$22,307.25
14,340.37
9,560.25
6,373.50
15,933.75 $74,888.62
Considering that the population of the county was
something less than ten thousand, government was
was quite a luxury, costing about $8.00 per capita.
POLITICAL PARTIES IN 1872.
This year furnishes an apt illustration of the often
repeated assertion that the desire for office was at
the foundation of the enthusiasm generally prevalent
during elections. There were no county offices to
fill, and it was difficult to kindle any interest in the
mass of voters. The Presidential election was a far
away matter in the chances to get a public appoint
ment, arid few took any interest on that account. Then
the nominations were singular. Grant, the Republi
can nominee for President, in former days, was con
sidered a Democrat, and Greeley, the Democratic
nominee never was a Democrat; on the contrary, he
had been during his whole life, fiercely aggressive on
them; had charged them with all kinds of sins, indi
vidually and collectively sins political, moral and
intellectual; but Greeley had quarreled with the
administration, and he was thought a suitable candi
date to make an inroad in the Republican ranks. A
great many, who were former admirers of Greeley,
were known to be disaffected, and, it was thought,
would leave the Republican party. The Democrats
had now conceded the payment of the national debt
and the validity of the Constitutional amendments,
so that there was really little difference of opinion,
on national questions, to keep the people apart. The
old Democrats reluctantly fell into the ranks with
ELECTION RETURNS FOR 1872.
PRECINCTS.
>-t
p
B
<n-
9
*^j
' Greeley (D.) .
hi
p
era
CD
S-\
^
o
03
S.
5'
00
f \
b
o
Jackson
178
17?
159
188
Clinton
65
?0
65
fl1
lone City
115
W
88
119
Lancha Plana . . .
35
38
?5
46
Volcano
165
155
135
188
Sutter Creek
155
80
135
13?
Amador
53
85
30
106
Dry town
47
fl6
43
31
Forest Home
34
1?,
1?
?4
Fiddletown
5?
45
11
89
Enterprise .
15
?5
1?
?6
Plymouth
55
?,?,
?9
46
Total...
964
772
744
1016
AT THE BEGINNING OF THE THIRD DECADE.
115
Greeley at the head of the column. It was a decided
case of self-sacrifice for the benefit of the country.
The younger Democrats suspended the rule and
voted as they pleased. As might have been expected
the vote was very light. Even the vote for Congress
man was far short of the usual numbers.
A comparison of the vote with that of 1868 will
be of interest as showing the want of interest in the
election:
1868. 1872.
Grant (E.) 1,109 Grant (E.) 946
Seymour (D.) . . .1.223 Greeley (D.) 772
Total 2,332 Total 1,718
Decrease in vote, 614.
CONGRESSIONAL VOTE.
1868. 1872.
Sargent (E.) .... 1,102 Page (E.) .744.
Coffroth (D.).--. 1,222 Coggins (D.)....'. .1,016
Total 1,760
Total. 2,324
Decrease in vote, 564.
Page's vote was two hundred and two less than
Grant's, and Greeley's vote two hundred and forty-
eight less than Coifroth's. It is evident that many
men of both parties failed to vote, and that personal
preference;?, with many Democrats as well asEcpub-
licans, were stronger than party ties; also, that
National questions were considered of less moment
than the election of the right kind of men for county
officers, as the whole vote fell short of the vote of
the previous year as follows:
County Clerk Spagnoli, 1,002; Eichtmyer, 1,194;
total, 2,196. Presidential vote, 18721,718. Differ
ence, 478.
Vote for County Clerk in 1873 Stevens, 1,087;
Eichtmyer, 1,017; total, 2,104. Difference, 386.
FINANCIAL MATTERS IN 1873.
From this time, there seems to have been an
earnest effort to pay off the debt, as well as to check
county expenditures. The effort to make the pros
pective value of the mines an item on the assessment
roll, failed. The mine owners succeeded in evading
it, sometimes by a technicality. In other instances,
the Supervisors abated part of the tax, to avoid a
doubtful and expensive lawsuit. The Keystone min
ing property was assessed in bulk, the taxes amount
ing to nine thousand dollars, which the company
refused to pay, whereupon, J. W. Surface, the col
lector, proceeded to sell the property. In the suit
which followed, the Court decided, that, though the
property was principally owned by one company,
it should have been described and assessed as three
separate properties; that, in consequence of this,
the collector be restrained from selling it.
The assessment roll was reduced, to $3,186,750,
and $18,176.90 taxes were reported as delinquent.
The total indebtedness July 31st, was reported at
Outstanding warrants on Gen. Fund. . $141,768.08
Hospital Fund. 34,044.36
Certificates not bearing interest 13,991.09 $189,803.53
October 3d, it was reported
Outstanding warrants on Gen. Fund. .$143,894.39
Hospital Fund . 34,736.46
Certificates not bearing interest 17,774.65
New Hospital Fund 1,032.85 $197,438.35
POLITICAL PARTIES IN 1873.
Early in the season, it was evident that a nomina
tion by the Democratic party was equivalent to an
election, and the strife was principally in the prima
ries. Nearly every town had a full set of candidates,
who undertook to effect a combination which should
have their own names on the slate. When the pri
maries were over, the successful operators went into
the Convention, each with his list of delegates, which
he could trade or bestow on any other candidate as
a consideration for votes given to himself. Some
sturdy, independent men, finding themselves valued,
labeled and consigned to certain parties, will rebel
and fret, but a skillful manipulator will manage to
conciliate them with the promise of a nomination
another year, or something equally delusive, and so,
year after year, a smart manager wriggles him
self into office; and the man who studies political
economy instead of men, who knows less of prima
ries and more of the science of government, is left
in the rear in the race. It may be said, however,
in defense of this kind of political economy, that the
best governments are the result of organizations
which harmonize conflicting elements into a force
working for the general good; that he who cannot
lead, and is unwilling to follow, must stand aside.
This season showed a change of positions of some
of the leaders. John Eagon, one of the old Demo
cratic war horses, who was wont to fall into the
front line when a charge was sounded, now ranged
himself with the Eepublicans. When he made his
intention known, he excused, or rather justified, him
self with the remark of a Eoman orator: " Tempora
mutantur, mutamur," which may be translated,
Times change, we change. In a rather lengthy address,
the sentiment, above quoted, was elaborated into
something like the following: "Fellow-citizens: I
honestly defended slavery, not that I believed it
advantageous to States or to the nation, but because
I found it recognized in the national compact as an
existing institution. I opposed the attempt to coerce
the States who refused to submit to the election of
of a President, and the establishment of an adminis
tration hostile to the institution of slavery, not
because I justified secession, but because I believed
that reunion could be safely left to time and oppor
tunity. The nation thought otherwise. Slavery
has been abolished by the court of last resort; the
Union has been re-established, though at a fearful
price. I do not believe in prolonging a useless,
strife. I am willing to accept the verdict, and abide
the judgment of the Court. I am willing to forget
the past, and join with any party to cultivate peace
and friendship between the two sections, and repair
the waste and desolations of the war."
116
HISTORY OF AMADOR COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
Judge Gordon also took the stump for the Repub
lican party. He had been longer a member of the
Democratic party, because an older man; had been
a Murat in the thickest of the fight, where his intel
lectual sword was sure to cleave a broad way
through opposing ranks. Though his judgment
might have caused him to submit to, and advocate?
the new order of political economy, his heart did
not respond to the new slogan. His speeches lacked
the usual fire and vim, and, in a few years after, he
concluded to give his old age to the party of his
youth.
James T. Farley, who had quietly taken the bit
ter pill of defeat during the years of the war, was
now in front. He had been prudent during the
years of bitter strife; had tried to soften the asper
ity and vindictiveness of both parties. He had
remained with the Democrats when sure defeat
awaited them. His uniform consistency won the
confidence of the community. He also accepted
the results of the war, and wished to cultivate peace
and amity.
In this campaign was the beginning of that con
tinuous wave of popularity which carried him into
the United States Senate.
The comparison of the vote with that of 1861,
when he received less than one-third of the votes,
must be to him a source of satisfaction.
ELECTION RETURNS-SEPTEMBER, 1873.
CANDIDATES.
Jackson
. Clinton
lone City
Lancha Flana
Volcano
1 Sutter Creek.
1 AmadorCity.
Drytown
Forest Home.
Fiddletown . .
Enterprise .
S
B
o
=
S 5
n
HARBOR COMMISSIONER.
John W. Boat, (D.)
889
17<i
:;2o
i<><;
241
2 is
210
171
170
188
88
261
174
2!)i
l.-i'.l
'2-24
197
MO
I.V.I
81
L98
107
120
201
211
<;i
41
n
81
62
60
68
40
48
55
t
11
96
M
88
9
44
<;_>
a
si
:}:>
67
id
n
17
111
104
141
77
ir.i
97
1-27
'67
14-2
u
Ud
BO
115
lid
li:0
124
160
78
L2s
LOO
M
LM
U8
109
31
2
40
24
89
28
37
28
80
n
t
43
28
M
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M
M
M
27
86
M
88
88
86
81
t(tt
toe
as
69
221
78
280
78
I8fl
ion
81
24]
M
189
LM
i<)<;
108
181
i-j<i
1:1:1
ioa
200
mi
17!)
128
171
u
ISO
148
207
17::
178
LSI
179
18
L46
ID!)
141
168
177
in
14(1
BOG
i::o
317
IS
183
LOO
I2Q
ill
08
86
111
87
117
94
69
86
10'.)
M
20
89
62
86
66
90
58
1 r:'.
42
103
41
M
66
91
M
42
88
60
40
67
M
69
89
48
47
8
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it
20
69
89
H
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-.',:
40
49
M
44
88
62
7
80
81
12
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14
80
27
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16
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42
15
80
22
22
a
81
42
15
80
68
80
78
46
97
48
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61
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96
27
89
86
111
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97
2?
Be
86
77
4-
80
41
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64
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02
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76
82
02
91
32
1195
663
1382
648
1334
939
1171
708
953
733
408
1257
812
1087
1017
1185
890
1286
787
1317
730
12C4
8P3
1141
924
Paul Ncuman, (R )
BEN TOR.
J. T. Farley, (D.)
John A. Eagon, (R.)
/SSBMBIAMKN.
W. H. Stowers,(0.)
J. M. Johnson, (D.)
L. Miller, (R.)
J. A. Tagjfard, (R.)
SHERIFF.
Peter Fasran, (D.)
J. Farnsworth, (R )
I. N. Randolph, (Ind.)
TREASURER.
J. A. Buttterfield, (D.)
S. O. Spa^noli,(R.)
CLERK.
J. B. Stevens, (D )
B. F. Richtmyer, (R.)
DISTRICT ATTORNEY.
T. J. Phelps, (D.) . .
M. W Gordon, (R.)
ASSESSOR.
J. W. Surface, (D.)
S. C. Wheeler. (R.) .'. .
SURVEYon.
W. L. McKimm, (D.)
H. C. Meek, (R )
SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENT.
S. O. firings, (D.)
H. L. Gould, (R.)
CORONER.
D. Mvers, (D.) ...
J. S.'Hil. (H.)
OFFICERS ELECTED IN 1873.
State Senator James T. Farley (D.)
Assemblymen W. H. Stowers (D.), Louis Mil
ler (E.)
District Attorney T. J. Phelps (D.)
County Clerk J. B. Stevens (D.)
Sheriff Peter Fagan (D.)
County Treasurer J. A. Butterfield (D.)
County Surveyor Wm. L. McKimm (D.)
Assessor J. W. Surface (D.)
Superintendent of Schools S. G. Briggs (D.)
Coronor and Public Administrator D. Myers (D.)
JUSTICES OF THE PEACE.
Township No. 1 J. C. Shipman, Hugh Robin
son.
Township No. 2 L. Brusie, L. M. Earl.
Township No. 3 L. McLaine, L. Ludekins.
Township No. 4 J. A. Brown, C. K. Johnson.
Township No. 5 M. B. Church, R. S. Hinkson.
Township No. 6. S. Cooledge, L. G. Lewis.
ALPINE COUNTY LEFT OUT IN THE ELECTION.
When Alpine county was organized, in 1864, it
was joined to Amador as a Legislative district,
which was allowed one Senator and two Assembly
men. It was a mutual understanding that Alpine
should have one Assemblyman, and Amador the
other, and the Senator. This arrangement was
observed for two Legislative terms, but in 1871 and
1873 the bargain was forgotten in the hurly burly of
election, and Amador got the whole delegation. It
happened, in this way, that Louis Miller, a Republi
can, was elected to the Assembly, though the party
to which he belonged was in the minority. In 1874
Alpine was joined to El Dorado for election purposes,
and had no further political connection with Ama
dor.
FINANCIAL MATTERS IN 1874.
January 31st the outgoing Treasurer, O. Button,
made the following report:
Cash in Treasury School Fund
General Fund
Outstanding Warrants on General
Fund with interest 134,694 39
Outstanding Warrants on Hospital
Fund with interest. 33, 185 34
Certificates on Current Expense Fund,
no interest . 6,622 31
110,338 19
13,964 36
735 00 $174,509 57
13,964 36
Certificates on New Hospital Fund. . . .
Cash to Apply
Total Indebtedness $160,504 21
Value of Taxable Property $2,738,970 00
Rate of Taxation 2 65
Amount of Taxes 72,532 70
Delinquent for 1873 7,169 74
ASSESSMENT ROLL FOR 1874.
Real Estate and Improvements . . .$1,724,140 00
Personal Property 830,415 00
Mines 503,780 03
Improvements on same 194,310 00
Ditches 61,080 00
Telegraphs 900 00 $3,314,625 00
CONVENTION TO CONSIDER THE FUNDING PROJECT.
The Grand Jury which met at the February term,
C. C. Belding, foreman, recommended a serious effort
to put the finances on a better basis; proposed a
general reduction of fche salaries of officers, and a
funding of the county indebtedness at a lower rate
of interest, and proposed a general mass-meeting on
KfeaLA. -,. *'"
BUNKER HILL MINE, MILL AND REDUCTION WORKS.
ISRAEL W. KNOX.PRES. NEAR AMADDR CITY, AMADOR C? CAL.
AT THE BEGINNING OF THE THIRD DECADE.
117
the 21st instant to consider the situation. The call
for a convention was responded to by only a few
individuals, who did not seem to have very clear
ideas of how refunding the whole debt and issuing
bonds bearing interest should lessen the taxes of the
county, when a considerable portion of the indebted
ness was not bearing interest. The movement was
scouted by some as a measure in the interest of the
bond-holders, and by others advocated as an eco
nomical measure. Nothing resulted from it.
POLITICAL MATTERS OP 1874.
As there were neither national, State, or county
elections during this year, the chapter on political
matters will be much like the one said to have been
written by Dean Smith on the snakes of Ireland,
which consisted of the single line, " There are no
snakes in Ireland." No momentous events occurred
to disturb the serenity of those who were comforta
bly seated at their desks in the Court House. The
newspapers kept up the usual rattle of squibs and
fire-crackers, and continued to take in the cash for
Sheriff's sales, patent medicines, and " new goods for
sale cheaper than ever at the old stand. "
FINANCIAL MATTERS, 1875.
March 1st. J. A. Butterfield, County Treasurer,
reported the outstanding warrants with interest
On Redemption Fund $105,436 46
Hospital " 21,13053
Certificates not bearing interest. . . 2,342 42 $128.909 46
The assessment roll for this year, was
Real Estate $077.188 00
Improvements 7(56,810 00
Peisonal Property 799,787 00
Money 25,158 00 $2,568,913 00
Taxes were assessed on each one hundred dollars
For State Fund 60c
General Redemption Fund 65c
Current Expense Fund 74c
Hospital Redemption Fund 20c
Hospital Current Expense Fund 16c
School Fund 20c
Road Fund 5c $2 60
ROBBERY OP THE COUNTY TREASURY.
This occurred on the night of the 9th of May,
1875. The following account is made up from the files
of the Dispatch of May 15, 1875:
Sometime in the night, the residence of the Treas
urer (Mr. Butterfield) was entered, and his pants
rifled of the key to the inner lock of the safe, the
outer one being a Bussey combination lock. The
robbers then went to the Court House, unlocked the
office door, opened the safe, and took out fifteen
thousand two hundred and forty-eight dollars, most
of which belonged to the School Fund, consisting of
fourteen thousand dollars in gold coin, one thousand
two hundred and eight dollars in silver coin, and
forty dollars in gold notes. The safe and room were
then re-locked, and the prize carried away. There
were two checks amounting to one thousand dollars,
and some four or five hundred dollars in gold notes,
which were not taken. When Mr. Butterfield awoke
in the morning, he was affected with dizziness and
a sickness of the stomach, and did not get up until
after his usual hour of rising, and did not miss the
loss of the pants until five o'clock.
When Mr. Butterfield discovered the loss of the
key, he suspected that a robbery had been com
mitted, and called upon several citizens to go to the
Court House with him to examine the safe. They
found the door of the office locked as usual; the safe
was also in its usual condition, the outer door being
locked, and apparently undisturbed. It yielded to
the usual combination, but the larger portion of the
money, amounting to fifteen thousand two hundred
and forty-eight dollars, was missing. Some spots of
candle-grease on the floor, were the only marks of
disorder perceptible.
A meeting of the Board of Supervisors was called
to consider the matter. A reward of three thou
sand dollars was offered for the recovery of the
treasure, and one thousand dollars for the conviction
of the robbers. Some professional detectives were
emplo} T ed to make a thorough investigation into all
the circumstances connected with the matter. They
decided that it was next to impossible for any one,
not acquainted with the combination, to open the
door without breaking the lock, or to shut it when
opened. On inquiry, it was found that the combi
nation was the one in use during the term of office of
his predecessor, Mr. Button; that several persons
besides the Treasurer knew the combination; James
B. Stevens, the County Clerk, had once opened the
safe during a temporary illness of the Treasurer, the
combination having been written on a slip of paper
for that purpose; that it was called off by another
person in the hearing of several others Mr. Stevens
turning the handle to correspond with the letters
called.
The detectives were of the opinion that no robbery
was committed on the night in question; that it had
been abstracted at a time, or at different times, pre
vious to the 9th and 10th of May, by parties who
were familiar with the combination. The wildest
rumors were immediately afloat concerning the loss
of the money. It was said that a syndicate of Court
House officers with some outside friends, had been
using the funds to speculate in stocks, which, at that
time, were making and breaking fortunes for hun
dreds of lucky or unlucky men. As ten thousand
dollars or more of the school funds were frequently
left in the safe for months, tlie use of it in a certain
venture would do the county no harm. The ab
straction of the money with the intention of return
ing it, was not stealing. All this and much more
was put forward as probable excuses for abstracting
the public funds. In fact, it was confidently stated
that a fortunate speculation was once made by a
former Treasurer in that same way.
The Treasurer had erected a costly residence soon
after coming into office. He was the Owner of a
118
HISTORY OF AMADOR COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
saw-mill and could erect several houses, if necessaiy,
without taxing the mill above its powers, but he had
to bear a share of the public rumors. The using of
the old combination, which was known to several
persons, was a matter which merited blame, and
suspicion must necessarily rest upon all who were
familiar with the combination and had access to
the safe.
Some of the efforts to find the money were ludi
crous enough to set the public on the grin. Dr.
Randall of lone, who is a firm believer in his power
to call spirits up, or down, from the ethereal deep,
and gather knowledge from their more than human
wisdom, announced his ability to find the missing
money, but the sibyls either knew nothing about it,
or set him to digging in the wrong places, for its
location is still a mystery to the public.
June 17, 1875. At a special meeting of the Board
of Supervisors, to consider the loss of the county
funds, it was ordered that proceedings be immedi
ately commenced against the Treasurer and bonds
men, for the missing funds.
It may be as well to anticipate the result, and
make a connected history of the affair. At the
close of Mr. Butterfield's term of office, two experts,
employed to investigate the accounts, reported as
follows:
*Cash on hand, March 2, 1874, on taking possession of
the office $ 19,058 56
Amounts received during two years as taxes on prop
erty 131,446 91
Poll-taxes 6,834 45
Licenses 6,31181
State apportionment 24,297 87
Fines in Justices Courts 374 07
Bonds forfeited 43 00
Sales of lumber 10 00
Sales of school lands 2,202 66
Total receipts for two years $190,592 83
DISBURSEMENTS.
Warrants redeemed $132,995 55
Paid State Treasurer 26,653 91
Treasurer's Mileage. : 154 00
Auditor's allowance 606 07
Cash on hand, March 6 7,039 90
Amount stolen ... : 15,248 00
Accounts otherwise short 4,894 76 $190,592 83
The deficit being 20,142 76
This was incorporated into the judgment, which
was obtained against the Treasurer and bondsmen,
which, with costs, amounted to twenty-two thou
sand two hundred and ninety-two dollars and forty-
six cents.
"In the District Court, Eleventh Judicial District for
the county of Amador.
"Amador county, plaintiff, vs. J. A. Butterfield; et.
al., defendants.
"It was held by the Court that the custodian of
the county funds was responsible to the county for
them in all cases, except by acts of God, or a public
enemy, in which cases there might be a doubt. As
these conditions were not included in the plea of
the defendants, they would not be considered. The
Court ordered judgment to be entered against
defendants for full amount of loss and costs, amount-
*These figures are copied from newspaper reports, and are evi
dently incorrect.
ing to twenty-two thousand two hundred and ninety-
two dollars and forty-six cents."
The following sureties were included in the judg
ment, for the sums set opposite their names:
F. H.Hoffman ...$ 4,000
Joseph Samuels. . 3,000
F. Rocco 1,000
A. Chicizola 1,000
James Meehan 14,000
E. Muldoon 5,000
E. C. Palmer 4,000
E. Genochio 2,000
F. M. Whitmore. 1,000
L. McLaine 4.000
L. Cassinelli 4,000
Hiram Beigle 5,000
Chas. Steckler... 2,000
John Miller 5,000
Thos. Carpenter.
James Adams
P. A. Clute
Joseph Cuneo..
R. F. Fry
A. Rossi
J. Coleman
John Yogan
J. W. Surface....
R. Ludgate
J. P. Surface
J. P. Martin
F. Hutner. .
8 1,000
2,000
5,000
2,000
2,000
1,000
5.000
3,000
3,000
3,000
3,000
10,000
5,000
CONCLUSION OF THE BUTTERFIELD MATTER, 1877.
At a meeting of the Board of Supervisors in the
early part of 1877, to take into consideration the
Butterfield judgment for twenty-two thousand seven
hundred and one dollars and thirty-one cents, it was
ordered that the proposition of the defendants'
attorne} T s, Farley and Porter, to pay the sum of six
thousand dollars, in three annual installments with
out interest, be accepted, the payments to commence
April 1, 1877. This compromise was considered best
because the sureties resisted the payment of the full
amount, and a long and costly suit being the alter
native. It was further said: " If we compel the
sureties to pay the deficit, no future Treasurer could
ever get bonds!"
Mr. Butterfield undertook to work the matter out
without loss to the bondsmen, and, though his
/ / o
health was much shattered by the unfortunate affair,
it is nearly settled. Public opinion, much against
him at first, has become nearly unanimous that he
was more sinned against than sinning; a victim
rather than a criminal. No clue has yet been
obtained to the missing money, though it is gener
ally thought to have gone into Flood and O'Brien's
bank, through stock speculations.
POLITICAL MATTERS IN 1875.
The uniform success of the Democratic party
during recent years, left the struggle principally for
the nominations. Personal popularity was the basis
for success in the Convention. Although the national
questions were discussed to some extent on the stump,
it was done rather in obedience to custom than for
any particular interest the people took in the matter.
Judge Carter, Democratic nominee for the Assem
bly, was noted for suavity and pleasing address, and
in his progress through the county, mostly let poli
tics alone and dealt in personal reminiscences.
Dunlap was a merchant in Sutter Creek, and though
not a speaker, had the confidence of the community.
Green well, his adversary in Sutter Creek, and Brown
of Jackson, though men of eloquence and ability,
failed to make any inroad on the solid Democratic
REVIEW FROM 1870 TO 1880.
119
vote. Brown was in charge of the Amador ditch,
and was expending much money in the county.
Peck and Aitken, candidates for County Clerk, were
both good men, who stood high in the community;
also in the societies to which they both belonged.
Vogan! who does not know his bland face, twinkling
with humor, which has carried sunshine along all the
stage-roads since '49? There were no personal
objections to the candidates on either side, and
when the vote was counted the results were not
unexpected.
OFFICERS ELECTED IN 1875.
Assembly H. A. Carter, Thomas Dunlap.
Sheriff John Vogan.
District Attorney T. J. Phelps.
Treasurer James Meehan.
Surveyor W. L. McKimm.
Assessor J. J. Jones.
Superintendent of Schools "W. II. Stowers.
Coroner and Public Administrator D. Myers.
JUSTICES OF THE PEACE.
Township No. I H. Goldner, II. Robinson.
" " 2 L. Brusie, L. M. Earle.
" " 3 L. McLaine, L. Ludekins.
" " 4 C. K. Johnson, L. B. Maxey.
5 M. B. Church.
6 E. R. Yates, S. G. Lewis.
CHAPTER XXIV.
FINANCIAL MATTERS IN 1876.
Political Parties in 1876 Election Returns by Precincts Finan
ces in 1877 Political Parties in 1877 Returns by Precincts
Death of the Honorable Robert Lndgate Financial Mat
ters in 1878 Political Parties in 1878 Vote on the Adop
tion of the New Constitution Financial Matters in 1879
Political Matters in 1879 Officers ElectedEffect of the
New Constitution on the Judicial System Financial Mat
ters in 1860 Political Parties in 1880 Amador County
Election Returns Nov. 2, 1880 Review from 1870 to 1880.
ON taking his seat, the Treasurer made a thorough
examination of the records of the Treasury. It was
found, notwithstanding the losses, that the finances
were in a healthy condition.
The outstanding warrants on the
General Fund $67,533 94
Hospital Fund 16,713 46
Certificates on Current Expense Fund . 4,191 48
Interest Estimated at ."8,963 73127,402 61
Expenses for year ending March 1, 1875
Amount allowed on Current Expense
Fund $21,319 17
Amount allowed on Hospital Expense
Fund 4,654 32 $25,973 49
Expense for year ending March 4, 1876
Amount allowed on Current Expense
Fund $21,019 22
Amount allowed on Hospital Expense
Fund 3,944 02 $24,963 24
Total for two years $50,936 73
The Treasurer made a calculation that, the taxes
remaining the same, outstanding warrants on the
General Fund would be redeemed in four years;
the warrants on the Hospital Fund, in eight years.
POLITICAL PARTIES IN 1876.
All parties had heartily united in celebrating the
Centennial. Whatever their differences of opinions
as to the means of preserving the Union, there were
none as to its value. War Democrats, peace Demo
crats, as well as Republicans, spoke from the same
stand, with the same flag floating over them. No
one, in listening to the orations, and judging from
their tenor alone, would suppose that a few years
previous, they had accused each other of treason,
and all imaginable crimes. Talk is cheap. If pro
fessions of love and devotion to the Constitution and
the country are cheap, so are charges of treason and
corruption. People do not mean all they say, or
say all they mean.
It was evident that a close contest for the Presi
dency was impending. A few votes in Amador
county might decide the vote of the State, and that
of the State might decide the Presidential question.
Four votes in the city of New York elected a Con
gressman, whose vote on the thirty-sixth ballot,
made Thomas Jefferson President. John Quincy
Adams was made President by a small number of
votes in the same way. Though disagreeing little
on Constitutional matters, and the payment of the
national debts, the parties diverged widely as to
details. Some were in favor of an unlimited amount
of paper money. The Whig doctrines of 1836-40,
were revived; only the advocates were found among
the members of the hard money party of that day,
while most of the Whigs, who, in former times,
advocated paper money, were found in the ranks of
Republicans, who were generally favorable to a gold
and silver currency. Almost every one, old enough
to have remembered those days when Jackson and
Clay were the leaders of the opposing hosts, might
have said with the Roman orator, " Times change,
and we change;" for almost every one had changed
positions.
As usual, vituperations and accusations, charges
of dishonesty and peculations, were made a large
element in the campaign. Although Governor Tilden
was instrumental in breaking up one of the most
gigantic municipal rings that ever controlled a city
government, and plundered the people, he was rep
resented as the incarnation of dishonesty, while the
Republican party was charged with being the abettor
of frauds, running through all the civil service. The
administration, from the President down to tide-
waiters, was represented as corrupt and dishonest.
The "Solid South" was born in this campaign. The
Democrats were charged with interfering with the
freedom of elections in the Southern States, of trav
eling around the country in disguise, and whipping,
maiming, and even killing, negroes who dared to
vote the Republican ticket. According to the Repub
lican orators, no one could enjoy life or property MI
the old slave States, without conforming to their
political creeds. It is not our purpose to write a
history of the United States, or to discuss the politi-
120
HISTORY OF AMADOR COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
cal issues of that or any other day; but it may be
permissible to remark, that a little of the good feel
ing, manifested in the Fourth of July celebration, car
ried into the canvass would have done neither party
any harm, in votes or otherwise. It is quite prob
able, first, that scarcely anybody meant all they
said, and second, that few men changed their minds
or votes in consequence of mutual criminations.
ELECTION RETURNS BY PRECINCTS.
PRECINCTS.
H
5
a>
P
p
W
3
1
r
|
8
Kenfield(R.)..
Carpenter (D.)
^d
1
fo
Jackson
973
1S55
?78
185
979
185
Clinton.
51
8?
51
8?
51
8?
lone
157
160
157
160
156
160
Lancha Plana. . .
89
44
88
44
88
45
Volcano
Ifi?
181
1fi?
181
161
18?
Ham's Station.
?1
11
91
11
91
11
Sutler Creek
178
904
17?,
904
160
?08
Amador City-
17?
80
17?
80
17?
79
Dry town.
fifi
81
66
81
64
88
Forest Home ...
20
87
90
87
19
88
Plymouth . . ....
99
18H
99
186
87
147
Fiddletown
70
68
70
68
70
68
Enterprise. .
1?
8
1?
8
1?
8
Total..
1815
1172
1814
1172
129?
1191
It may be mentioned as a remarkable occurrence,
that the vote at this election approximated the usual
vote on county officers, falling only one hundred
short of the vote the following year.
FINANCES IN 1877.
The Supervisors reported, March 1, 1877
Total receipts for three years as $169,058 48
Cash an hand at the beginuing of the
Term 1874 23,767 19 $192,825 67
Disbursements during same time $ 167,513 36
On hand
October 1st the Treasurer reported
Outstanding warrants on
General Fund $52,689 23
Hospital Redemption Fund 14,502 39
Current Expense Fund 11,351 84
Hospital Expense Fund 1,016 21
Unclassified 89 86
Deficiency
$16,312 31
65 80 $79,715 33
This does not include interest. It is not probable
that any accurate estimate of interest had been made
up to this date, as it was considered the work of sev
eral weeks to go over the outstanding warrants and
estimate the interest due; hence the apparent con
tradictions in annual reports. In other instances
reports, made before and after the collections of the
annual tax, showed a great reduction of the debt
when, considering the whole year, no reduction had
been made. In March, Judge Williams, of the Dis
trict Court, decided that the warrants only bore
seven per cent, interest, this applying to all that
were issued previous to 1868, as well as since.
POLITICAL PARTIES IN 1877.
The occurrence of the county election again
brought out a new crop of aspirants. This season
Amador was joined with San Joaquin as a Sen
atorial District, the later county being entitled to one
for itself, and another jointly with Amador. James
T. Farley, who had been Senator for two successive
terms, was now a candidate for the IT. S. Senate, and
declined a re-election. Frank Brown, who had had
some experience in a former canvass as candidate for
the Assembly, was nominated a joint Senator Avith
San Joaquin. Dunlap, the former member, and R.
Ludgate of lone, a popular man, were nominated for
the Assembly by the Democrats, Judge Carter hav
ing declined a re-election. Eagon, who was now
working well in the Republican ranks, and James
Johnston of lone, a pioneer and universally liked,
were nominated by the Republicans for the same
positions. Yogan, incumbent, was re-nominated for
Sheriff, running against Frank Howard of Sutter
Creek. Meehan, Treasurer, was also re-nominated.
Caminetti, a young and active lawyer, popular \vith
ever}' body in general, especially the ladies, received
the nomination of District Attorney at the hands of
the Democrats against J. S. Hill, a well-known pio
neer, nominated by the Republicans. Henry Peck,
County Clerk, was re-nominated by the Democrats.
Tom Chicizola receiving the Republican nomination.
The men were all popular in their respective pre
cincts, and were expected to make large inroads into
the votes of their opponents. Brown and Eagon did
the heavy speaking for the Republicans, Caminetti
doing similar service for the Democrats. Mr. Farley,
however, though not on the ticket, as usual led the
Democratic forces. The matter of electing a delega
tion to the Legislature favorable to his aspirations to
the Senatorship, was an important element in the
canvass, which was remarkable for -the good i'eeling
and absence of the usual vituperation and abuse.
ELECTION RETURNS 1877.
CANDIDATES.
Jackson
Clinton
lone City
Lancha 1 Una.
Ham's Station
Volcano
Amador C.ty.
Suttel Creek. .
1
3
r
3
:
Plymouth
Fiddletown . .
-.
5
5
2
.
SENATOR.
Oullahan (D )
229
244
202
200
2-2;
IS)
800
174
308
168
tit
I.V,
813
168
273
in:
801
in
ii07
t9
:,::
57
6'
42
4C
5S
43
59
4z
26
66
37
57
45
57
45
15
118
154
K17
lit;
US
13 r
Kill
108
165
tog
IM
is;
(88
140
186
i:i-
|8Q
i:',<)
135
43
n
41
40
33
30
41
30
44
29
41
31
43
30
42
30
11
29
31
]!>
39
32
27
28
31
45
14
4::
16
2.".
31
:::
28
28
31
22
V|
8]
199
1-20
200
._,,,.,
ll'.l
118
W
123
194
123
191
188
in
128
\M
18
181
188
UN
,70
103
!<;.->
17:,
10:;
99
L7>
102
178
96
IM
117
171
102
171
10!
1:11
Ml
Hi(
UN
81 i
104
200
221
l7
181
251
183
201
la
204
191
182
18!
1!)
|
218
204
22
31
24
24
81
31
2{
2f
2S
25
23
30
K
31
^
31
21
30
n
65
10:
54
53
101
107
a
IMI
67
M
r,<
in
51
101
r,<.
10:
45
115
70?
in:
172
io:>
93
171
173
115
l.->r
Ill
151
109
KM
68
201
101
]<;.
10-
11.5
17:
57
75
65
5
71
67
7(
62
s:
tK
51
to
50
s:
(i:
K
I.I
:;
18
17
:
i
U
:
U
3
IS
4
i:,
1
13
4
18
4
4
1249
1346
1354
1345
12B7
1202
1409
1185
1477
1106
1368
1217
1356
1217
135!)
1241
1291
1306
1262
Brown (R )
ASSEMBLYMEN.
Ludgate (D )
DunLip (U )
Eagon (R )
Johnston (R.)
S! IKK IKK.
Voo'an (D )
Howard (R )
CLERK.
Peck (D )
DISTRICT ATTORNEY.
Caminetti (D.)
Hill(R.)
TEASL'RKR.
Mcehan 'D )
rotter (R.)
CORONER.
Giles CD )
SCHOOL SUP'T.
Norton (R )
61
It
68
Edsinfjer (D.)
SURVEYOR.
W. L. McKimm (R). . . .
RESIDENCE OF JOHN VDBAN. JACKSON
MOUNTAIN SPRINGS, RANCH AND TCLLHOUSE OF JOHNVOGAN.
IONE & JACKSON ROAD. AMADOR COUNTY.CAL.
REVIEW FROM 1870 TO 1880.
121
JUSTICES OF THE PEACE ELECTED 1878.
Township No. 1 S. G. Spagnoli, II. Goldner.
Township No. 2 L. Brusie, L. M. Earlo.
Township No. 3 L. Ludekin, L. Huey.
Township No. 4 J. Gundry, J. B. Maxey.
Township No. 5 M. B. Church.
Township No. 6 S. G. Lewis, S. Cooledgo.
The list of returns is well worth a study. It will
be seen that each candidate made large inroads into
his opponent's vote in his own district, also, that
when the vote was counted, there was a great uni
formity in the majorities.
DEATH OF THE HON. ROBERT LUDGATE.
This occurred February 15, 1878, while in Sacra
mento attending, as far as his failing health would
allow, to his duties as Legislator. He was born in
the county of Waterford, Ireland, and was forty-
four years old at the time of his death. He came to
the United States in 1850, and a year later to
California, settling in lone valley, where he built
up a home. He was a man of warm feelings,
active temperament, strong convictions, and un
doubted integrity, winning the respect and esteem
of all with whom he became acquainted. His death
was not unexpected, as he had been suffering for
many years from a pulmonary disease. A committee
of both houses was appointed to escort his remains
to lone, and assist in the funeral ceremonies.
FINANCIAL MATTERS IN 1878.
Rates of taxes:
For State Fund 55 c.
Gen. Redemption Fund 57c.
Current Expense " 65 c.
Hospital Red'ption " 15|c.
Hospital Current Expense Fund 20 c.
School Fund 24 c.
Road " 13 c. $2.50
November 4th, the Treasurer reported
outstanding warrants on Current
Expense Fund $10,947 98
Hospital Current Expense Fund... 224 83
Salary " ... 2,530 15
General Redemption " ... 43,032 74
Hospital " "... 10,138 63 $66,874 33
This does not seem to include interest, which two years before
was estimated at $38,963.73.
This would carry the debt to upwards of $100,000.
POLITICAL PARTIES IN 1878.
The usual political problems were postponed to
consider the matter of framing a new Constitution.
For once in our history the people were engaged in
discussing the first principles of government. The
overshadowing growth of the great railroad com
pany, which bad extended its Briarian arms, so as to
bring every industry, whether mercantile, agricultu
ral, or mechanical, under its influence; the growth of
the gas and water companies in the cities; the appro
priation of the streams flowing from the mountains
by the ditch and water companies; the holding of
large tracts of land, amounting in some instances to
one hundred thousand acres, for purely speculative
purposes, as well as many other similar institutions,
16
caused a general fear in the State, that a few were
soon to have the wealth, and that poverty was to be
the inheritance of the workers. In the cities the
agitation was greatest among the day laborers,
who beheld a favored few unjustly favore'd in the
minds of the laborers rolling along the streets in
easy carriages, while they, who had built the houses,
worked the mines, and made the property, were
working for barely enough to obtain the merest
necessaries of life. In San Francisco, Sacramento,
and Stockton, socialistic sentiments prevailed to a
great extent, and at one time, when Kearney was
organizing the workers, as well as those who never
did nor would work, into a voting party, the pros
pect of a forcible distribution of property was quite
imminent. Hundreds of fierce, brutal faces hung on
his words and listened for the expected order to help
themselves to all they wanted, and, also, take satis
faction for past sufferings and injuries.
During the working of the placer mines, when any
one who would work could make three dollars or
more per day, thousands wasted .their earnings on
cards, whisky, or women. A stream of gold flowed
to the cities, building up stores, dwellings, and big
bank accounts, leaving the worked-out gulches and
hills, and the old, worn-out, dilapidated miners as the
heritage of the country that furnished the wealth.
Many of these demoralized miners drifted towards
the cities, following the wake of their departed
means, and, homeless, hopeless, and useless, joined
the city vagrants in their efforts to compel the resti
tution of their wasted wealth, their sole political aim
being to " give old money-bags hell."
In the country, especially in Amador county,
the agitation was on a different basis. Here were
numerous small proprietors, owning ten to one
hundred acres of land stocked with a few cattle
and sheep, who did their own work, and who, by
industry and close economy, could make both
ends of saving and expenditure meet at the end of
the year. Every year the Assessor came around and
made a note of every pig, chicken, or cow that was
about the place. The land, as well as improvements,
' was assessed up to full value. If, in consequence of
sickness or a failure of crops, the farmer had been
compelled to mortgage his home to keep things
going, the taxes remained unabated. It was known
that men with large sums of money loaned out at
high interest, paid nominal taxes. When money
could be made to pay two or three per cent, per
month it was forthcoming, but when taxes were
assessed it was a nonentity. It was like the little
joker under Lucky Bill's* fingers: now you could see
it, but when the thimble was lifted it was not there.
* It was known that large tracts of land that were
held for purely speculative purposes, paid only a
*William Thornton (Lucky Bill) made a hundred thousand
dollars er more in Placerville, in 1850, with a piece of sponge,
which he dexterously played under two or three thimbles. He
inducsd thousands of men to bet a hundred on finding it, gener
ally taking in the money.
122
HISTORY OF AMADOR COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
nominal tax. It was believed that the producing
class bore the brunt of taxation, while corporuted
companies and dealers in stocks virtually escaped.
The subject of taxation was discussed at every fire
side in the county. The farmers and gardeners had
no feelings in common with the socialist or com
munist. Dennis Kearney could not have raised a
corporal's guard who would indorse his theory of
political economy. But the feeling of distrust
towards capitalists, for a short time, united the most
antipodal extremes, and found the farmers voting
with city proletariats. This was manifested less in the
election of delegates than in the vote to adopt the
Constitution afterwards framed. The non-partisan
ticket prevailed, Wm. H. Prouty, a farmer of Jack
son valley, and John A. Eagon, a lawyer, being
elected delegates to the Constitutional Convention.
The selection of these two was evidently a compro
mise or union of the solid parts of both Republican
and Democratic parties, as a measure of defense
against the wild theories of the Kearney party in
the cities.
THE VOTE ON ADOPTION OP THE NEW CONSTITUTION
Showed a preponderance of the farming interest for
the Constitution, and of the mining interest against
it, lone City, which was the center of the farming
population, giving seventy-one majority for the Con
stitution, while Araador, Plymouth, Drytown and
Volcano were as decidedly against, the former town
giving nearly ten to one. This overwhelming oppo
sition was ascribed to the influence of the mine
owners, who induced the workmen to believe the
mills would stop under the new Constitution.
For. Against.
Amador 20 190
Clinton 34 28
Drytown 21 115
Enterprise .' . 1 14
Forest Home 15 31
Ham's Station 8 5
lone City 174 103
Jackson 207 207
Oleta 62 45
LanchaPlana 32 53
Plymouth 70 166
*Sutter Creek. 224 133
Volcano 140 171
Total 1008 1261
Majority for adoption, 253.
FINANCIAL MATTERS IN 1879.
Tax rates :
For State Purposes 62^o.
General Redemption Fund 57ic.
Expense Fund 67|c.
Hospital Redemption Fund 15c. -
Hospital Current Expense Fund iOc.
School Fund 24c.
Road Fund 13c. $2 60
*Sntter Creek seemed to have voted differently from the other
mining towns. This was owing to a partial resuscitation of the
Miners' League.
ASRESSMENT ROLL.
Real Estate $^5,409 00
Improvements 979, 1 10 00
Personal Pr >perty 66 1 ,369 00
Money 12, 183 00 $2,578,071 00
Taxes on the same 67,307 78
StatePortion 16,179 75
County Portion 51,128 03 $67,307 78
TREASURER'S REPORT, OCTOBER 31, 1879.
Outstanding Warrants on
Current Expense Fund $ 7,057 66J
Hospital Expense Fund 1,">36 48
Salary Expense Fund 8,450 95
General Redemption Fund 41,812 34
Hospital Redemption Fund 8,606 38 $67,463 81
Cash in treasury to apply 24,847 61
Total Indebtedness $12,61 1 20^
As this report was made previous to the applica
tion of the current year's revenue, it shows an undue
amount of debt.
Jamiary 31st, following
The indebtedness, exclusive of interest $69,493 76
Cash in Treasury to apply 61,060 31
Leaving $8,433 45
POLITICAL MATTERS IN 1879.
The election following the Constitutional Conven
tion, would naturally partake of the peculiar char
acter of the previous year's canvass; but it seemed
that the reaction setting in over the State, was felt
also in Amador county. The impracticability of
righting all wrongs by statute law, became manifest
as the Convention set about the work, so that the
fierce and positive opinions became considerably
modified in the course of a few months. The elec
tion of most of the old officers was a natural result.
Where new ones were substituted, men of moderate
opinions were chosen. Dr. Brusie, an old resident
of the county, and a highly esteemed man, never
had been active in politics, and was elected more
for his personal popularity, than for any speeches
he had made on the stump. The same might be
said of R. C. Downs, who had resided in the county
for thirty years. He had been engaged in quartz
mining most of the time, in which vocation he had
been eminently successful, having opened and devel
oped some of the richest mines in the county, as
early as 1851. Fontenroso, the new County Clerk,
was a young man, born of Italian parents, and edu
cated in the county. He received the full Republi
can vote, and also many of the votes of Democratic
Italians. This class of foreign citizens formerly
voted the Democratic ticket unanimously, but the
solidarity is being broken up, and in a few years
they are likely to divide on all political questions.
Judge Moore, elected to the position of Superior
Judge, is a young and promising lawyer, and fills
the position with honor to himself, and satisfaction
to all who bring business before him.
It will bo observed that B. F. Langford, State
Senator, is a resident of San Joaquin county, which,
three years before, was joined to Amador as a joint
Senatorial District, for one Senator. As Amador
REVIEW FROM 1870 TO 1880.
123
had the nomination of the first Senator on that
plan, the second fell to San Joaquin.
OFFICERS ELECTED.
Superior Judge Geo. Moore.
State Senator B. F. Langford.
Assemblymen L. Brusie, R. C. Downs.
District Attorney A. Caminetti.
County Clerk L. J. Fontenrose.
Sheriff John Vogan.
Treasurer James Meehan.
Surveyor J. A. Brown.
Assessor A. Petty.
Superintendent Schools L. Miller.
Coroner and Public Administrator II. Schacht.
THE NEW CONSTITUTION AND THE JUDICIAL SYSTEM.
At the general election held in the month of Sep
tember, 1879, the people adopted the new Constitu
tion, which took effect on the first day of January
succeeding.
By the provisions of this instrument the entire
judicial system of the State was revolutionized, and
new courts succeeded to the powers and jurisdiction
of the old ones. Prior to January, 1880, Hon. George
E. Williams, of El Dorado county, was the Judge of
the District Court, embracing within its territorial
boundaries, the counties of Amador, Calaveras, and
El Dorado; and Hon. A. C. Brown was the Judge of
the County Court of Amador county.
By the new Constitution the combined jurisdiction
of these two tribunals in this county, was merged
into one court called the " Supreme Court of the
County of Amador," with one Judge, who was
elected at the general election in 1879, and took his
seat on the first Monday in January, 1880.
At that time, lion. George Moore, of Jackson,
was elected to the position of " Superior Judge,"
for a term of five years. Judge Moore is a native of
Kentucky, a regular graduate of Centre College,
and at the date of his elevation to the bench was
about thirty years of age, being one of the youngest
Superior Court Judges in the State.
This new judicial system, which establishes and
keeps open at all times, a court of general common
law, equity, and criminal jurisdiction in each county
of the State, would, it was thought, greatly facilitate
the speedy trial of causes, and prove more econom
ical in everyway, both to litigants and tax-payers.
Having now watched its workings for one year,
we are satisfied that these expectations are being
fully realized. In this, and indeed in every county
throughout the State, we find that it is daily growing
in popularity with both bar and bench, as well as
with the people. We no longer hear from any
quarter, the many complaints in reference to the
delay and expense incident to litigation under the
old system; but all who are best posted touching
these matters, unite in saying that the change was
one much needed, and one which will promote the
best interests of the entire State.
FINANCIAL MATTERS IN 1880.
At the close of the fiscal year the Treasurer
reported outstanding warrants on
Current Expense Fund $10,101 71
Salary Fund 7,344 41
Hospital Expense Fund . . 456 57
Kedemption Fund, exclvding interest.. 41,812 34
Hospital Kedemption Fund 8,601 38 $69,493 76
Cash in Treasury to apply 61,060 31
Indebtedness exclusive of interest $8,433 45
It would have been more satisfactory to have
known the exact amount, but the calculations of
interest seem to be repulsive to most persons except
those who are to receive it. The most careless reader
will perceive that the debt is being gradually extin
guished, however, forming a pleasing contrast to the
end of the previous decade, when the principal was
one hundred thousand dollars, and the interest as
much more, amounting to two hundred and eight
thousand dollars, with habits of careless extrava
gance to add to the burden.
POLITICAL PARTIES OF 1880.
With the return of the Presidential campaign
came the resort to abuse. It looks like folly to recur
so often to these things. Those who, for the first
time, vote the Presidential ticket might imagine that
it was possible that a rascal had wriggled into the
nomination. Those whose memory extends back a
half century, or whose reading extends over the hun
dred years of our national existence, will know that
this personal abuse is peculiar to no age, no Presi
dential campaign, no year; that it does not depend
upon malaria in the atmosphere or dyspepsia pre
vailing in the national stomach, but is incidental to a
free discussion of political matters, whether by a
mob of Athenians, a body of dignified Senators, or a
crowd of sand-lot political economists. No man,
however exalted his character, can expect to escape.
Washington, Jefferson, Jackson, and Lincoln, men
whom a grateful posterity have enshrined, felt tho
bitterness of vindictive misrepresentation. At the
close of Washington's administration, a resolution
approving his administration and recommending bis
successors to follow in his footsteps, met the fiercest
opposition. Mr. Giles, Senator from Virginia, Wash
ington's own State, remarked: " I do not consider his
administration an able one; on the contrary, 1 think it
is to his imbecility and cowardice that we owe all our
misfortunes." Probably no President ever received
severer language on the floor of Congress. Quite a
number of men voted against the resolution, among
the number being Andrew Jackson, then a Senator
by appointment from the recently admitted State of
Tennessee. The Philadelphia Aurora, a leading
Republican paper, commenced an article, on the day
spoken of, in this wise:
"'Lord lettest thou now thy servant depart in
peace, for mine eyes have seen the glory of thy salva
tion.' If ever any nation had reason to utter this,
it is this nation. If any people ever had occasion to
124
HISTORY OF AMADOR COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
utter it, it is this people, for this day the author of all
our woes retires to private life. Let him go to that
retirement which he so much desires."
And much more of the same sort. Volumes could
be filled with the written and spoken abuse of our
best men; but it is not the province of this work to
contain a history of the United States. The vituper
ation, the charges of treason, cowardice, dishonesty,
and everything else conceivable that is bad, that
were hurled at the distinguished men who were
candidates for the Presidency, are the subjects of mys
tery. That Garfield should have sold himself for
three hundred and twenty-nine dollars, or that Han
cock contemplated handing his army over to the
rebels, is, now that the campaign is over, too absurd
to deserve a thought. How people can bring them
selves to such a mental condition is mysterious, but
it is probably the same faculty of imagination which
induced a man to think he had married an angel
and then induced him to larrup her within an inch of
her life in less than a week from the wedding day.
The election passed off, and as the sun went down
so did the passions and anger which the occasion had
engendered, the smoke of the jubilee bonfires and
powder being the last of it.
ELECTION RETURNS -1880.
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The careful reader will see that the average Dem
ocratic majority has been decreasing for some years,
being less than one hundred where it was formerly
three hundred. The two persons elected to the Leg
islature were new men. Swift, a man of reading and
culture, had modestly kept in the background until
forced to accept a nomination. Warkins is a profes
sional miner, who has studied the structure of veins ;
wall rocks, dips, and strikes, more than tariffs and
taxes. Ho is a man of mature judgment and inflex
ible integrity, and is not likely to be bribed or led
into the support of vicious legislation.
REVIEW FROM 1870 TO 1880.
At the beginning of this decade the county was
two hundred and eight thousand dollars in debt; the
population was decreasing; the placer mines had
become comparatively exhausted; the population,
being made up largely of women and children,
instead of the stalwart, healthy men who settled
the country, had become less self-sustaining, and
a general decline in all industrial industries seemed
imminent. The towns of Sutler and Amador alone
seemed to be in a flourishing condition. These
towns furnished the best market for lumber, wood,
and agricultural products, and in one way and
another contributed towards sustaining every indus
try. We have seen the effect of economy in county
expenditures, which, without increasing the rate of
taxation, has so worn away the public debt that it is
expected to call in the last outstanding warrant by
the first of January, 1884. Though quartz mining
has mostly ceased in Sutter Creek, where its annual
productions once reached millions, it has been placed
on a paying basis in several places (notably Volcano
and Plymouth), where it was not profitable before,
and largely increased in other places, as Amador and
Jackson. New mines are being opened at several
places which bid fair to rival, in richness and perma
nency, the once rich mines of Sutter Creek. Agri
culture has received a new impetus, and small
vineyards, orchards, and farms, are appearing on the
hill-sides and valleys, which are made to teem with
life by means of the water from the mining ditches.
The population is increasing in numbers, the cen
sus returns showing an increase of one thou
sand seven hundred and forty since 1870, being
nearly twenty per cent. More permanent buildings
are being erected, and more extensive farming oper
ations contemplated. The population have less
expectation of getting rich suddenly, and are more
willing to labor for a fair compensation. Better
school-houses are being erected and the attendance
is more constant, showing better results in every
way.
The once common vices of gambling and drinking
with the usual accompaniments of lewdness and
obscenity, are vanishing before a healthy public opin
ion, a sense of self-respect taking the place of the
recklessness of early days. Most of the surround
ings are conducive to the building up of peaceful, hon
orable industries, and an industrious and virtuous
community.
NOTE. Those who undertake to verify the statistics of the
last two chapters, will discover many inaccuracies. They have
been compiled from newspapers, the official reports not being
accessible. Only professional, statisticians, like DeBow or
Walker, can handle large columns of figures without confusing
them. Though imperfect in detail, the general results are sub
stantially correct. The publishers give them as the best attain
able.
"
-THOMPSON <f- wesr
OF THE
'UNIVERSITY^
GEOLOGY OF AMADOR COUNTY.
125
CIIAPTER XXY.
GEOLOGY OF AMADOR COUNTY.
Strata in Buena Vista Mountain Carboniferous Clays Granitic
Sandstone Glacial Epoch Supposed Section of the Mount
ains Former Course of the Rivers Account of the Blue
Lead Stratified Eocks Serpentine Range Chromate of
Iron.
SOME account of its geology seems absolutely
necessary in connection with the extensive mining
interests; yet it is rather dangerous ground to
step on. Every day is bringing some discovery,
which sweeps away an old and well-established
opinion. To write an opinion of its geology may
subject one to the fate experienced by Dr. Lardner,
who wrote a very copious book, demonstrating
beyond a doubt the impossibility of crossing the
ocean by steam. About the time the book was well
out, a steamer crossed the ocean, without paying
any attention to the impossibility. It would be of
little use to the majority of the readers of this book
to tell them that the slates were what is called
hypor/ene schistose, by some authors, to signify that they
might have come from the earth in an injection
between the vertical rocks; or metamorpkic slates by
others, to signify that they had been altered by
heat, or other causes; that these slates were gen
erally metaliferous, and that veins of ores of all kinds
might be found in such rocks. These matters are
known to scientific readers, and are but the skeleton
parts, which must be clothed with a thousand accom
panying facts to make geology a living, interesting
topic. The limits of this work will not permit a full
treatise of the geology of this county, even if the
author were fully able, w T hich is not the case. Only
the most obvious and important matters, with the
proofs that can bo seen without much trouble or
expense, will be noticed.
A largo volume might be written on the subject,
without exhausting it; and years, aye, a life-time,
might be spent in the study of geolog} T , and still
only penetrate the outer precincts of the science.
A distinguished geologist, who had given a quarter
of a century to the study, said if one could live a
thousand years he might know something about it.
While the author disclaims any pretensions to pro
found knowledge of this subject, in justice to him
self and readers, he claims to have given it much
thought. Twenty-five years' residence in the county,
close and careful observation, with perhaps as much
reading as generally falls to a laboring man, has
given him an opportunity to appreciate, if not to
master, the difficulties of some of the problems in
geology. As scarcely one of the subscribers to this
work will claim or acknowledge any skill in this
science, the writer may be excused for treating it
in a popular manner. If some one of our young
readers may be induced to give the subject his atten
tion, if only one Hugh Miller, is kindled with a
desire to be able to read the records of creation, as
told by the rocks, and shall give a score of years of
active, vigorous life, to the examination of the sub
ject, so as to be able to give the world a true geology,
the writer will have been a thousand times remuner
ated.
TIME.
In treating of geology, I must ask my readers to
make a free use of time. Let thousands, aye, hun
dreds of thousands of years enter into our calcu
lations without fear of using up that part of the
material, for Nature is never pressed for time. No
matter how mall the yearly progress, time will
accomplish great changes. Those who have given
chronology thorough study, think they can trace
the creation back six hundred nillions of years. Let
us consider too that change, if not life, is the inher
ent quality of all matter; that no form is permanent;
that the "eternal hills" is true not for a day even;
that the loftiest mountain, buttressed with granite,
was once sleeping beneath the sea, and will again;
that the deep sea holds mountain chains in her
bosom, that will, in their own good time, emerge to
the light.
As all stratified rocks, or at least such as we are
likely to meet with, were once horizontal, let us go
back in imagination to the time when the deep sea
was rolling over our own Sierra Nevadas. We must
not hesitate in the cause of science, to sink also the
Utah basin, and even the Bocky Mountains. It
matters not that some of our sarcastic friends tell us
that we have no ground to stand on; that will
appear presently. We have now the sea, deep as
the Atlantic, rolling over the future Great West.
Only a portion of the continent, perhaps the White
Mountains and Apalachian range, are yet out of the
sea. It is during these immensely long periods that
the slates and the rocks, the future sources of min
eral wealth, are deposited in the deep sea. Age
after age (time is no object) the deposit goes on,
perhaps the thousandth part of an inch a year.
Minerals, suspended or in solution in the water, may
be brought and deposited, either by precipitation or
by gravity, and compounded into the mass. Every
one has seen how iron is precipitated by a small
particle of sea-weed along the shore, the iron in turn
uniting with something eli?e limo, salt, magnesia,
potash, silex, alumina, and, perhaps, gold and silver,
through chemical changes that are constantly inter
mingling, changing, and forming new compounds.
The coral insect goes to work, and, laying hold of
each particle of lime that comes along, incorporates
it into a solid reef the future limestone ranges of
the continent that is forming. The smallest insect,
the infusoria, finding the water charged with silex,
lays hold of the atoms, builds its tiny shells so small
that a thousand millions would not make an inch, and
patiently, year after year, age after age, piles up the
little shells, until five, ten, perhaps fifty feet of infuso
rial earth forms the material for the quartz veins of
our continent yet to be. Ten thousand, twenty thou
sand, and sometimes fifty thousand feet of various min-
126
HISTORY OF AMADOU COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
erals may be deposited in this way, all this matter
being slowly worn away from some pre-existing land,
which perhaps has had a birth in a former cycle.
As the material accumulates and acquires depth, the
internal heat of the earth, which is manifested in all
deep mines, by an increase of temperature of one
degree for each sixty feet or thereabouts, begins to
facilitate and perhaps produce chemical changes in
the first formed strata, which soon lose their former
texture and become our future metamorphic, or, as
they were formerly called, the hypogene schistose
rocks. Allowing an increase of one degree for each
sixty feet, we have for a depth of forty thousand
feet a heat of six hundred or more degrees, and
making allowance for rents and seams permeating
the mass, probably much greater in places. And
now for some unknown reason, the great mass, so
long quiet, slowly arises out of the water, not all at
once, but in long, parallel reefs, one preceding the
other perhaps by ages; low and marshy at first, but
soon, geologically speaking, assuming shape. Wheth
er from a greater force of upheaval or from a weak
ness or want of cohesion, some of these ranges, or
axes of elevation, break for great distances, and
granite is erupted, forming mountains, down whose
sides water begins to run, carrying the detritus or
decay into the new valleys. The mineral matters,
having undergone great changes in the depth of the
earth, appear, perhaps, concentrated into veins.
Now, let us consider for a moment the appearance
of these different strata. At first horizontal and
existing in floors and parallel layers, they are now
distorted, bent in places into the shape of a " U,"
in others into a " Y " shape, the lower parts being
still down thousands of feet in the earth, subject to
the six hundred or more degrees of heat, which were
before referred to. If we could see the strata in its
shape where the mountain chains arc being elevated,
it would present an appearance something like a
hundred or more layers of cloth pressed edgewise
together, thus:
The reader will not for a moment consider that the
different layers of rock will hold together like cloth;
we have supposed the breakage to take place where
the greatest strain occurred, which would be on the
top of the bends or bights. We must also consider
these bends, anywhere from ten to twenty miles
apart, or at least twice the thickness of our deposit
in the sea, though these mountain elevations may
be hundreds or even thousands ef miles apart, in
which case we might have a valley like the space
between the Alleghany and Rocky Mountains, or
with unequal elevations, we might have a valley like
the space between the Sierra Nevada and Rocky
Mountains with short ranges interspersed.
We have presumed upon the tops of these bights
or axes of upheaval, breaking so as to expose the
lower lying strata. In fact, denudation would set
in and the tops of these elevations would be cut oft'
nearly to the line of the primitive or granitic rocks.
It is now evident that the lower or first formed
rocks, being the hardest or most highly metamor
phosed, would form the tops of the ridges, even
where the granite had not cropped out.
The formation of mountain ranges is a thing of
past ages, but is a product of forces still in operation.
Slowly the Coast Range is emerging from the sea,
and along the base of the Sierra Nevada Mountains,
as well as the Coast Range, are indisputable marks of
a former sea-shore, when both ranges of mountains
and the intervening valley were some hundreds of
feet lower than at present. How many of these axes
of elevation occur in the Sierra Nevadas, may not
be determined, but it is quite certain that the higher
mountains were, so to speak, in active operation
while the foot-hills, where the principal mines are,
were still the floor of the ocean. It is also certain
that the older or higher ranges had auriferous quartz
veins, while the present worked veins were either
unformed or slumbering in the depths of the sea.
Those who have never studied the rocks, except to
learn their economic value, can form but little idea
of the history of their creation, which their texture,
quality and locality relate. A boy who picks up a
rounded quartz pebble considers it a good article
with which to pelt a dog or knock a squirrel out of a
tree; a gravel miner would consider it an indication of
a hill deposit, and forthwith would commence a shaft
on the top of the nearest hill; while a railroad man
would think a deposit would make splendid material
to ballast his road. A geologist would immediately
ask, " Where is the river which rounded this pebble ?
for every rounded pebble is the result of pluvial
action. Where is the quartz vein from which this
has been torn ?" A bed of boulders on the top of a
hill marks the bed of an ancient river, though the
present stream runs some hundred feet below. lie
will tell you that in by-gone ages the river was up
there; that the valleys had been made by erosion.
So every rock, every pebble, has its history. The
placers which were worked in an early day- Tunnel
Hill, Butte Basin, Prospect Hill, American Hill at
Oleta, as well as Loafer Hill all speak of a system of
rivers, and of course a system of quartz veins from
which the gold was filched. The vast masses of
sand, gravel, and clay, with which the San Joaquin
valley is filled, as well as the eroded valleys, ancient
rivers, and lava-capped hills, all testify of the forces
that have helped to make our present abode.
A history of the denudation may be read in the
layers of potter's clay, gravel, sand, and lava, that
GEOLOGY OF AMADOR COUNTY.
127
form the foot-hills arid the bed of the San Joaquin
valley. The Bucna Vista mountain is, perhaps, from
its exposure on several sides, a convenient book of
reference. Standing on the top of this, one may see
many parts of the original plain, of which this
mountain formed a part, that once rested on the
valleys of lone, Buena Vista, and Buckeye, from
three hundred to six hundred feet thick, sloping to
the edge of the former sea-shore, which was forced
farther away as the masses of matter carried down
by the rivers filled the valley or basin, precisely as
the debris or slickens is now filling up the low places.
The top of this mountain is about six hundred feet
above the valley, and seems to have formed a part of
the same plain which extended east past Jackson,
Slitter, and Amador, though at these last-named
places the plain was some hundreds of feet higher
than at Bnena Vista. Marks of this plain can be
eeen around the base of Butte mountain, which
stood, like Thomas H. Benton, " solitary and alone,"
while the shallow rivers fumed and fretted at its
feet, depositing beds of auriferous gravel to be
scrambled for in after ages. Let us see what the
BUENA VISTA MOUNTAIN
Is composed of. Commencing at the top,
we find indurated volcanic ash, or what
may be termed trachyte, with some indi
cations of columnar cleavage 80 feet.
Coarse fragments of lava, not hardened,
forming a loose, porous soil. This is the
sloping portion, below the bold part of
the hill... 100 feet.
Bed of volcanic and quartz gravel, contain
ing some gold 50 feet.
(This, on the surrounding hills, is the bed
upon which is generally superimposed
the breccia, or unwashed lava, not having
been rounded by the action of water.)
Sandstone, resembling granite, suitable for
building purposes 40 feet.
(In some of the surrounding hills this
becomes of a fine red color, owing to the
presence of sesquioxide of iron. The bal
ustrade of the steps of the Court House in
Jackson are made of this stone.)
Clays of different kinds, containing, in
places, iron ore, sometimes white, some
times composed of sand, white as snow,
supposed to be mostly from volcanic
material, as in corresponding strata; far-
ther west, pieces of pumice-stone of fine
quality abound... . 200 feet.
Carboniferous clays and sandstones, con
taining impressions of vegetation, mostly
of the kinds now growing, such as alder,
ash, pine, cedar, spruce, with some of
leaves resembling the palm. The feathers
of birds are also converted into coal, and
preserved in the seams of clay 100 leet.
(These clays are the matrices of the coal
beds, which vary in thickness from a mere
stain to several feet.)
Ferruginous clay, containing spheroidal
concretions, from a foot to six feet in
diameter, with impressions of leaves and
plants. The discovery of an old well,
with cut stone walls, proved to be the
lower half of a concretion, the shell of
which bore much resemblance to a stone
wall 40 feet.
Coarse clay and beds of sand, with some
vegetable remains half converted to coal.
These veins furnish water for the artesian
wells: when traced to the mountains
they become auriferous gravel-beds (*) 150 feet.
These strata all have a descent to the west of
about one hundred feet to the mile, and correspond
nearly with the ascending beds of the ancient east
and west rivers; thus, continuing the line east at
Jackson, the elevation of the plain would be about
twelve hundred feet; at Volcano twenty-five hun
dred. This plain terminates in the present Sacra
mento or San Joaquin plain, about five or six
miles west. The lava flow may be seen in several
places dipping into the ground, or into the level that
was once a sea-shore line, as at AV hippies, near the
Poland House on the Mokelumne river; on the
mountain west of J. P. Martin's lower ranch, where
it forms the crest of the mountain; on the hills
south of the Newton mine, and, perhaps, in a hun
dred other places in the county.
I have deemed it necessary to particularly notice
the formation of the foot-hills, because here we have a
record of the denudation that has gone on in the
mountains, the separate layers each telling its story.
Let us examine the lowest formation, which here
rests on the hardest and most highly metamorphosed
slate we meet with in the whole series of the foot
hills, the slaty structure being very hard to trace.
These reefs of rocks form the dividing lines, and
frequently, the boundaries of the valleys; as, for
instance, the hill near the junction of Dry creek
with Jackson creek, and the same class of rocks
north and south of Jackson valley. In looking at
these one can easily believe they have been a mass
of boulders, partially melted and fused together.
You can easily pick out rocks of different kinds,
which seemed to have formed the original mass, yet
the geologists tell us that they were never melted;
that this apparent fusion occurred when the rocks
were in a plastic state, and that the boulder appear
ance is due to the tendency to spheroidal concretion,
manifested by all plastic substances. The long reefs
of rocks, smoothed as if with a plane, show the
wash of a surf for an indefinite period of time, and
the subsequent burying by matter, held in suspension,
indicates a calm, sheltered bay, where the tides and
currents were gentle.
*These figures are in round numbers. The depth or thickness
of the strata constantly varies.
128
HISTORY OF AMADOR COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
If we examine the gravel at the base of the slate
hills, we shall find no volcanic matter ; quartz,
slate, and granite boulders only. This would indi
cate a considerable period of erosion, of denudation
of the hills before any eruption of lava. The next
deposit is mostly destitute of volcanic matter, but
contains much iron, indicating a breaking down of
ledges or rocks containing iron and sulphur, as sec
ondary sulphurets are frequent; in fact, much of the
gravel of this age is cemented by sulphurcts; for
instance, in the lower beds of gravel in Mat Mur
ray's claim, at Lancha Plana.
THE CARBONIFEROUS CLAYS.
These contain a great deal of volcanic matter
which seems to have been carried into the rivers as
ashes, pumice-stone and scoriae. In many places
the pumice-stone, as in the hills west of lone, is
found in considerable quantities. The streams depos
iting this were apparently running in broad, shallow
channels, with but small depression, the layers
being regular, and sometimes so thin that hundreds
of different deposits may be found in the thickness
of a foot. The length of this period seems to have
been immense. We can conceive something of the num
ber of years necessary to fill up a valley, even like that
of the Sacramento or San Joaquin with running rivers,
bankfull of mud, gravel, and sand; but to calculate
the time a gentle current, perhaps only discolored
with clay, would require to fill an open sea, or bay,
a hundred feet or more deep, makes quite a draft on
our stock of time. In this deposit we find the coal-
beds which seem to be nothing more than masses of
drift-wood, of the kinds now growing on the sur
rounding hills, such as cedar, pine, oak, manzanita
and alder, the latter being particularly abundant,
inclosed in the tight clays, and imperfectly carbon
ized. This part of the subject will be treated more
fully under the head of coal.
If a heavy draft on time was necessary for the
deposite of the carbonaceous strata, a much heavier
one is necessary for the overlying clays, which are,
in places, two hundred feet thick. In some places
they are alternate with beds of infusorial earth,
which could have been deposited only in clear water
holding silex, not in suspension, but in solution, as a
hundredth, or perhaps a thousandth part of an inch
of mud would have destroyed the insects which
build these little shells.
These clays have an economic value, as fine pottery
is being made from them, and it is quite probable
that porcelain will, at no distant day, be manu
factured, using the clays and quartz of the higher
ranges.
GRANITIC SANDSTONE.
There is little volcanic matter in this. The
deposit shows a breaking down of granitic rocks,
and a more vigorous wash of the streams, indicating
an increased altitude of the mountains, and conse
quently a greater carrying power to the water.
BOULDER FORMATION.
For the first time in our record, we find a volcanic
boulder in the drift. The volcanoes now dis^or^e
O O
lava, solid rock, instead of ashes and scorigB, and are
evidently in full operation, the streams being all at
work. In many places the lava deposits quite hide
the rock-beds heretofore traversed by the streams,
as the drift is composed wholly of volcanic boulders
which cover thousands of acres, in fact, half the hills
of the county seem capped with them. They are
hard t almost indestructible, and, wherever a mass
has been deposited, effectually protect the ground
from erosion.
Breccia, or lava, is found still higher than the
boulders, and sometimes has completely filled the
channels, turning the rivers into entirely new
courses. These masses of lava flowing red hot to
the sea, must have presented a magnificent sight to
man, if he existed. Boulders of considerable size
are found in the lava, but were probably formed by
spheroidal concretion, or by being rolled or crowded
along while in a partially melted state. This formed
the climax of volcanic action. But for the presence
of volcanic ash on the breccia, or lava, we might
conclude that the volcanoes ceased their working
after the terrific outpour of lava, but it Avould seem
that they quieted down gradually, perhaps were in
their old age for centuries. Extensive as the flow
was, Amador county was only on the outer edge of
the volcanic action; farther north the whole country,
for thousands of square miles, was covered so deeply
that no rivers have cut their way through it. If it
buried gold mines, they are still there. This outflow
of lava and boulders pushed the shore-line of the
bay some seven or eight miles farther out, burying
the drift-wood hundreds of feet deep. If we could
have seen Amador county at this time, it would have
presented the appearance of a vast plain with a few
peaks, like the Butte mountain, and a few of the
higher points west of the quartz belt, standing
above the mass of lava and boulders. It could have
had no vegetation, any more than the Modoc lava-
bed. What a few acres are now, barren and sterile,
the whole county was then. It could have sustained
no vegetation. Some of the places are left, especially
in the upper parts of the county.
It must not be inferred that a uniform mass of
lava covered the county. The same water-shed as
now sent its streams to the sea, meandering upon the
plain, piling up here gravel and there sand, chang
ing their courses frequently. Nearly all the strata,
described in this chapter as belonging to the Buena
Vista mountain, thin out as we strike the slates, and
many are entirely lost; a few of the more extensive,
like the lava boulder and clay formations, have their
representatives in the more elevated parts of the
county.
GLACIAL EPOCH.
A new actor comes upon the scene. From being
covered with streams of melted lava, flowing in a
JOHN A. BROWN.
GEOLOGY OF AMADOR COUNTY.
129
fiery stream to the sea, the ice king throws his
mantle over it, and claims it for his own. As in all
the rest of North America, or at least the northern
part of it, the falling snows accumulated thousands
of years, until, compacted into ice, they were miles
in depth. There is not room here to prove the
glacial theory. One must read it for themselves,
or look for its track in our mountain canons, or on
our long sloping plains. They must see, as the
author has seen, the piles of rock, miles in extent,
heaped up by them, and the vast surfaces worn
away, smoothed down as with a gigantic plane,
which it is; then the track of a glacier will be
recognized, as easily as the track of a land-slide.
These glaciers reached to the sea-line, though the
heaviest work was done towards the summits. These
great masses of ice move, slowly it is true, twenty
or thirty feet in a year, forcing along everything in
their way that is movable. Granite boulders, twenty
feet in diameter, are held in the ice as in a; vice,
and cut their way through lava, through slate, and
through granite, leaving the powdered debris to be
carried off in the melting stream, in the shape of
clay. How long these streams continued is uncer
tain; long enough to erode deep canons in the
hardest rocks. Silver lake is a glacial erosion, for
- years it moved down the canon below Silver
lake, down the American river, cutting its way with
irresistible force; but the glacial epoch had its time,
and the ice king slowly surrendered his dominions,
retreating up the mountain sides, stubbornly con
testing each foot of ground. At Silver lake, he
made a last stand before a complete surrender. The
ice could get no farther than the outlet of the lake,
and melted at that point. Here were accumulated
the broken and worn-out tools, used in the excava
tion, piled up in a great mass across the lower end
of the lake. These dams, or piles of rocks, so well
known to geologists, are called moraines, and always
mark the retreat of a glacier. The outlet of the
lake has not yet worn much below the channel, left
at the melting of the great mass. Those who are
curious enough to examine them, may find several
small glaciers, a few acres in extent, around the
lake. We may well believe that a mass of ice a
couple of miles in depth, forced along by several
miles more upon the mountain sides, could scoop out
a basin like Silver lake, or even like Tahoe lake,
which is also a glacier erosion. The basin of Volcano
is also a glacial erosion, the glacier melting and
leaving a lake nearly a hundred feet deep, which j
shrunk away as the waters cut the canon deeper.
The limestone, sometimes smoothed as if hammered
and polished, and then, again, honey-combed by the
streams flowing from the melting mass of ice, have
kept a faithful record of the matter. Butte basin
is also another glacial erosion, with this difference,
however, it was filled up within a short time after
the melting of the ice. The long sloping valleys
around Jackson, Sutter, Amador, and Plymouth,
17
have the same origin. As a general thing, a valley
with the bed-rock near the surface, worn smoothly
away, without regard to the character of the rock,
is the result of glacier erosion, as is also a long,
straight, or nearly straight, channel of a creek. A
crooked channel, dodging the hard places, is a water
erosion. The present channels of the streams are
below the channels eroded by the glaciers, from one
hundred to four hundred feet, so that the track of
the glaciers must be looked for on higher ground.
If we could take a section a few miles in depth,
out of the mountains between lone and Yolcano, the
appearance would be something like the following
rough drawing:
A BCD
We will suppose "A" to be in the vicinity of lone;
" B " to represent the serpentine range which passes
the Mountain Spring House; " C " to be the ridge
west of Jackson, Sutter Creek, Amador, and Ply
mouth, and " D " to be the ridge west of Yolcano and
the principal marble range, these points being the axes
of elevation, no attempt being made to preserve the
relative distances. Further examination might show
another axis of elevation between the Mother Lode,
as it is called, and the limestone range, but the pres
ent diagram is accurate enough to illustrate the
theory of denudation, the mineral veins and the
ancient valleys. It will be seen from this that a
great portion of the elevation is gone. It may have
been, probably was, miles in depth, for the lime
stones that now form such prominent objects in
many parts of the county are destitute of fossils,
with a high crystalline formation, which changes
could have been accomplished only under the pres
sure of a superincumbent mass of perhaps, miles in
depth. The same pressure was requisite to obliterate
the fossils of the metamorphic rocks constituting the.
summits of the hills at the axes of the elevations. If
any one should object to this as involving too great a
removal of earth, a question as to the source of the
material forming the San'Joaquin and Sacramento
valleys might prepare his mind to assent to the
denudation.
FORMER COURSE OF THE RIVERS.
The present rivers intersect these ridges or for
mer mountain ranges, yet there are many facts
showing a system of rivers running parallel with
these lines of elevation. Looking at these mountains
in a clear day, from an elevated point on the Sacra
mento plains, one may easily trace the course of
these rivers by their banks which have been only
partially obliterated. From Bear Mountain in Cala-
veras to the ridges west of the lower end of Indian
creek, in the northern part of the county, and the
130
HISTORY OF AMADOR COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
ridges west of the quartz mines of Nashville and
Aurum City, the marks of an ancient valley are
unmistakable. The other valleys, though not so
prominent, may be easily traced. The gravel beds
also furnish another incontestible proof of the exist
ence of these valleys. The glacial erosion did not
wholly obliterate the beds of the ancient rivers.
Beginning with Tunnel hill, where we find a large
deposit, we pass northward, passing Jackson, which
we find to be in the track of a glacier, to the hills
east of the Gate, when we again f.ome upon the river
bed. North of the Gate it passes under the lava
ridge, shows itself on the east side of the town of
O *
Sutter Creek in several places, though it is somewhat
obscured where the east and west streams intersect it.
An examination of the gravel will generally determine
the age of the stream. As the stream we are follow
ing existed previous to the volcanic era, we shall find
few or no boulders of that formation. East of Ama-
dor and Plymouth the traces are nearly obliterated.
Snake Flat, east of the Cover mine, probably is a
relic of the river. East of Volcano we also find the
same evidence of former streams. Prospect hill,
now overgrown with pines, Humbug hill, and the
hills in the vicinity of Spanish gulch, the hills farther
up the forks of Sutter Creek, Mason's claim, Hall's
claim, the Italian claim, all belong to that age of
deposit. The streams must not be confounded with the
subsequent rivers which intersected all that we are
speaking of. The rivers of the first instance were
shallow, meandering along valleys of considerable
width, following no certain direction and frequently
changing their channels. The quartz boulders
abounding in these channels do not indicate a power
ful stream but rather a steady wear; furthermore,
the boulders, especially the heavy ones, were not
moved far from the veins, which usually may be
found within a short distance. It is highly probable
that the actual elevation of these rivers was much less
than at present. Perhaps at this time a description
of the great lead of California may bo introduced as
showing the character of the rivers existing previous
to the volcanic era. This description is taken from
the Overland Monthly, and is worthy the attention of
all desirous of a knowledge of the former systems of
rivers. We propose to show in a future chapter the
possible continuation of the river into this county,
all traces of it .having been, according to our best
authorities, lost.
THE DEAD RIVERS OF CALIFORNIA.
" What is a dead river ?"
" The simplest reply to this natural question would
be, that a dead river is one which formerly existed,
but exists no longer. In volcanic regions it some
times happens that the liquid lava, seeking the
lowest ground, fills up the beds of rivers which would
die, and are replaced by water courses running in
other channels, and in different directions. These
dead streams are so few and of little importance
elsewhere, that as yet, no class-name has been given
them; but in California they are among the chief
sources of its mineral wealth, and among the most
remarkable features of its geological formation.
They take us back to a remote era, before the time
of 'Borne, or Greece, or Egypt, far back beyond the
origin of history or tradition, before our coast had
taken its present shape; before the Sierra Nevada
had risen to its present elevation; before Shasta,
and Lassen, and Castle Peaks, had poured out their
lava floods; before the Sacramento river had its
birth, and while, if not before, the mastodon, the
elephant, the rhinoceros, the horse, the mammoth
bull, the tapir, and the bison, lived in the land.
They are indeed among the most remarkable dis
coveries of the age, and among the greatest wonders
of geology. They deserve some common name, and
we have to choose between ' extinct ' and ' dead.'
We speak of ' extinct volcanoes,' and of ' dead
languages,' and as the latter is Saxon and short, we
preterit. They had been called ' old channels,' but
this name does not convey the proper idea, since a
channel is not necessarily a river, and an old channel
is not necessarily a dead one. A dead river is a
channel formerly occupied by a running stream, but
now filled up with earthy or rocky matter, and is
not to be confounded with a channel that is open
and remains dry during the greater part of the year
because of a lack of water, or that has been aban
doned by the stream for a deeper channel elsewhere.
A dry river bed is not a dead river.
" The dead rivers of California, so far as known, are
on the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada, from
five hundred to seven thousand feet above the sea.
They are auriferous, and therefore they have been
sought for and examined. They have yielded prob
ably $300,000,000 in all; they now produce perhaps
$8,000,000 annually. They are not less interesting,
therefore, 1 ^ the miner than to the geologist; not less
important to the statesman than to the antiquarian.
" The largest dead river is known as ' the Big
Blue Lead,' and has been traced from Little Grizzly,
about latitude thirty-nine degrees and forty-five
minutes, in Placer county, a distance of sixty-five
miles. The course is south-south-east, the position
about thirty miles west of, and parallel with, the
main divide of the Sierra Nevada. The elevation is
five thousand feet above the sea at Little Grizzly,
and two thousand eight hundred at Forest Hill,
showing an average fall of thirty-three feet per mile.
The live rivers of the Sierra Nevada run at right
angles to the course of the range, and have cut
canons from fifteen hundred to three thousand feet
deep, and they are separated by ridges which are
from three to six miles apart, and are as high as the
canons are deep. The Blue Lead runs across these
ridges from two hundred to one thousand feet below
their summits. The traveler does not see any signs
of a dead river in these ridges, which are as high
and have the same general appearance at the Blue
Lead as at other places. I shall presently tell how
the miner discovers the lead, but before coming to
that, I want to give you a clear idea how the dead
river crosses the ridges. Take a piece of common
ruled cap paper; put your pen on a line, draw it up
at an angle of forty -five degrees to the second line
above, then down the first line at the same angle,
and so on until the line made by your pen looks like
eight rectangular saw-teeth, which are about an
inch high. Consider those teeth, as the ridges of the
Sierra Nevada on the lino of the Blue Lead in Sierra
county, and the intervals between them as the
canons. Write over the first canon to the left,
'Canon creek;' over the next, ' Goodyear's creek;
GEOLOGY OF AMADOR COUNTY.
131
and over the others consecutively, 'North Fork of
the Yuba river,' 'Eock creek,' ' Oregon ravine,' ' West
ravine,' and ' Middle Yuba.' Now draw a horizontal
line across all the ridges, a quarter of an inch from
their tops. That line is the Blue Lead. The diagram
made as directed, represents a perpendicular section
of the ridges and canons of the Sierra Nevada, on
the line of the Big Blue Lead in Sierra county as
seen from the west.
" I have said that the traveler would seo no sign of
a dead river in riding over the country. The ridges
are as high on its line as elsewhere; the canon sides
present the same appearance. Years elapsed before
the miners discovered the existence of the ancient
channel. But it required only a few months for the
discovery that the live rivers were very rich in gold
up to a certain point; that the abundance and "size
of the particles increased as they ascended up to that
point; and that beyond or east of that point the
streams were poor. Those points on the different
streams were nearly on a line. Just there the ravines
on the sides of the canons were very rich, and they
were comparatively poor elsewhere. The miners fol
lowed up the ravines, washing the dirt in their beds,
and the dirt where the ravines were not too steep
was a foot or two deep over the slate rock. At last,
when the miners got near the top of the ridge, they
found that the narrow, shallow rock-bed of the
ravine suddenly disappeared, and the body of the
hill was composed of gravel, which had a peculiar
blue color, and part of it, a horizontal stratum about
half a mile wide from east to west, and five feet
thick, was very rich in gold. They looked after the
metal and paid little attention to anything else. As
the stratum ran across the ridges from north to south,
the miners followed it in with adits, or tunnels, and
in more than one place the tunnels met; and a few
years ago it was customary for footmen passing
between Monticello and Excelsior to go under ground
a distance of a mile rather than to climb over the
hill six hundred feet high, by a path nearly two
miles long. In the same manner Forest City and
Alleghany were connected by a continuous tunnel,
but the timbers have rotted, the roof has fallen in,
and the passage is now closed.
" The auriferous deposit is gravel, mixed with boul
ders, clay, and sand, varjang from a hundred to three
hundred feet in depth; in strata, distinguished from
one another by differences in color, in the size of the
boulders and gravel, and in the number and size of
the particles of gold. The predominant color is
bluish-gray, dark at the bottom and lighter above,
with a reddish tinge in those places that have long
been exposed to the air, showing the presence of iron.
The material of the boulders, gravel and sand, is
almost exclusively quartz. In the whole length of
the river, as traced fora distance of sixty-five miles,
assuming that the deposits of gravel average half a
mile wide and two hundred feet deep, there were,
counting in the portions which have been washed
away by the live rivers, six billion six hundred and
sixty million cubic yards of quartz and clay, and the
quartz alone must have measured five billion cubic
yards. In the live rivers, quartz forms only a small
portion of the gravel.
" Whence came all the quartz of the Big Blue ?
How did it happen that no granite, slate, porphyry,
basalt or sandstone was buried in its bed? If all the
quartz veins now known in California were cleaned
out to a depth of one hundred feet, they would not
supply so much as is found in sixty-five miles of a
river that must have run for many hundreds of miles.
The gravel is all water- worn, and rounded by long
attrition. It came from far north. A piece of rough
quartz, while being carried five hundred miles in the
fiercest of our mountain streams, would not be worn
so smooth as is every pebble in the Blue Lead. And
the immense size of the boulders implies a mighty
current. Those in the lowest stratum average, in
some places, a ton. and many are found of twenty tons.
These are worn as smooth as the pebbles. They
are not found scattered here and there as though
they had tumbled down the banks of the river near
the spot where they are found; but they are evenly
distributed in a stratum of equal thickness across the
whole bed, and for miles in length. Above that may
be a stratum of larger ones. The great river
handled these masses of rock with as much apparent
ease, and spread them out as evenly, as if they had
been no larger than pigeons' eggs.
" The particles of gold are larger in size, and con
tain more silver at the bottom than at the top. The
smaller pieces are in the upper strata and as they
have a larger surface proportionately, the silver is
eaten out by the sulphurous acid which is developed
in the gravel by the oxidation of pyrites. If a
double eagle and twenty one-dollar pieces are thrown
into a solution of vitriol arid left there for several
weeks, the small pieces will, at the end of that time,
contain a larger proportion of gold than the large
one; and for a similar reason the surface placer gold
is finer chemically than that obtained from the
deeper strata. As a general rule, the deep gold is
nine hundred fine, or is worth eighteen dollars and
sixty cents per ounce, and the surface gold is nine
hundred and twenty fine, and is worth nineteen dol
lars in the Big Blue Lead. The gold and gravel are
deposited as in tha live rivers, in the banks, bars,
eddies, ripples and rapids.
"The richest places have contained as much as fifty
dollars to the cubic yard of the lower stratum, or if
the large boulders were left out of the estimate, to
two or three cubic feet. The space between the
boulders is filled with sand, clay, and gravel, which
contains the gold. In the upper strata there are from
fifty cents to two dollars to the cubic yard. The bed
is of slate rock, and the banks are from fifty to three
hundred feet high; but there are few places where
they have been examined, for nowhere has all the
gravel been washed awa}* across the channel.
"But how was it possible that the bed of a large
river could be filled three hundred feet deep with
gravel? When the miners in 1850 to 1852, flumed
the live rivers of California, and took the gold from
their beds, they found a deposit of gravel that did
not average more than five feet deep on the bed
rock, in streams that ran in canons one thousand
feet deep; and it is strange that the Big Blue should
have filled its bed with gravel. Yet this filling is
not without an analogue of our day. Under the
influence of hydraulic washing, Bear river and Yuba
river have, within the last fifteen years, begun to
fill up with gravel, and their beds have, for miles,
risen seventy feet or more above the levels of 1853.
This gravel is auriferous, and it is deposited in strata,
and the arrangements and general appearance resem
ble those of the Big Blue Lead. The filling up began
down in the valley, and as it ascended the current
became less rapid, and lost the power to carry away
the gravel. In Bear river, below Dutch Flat, the
bed rises two feet per month during the chief wash
ing season, from February to September, and in the
remaining months it falls on account of the stoppage
of washing and of the Winter floods, which carry
132
HISTORY OF AMADOR COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
off perhaps half of the accumulation of the Summer.
" Some persons claim that various camps on parts
of dead rivers in Plumas county, are on the Big
Blue Lead, and others think that portions of a dead
river, near Placerville, belong to the same stream.
I do not accept these theories, but if they are true,
the Big Blue river has been traced about one hun
dred and ten miles. In the northern part of Plumas
county, the river is buried under deep beds of lava
and basalt, and south of Placerville it is probably
below the level of the live streams, and thus cannot
be found by any system of mining or mode of pros
pecting now in use. Even in places where it is
above the level of the live streams, it may be cov
ered on the sides of the canons by slides of rock or
barren dirt or gravel, and the miner might spend
thousands of dollars in a vain search for treasures
not ten feet from his drift, as many have done, and
some accident, luck, or perseverance, afterwards
proved the proximity of the rich deposit. In sev
eral cases the lead was found by calculation. The
miner took his position on a hill-side, on a level
with other camps, and in a few days he found a
fortune; and others have spent years working on a
similar plan without success. The river must have
taken bends on the north side of Rock creek and
Oregon ravine, and twelve years of searching have
not revealed the position of the bends.
" But why did the Big Blue river die, and leave
nothing but its gravel and its gold to tell the story of
its greatness ? The main cause must have been the
subsequent rise of the Sierra Nevada. Suppose that
a range of mountains, seven thousand feet high were
upheaved thirty miles east of the Mississippi; that the
bed of the stream were on the mountain side, three
thousand feet above the sea, and that thirty miles west
the country retained its present level; the result
would be that the present Mississippi would soon be
a dead river; it would be cut across by streams run
ning doAvn the mountain side, and pouring into a
new Mississippi, thirty miles or more west of the
present one. We know that the Sierra Nevada has
been upheaved; that a large stream ran on what is
now the mountain side; and that it has been suc
ceeded by a new river farther west; and we must
infer that the death of the old and the birth of the
new river was caused by the upheaval.
" Many of the hills crossed by the Big Blue are
capped with lava or basalt, which covered much of
the country from near the summit of the range to
about three thousand feet above the sea. It seems
then that the river filled its bed with gravel; the
mountains began to rise, and volcanoes broke out
along the divide; the lava ran down and covered the
land to the line of the dead river and beyond it;
the mountains rose still higher, and the waters run
ning down their sides cut through the lava and
made deep canons, and washed away two- thirds or
three-fourths of the dead river, and scattered its
gold among the living waters.
" The descent of thirty -three feet per mile
observed between Little Grizzly and Forest Hill
would make a terrific current in a stream half a mile
wide. The Sacramento is a lively river, yet its grade
is only five feet in a mile. But no ordinary current
could have carried the large quartz boulders of the
Big Blue Lead from distant regions and distributed
them evenly over the river bed. It is possible, how
ever, that in the lifting up of the mountains the rela
tive elevations have been altered, and that the
present grade differs from that of the Big Blue while
it was alive.
" A question suggests itself whether the great dead
river was the predecessor of any living stream; but
to this no satisfactory answer can now be given;
and it is doubtful whether time and research will
ever furnish one. The Big Blue was parallel to the
Sacramento and has to a certain extent been suc
ceeded by it; but it drained a much larger district
than the Sacramento does, or the rain-fall of the
country was much greater in the era of its existence.
The Sacramento does not carry one-fourth of the water
which ran in the Big Blue probably not one-tenth.
If we could ascertain that the quantity of rain had
not altered, then we should be justified in presuming
that the Columbia river,which would just about fill the
bed of the Big Blue, instead of turning westward at
Walla Walla, originally continued southward, until
the lifting up of Shasta and Lasscn, and the adjacent
ridges, stopped its course, and compelled it to break
through the Cascade range at the Dalles. With our
present limited knowledge, we are not justified in
calling the Big Blue river either the dead Sacra
mento or the dead Columbia.
"Some persons have argued that the Big Blue Lead
never was a river, but only a lacustrine or alluvial
deposit. This theory, however, is untenable. The
Big Blue Lead has all the marks which a dead river
should have. It has a long course; a width nearly
uniform, a course nearly straight, some bends with
eddies on the inner side, a peculiar quartz unlike any
found in the neighboring ridges, or in the streams
to the eastward, an abundance of quartz, which no
place now known to us could have supplied, and
which came, probably, from a distant northern region
now covered with lava; water- worn gravel, which
must have been carried far; flat stones pointing
down stream, as a current would place them; strata
of coarse and fine gravel, which must have been
deposited in a stream; a uniform, descending grade;
the coarse particles of gold, which could not have
been distributed so evenly over a wide channel except
in a strong current; an immense quantity of gold,
which required ages to scatter through a deposit
three hundred feet deep; drift-wood unmistakably
water-worn; trunks of trees with the butts up
stream; tributary brooks, and a number of other
evidences which would require more space for their
description and explanation than I could spare. To
say that the Big Blue is not a dead river, is equiva
lent to saying that the bones of the mastodon never
belonged to a living animal, but were formed under
geological influences exclusively.
" If this were the only dead river in the State, the
proof would be less conclusive, but there are a dozen
others. One which runs south-westwardly, and may
be called the dead Brandy river, appears at La Port,
Brandy City, Camptonville and North San Juan, and
is marked by the same general characteristics, save
that the gravel is finer, the pebbles in the upper strata
being generally not larger than a pigeon's egg.
" In Tuolumne and Calaveras counties we have the
dead Stanislaus, or Tuolumne table mountain, which
runs from near Silver mountain, in Alpine, to
Knight's Ferry, and there disappears. It is covered
by a bed of basalt, which flowed as lava from a vol
cano, and filled up the ancient bed; and this basalt
has resisted the elements, and now stands as a
mountain forty miles long, a quarter of a mile wide,
and eight hundred feet high, the softer adjacent
slate rock having been wasted and washed away.
Under this mountain lies a dead river, rich in gold.
A similar table mountain of basalt, covering an aurif
erous dead river, which I call the dead Cherokee,
JOSEPH WOOLFORD.
4 YfST.
GEOLOGY OF AMADOR COUNTY.
133
niter its chief mining camp, extends seventy miles,
from Lassen's Peak to Oroville. At Bangor, in
Butte county, is a small dead river, seventy feet below
the general surface of the ground, and covered with
ordinary soil and gravel. There are also dead riv
ers at Smartsville, Mokelumne Hill and San Andreas.
The Big Blue and dead Brandy are distinguished by
the depth of their gravel, and by the absence of
pebbles of eruptive origin in it. The others have
either short courses or shallow deposits of gravel;
and the quartz forms a much smaller percentage of
the gravel. In the dead rivers at Cherokee, Ban
gor, and Smartsville, a large proportion of the boul
ders and pebbles is of lava and basalt, as if the
stream had been formed after the commencement
of the volcanic era. But different as is the material
of the gravel, the fluvial origin of the deposits is sim
ilar and indubitable in all of them, when they are
studied together."
It may be presumptive to offer any suggestion as
to the source of the immense stream which formed
or deposited this lead. The suggestion that it might
have been the Columbia river before it had broken
its way through the Dalles, is perhaps worth con
sidering. Another suggestion may be permitted.
Those who have crossed the Utah basin, will have
noticed the water lines far up on the sides of the
mountains, showing that it was formerly an inland
sea, or lake, larger than any now on the continent,
which might have had its outlet through some of
the passes in the Sierra, ere its waters were lapped
up by the dessicating winds. This suggestion is
made for the benefit of the future geologist. The
question may be decided when the great lava bed,
which buried up the supposed channel of the river,
shall have been explored, and its secrets laid bare.
For the present we may lay this question aside, as
one too momentous for our present limited infor
mation. How long these rivers pursued their course,
where they emptied, and into what waters, are also
matters for future investigation. The deposits of
clay which marked this era, indicated an almost
interminable period. We may be inclined to ask,
Of what use was the earth at this time?
RIVERS FLOWING TO THE WEST.
But there came an end to this sleepy, easy flow
of events. The volcanoes, which had so long sent
forth only mud and ashes, now took on an indus
trious fit, and commenced pouring out lava without
stint, choking up the former channels, and, in some
instances, burying them under three or four hun
dred feet of lava. It is probable that previous to
this, many, or perhaps all, of these rivers had worn
a way through the low mountains which hemmed
them in, and found their way to the sea; but the
lava forced them to form channels in a new direc
tion. The low mountain barriers were overflowed.
The rivers, running with an increased velocity, now
swept along great boulders of lava, granite, slate, or
whatever came in their way. On a ridge between
Amador and Sutter, some miles below the towns,
may be seen boulders ten feet in diameter, which
appear to have been left at the foot of a long descend
ing portion of the river. Many times the new rivers
would choke up, compelling the water, again and
again, to seek new channels. These channels, in
many places, occupy the ridges between the present
river beds, sometimes at a height of six hundred
feet.
STRATIFIED ROCKS.
The surface having been considered, the stratified
rocks may next claim attention. These all dip into
the ground at various angles, sometimes with pitch
to the east, and sometimes to the west. In these
stratified rocks are found our valuable metals; and
any theory of vein formation, to* be of value, must
consider them as a unity. Commencing at the foot
of the mountains, at the lowest formation visible,
at lone, Lancha Plana, and the corresponding places
farther north, we find the strata in the following
order. I have set the names of the strata to cor
respond somewhat with the position of the rocks
named, and also have elevated, and otherwise noted,
the metamorphic rocks which formed the summits
of the ancient valleys.
134
HISTORY OF AMADOR COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
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GEOLOGY OF AMADOR COUNTY.
135
It must not be supposed that any stratum pre
serves a uniform character for any distance. Only a
few of the great veins or ranges like the serpentine
and the other metamorphic can be traced in this
way. Whether from currents in the ocean deposit
ing different materials previous to the upturning of
the slates, or from subsequent change by translation
of minerals, or both, the slates change in character
every mile or two. The black slate will change to
gray, then to quartzose, or perhaps to syenite. The
metamorphic is often thinned out by other rocks. Jn
some place the serpentine is two miles wide, in
others nearly wanting, so that a description of rocks
at lone might not fully apply to the rocks four or five
miles further north.
The metamorphic rocks near lone, Lancha Plana
and Buena Vista, which have been referred to before,
may be taken as a starting-point. These do not
form a continuous reef, but here stand as detached
masses probably eroded as before mentioned by the
waves of the sea. Along the junction of this with
the black slate are some of the largest quartz veins in
the county. One of them may be seen near Randal's
ranch near lone, one at Mrs. Nichol's place near
Buena Vista, and at several other places. That one
on Randal's ranch has been sunk on some eighty feet
or more without finding anything of value. Where
these veins have been subjected to sea wash, as at
Muletown, and, perhaps, the Arkansas diggings, they
have made good placer mining. Irish Hill was
enriched by a mountain stream, as the gravel is com
posed of entirely different rocks from that of Mule-
town. The hill east of lone is probably sea wash, of
the same age as the Muletown deposit. The sea
shore line may be eat-ily traced by the bench-like
erosions.
Near the foot-wall of this belt are the Cosumnes,
the Arroyo Seco, Lancha Plana, and other copper
mines. On the opposite side of this belt is the New
ton Coppermine, as well as several others of promise.
The reader is requested to note the fact of paying
mines being found in the vicinity of these hard slates,
though these slates themselves scarcely ever contain
any mineral of value. In the intermediate space are
many veins containing copper- and other minerals in
small quantities. Near the Boston ranch some
small veins of quartz are estimated to have five
dollars to the ton, but they seem to thin out and
ramify through the ground so as to be unprofitable to
work, though many ravines have been enriched by
them. Some veins of steatite (soap-stone) have con
siderable gold in them visible to the eye, but no one,
as yet, has been able to separate it. The gulches
running from this range have been rich. Near Irish
Ilill is the Kirkendall district which was thought to
be rich in quartz veins, but the expectations have not
been realized.
SERPENTINE RANGE.
This is a striking formation of metamorphic rock,
BO twisted, contorted and scraggy, that it has been
considered by many as of volcanic origin. The point
between Jackson and Stony Creek was thought to be
an old crater. A close investigation shows it to be slate,
and the ragged, contorted appearance to be the result
of the substitution of magnesia for potash in the com
position of the rock. Chromate of iron abounds in it,
a vein of it near the Westfalls' ranch being nearly
three feet thick. Hundreds of small quartz veins, as
well as other ore chimneys, may be seen within a
mile or two while walking along this range. Vogan
has used many of these veins for road material.
When sunk on they often turn to clay, and many of
them are known by being sinks in the ground, or
sometimes pot-holes of clay. Silver, gold, and
copper are all found in these chimneys in small quan
tities. They were formerly explored for copper.
These ore deposits may be a continuation of those
found on the west side of the lower metaliferous
range. Farther east are many small quartz veins
with considerable gold, though the veins are too nar
row to be worked with profit. Limestone is found in
many places on this range. Not far from the Filmer
ranch is a large deposit which burns into good lime;
though many of the deposits contain too much silica
or magnesia for that purpose, being perhaps a kind
of dolomite. It is too dark colored and too hard for
ornamental purposes. On the Mokelumne river, near
the head of the Lancha Plana ditch, is a curious
formation of lime, resembling a frozen waterfall. It
is somewhat obscured by the dirt which has fallen
over it, but is well worth an examination.
A short distance below is an iron spring, a good il
lustration of an active ore deposit, a formation of iron
ore constantly going on, which is every year carried
away by the high waters of the river. The ore is
probably the result of the percolation of water
through decomposing sulphurets not far away.
Passing east we strike another belt of metamorphic
slates in places two miles in width. This may be
considered the great foot-wall of the Mother Lode,
also the most prominent indication of the largest
valley, following the ranges of mountains, that
existed in this county. As the Mother Lode has been,
and is now, perhaps, the source of more gold than
any space of the same width and length in the world,
and, from its having been worked deeper and better
than any other place, furnishes more material for a
scientific account of the formation of quartz veins,
the consideration of it will be deferred to another
chapter. It may be said of it that it probably fur
nished the gold with which the streams once running
parallel to it were enriched, as well as the streams
which now cross it, also the larger part of the
gold that enriched the gravel diggings at the foot
hills. It is probable that the stream debouched into
the Mokelumne or through that depression for a
long time before the volcanic era, as there are no
large deposits of gravel along the foot-hills near the
outlet of the present streams that are of sufficient
amount to have been produced by its wash.
136
HISTORY OF AMADOU COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
East of the Mother Lode, which must be consid
ered never less than two hundred, and sometimes
two thousand, feet wide, there is little quartz that
has any value. We find veins of slate and syenite
alternating with each other. Some of the gulches are
enriched by the wash of the great streams of gravel
that resulted in the breaking up of the first system
of rivers. Nearly half of the ground around Pine
Grove seems to be a relic of this wash; streams of
gravel, some rich and some nearly barren, traversing
the hills in all possible directions. The quartz veins
near the last metamorphic range spoken of are prob
ably connected by a sort of geological, umbilical cord
with the Mother Lode, though vastly inferior to it in
wealth. The veins have not regularity of pitch or
strike, sometimes breaking through the slate across
* o o
the rift and frequently losing themselves in extensive
ramifications. In places they are very rich, thirty or
forty dollars per ton not being uncommon.
CHAPTER XXVI.
GEOLOGY OF AMADOR COUNTY.
BY GEORGE MADEIRA.
Extensive Character of the Subject Mother Lode Methods
of Vein Deposits Character of the Veins East of the
Mother Lode Minerals in the Tertiary Rocks Nature of
the Limestones Gravel Deposits Nature of the Supposed
Photosraphic Eock Evidences of Glaciers Moving Large
Rocks Volcanoes Origin of the Trap Rock Origin of the
Smaller Quartz Veins Butte Mountain Copper Iron
Gypsum Asbestos Marble Kaolin Manganese Agate
Chalcedony Skeletons of the Megatherium Other Fos
sils Rhinoceros Hippopotamus Horse Destruction of the
Arcadian Land Botany.
[THE following chapter on technical geology, by
a professional mining expert, will please the more
scientific of the readers of this work. The writer
is amply competent to write an extended and
exhaustive treatise on the subject of geology or
practical mining. EDITOR.]
To the geologist and mining explorer, Amador
county offers the most interesting field of research
to be found in the State, containing, as it does
within its limits, the most extensive quartz deposits
to be found on the western slope of the Sierras.
The great Mother Lode passes entirely across the
county in a northerly and southerly direction. At
the Keystone mine (Amador) the course of the vein
is: south forty-two degrees, twenty-six minutes
east; north forty-two degrees, twenty-six minutes
west. Inclination of east wall of fissure, fifty
degrees; the east hanging wall is a metamorphic
silicious slate; and what is known, along the lod^,
as the west wall rock, or foot-wall, is a blue-black,
laminated slate. These laminated slates on the
west may not be the true foot-wall, as we find, one-
fourth of a mile to the west, a simalar parellel wall
of metamorphic slate, although it does not contain
the silica found in the east wall rock.
Between these widely divided parallel walls of
metamorphic slates, we find numerous stringers of i
quartz, from the width of a knife-blade to many
feet. The main Mother Lode, however, is found run
ning along the east hanging-wall rock, but in some
instances it leaves the same and varies to the west.
In the Keystone, at Amador, the vein leaves the east
wall, and, for a space of four hundred feet, does not
return to it. In the same mine we find the entire
width of the quartz deposit, as far as penetrated
to the west, nearly one hundred and fifty feet. At
the Empire mine, Plymouth, the vein is seventy-five
feet in width. At the Zeile mine, one-half mile south
of Jackson, the vein is thirty to forty feet at its
greatest width.
Stringers and feeders, from the country rock in
geological times, carried the silicious waters to the
main fissure, where it deposited its lode of silica
that went to form the vein. This lode gives indubit
able evidence of the manner in which it was formed,
to wit: by infiltration from the country rock, mostly
from the east. The east hanging-wall, in many
places along the line of the fissure, is a crystalline,
metamorphic slate, which has been changed by heat
and pressure into a near approach to diorite.
These slates are silicious rather than talcose, and
frequently pass into rock closely resembling diorite
or trap, and are difficult to distinguish from the
intrusive or eruptive rocks. They, at times, assume
a porphyritic structure, and may be taken for eruptive
rocks.
As we pass to the west, we find the slates grad-
ully change from metamorphic, to laminated, then to
conglomerate slate,* a series of fragmerital rocks.
These conglomerate slates have caused much com
ment among explorers, other than geologists, as to
their origin, and as they are abundant to the west
of the great Mother Lode, but are not found to the
east of it, we will give their origin.
These slates are made up of quartz pebbles,
fragments of slate, mica, and feldspar. They appear
as stratified gravel deposits, and gold has been found
in them. These strata were formed on the bottom
of a Jurassic sea, and are the cemented fragments
torn from older rocks. In the upheaval of the
Sierras, these slates escaped the pressure that was
brought to bear on those further to the east, and
hence we find them to-day a series of conglomerate
slate and sandstone. It is interesting to pass over
these slates, eastward, and see them pass gradu
ally into the metamorphic slates, and trace the out
lines of the quartz pebble in the firm silicious slate
along the great fissure that contains the Mother
Lode.
At some period, after the Jurassic era, the upheaval
of the Sierra fissured the western slope, as it is
known to have fissured the eastern, with numerous
large and small openings. Along the line of the
then base of the Sierras, volumes of steam and
streams of silicious waters poured from the great
fissure, which now contains the Mother Lode. The
*May be seen in quantity near Dry town.
J^l^AM
7
GEOLOGY OF AMADOR COUNTY.
137
heated waters deposited their loads of silica, and,
the ascending vapors their metalic deposit. From
near Berranda, on the South Pacific Railroad, to
Trinity on the north, spouting geysers and steam
ing solfataras, ladened the air with vapors, and
marked the site of the gold deposits of to-day.
East of the Mother Lode, from one to three miles,
a ridge of feldspathic rock runs parallel with the
lode across the county. In some places, it is a com
pact granite; in others, a gneissoid granite. It is
traversed in places by dikes of trap and large veins
of barren quartz. At Quartz mountain, on the line
of this granitic ridge, is an immense deposit of
quartz, low grade ore. The auriferous slates of the
county are arenaceous, argillaceous, and quartzose,
sometimes changing in a few rods, from magnesian
to aluminous, or to hard, blue metamorphic slates.
These slates further change as we go west, and at
the Newton copper mine we find them an argillaceous
shale.
When excavations are made in the alum slates,
a deposit of Uhat mineral forms on the damp walls,
and waters flowing from tunnels in the slates, are
sometimes heavily charged with alum from decom
posing pyrites of iron. These slates, as has been
determined from fossils, found further north in Plu-
mas county, belong to the upper triassic and Jurassic
epoch.
The auriferous slates on either side of the great
Mother Lode are of the same age as the Jura Alps,
and hence Jurassic. They have a width of about
thirty miles from east to west. Five miles from
Jackson, on the Volcano road, we find these slates
divided by an immense ridge of granite; and three
miles east of the town of Volcano, the granite rocks
commence and extend, with slight interruptions, to
the summit of the great chain of the Sierras. All
the country rock, between these granite ridges,
which cross the county in a northerly direction, is
occupied by the auriferous slates except where
the carboniferous limestone divides it. There
are several strata or formations of the limestone
which cross the county in the same general direction
that the quartz veins do. These limestones mark
the near shore-line of a carboniferous ocean, and are
the work of the coral polyps that once existed on
the golden shores of Amador. It is a well-known
fact that the coral insect does not live and work at
a greater depth than one hundred feet; and at the
period when these limestones were formed, the land
lay at the bottom of a shallow sea; or the rising
Sierras shifted the receding shore-line continually
to the west. Hence we find the greatest deposit
of the limestones on the east of Volcano, where
they have a width of three thousand feet. Between
Valcano and Sutter, we find two narrow strata of
limestone; and three or four miles to the west of
Sutter, we find the last, or most western, strata of
the carboniferous limestones.
These limestones do not contain a fossil of the
18
coral polyps, who built them; not even with the
microscope can they be detected. The strata has
been so metamorphosed and changed by pressure, as
to destroy the form, and change its beautiful coral
formations (as found in the limestones of the same
age in Shasta county), into crystalline marble.
This limestone is a white, crystalline, saccharoidal
marble of fine and coarse texture, with veinings of
oxide of iron and black oxide of manganese. It is
traversed, in many places, by heavy and light trap-
dikes.
Previous to the deposition of the gold-bearing
gravel upon it the rock has been worn by the action
of the elements into the most fantastic shapes.. By
the removal of the auriferous gravel covering, the
limestones, domes and spires, monuments and towers,
of dark-veined marble have been exposed to view,
presenting an imposing appearance. It is full of pot
holes formed by the action of water, and deep,
curiously eroded cavities, once filled with gold-bear
ing gravel.
Caves, caverns, and long, sinuous galleries have
been formed by the eroding waters carrying the car
bonate of lime in solution, depositing it at different
parts of the deposit, in many instances decorating
the roofs and floors of the caverns with beautiful
stalagmite and stalactite formations. The lime
stone belt is crossed by quartz veins of small size.
Layers of flint, or chert, possibly formed from the
cast-off shells of diatoms, are found along the line
of the marble and slaty beds of the same rock. The
gravel deposits, which at Volcano have been exten
sively worked for gold, rest on the auriferous slates
as well as the limestones. Beneath the limestones
the slates are not found.
In the ridge north of the town (Volcano) the
auriferous gravel is overlain by horizontal beds of
white and pink tufa or volcanic materials, consisting
of ashes and pumice cemented and stratified by
water. Upon these horizontal strata rests a mass of
trachyte, broken into rounded forms on the surface.
Under this massive volcanic ridge, the entire aurifer
ous belt plunges, re-appearing on the opposite side,
at Fort John.
Between the Volcano basin and the Mokelumne
river is another high ridge of volcanic materials,
under which the auriferous belt passes in a southerly
direction.
These volcanic ridges which may be met with all
along the western slopes of the main chain, extend
ing m parallel courses from the summits of the high
Sierras to the low tertiary foot-hills, which in many
instances they cap with a shallow deposit extend
in a continuous line to the summit of the Sierra
Nevada.
These ridges push out in detached masses to the
confines of the Sacramento valley, where, becoming
thinner and thinner, they have finally stopped, and
are found on the summits of the low tertiary hills
around lone valley.
138
HISTORY OF AMADOU COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
Near the surface in some of these tufa deposits,
may be found beautiful specimens of what are called
photographic rock dendritic formations; generally
resembling delicate tracery of trees and shrubs.
Some of the pictures are ideal landscapes, with
hill, valley, and lake; the lake in the foreground,
bordered by grass and ferns, the low hills in the back
ground with palmate and branching trees, delicate
as sea mosses. They are not, as supposed, nature's
photographs, but are formed by waters, holding
black oxide of manganese in solution, percolating
through the fissures in the rock. These formations
are abundant in the claims of McLaughlin & Co., on
Union Flat, and Whitney & Co., on the same range
near Volcano.
The Jurassic and carboniferous strata are overlain
by the strata of the tertiary and post-pliocene, with
boulder or glacial drift and aluvium deposits. The
volcanic deposits cap the whole, and are consequently
the latest formations.
GLACIAL EVIDENCES.
On the summits of many of the high ridges, both
exposed and under the lava flow, are deposits of
glacier drift, in places rich in gold. The question
with many is, how these immense polished boulders
have been left on the summits.
The solution of the question is that they were carried
there in the glacial period, after having been torn
from the numerous quartz, and other ledges, over
which the glacial flow passed, carrying them over
valley and hill as they are known to have traveled
from a northerly direction. The great body of
ice, possibly two or three miles in thickness, acted as
a mighty arastra, grinding down the quartz lodes,
pulverizing the mass, polishing the boulders, and
depositing the gold in the drift (to be concentrated
afterwards by the flowing streams from the melting
ice), wearing down the slates, and leaving the aurifer
ous gravel in the beds of the rivers and gulches, filling
the great valley of the Sacramento to an unknown
depth. The Stockton artesian well, sunk to a depth
of eleven hundred feet, did not go through the deposit,
nor the well at the Sacramento sugar refinery, two
thousand two hundred feet in depth, the auger
bringing up gold, quartz, and wood, at a depth of
two thousand feet. We mention these deep sinkings
in the valley to show that the debris, for countless
ages, has beeri pouring in.to the valleys, and must
for countless ages to come. Three miles west of the
town of Amador we find evidences of glacial deposit.
On the summit of one of the volcanic ridges, min
gled with the huge, rounded trachyte boulders, are
fifteen granite glacier-polished boulders. The larg
est is thirteen feet long by seven and one-half feet
wide; the part above ground is five feet high. It
contains fifty tons of rock, and has the ovid or
sheep-back form peculiar to glacial boulders. The
others, all similar in appearance, are much smaller.
There is no granite of the same character nearer
than twenty miles north-east, in an air line. We
followed the line of the glacier drift over the vol
canic ridges, and down the deep canons, to near
Upper Rancheria, where wo again came upon the
same character of granite boulders, but distant from
the first mentioned by ten or twelve miles. They
are from five to thirty tons weight. They mark the
line of the glacial flow, and their polished sides show
the action of the moving ice.
VOLCANOES.
There are no well-defined volcanoes, with the ex
ceptions of Butte mountain, near Jackson, and one
west of Tragedy Springs, near Silver lake. At the
last-mentioned point, there are evidences of the most
stupendous volcanic outbursts, and from this point
the lava ridges may be traced for forty miles or
more, toward the valley of the Sacramento. These
lava rivers in the volcanic epoch, flowed down the
lowest places, or river beds. As the ages rolled on,
the eroding waters and high mountain glaciers, wore
the softer slates away, and left these g-idges, as we
find them to-day, the most elevated portion of the
county. That portion of the county to the east of
the great Mother Lode, is traversed, to a greater
or less extent, by igneous rocks, mostly trap and
diorite. These dikes cut through all formations,
and are found extending to the boulder drift and
aluviuna deposits. (According to Clarence King,
United States geologist, they were erupted in the
cretaceous, or chalk period.) They are from a few
inches in width to many (sometimes five hun
dred) feet wide. We have traced many of them for
a distance v of two miles, through several formations.
They are, in many instances, intimately connected
with the formation of quartz lodes; and where they
cut a ledge or intersect it, deposits of rich ore are
often found. la the Pioneer district, five miles east
of Volcano, the small quartz lodes in the granite,
owe their origin to these trap-dikes; they are what
is known as segregated lodes, that is, drawn from
the granite by the heat of the ascending dike.
Trap-dikes cross the basin on- which the town of
Volcano is located, in almost all directions. The
richest placer deposits have been found in close
proximity to these erupted dikes, on one or the
other side. They appear to have acted as gigantic
riffles during the glacial period, and held the gold
as it was ground out of the abundant quartz lodes,
much as is common in a sluice at the present time.
A large dike of doleritic trap rock, with large crys
tals of augite, malacolite, and sahlite, of a dingy
green color, passes just above the falls on Indian
gulch, near Volcano, and through which a tunnel
has been driven. ' This heavy dike of igneous rock
changed the inclosing limestones to a coarse crys
talline carbonate of lime, some of the crystals an
inch square. Some very good marble has been
formed in the same way, at various places on the
limestone belt. This great dike, in a few hundred
GEOLOGY OF AMADOR COUNTY.
139
feet, frays out into numerous small dikes; some of
them cutting small quartz veins, in the here silicious
limestones, which show gold where the trap passes
through the quartz.
Butte mountain gives indubitable evidence of hav
ing been erupted on the spot, the molten matter
coming up through an opening in the slates. We
find the conical mountain composed of volcanic rocks
and ashes, resting on the auriferous slates. This
mountain is a conspicuous figure in the landscape,
and the view from its summit, extensive and grand.
COPPER. '*'
What is known as the copper belt, and on which
the Newton copper mine is located, passes across
the county five or six miles to the west of the great
Mother Lode. The slates in this section are the
magnesian and argillaceous. Large ledges and
strata of serpentine rocks cross and cut these slates
in all directions. The ore obtained at the Newton
mine is the sulphuret, known as chalcopyrite, the
yellow oxide of copper. There is some iron pyrites
mixed with the ore to a greater or less extent,
which lowers the percentage of the ore correspond
ingly; red oxide is also obtained in smaller quanti
ties.
The process of working is simple. The ore is
roasted, then leached, and the copper precipitated
with iron, or rather, collected on iron scraps.
Along this copper belt are numerous croppings
and evidences of the existence of other deposits of
copper, and the future prospector may yet uncover
mines equal to the one described above.
MINERALS.
Iron is abundant; and the day is not distant when
the inexhaustible iron deposits of Amador will be
profitably worked.
Wood is abundant for the manufacture of char
coal; limestone of the best quality for smelting
purposes without limit; andiron ore of a good grade
beyond computation. It is on every hand; in the
limonite that binds the gravel beds in solid conglom
erate to lodes or deposits of great extent ; in
masses of dark steel-gray hematite, and lodes of
magnetic iron ore; in specular iron; in masses of
iron and black oxide of manganese; in ocherous
earth and jaspery croppings; in stalactites and small
beautiful specimens of titanic ore; last but not least,
in the blood-red soil of the environing hills.
GYPSUM.
Small deposits of sulphate of lime have been found
at various points in the county, but not in paying
quantities. The future explorer may develop quan
tities of the mineral.
ASBESTOS.
Small veins of the above mineral exist all over the
county, changing from the fibrous to immense ledges
of steatite of a coarse variety.
MARBLE.
Marble of a good quality, and' of diiferent shades
from blue-veined to crystalline white, is found along
the limestone belt. Small quantities of onyx are also
found in the same vicinity.
MANGANESE.
Small veins of the above mineral are also met
with.
KAOLIN.
A good quality of potter's clay is found in hori
zontal deposits near Carbondale, and around lone
Valley. A good deposit of the same mineral exists
at Aqueduct City.
Accompanying the quartz veins, in many instances
forming selvedge or "gouge," as it is called by the
miners, is a fair quality of kaolin; formed from decom
posed feldspar.
AGATE CHALCEDONY.
In Soldiers' gulch, back of the town of Volcano,
is a quartz vein passing through the gravelly deposit,
formed, by the action of water holding silica in
solution, since the deposition of the gravel. It is a
ferruginous, jaspery vein of geodic chalcedony and
agate. Some of the cavities are most beautifully
lined with silicious crystalline deposits of these
minerals.
About one hundred feet to the north of the above-
described curious jaspery formation, is a dike or
trap, which, when erupted, baked the clay on either
hand for a distance of fifty feet into porcelanite, a
species of jasper. Near this dike we found several
casts of bones of the megatherium (?) a gigantic
animal that existed in the tertiary period. The casts
are of porcelanite, and very large.
In some of the clay slates, all over the county, we
found tracks and borings of worms and rain-drop
impressions, and in the hard blue slates along the
Mother Lode, we frequently find the wave marks
left by the receding Jurassic sea. In a mining claim
(at Volcano) near the junction of the slates and lime
stones, we found some fine specimens of ferruginous
lignite, or in other words, fossil woods changed to
iron ore, the fibre of the wood clear and distinct.
Here we also found a similar sample of palm wood,
the bark still remaining on the wood. The other
woods found presented a fibre similar to alder and
maple. We also found fossil plants, two in number,
all of which probably belonged to the triassic slates.
In the high volcanic ridge, known as Shake ridge,
about three miles north-east of Volcano, is the tunnel
of W. Q. Mason, which has been driven under the
volcanic matter or lava, through the channel rim of
slates, cutting an ancient river bed, or lacustrine de
posit. The thinly laminated clayey deposit, has been
formed in still water, as may be determined from the
position of the fossil vegetation. Charred wood and
'ferruginous lignite, or wood changed to iron ore, is
abundant. Mr. Mason has a pine cone a beautiful
140
HISTORY OF AMADOR COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
specimen, changed into sulphuret of iron. Here we
found between the thin, clayey layers, the leaves of the
following trees: Alder, willow, oak, maple, fig, and a
very large leaf we could not determine. These
leaves, and what appeared to be the fronds of a
species of fern, are abundant, forming a deposit in
some places two or three feet thick. They are very
fragile, and all attempts to preserve them, even for
a few days, were futile.
The fossil plants belong to the tertiary period, and
the volanic flow, that ended their existence, car
bonized and preserved their varied forms intact.
Similar leaves and fossil woods are found, in and
around Jackson and lone valleys, beneath the hori
zontal clay strata that form the hills.
Fossil remains of the elephant and mastodon have
been found at various places in the county by miners
and others.
In Jackson valley the} 7 have been upturned by
the plow. At Grass Yalley a tusk of a mastodon,
nine feet long, was washed from the auriferous
gravel deposits.
At one period of time in the geological history of
Amador, the rhinoceros (an animal allied to the
hippopotamus), an extinct species of horse, and an
animal allied to the camel, wandered through the
palm groves and tropical woods of Arcadian Ama
dor; none of these survived the grand catastrophe
that swept them from the earth and buried their
bones with the destroyed groves through which
they wandered under the great lava-covered ridges,
in the ancient river beds of to-day.
The feathery palm lifted its proud head to a trop
ical sun; the wild fig dropped its fruit along the
streams, and the maple flourished on the gently
rolling hills; gigantic ferns grew in rank luxuriance
around the margin of the placid lake; birds of gay
plumage winged their flight through flowering
groves, and the air was rank with heated vapors.
But a change came over the spirit of the dream; a
geological epoch had been accomplished, and the
rising Sierras, with their teeming volcanoes, lit up
the eastern heavens with a lurid glare, sending
down streams of lava and volcanic material, burying
the remains of those animals beneath the fiery flood.
Later the elephant and the mastodon wandered over
the hills and valleys of our county, only to be swept
away by the seas of ice, or ground to atoms beneath
its accumulated weight, leaving their remains as
evidence of their existence.
BOTANY OF AMADOR COUNTY.
Sugar Pine (Pinus Lambertina) The first and
grandest tree of the Sierras, which should have been
named pinus saccharina, an appropriate and suggest
ive name. It deposits a sugary mass, similar to the
manna of the druggist, but a mild cathartic, although
pleasant to the taste.
This majestic tree, with its long horizontal branches
and pendant cones of twelve to twenty inches in
length, towering high above its fellows, forms a most
attractive figure in the landscape. The white pine
lumber from this tree is the best met with in the
Sierras.
Pitch Pine (Pinus ponderosa) Comes next in value,
and immense quantities are sawed into lumber and
shipped to the valleys, or floated down the ditches to
the mines at Sutter, Amador, and other places.
Arbor Yitce (Thugia giyantea) Or the noble fir, is
found in the deep canons a few miles east of Yolcano.
Red Fir (Abies Doujlasii) Is also found on the
volcanic rjdges, and down the canons.
Balsam Fir (Picca granrlis)Is also met with, and
used for economical purposes.
The White Cedar (Labrocedus ducurens) Is a beau
tiful tree, and many attempts have been made to
transplant it to the valley homes, for ornamental pur
poses, but with only partial success.
Nut or Rock Pine (Pinus sabiana) Is found grow
ing on the rock lands of the western part of the
county, and along the carboniferous limestones, bear
ing a large cone full of edible nuts. The wood is poor,
even for fire-wood.
Nutmeg Tree ( Torreya C alifornica ) Which grows
into a stately tree in the Coast Range, here only
reaches a small shrub. The nuts are not like the
nutmeg of commerce, except in outside appearance.
The meat is edible, but the squirrels usually get it.
Western Yew (Taxus brevlfofia) Found in the
eastern part of the county, as also the mountain
spruce.
Bay Tree, or Mountain Laurel (Oreodaphne C alifor
nica,) A beautiful, spicy tree, which grows to an
immense size in the Coast Range, but here, only to a
respectable shrub.
White Oak (Quercus Lobata) Differs from that
found east of the Rocky Mountains.
Quercus Agrifolia Quite plenty on the ridges, and
around lone valley.
Canon Live-Oak (Q. Crysolepsis) A valuable
wood for ship timbers.
California Chestnut (Castanopsis Chrysophylla) A
shrubby tree; grows on the rocky lands.
Hazelnut (Corylus Roslrata) In the canons and
north hill-sides; bears nuts in small quantities.
Alder (Alnus Viridis) Found growing along the
streams. In the Coast Range is used for powder-
wood.
Common Willow (Salix Biglowii) Found in large
trees along the creeks and streams.
Cottonwood Poplar (Populas monilifera) Large
trees; in some instances along the creeks.
Bayberry or Wax Myrtle (Myrica Californica)
On moist hill-sides and streams.
Leather Wood ( Dirca palustris) A bush six to ten
feet high; grows on dry ridges; very tough.
Alder Buckthorn (jRhammus Californica) From
five to ten feet high; called Wild Coffee from the fact
the berry contains seeds that resemble coffee, and
ORIGIN OF MINERAL VEINS.
141
have been so used, but it is distinct from the true
coffee plant.
Mountain Lilac (Ceanothus thyrsiflorus) Two va
rieties, blue and white; a fragrant, handsome tree or
shrub.
Ceanothus papillosus Resembles the last; found in
the mountains; the body of the tree is full of nobs
made by the attacks of insects; used for canes on
account of this peculiarity.
ROSE FAMILY.
Wild Cherry (^Prunus ilicifolia).
Mountain Holly (Heteromeles arbutifolia ) Grows as
high as twenty feet, with beautiful, red berries,
which ripen in January or February; much sought
by birds.
Service Berry (Amelanchier alnifolia) Grows high
in the mountains.
Chaparral- Chemisal (Adenostoma fasclculatum)
Grows from five to twenty feet high; covers the
rocky hills to the exclusion of all other trees.
* MAPLE FAMILY.
Buckeye Horse-chestnut (jEsculus Californica) A
beautiful tree in the Spring when in bloom; nut used
by the Indians for food, who soak the poison out
with water.
Big Leafed Maple (Acer macrophyllum) Grows into
a small tree.
Poison Oak (Rhustaxico dendron) and (Rhus diver-
sllolba) Either variety of which will make the visitor
wish he or she had not met with it. This obnoxious
shrub grows all over the State.
HEATH FAMILY.
The Madrona or Strawberry Tree of the Spaniards
(Arbutus Menziessii) A beautiful tree with orange
colored branches and deep green varnished leaves;
bears a red berry of which the wild pigeons are fond.
Manzanita ( Arctostaphyhs tomentosa) and (A.
Glanca) Two varieties; bears berries, which the
Indians gather in large quantities, of which they
make a kind of cider.
Flowering Dogwood (Cornus Nuttallii) A beauti
ful tree when in bloom.
C. Californica Grows mostly along the streams;
another species of Dogwood.
Elder ( Sambucus glauca ) Bears edible berries.
Calif ornicum Rhododendron Is found in some
parts of the county.
Of plants, we have, lilies, saxifrages, orchides,
equisetce, sedges, etc., ferns in variety, wood mosses,
and lichens; there are lupines, orthocarpus; the
poppy family is represented by three or four beauti
ful species, and the lilies by as many.
There are two or three species of violets.
This list might be extended much farther.
CHAPTER XXVI 1.
ORIGIN OF MINERAL VEINS.
Plutonic Theory Ocean Floors Other Theories Considered
Function of Wall Rock and Gouge Surface Veins
Probable Depth of Veins Methods of Deposit Jurassic
Gravel Course of the Blue Lead.
IT may seem presumptuous to offer any ideas on
the formation of the various metaliferous veins that
ramify through our mountains; but between those
who think God called all things into existence just as
they are, and those who can readily explain every
thing^) there is quite room enough for many persons,
however different their opinions, to stand without
jostling each other. Notwithstanding all the dis
coveries in science, and they are many and of great
importance, we are but on the boundaries of the
infinite field, for natural science, in any of its thou
sands branches, is an illimitable expanse which
would require an eternity to explore.
An elaborate treatise on the formation of mineral
veins would be out of place in a volume of this kind,
even if the writer were capable of such a work;
hence only matters pertaining to the industries of
the county will find place here. Thirty years'
experience in gold and other mining, much of which,
for want of knowledge, has been unprofitable, has
left many valuable hints, which, like trees blazed
by the pioneer through the pathless woods, serve to
guide those who come after. An abandoned shaft
or mine should tell its tale of warning, and when
properly interrogated will probably do so.
PLUTONIC THEORY.
It was formerly held that all mineral veins were
the result of internal heat, which out of an immense
amount of material always hot, molten, .sent some
small fragments to the upper earth. Nearly all the
rocks were supposed to have the same origin; but
the inexplicable difficulties which this theory led to,
soon caused its abandonment. The metalic veins
were too finely ramified, reticulated through the
rock, to admit of that method of deposit. If the
metaliferous lodes had been raised to the necessary
degree of heat for fusion, the wall rocks or casings
would have been destroyed or vitrified; whereas,
the slate or other rocks in the vicinity of a vein are
frequently unchanged. The ribbon quartz, consisting
of parallel layers sometimes not thicker than paper,
and extending for hundreds of feet in length and
depth, would be impossible by the Plutonic theory.
Then again, known eruptive rocks are entirely differ
ent from the rocks in which minerals are found.
Lava beds contain no gold or silver.
OCEAN FLOORS.
It is now a favorite theory with many that metal
iferous veins are deposited in floors of the ocean pre
vious to their upheaval into mountain ranges, and
that the metals are precipitated by chemical action;
in proof of which we are cited to the precipitation
142
HISTORY OF AMADOR COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
of iron by vegetable matter on a sea-shore. The
sea of Sargasso, which is an immense field of sea
weeds in mid-ocean, near the tropics, must be,
according to this theory, a vast mineral bed, perhaps
of gold and silver. We hope no one, in consequence of
this suggestion, will get up an expedition to stake off
and work this mineral bed, although it might prove
fully as profitable as a Cocos island investment. It
is certain that nature is a unit in all her works, and
that all things work together for final results. We
have seen in the deposits at the foot-hills, which
probably have an extension into the plains, or
former bed of the bay, the deposits of eilicious
matter in the shape of infusoria, which forms beds
several feet in thickness. Mid-ocean, which receives,
though slowly, the same material, held in suspension
by the water, is consequently reproducing a similar
formation in the bottom of the ocean. Let us suppose
that the Sacramento valley be buried twenty thou
sand feet deep, in slickens, if you please, and that
after remaining long enough at that depth for the
layers of sand, clay, and gravel, to become indurated
or solidified, it begins to slowly emerge as a mount
ain range. Let us now consider the minerals likely
to be found in the rocks. The best statistics of the
composition will be a list of the materials which
have been dumped into the bay by the rivers.
According to the best authorities, twenty thousand feet,
at least, of rocks have been ground or torn away.
Much of this was gold-bearing; indeed, there is
much evidence in favor of the opinion that the rich
est portions of the quartz veins were on the surface.
No twenty -five pound lumps have been found in the
veins. The gold found in the gulches may have
been the coarser particles, rounded by attrition of
all this tremendous denudation. How much of the
gold was originally coarse? How much of that
now found in the quartz veins, if ground in a canon
of rocks like those found in any mountain river,
would leave coarse rounded gold ? Free gold is usu
ally found in threads and spangles. The Hayward
vein, the Keystone, the Plymouth, did not enrich the
gulches to any extent. The series of rich surface
veins, near Mace's ranch, hardly make a ravine worth
working, so fine is the gold. The fine gold of the
veins, as well as the particles worn oif the sprangly
threads, leaving the rounded dust or nuggets, has
gone into the valley, and is deposited in an impalpa
ble state in the sand, clay, and gravel, or, perhaps,
more finely divided, has gone to sea, to be deposited
in the mid-ocean beds of earthy deposits. We may
trace it farther than this; some of it may be held in
solution. The Platner process of dissolving gold in
hydrochloric acid, has shown how it is possible for
the sea- water to hold it in solution, and has, perhaps,
given us a hint of its possible recovery therefrom.
How about the proportion left in the gulches?
When one looks at the operations of a glacier, which
reduces everything in its grasp to the finest clay;
and to such canons as the American, Mokelumne, or
Cosumnes rivers, which take in tons in weight of
hard, flinty rocks, reduce them to powder, and send
them out on the plains as slickens, and asks what has
become of the soft gold, it must be .answered: It is
not destroyed, but not one per cent, of it is left to be
mined out in the rivers; not a quarter of one per
cent. even. For every million that goes to the mint,
more than five hundred has been lost as far as the
present race is concerned. It may be worked out
when our Sierras and the deep sea shall exchange
places, but not before.
To continue the illustration of the formation of
quartz veins: the layer of rock over and, perhaps,
under the ranges of sand or gravel containing the
gold, shall be firm, consistent, holding water, and
forming a subterranean channel, such as the water
in our artesian wells flows through, these tight floors
and roofs becoming the wall rocks of our future
vein. When these strata are upheaved so far as to
have one portion of the " U " several hundred feet,
or perhaps a thousand feet, higher than the other,
the lower portion reaches down to depths where the
heat maybe much above the boiling point, this being
reached at the depth of twelve thousand seven hun
dred and twenty feet, or an increase of one degree
for each sixty feet of descent. The iron, sulphur,
potash, soda, and other minerals, usually found with
all ores, were not mentioned in connection with the
gold, supposed to be in the soil of the Sacramento
valley, for the reason that they are so common as
to be perceptible in every soil. When this arrange
ment has been completed, the process of depositing
mineral veins may be considered to have commenced.
It is not essential that more than one end of the
" U," or succession of them, shall be exposed. We
only stipulate for such an arrangement as will allow
the rain-water which falls on the top of the mount
ain to sink into the earth and carry along whatever
mineral it may be able to hold in solution, parting
now with a particle of potash or sulphur, taking up
a particle of magnesia, silex, or other minerals,
until it reaches the alembic, crucible, or laboratory,
where heat comes in as a stimulant to its holding or
solvent powers. It is impossible to overestimate the
capacity of a circulation of this sort. When the
water reaches the opposite end of the " U," and again
encounters the cooler temperature of the surface, it
must gradually part with the greater portion of the
mineral which it picked up in its long journey,
though not quite all, for every spring contains more
or less mineral matter, especially if it emerges in
such quantity as to exceed the capacity of .the
ground for cooling it, as is the case with thermal
or hot springs. What would be the consequence of
a break or crack in the roof or floor of this channel ?
Would it not result in the formation of a side or
branch vein? An irregularity of upheaval which
shall separate the roof of the subterranean channel
into numerous parts, would result in setting up new
lines of deposit, and a consequent weakening of the
ORIGIN OF MINERAL VEINS.
143
main lode. Now, it is a fact, so common in quartz
mining as to amount to a certainty, that, without a
good hanging-wall not far away, a vein is almost
sure to fail. If it were true that the minerals are
deposited in veins on ocean floors, this condition
would not be so imperious.
A cross fracture in the roof- wall would produce a
cross-vein like the (rate vein, the one east of the Zeile
mine, and others that might be named. How can
such veins be accounted for on the supposition that
the precipitation is while the locality is yet- a floor?
Why should quartz be the vehicle for gathering
and retaining gold as well as most other metals?
The solution of gold by the Platner process, before
referred to, may give us a hint as to the chemical
agency of common salt and sulphur in gathering up
the gold scattered in impalpable particles through
the soil and concentrating it in veins; the precip
itation by the sulphuret of iron, tells its own story
also, as this form of iron is constantly associated
with gold. The free gold and large lumps still
remain to be accounted for. Some miners of intel
ligence believe that gold grows by accretion both
in quartz and gravel. Possibly it does. Who can
tell when, if ever, the particles of matter, even in the
hardest rocks, ceased to adjust themselves to each
other ? J. T. Burke, the oldest and most experienced
quartz miner in the county, thinks that the quartz
veins are still receiving gold. It is said that the
silver mines of Mexico, which were worked three
hundred years since, have again become rich from
the flowing through them of water containing silver
in solution. The copper mines in the lower part of
the county are known to be in an active condition,
gaining or losing ores all the time.
The mineral belts of Amador county are various
and extensive, but there are many reasons for believ
ing they once were one floor. Beginning with the
lower veins nearly on a level with the ocean, as the
last formed, we have the Arroyo Seco lead near
Muletown on the west, and the Newton lead on the
east; thence across the axis of elevation (the ser
pentine range near the Mountain Spring House), we
have another extension of the same, but a few miles
in width, and by no means continuous from north
to south. Some rich quartz is found in this range,
and considerable copper, the latter in chimneys of
small extent. Next is the Mother Lode, which has
been fully described, the upper end or east side of
the " U" being near Volcano. East of Volcano is the
last one to be considered, for the reason that by
denudation the upper and older lines of elevation are
nearly erased. Why the lower belt near the foot
hills should have copper instead of gold; why the
middle belt should have the custody of the richest
quartz veins; why the upper or Volcano range
should have its'veins transverse or at angles, vary
ing with the cleavage of the slate, is among the
many, very many, mysteries.
So far, we have only taken into account the fissure
or true veins, which may be considered as those that
reach the bottom, or continue through the inverted
syphon. The true fissure vein may be in the shape
of a chimney, wide, with a short run north and
south, or it may be continuous for hundreds of feet,
with about the same thickness; but in either case
it may be poor or rich, the essential condition of its
wealth being, that it must be located in a gold-bear
ing soil or lode. A vein of quartz by itself may not
be rich in gold any more than a ravine. There are
quartz mountains in New Hampshire, as well as in
California; but no gold in them that is known.
SURFACE VEINS.
These have an entirely different origin, and in
general pinch out at no great distance from the
surface. They are probably produced by the pre
cipitation of gold and quartz, held in solution by
surface streams. Some surface veins are quite rich;
little fortunes are often made out of them. This is
the character of many of the veins in the vicinity
of West Point. A surface vein is characterized by
a nearly total want of gouge. What this has to do
with a quartz vein, may not be apparent to the gen
eral reader. In all fissures of any extent is found
a clay, sometimes several inches in thickness, which
is said to be produced by the slow grinding or rub
bing of the walls against each other. The rocks
and clay are striated, the lines showing the direc
tions of these oscillations, which are not necessarily
perceivable, in a generation even. There is apt to
be a heavier deposit of ore along the gouge, which,
as a usual thing, also is a water-course. If the fis
sure is but temporary, extending down a few hun
dred feet at most, below which the rock is solid,
there can be no grinding or rubbing of the walls
together, and, consequently, no gouge. These sur
face veins are in constant formation, though some
of them probably are contemporaneous with the true
fissure veins. A small quartz vein will sometimes
form in a lava bed; also in the coal veins, or beds
of lignite, in the foot-hills. They are found in the
tertiary or sandstone hills of the Coast Range, some
of the veins having considerable gold in them. These
hills, by the way, though in some places thousands
of feet high, bear marks of a birth long subsequent
to the Sierras, and are, probably, in great part com
posed of the debris from the summits of the Sierras,
when they had not yet bared their heads of granite.
The cement of old buildings sometimes contains thin
veins of crystallized quartz. The gold-bearing veins
of steatite near lone, probably were enriched the
same way; that is, by surface action. Let our
future chemists take a hint from this in the reduc
tion of gold quartz.
PROBABLE DEPTH OP VEINS.
It is well settled that quartz and other mineral veins
have no particular connection with the center of the
earth, but are surface affairs, extending no deeper
than the deposits of rocky matter that in the great
144
HISTORY OF AMADOU COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
ycle of events is now filling up an ocean, and now
being lifted to be denuded and sent again to the bot
tom of the deep sea. If the slope in the Keystone,
Gover, and Seaton mines were maintained for a few
thousand feet it would be apt to meet the bottom of the
'V," or inverted syphon. The wall rock of the Consol
idated Amador failed at one thousand seven hundred
and fifty feet; other mines may extend to greater
depths, but if they could or should be worked down
to greater depths, probably the wall rock would be
found gradually getting flatter. Indeed, the univer
sal testimony is that after the permanent vein is
reached a change in the direction of the vein is
always towards a horizontal. The opinion sometimes
entertained, that the quartz veins extend to intermin
able depths is probably erroneous, though the limit
may never be reached by any known methods of
working deep mines.
METHODS OP DEPOSIT.
An uneducated person, when first shown a piece of
crystalized quartz, is apt to form the opinion that it
had been melted and run into that shape, but a little
observation will convince him that the regular forms
must be the result of a general law resulting from the
adjustment of the particles to each other. In some
specimens of crystals we may seethe lines of deposit
which are always parallel to the terminal faces.
In examining veins of quartz of different localities,
we find some in fine layers (like ribbons when viewed
edgewise), not thicker than paper. The slightest
amount of iron, lime, or other mineral, in solution
with the silicious matter, will suffice to mark the
lines of deposit. In other veins, which appear to be
solid, we may get a hint of the method of deposit
by the lines of decomposition or decay, which show
an arrangement of particles like melting ice, which
docs not melt in parallel lines, but in cavities. So a
quartz vein will show a deposit of irregular crystals
adhering to the sides of a cavity and gradually
approaching each other until they unite and become
solid. This seems to be a common form of deposit
in the recent or surface veins. In other cases the
quartz is in nodules or amorphous bunches. This is
the case in the Keystone where the bunches are
sometimes so large as to contain forty thousand tons
of rich milling ore. The Hayward had a boulder
vein also, though it would scarcely pay for milling.
A more thorough investigation may show a uniform
and decided difference in the lines of deposit of sur
face and true fissure veins, by which their character
may be determined.
JURASSIC GRAVEL.
Geologists have determined the gold-bearing quartz
and adjoining rocks to belong to the Jurassic age.
This classification is said to rest on the discovery of
fossil reptiles, and is probably correct. The point to
note in the matter, which seems to have escaped the
attention of the professors, is the existence of large
bodies of gravel in different portions of the county, in
strata parallel to the quartz veins, and probably
extending down as far or farther than the quartz
veins. These veins of gravel are full of quartz peb
bles, as well rounded as any that can be found in
creek or river, and are no spheroidal concretions
formed when the slates were a plastic mass, but are
evidently the product of a rapid stream passing over
auriferous quartz. Where is the stream that rounded
these pebbles? Where is the system of quartz veins
which must antedate the Mother Lode from which
these pebbles were torn? Where is the mountain
that gave impetus to these streams that rounded
them? The beds appear in such quantities and in
such places and conditions as to forbid the idea of
their having fallen into a fissure in the earth. They
have the regular stratification and cleavage of the
slate; the layers being separated frequently by thin,
delicate lines of slate such as maybe seen in any allu
vial deposit. The gravel may be seen in nearly all
the cafions west of the Mother Lode, but the most
decided outcrop is about one thousand feet east of
Drytown, where there are two distinct deposits each
a hundred feet thick, separated by a strata of the
black clay slate, common to the country. This reef
extends the whole length of Murderer's gulch on the
north, and to the Rancheria hill on the south, a distance
of two miles, and from the gold found in the ravine
near by, is evidently gold-bearing. What becomes
of the Mother Lode theory now ? Here is gravel
that is as old in its place as the Mother Lode, that
presupposes an older lode still, not only that, but a
subsequent upheaval. There is but one conclusion in
the matter possible; there must have been an older
Mother Lode, or grandmother, if such a term is per
missible, which existed and was in a mountain or
range of mountains ere the upturning of the slates in
whose company the gravels rest. As there are some
two or three thousand feet of clay slate between this
gravel and the Mother Lode, older than the quartz,
occupying the inferior position, millions of years
were necessary for the slow deposit of the clays
afterwards indurated into slate. Reference to evi
dence of a former mineral region, denuded to the
granite rock in a former age has once before been
made.
In the northern part of the State where the integ
rity of the mountain topshasbeen better maintained,
there arelanjd rivers which seem to run towards the
O
south and become lost. The Blue Lead, the largest
of these, is said to have been traced to El Dorado
county. As this river was fur to the east, occupying
a much greater altitude, these gravel beds may be
the lacustrine termination of the Blue Lead which by
a subsequent upheaval, is now tightly inclosed in its
coffin of slate. The question, " What has become of the
Blue Lead? " may possibly be answered here. The
discovery may have no economic value but it will be
an interesting leaf to read in thegeology of California.
This lead of gravel, tracing it by the appearance in
places, seems to have taken a south-western direction
ARTHUR B. SAN BORN.
QUARTZ MINING.
145
across the county. It may be seen in Sutter creek
about four miles below the town, and again in the
southern part of the county near the Mokelumne
river. Although the veins have never been worked,
a thorough prospecting might prove them to have
some economic value.
CHAPTEE XXVIII.
QUARTZ MINING.
Quartz Mining, Commencement of Quartz Miners' Convention
Account of the Mother Lode Sketch of Different Mines
Gwin Mines Casco Murphy's Ridge Huffaker Moore
Zeile Description of a Model Mill Plainer Process of
Reducing Sulphurets Hinkley Mine Monterichard
Kennedy Tubbs Oneida Summit Hay ward Character
of the Same Railroad Wildman Mahoney Union or
Lincoln Accident in the Lincoln Mechanics Herbertville
Spring Hill Keystone Consolidation of Granite State
and Walnut Hill Discovery of the Bonanza Statistics of
Same Big Grab, and Failure to Hold ifc Account of the
Suit Original Amador Bunker Hill Pennsylvania Gover
Black Hills Seaton Potosi Quartz Mountain Ply
mouth Group Enterprise Nashville.
THE intelligent men who worked the gulches and
rivers in an early day, soon sought the sources of
the gold. Sometimes gold was found with quartz
adhering to it, or occasionally a quartz pebble
riveted through and through with gold. The veins
of quartz seaming the hills in the vicinity of the
richest placers, also served to point to that rock as
the original source of the gold. At Carson Hill, in
Mariposa county, quartz had been found immensely
rich; but the expense of blasting the rock out and
crushing it was such, that no serious attempts were
made, in Amador county, until 1851. The whole
country abounded with quartz; in some places there
were mountains of it, which had filled the ravines
with broken quartz, where no gold was to be found;
so that the search for auriferous quartz was a tedious
affair until men were put upon the scent.
The first discovery of gold in quartz seems to have
been made by a man by the name of Davidson, a
Baptist preacher, in February, 1851, on the south side
of Amador creek near the spring then used by the
miners. Boulders of considerable size were lying
on the top of the ground, supposed to have been
detached from the vein. Gold was found in some of
these, and subsequently, in the vein from which these
came. Associated with Davidson were Glover,
Herbert, and P. Y. Cool, all ministers; hence the
claim was known as the "ministers' claim." Samuel
Hill, afterward a resident of Buckeye, was taken in
as a capitalist, and the company organized as the
Spring Hill Company. About the same time,
Thomas Eickey, and his son James, afterward resi
dents of lone, located the vein on the north side of
the creek, since known as the Original Amador. Gold
could also be seen in this rock. None of these men
had ever seen any quartz mining; in fact, there was
none in the world to compare with what may be
seen now at any mining town. Hill, of the Spring
Hill Company, went to Sacramento and bought a
19
steam engine, aged and ancient in style, which proved
a 'mine of trouble to them, as it took an enormous
quantity of wood to make steam. The main shaft
was wood with bearings of round bar iron, two
inches in diameter, which were driven in with a
hammer, the end of the log being banded with iron.
The cams were large spikes of bar iron driven into
the shaft and afterward bent. The stamps had
wooden stems, and spikes driven into the stems for
tappits or projections, against which the cams should
play to raise the stamps. The gold was saved, or
rather lost, by means of a rocker about eight feet
long, worked by the same power as the stamps.
The machinery proving a failure, was soon rebuilt
with improvements suggested by experience.
The mill on the north side was started about the
same time, September 5, 1851, with somewhat
better machinery. The shaft was of wood, but had
axe-bar iron four inches wide and half an inch thick
for cams, the bars being bent after they were put in
the shaft. The stamps also had wooden stems with
slots in the middle to receive the cams. Dan Fiddler
was the master mechanic, and J. T. Berke the
superintendent of this mine. It made dividends as
well as wages for its owners, who were all workers.
Quicksilver was tried, but from some cause failed to
give satisfactory results. It was also discovered
that much of the gold was lost, being too fine to
settle into the ordinary riffles. While experiments
were being made to remedy the matter, a German
who had had experience in mining in Peru, pro
posed to amalgamate with arastras. With his
assistance the company took out about seventy-five
ounces a week, the German receiving one-thirteenth
part for his share. This was the first successful
quartz mining in the county.
QUARTZ MINERS' CONVENTION.
The discovery of gold-bearing quartz aroused the
whole country. All were looking forward to the
time when the gulches and surface claims should be
exhausted, and there were numbers of men who
thought this was the case as early as 1851. Quartz
was now tried everywhere; like any other mining
craze it went beyond all reasonable bounds. Possi
bilities became certainties. A mill had been put up
at Quartzburg on the Cosumnes river which was
thought to be making fabulous fortunes for its own
ers, which, however, was far from true. It may as
well be told here that the superintendent, Dr. Har
ris, a native of Nashville, Tennessee, brought out
seventeen thousand dollars to work the mine, drew
on the company for twenty-eight thousand dollars
more, and then abandoned the mine to the hired
hands to make their back wages out of it if they
could. The lead or Mother Lode, as this system
of veins, chutes, or chimneys, has been called,
was soon traced to the Cosumnes on the north,
and the Mokelumne on the south. All kinds
of claims were set up and a harvest of lawsuits
146
HISTORY OF AMADOR COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
seemed impending, when it was resolved to hold a
quartz convention and make regulations to ensure
the peace and security of quartz mining, which, after
a proper notice, was held at Rancher! a, that being
probably the largest place in the county.
The following is copied from the book of records
now in the hands of M. B. Church of Drytown.
"QUARTZ MINING LAWS.
" At a meeting of the miners of Dry Creek, Ran-
cheria Creek, Amador Creek, Sutter Creek, holden
near the town of Rancheria, June 7, 1851, in accord
ance with previous public notice, for the purpose of
making rules and regulations for quartz miners, in
the mining districts hereinafter described.
" T. J. Lawton was chosen President; Samuel Her
bert, Vice-President; Wm. Salter, Jr., Secretary.
" On motion of O. L. Palmer, a committee of three
was appointed consisting of 0. L. Palmer, Wm. Fen-
ton, of Rancheria, and Hiram B. Platt, of Drytown, to
prepare resolutions for the consideration of the meet
ing. The committee offered the following report,
which was accepted.
"Resolved, That rules and regulations for the
security, peace and harmony of the miners, who are
now or who may be hereafter engaged in prospect
ing and working quartz mines, are positively neces
sary.
"2. That incompliance with that necessity, we do
hereby ordain and establish the following rules and
regulations for the government of the district within
the following bonds, to wit: All that portion of the
county of Calaveras that lies south of the dividing
ridge between Cosumues river and Dry creek and
north of the Mokelumne river.
" 3. That the size of a claim in quartz veins shall
be two hundred and forty (240) feet in length of the
vein without regard to the width, to the discoverer or
company, and one hundred and twenty (120) feet in
addition thereto for each member of the company
that shall now or may be hereafter organized.
"4. That no claims, hereafter made, shall be con
sidered good and valid, unless the same shall have
been staked off, in conformity with the provisions
of Resolution 3, and written notice of the size of the
claim, and the number of the men in the company,
posted on a stake or tree at each end of the claim,
together with the date of the day when the claim
was made; and all claims now made shall be staked
off in conformity with these resolutions,, within five
days from the date of the adoption of these resolu
tions.
"5. That the size of the claim, the names and num
ber of men composing the company that holds the
claim, together with a brief description of the loca
tion of the same, so that it may be identified, shall,
within ten days after the claim is made, be filed in
the office of the Justice of the Peace, in whose dis
trict the same may be located. And all persons
holding such claims shall file the same within ten
days from this meeting, and all persons hereafter
making claims (within ten days after the claims are
located), or otherwise, said claims shall be forfeited.
" 6. In all cases where claims are held by a com
pany working jointly, they shall not be required to
work in more than one place; but where held by
individuals, each several claim must be worked.
7. Whenever a claim has been abandoned, and
such can be clearly proved before the Justice of the
Peace, where such filing was made, said claim shall
be forfeited to the person or persons establishing
such proof.
" 8. That these rules, regulations, and proceedings,
be signed by the president and secretary of this
meeting, and filed in the Justice's office at Drytown.
'T. J. LAWTON, Pres.,
"AVAi. SALTER, Sec."
The number of talented men in this Convention
was noted, although it was not unusual for such
bodies, in the early fifties, to be composed of men
who might have sat in Legislative halls, with credit
to themselves and all concerned.
The Convention was hopeful, and even confident,
of success. Some, who were not in possession of
satisfactory claims, wished the size to be cut down.
It was urged that fifty feet of a vein, which probably
had no bottom, was quite enough to satisfy any
reasonable man. One thousand dollars a ton was
set as the probable value of the quartz. Some of
the veins were fifty, and even a hundred, feet wide.
It was easy to figure up into millions within a short
distance of the top on a fifty-foot claim. Some
ventured to say that the quartz would not pay
a dollar a pound. Mr. Davidson, being a candid,
unexcitable man, was called upon to give his opinion
as to the value of it. He said that he had no wish
to deceive the Convention, but he doubted if the
rock would average more than ten cents per pound,
or two hundred dollars per ton (he had not then
started his mill); and claims were made one hundred
and twenty feet, with two extra claims to the dis
coverer. What would have been the feelings of the
Convention if they could have foreseen that one-
tenth of the sum named would come to be considered
very rich? Scarcely one of all the number who
assembled that day, but what retired from quartz
mining, bankrupt and discouraged. This, however,
is anticipating.
Quartz mining was now fairly inaugurated. In
a short time, the Granite State, the Herbertville, the
Union. Eureka, Badger, Wolverine (the last three
being consolidated in the Hayward mine), Oneida,
all came in a short time. The Granite State was
the first to put up a mill with iron shaft, tappits and
stems. John Conness was a stockholder in this
mine. Garfield, afterwards Governor of Washington
Territory, invented the stamp with tapering stem
and socket, to correspond. Shaking tables 'were
introduced in 1852, and were in use until 1860. The
Chile mill, with rotating balls and revolving barrel,
was introduced by P. M. Randal. The last is still
used. Roasting the ore was tried, but, though it
was more easily pulverized, it was soon abandoned
as not satisfactory. The sulphurets were saved by
means of blankets or rawhides, placed along the
bottoms of the sluices, and amalgamated in the Chile
mill, or revolving barrel.
THE MOTHER LODE.
Perhaps no term more inappropriate could have
been selected. Tbe name is inappropriate because
QUARTZ MINING.
147
there is no principal lode or vein at all, but rather
a series or system of veins, chutes or chimneys along
a certain range of country, varying in width from
two hundred to four thousand, or perhaps eight
thousand feet. In some places there are hundreds
of veins, as on the Black hills and Murphy's ridge,
some of which are mere threads, ramifying in every
direction. In other places, the ore-bearing ground
is narrowed within walls two or three hundred feet
apart, as at the Keystone, Plymouth, and the Hay-
ward mines; though even here, as we shall see, the
ore is not concentrated in a single vein. The term
mother, is also misleading, for it gives the idea that
all other veins are connected somehow, and fed from
this, than which nothing could be more erroneous.
Evidently, the first theorists presumed that all
mineral veins came out of the interior regions of
the earth, where the fires are always glowing, and
that down some thousand feet all the veins of quartz,
big and little, would come together in one main
lode, extending the whole length of the State, or as
far as the gold range extends.
SKETCH OF THE DIFFERENT MINES.
The Cfwin mine, though in Calaveras county, is
really the beginning of the series of veins which
have made Amador the richest county in the State
in quart/. This is in Rich gulch, which is supposed
to have derived its wealth from the breaking down
of the vein matter. The owner, Dr. Gwin, is better
known as Duke Gwin, from his having that title con
ferred on him for valuable aid to the Emperor Max-
imillian of Mexico. The mine is said to be paying
well. The series of veins here is quite wide, several
other veins cropping out a thousand feet or more to
the east. v
The Casco mine is on the north side of the Mokel-
umne river, and consequently in Amador county.
This mine was worked in 1868 by J. E. Harden-
burg some eight hundred feet deep, the rock being
crushed by a water-mill of twenty stamps, not far
from the mine. The owner sunk twenty thousand
dollars in the operation. The Casco mine is on the
eastern side of the range, which here is quite wide.
Abraham McKinney has a mine on the west side of
the range, which is yet undeveloped, but which
shows some very rich specimens, some of which are
of singular appearance, containing gold in crystal
line forms in coarse granulated quartz. Persons
who entertain an opinion that gold is deposited in a
melted state, will find a puzzling problem in these
specimens; The rock east of here (hanging-wall) is
syenitic or stratified rock, resembling granite, vary
ing in texture and character at every dividing seam.
On the west the wall rock (foot-wall) is the hard
metamorphic slate sometimes termed by the miners
" blue granite."
MURPHY'S RIDGE.
This singular formation is the Mother Lode in
its integrity with tho foot and hanging-walls washed
away and occupied by ravines, Murphy's gulch and
Black gulch on one side, and Hunt's gulch on the
other. It is likely that the gouge, which is generally
a soft, clayey mass, which seems to have been formed
by the slow grinding of the walls against the vein,
gave direction to the course of the water which
finally eroded them away. On the west side of the
ridge the miners have followed the gouge down in
places to a considerable depth for the gold that lies
on the foot- wall. The ravines were, perhaps, the
richest ever found in the county, as they were
worked with profit for twenty years, one set of
miners after another taking away their "piles."
The ridge is a network of small veins which ramify
in every direction through a rather soft earthy slate.
Some of the seams are immensely rich, four or five
hundred dollars being taken out of a bucketful of the
rotten rock. Sometimes the gold is found in combi
nation with arsenic, or arsenical sulphurets, which
pay a thousand dollars or more to the ton, though
the tons are not many, as the veins may not be a
half inch in thickness. In places the ridge is being
washed down by hydraulic power. As much of the
gold is too fine to be saved by this process, much
must be lost. In other instances the small veins of
quartz are mined out and crushed, paying good
wages. " There is millions in it," i. e., the hill or
ridge, but how to get it out economically is the ques
tion. Isaac N. Dewitt owns twenty acres of this
ridge, being a long strip four hundred feet wide along
the center.
Many experienced miners think all these veins
will come together below, and offer as a reason for
this opinion that the wall rocks are converging as
they go down. James Morgan, a man with much
experience in mining, is of this opinion, and is now
running a cross cut some four hundred feet below the
summit of the ridge, to test the theory. A shaft
sunk four hundred feet on the east side of the ridge,
did not expose any workable vein.
HUFFAKER LEAD.
This once very rich mine, some two thousand feet
or more to the east of the last-named mine, is not
worked at present. It is said that in 1856 the Huff-
aker brothers and - - Harris, found quartz that
would pay twenty thousand dollars per ton. The
gold was found in bunches or pockets. Like all
pocket veins, this one marred about as many fortunes
as it made. James Morgan is now sinking on this
lode with good prospects. This vein is believed to
have supplied the gold that enriched the hills around
the south side of the Butte Basin.
THE MOORE MINE
Is at the head of Hunt's gulch, on the eastern side
of the Mother Lode. It is a curiosity, and is
worthy of observation. It is a rather thin vein of
good looking quartz, with an enormous mass of bar
ren quartzose rock for a foot-wall, the whole mass
being considerable out of the range of Murphy's
148
HISTORY OF AMADOR COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
ridge, which is thought to be the main lode. North
of Murphy's the quartz seems to be wanting, though
a few small veins crop out over a space perhaps half
a mile wide, some of these being in the hard, meta-
morphic slate, which is supposed to have been the axis
of elevation when the mountian chains were formed.
These veins may be traced along the ridge west of
Jackson and the Oneida. Though they contain some
gold they pinch oat at a short distance from the sur
face, and are avoided by quartz miners.
There has been considerable prospecting in the
neighborhood of Jackson, and several times the
announcement of the beginning of the quartz mining
era was made, but it never came. So many promising
mines were discovered that in 1862 the Kearsing
brothers erected a four-stamp mill and arastra, run
by water-power, for custom work. The mill was
afterwards enlarged to ten stamps, but it was not a
paying concern. In 18G2
THE ZEILE MINE
Was discovered by Leonard Coney, who put up a
mill with sixteen stamps, with works to reduce the
sulphurets, though the Platner process was not intro
duced at that time. Some very good runs were made,
realizing ten thousand dollars per month. In April,
1866, it was sold by Charles T. Meader, who had
been running it, to Dr. Zeile, of San Francisco, for
seventy-five thousand dollars. Work was sus
pended until within the past two years, since which
time new hoisting works and mill, with all the lat
est improvements, have been placed on the mine.
As this is considered the model mill of the county,
a description of it will be in place. The hoisting
works over the shaft have powerful pumps, which
can be set in motion without interfering with the
other machinery. An air-compresser saves the work
of striking the drills, while an automatic dumper
does away with the dangerous work of bucket land
ing, by which so many men have been injured.
The rock is carried on a tramway to the upper story
of the mill, where a " grizzly " separates the fine
from the coarse rock, the latter going into a rock-
breaker, which prepares it for the stamps. From
the rock breaker the quartz goes to the automatic
feeder, a machine that seems almost endowed with
life, so closely does it watch the batteries, supplying
them with quartz at the moment the stamps begin
to strike the bed of the mortar. The action is sim
ple and reliable. The idea originated with James
Tullock, of Volcano, who erected the first one some
years ago. Several designs have been patented
since, but his holds a place yet among quartz-mills.
The tappit or collar around the stem of the stamp,
by means of which the cam raises the stamp, is the
agent employed. It is put in connection with a
revolving belt or table, containing the quartz to be
fed to the battery, so that when the stamp descends
to the bottom of the mortar, the tappit moves the
table, and drops some rock into the battery, which
it continues to do until the want is supplied. An
automatic feeder is required for each battery. When
the pulverized quartz has passed through the shak
ing tables, and other machinery for saving the free
gold, it passes to the machine known as the " Frue
Concentrator," for saving the sulphurets. This
machine is a recent invention, and considered a
great improvement over either the Buddie or
the Hendy concentrator. The pulp is caught on
a wide rubber belt, which, with an oscillating motion,
is made to carry the tailings up an incline against
a gentle stream of water, which washes away the
lighter particles, leaving the sulphurets, which are
heavier, to adhere, by their own specific gravity, to
the endless belt, which passes into a water-bath,
removing the sulphurets, which are thus saved in a
very concentrated condition.
THE PLATNER PROCESS
Of reducing sulphurets was introduced into Cali
fornia by a miner by the name of Deakin, and is now
in general use. By this process the sulphurets form
erly lost are made to pay from fifty to six hundred
dollars per ton, amounting in some instances to twenty
per cent, of the entire gold product. The "chlorination
works " is a long building with a furnace some forty
feet long, and sixteen feet wide with arched roof from
one to three feet above the floor. There are several
openings along the sides to put in and withdraw
the charge, (which, in a furnace of the above size,
would be about three tons,) also to observe the pro
gress of the work. The first heat is moderate and is
intended to expel the moisture, after which the heat
is increased and the sulphur is set on fire. This
burns for some hours, keeping the mass at a dull red
heat; after the sulphur has burned out the fire must
be increased so as to drive off the arsenic and other
base metals. Too much heat will now volatilize the
gold, which will be found gilding the roof of the
arch. Too little fire leaves the fine particles of gold
coated with a metal that would prevent the last and
most important process (to be described hereafter),
so that constant watchfulness is requisite, though a
trusty man, without being a chemist, soon learns the
necessary treatment. The mass, after being roasted
from twenty -four to thirty-six hours, is allowed to
cool off, and is then place in tubs five or six feet wide
and two feet high with tight-fitting covers, where it
is subjected for thirty-six hours to the action of
chlorine gas which dissolves the gold, forming the
chloride of gold which is soluble in water. The pro
cess of making gold soluble is particularly described,
because it may be necessary to remember this when
we consider the origin of the gold deposits in the
quartz veins. The chlorine gas is obtained by the
action of sulphuric acid on common suit and oxide of
manganese, all cheap articles. It is a corrosive gas
eating up other metals as well as gold, and "also
destroys animal matter, purifying the atmosphere of
offensive odors. Water is now turned into the tubs
QUARTZ MINING.
149
and the gold comes out as a greenish-brown liquid;
in fact, gold is of a green color, notwithstanding the
ordinary opinion, as may be seen by looking through
a very thin film of gold, which will appear of a beau
tiful green. Water is run through the mass until no
green tinge is left. Sulphate of iron (copperas) is
now added to the solution and in a short time the
gold begins to settle in the shape of a brown powder,
which, upon being put in the crucible, melts into gold
995. fine, worth twenty dollars per ounce. The cost
of reducing sulphurets this way is about seventeen
dollars per ton. It is expected that the cost of
extracting and reducing ore at this mill will fall
below two dollars per ton. If this can be accom
plished, it will, perhaps, cause many other mines of
low grade ore to be worked. The works, with the
powerful and massive machinery, form a wonderful
contrast to the mills at Amador thirty years ago.
THE HINKLEY MINE
Is a pocket mine and was discovered in 1863 while
the owner was digging a post hole. Some four
thousand dollars were taken out in a few days. The
vein is two and a half feet thick at the surface; at a
depth of forty feet it was five feet thick; turned from
a perpendicular to a horizontal for thirty feet, and
then ran down nearly vertically again. It has pro
duced eighteen thousand dollars at an expense of six
thousand dollars. It has many times made its owner
happy, but the rock when away from a pocket is
distressingly poor. Mr. Hinkley owns about four
hundred feet of the vein.
A few hundred yards east of the Zeile mine is a
slash vein, so called, running nearly at right angles
with the ordinary course. At the Gate is another of
great width and nearly a thousand feet long. They
are seen occasionally in other parts of the county,
and, although they have never been worked to any
extent, they are important as throwing considerable
light on the formation of quartz veins.
The Monterichard is a cross vein in the hard
metamorphic slate about two miles west of Jackson.
It was discovered in 1876 by a Frenchman who gave
his name to the mine. It has paid very well, making
for thirty -two months from two thousand to three
thousand seven hundred and fifty dollars per month
with a mill often stamps. The vein isnarrow, vary
ing from six inches to two feet, with walls well
defined. It was run by James Meehan, Sanguinetti,
and Muldoon, until March, 1880, when it was sold to
Lloyd Tevis, of San Francisco, for twenty thousand
dollars. The new owner put in ten more stamps,
making a twenty-stamp mill. The vein pinched out
soon after and the mine is suspended. It is generally
thought Tevis got the worst of the bargain.
THE KENNEDY MINE
So named from its discoverer, was developed by
John Fullen, James Fleming, and James Bergon,
working the rock at the Oneida mill. In 1871 it was
taken by a joint-stock company, the Richlings being
large owners. The mine has hardly been a success,
and in 1880 it was closed down. The vein is close to
the foot-wall and has pitched rapidly to the east,
following a pitch of nearly forty -five degrees, which
is considered very flat. It is believed that it will
eventually join a vein about six hundred feet to the
east, called the "Volunteer." The lode does not fol
low the rift of the slate and consequently is not a
true fissure vein.
THE TUBE'S MINE
Was on the eastern part of the lode near the Gate.
It did not pay and was shut down. Stephen Kendal
was the manager of the works. There seems to have
been no substantial wall rock and consequently no
permanent vein.
THE ONEIDA.
This location was made in 1851, by a number of
men from the central part of New York. Like all
the companies engaged at that time in quartz min
ing, the Oneida had extravagant expectations.
When a run had been made, the interested parties
gathered around to see the batteries cleaned up.
The sand, quicksilver, and amalgam were gathered,
and the operator commenced the panning process,
turning off the quicksilver as it ran together. As the
sand was washed out the amalgam grew less and less
as did the prospects of the miners. The whole pro
ceeds of several days' crushing finally shrunk to a
handful containing a few ounce.8 of gold, not half
enough to pay expenses, to say nothing about a
fortune. The mill and mine were leased, in 1854, to
Dr. E. B. Harris for a nominal rent, for the purpose
of having it developed. He was endowed with
great physical strength and indomitable energy, as
well as good judgment, and by selecting good rock,
and acting as fireman, engineer, amalgamator,
machinist, miner, and superintendent, by turns,
making about a dozen men of one and that one him
self, he made the mine pay, for that year, about
twenty thousand dollars over expenses. At that
time machinery was generally taken to Sacra
mento for repairs, necessitating long delays and
much expense. One day a cam-seat, or groove,
on the shaft which holds the key gave away,
and the cam was dangling like a broken leg.
To take out the shaft and send it to Sacramento
was expensive, both in time and money, and
it was resolved to drill a hole through both cam and
shaft and put a large pin through them to hold the cam.
By superhuman exertion this was done in about three
hours, the order to " fire up " ringing simultaneously
with the coming through of the point of the drill, and
in half an hour the mill was pounding away. A
year or two afterward the mine was rented to Swain
of lone, who in one year lost as much as Harris made.
The mine afterward fell into the hands of Fullen,
Flomming, Bergon & Co., who worked it with but
moderate success for some years. About 1865, it
150
HISTORY OF AMADOR COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
was purchased by William M. Stewart, then U. S.
Senator for Nevada, James Morgan, and others, for one
hundred thousand dollars, of which sum the share
holders received eighty thousand dollars, the other
twenty thousand dollars going to the negotiators of
the sale, Seaton and Farley. The mine was retim-
bered, the mill enlarged to sixty stamps, and new
hoisting works erected, making the mine an invest
ment to the stockholders of something over a quarter
of a million. The vein was fifty feet thick, though
of low grade, and with improved machinery it was
expected to realize large dividends; but the mine
was an expensive one to work, the walls being soft
and apt to swell or crawl, and also full of water.
Sometimes great masses of soft earth, mud, and
gouge would break loose and run down the stopes
and shafts, burying up or clogging the lower works.
Sometimes a shaft would close up, timbers two feet
in diameter being slowly crushed endwise into kin
dling-wood. Where there was so much movement
underground, the surface must become unstable also,
and the hoisting works required frequent rebuilding
or adjustment. The mine proved a losing concern
and became a grave for about four hundred thousand
dollars.
It is now owned by a Boston company, and is
under the superintendence of Robert Robinson.
Water-power has been substituted for steam-power,
making a saving of many thousand dollars in a year;
the water is to some degree exhausted, and at a
lower level the walls become harder and more easily
timbered, so that the mine, almost for the first time
in its history, has been, perhaps, put on a paying
basis.*
The depth on the slope is eleven hundred and
fifty feet, but at the lower level the vein is nearly
flat, and the vertical depth is not much over sjx
hundred feet. The eastern or lower workings are
about in a line with the buddle house, perhaps four
hundred feet east of the shaft. At this point the
vein, which seems to have followed the rift of the
slate, and is, therefore, the true fissure, is nearly
pinched out, and a drift of six hundred feet length
wise the vein, failed to discover any swell or deposit.
A single boulder or bunch of quartz weighing a few
hundred pounds, and very rich, was all that was
found at this depth that was encouraging. How this
was deposited,, or perhaps lost there, is a question for
geologists. As the lower level has been allowed to
fill up with water, it is probable that no deeper
explorations are contemplated.
There are some encouraging indications of a vein or
body of ore in what is called the west wall. In
working out bodies of ore left in the upper levels, a
stringer, or thin vein of quartz, was found leading
to the west, which experienced miners think indi
cates another ore body. If this should be realized
the mine may have a brilliant future.
* Since writing the above, we learn that the mine has indefi
nitely suspended work.
North of the Oneida, the range is buried for some
distance under a pliocene river, with perhaps two
hundred feet of gravel, sand, and boulders. As this
has not been found to be rich, no explorations under
it have been made, and if the lode crops out it has
not been seen. Farther north is the
SUMMIT MINE,
Or, more properly, a prospect hole, for no paying
quartz was found, though the shaft was sunk several
hundred feet deep, at a cost of some twenty or
thirty thousand dollars. The experiment was made
by Hall McAllister of San Francisco.
HAYWARD MINE.
The next mine north of the Summit mine is the
Consolidated Amador, better known by the name of
the man whose energy, with a good share of luck,
developed it into, probably, the best-paying gold
mine in the world. In 1853 three mines on the
south side of Sutter creek Wolverine, Eureka, and
Badger were struggling for existence, Alvinza
Hay ward owning the largest interest in the one last
named. None of the quartz mines at that time
were giants ready at the asking to bestow fortunes;
on the contrary, they were always requiring enor
mous outlays for sinking shafts, running cross-cuts,
timber, wood, and machinery all making quartz
mining a precarious employment. The Wolverine
was among the first to fail. The Eureka was divided
into about sixty shares, most of the holders being
working men. The Badger was equipped with
hoisting works and a mill on the creek below the
town. The quartz was hauled on wagons to the
mill. Whether because the rock was inferior or
unskillfully handled, it hardly ever paid expenses,
oftener less than more, to such an extent that
the mine, though a promising one, had promised so
much that its credit was utterly destroyed. Ninety
thousand dollars or more hung over it, not like the
sword of Damocles, suspended by a single hair, but
due for wood, steel, provisions, and labor, besides
borrowed money. Many times the proprietor was
tempted to throw up the works and turn them over to
the creditors; but they as often told him to go on;
that he could make it pay if any one could. Often
on a Sunday morning, when the laborers came for
their pay, a dollar or two for tobacco money was all
that could be spared. On one occasion, the propri
etor was seen carrying wood on his back from the
side-hill to keep the engine running. A Mr. Norton
furnished wood on long time, and relieved that
source of solicitude. Four or five years of such
struggling had broken down, one after another, the
most of those who had commenced quartz mining in
1851. In 1857 the struggle still continued. There
was a change impending. The pay chimney was
struck, and now the double eagles, instead of scant
half-dollars, were paid to the men. The pay-streak
was likely to run into the Eureka ground, and the
owner quietly commenced buying up shares of that
QUARTZ MINING.
151
company's stock. Five hundred dollars a share,
considering the mill which they had erected
at an estimated expense of thirty thousand dollars,
just the amount at which the shares were rated, was
not too much. It was soon known that a majority
of the stock had passed into his hands, and the bal
ance hastened to part with their stock, selling as low
as four hundred dollars per share; though assured
that no freezing out was intended, the shares all
passed into Mr. Hayward's control. It now became
known that it had been placed on a permanent, pay
ing basis, yielding from twent3 T -eight thousand to
sixty-five thousand dollars per month.
GENERAL CHARACTER OF THE HAYWARD MINE.
As this was not only the best mine in the range,
but the deepest, the explorations having reached the
depth of two thousand two hundred arid fifty
feet, a particular description of its locality, wall
rocks, and surface indications, will be interesting, as
throwing light on the nature of quartz veins in gen
eral. Although there were large masses of rock in
the vein, and covering the ground in the vicinity of
this mine, the ravine below was only moderately
rich. The surface rock that was within a few hundred
feet of the top, paid from eight to twelve dollars a
ton only. In the early days of quartz mining, when
the means of closely saving the gold had not been
discovered, this would hardly pay; though after the
mine passed into other hands, the same rock, by
means of improved machinery, being taken out and
reduced for two dollars and seventy-five cents per
ton, according to the report of the superintendent,
J. C. Faul, paid one hundred and fifty thousand dol
lars in dividends. The wall rocks of the range, which
here was only two or three hundred feet wide, were
firm, metamorphic slate, called by the miners, gran
ite, a term which often misleads persons seeking
information. It scarcely ever has any of the appear
ance of true granite", and in most instances is simi
lar in texture to the great reef of rock lying west
of the quartz belt, or range of mining towns,
which has already been spoken of as one of the
axes of elevation, and the western boundary of the
ancient valley. This wall rock, on the east side of
the vein, went down, solid and firm, about one thou
sand seven hundred and fifty feet, after which it was
much broken up, the quartz paying to this depth.
There were two principal veins; perhaps deposits
would be a better term, as but one of the deposits
was in the shape of a vein, the other being called a
boulder vein, from its being in detached masses, like
boulders, through occupying a regular rift or fissure
in the slate. The continuous vein was next to the
hanging or eastern wall, and both veins had a pitch
or slope to the east of about twenty feet to the hun
dred, so that a perpendicular shaft, to reach the vein
at a depth of two thousand feet, must be started
about four hundred feet east of the cropping*. It
may be as well to mention here that experienced
miners never expect to find the true course of a vein
until they have sunk from four to eight hundred
feet on it. An ore-bearing vein or fissure, if an
extensive one, is always more or less open, admit
ting water. A few calculations as to the power of
displacement in a seam containing water may be
interesting. " Water presses in proportion to its
perpendicular height." At a depth of thirty-three
feet the lateral pressure is two thousand one hun
dred and sixty pounds to the square foot, at sixty-six
twice that, at one hundred three times, and so on as
far as the water reaches, which is usually as far as
any ore is found. Let us now estimate the thrust
or lateral pressure on a hill one thousand feet high,
and exposed to the action of the displacing force
along a distance of another thousand feet, though
hills containing ore are not often elevated above the
surrounding country more than a few hundred feet;
but the power of displacement acts in other instances
as well as in mineral veins, as a powerful agent in
the formation of valleys, and more especially, as we
shall hereafter see, in the formation of the mineral
veins themselves. Making the pressure at thirty-
three feet a ton, (in round numbers, for the sake of
convenience,) at one hundred feet it is three tons; at
five hundred feet, fifteen tons, which will be the
average of the one thousand feet in. depth, or fifteen
thousand tons for the column, one foot later
ally, and one thousand times that for the whole
thrust of the little seam of water of, say, an eighth
of an inch in thickness, making fifteen millions of
tons. What wonder then that we find the surfaces of
quartz veins thrown hundreds of feet out of line, or
in some instances doubled quite over. If those per
sons who are so ready to invoke the agencies of
earthquakes for every displacement of rocks and
mineral veins, would study the effect of agencies,
silent and slow, yet irresistible as fate, now at
work, they would not be obliged to conceive of
mountains being tossed from place to place like foot
balls.
Both veins had a dip to the north, the boulder
vein soon leaving the other, which only dipped
slightly, so that it passed into the Eureka ground
some hundred feet below. At a depth of six hun
dred feet, the hanging-wall or eastern vein pinched
nearly out. As the pay was mostly in this vein,
the other paying only in spots, the mine for awhile
appeared to have been worked out; but the same
pluck which had developed it came in play, and the
gouge, or soft clay in the fissure, was followed down
two hundred feet further, and the vein opened better
than ever. A vein of sulphurets, one inch in thick
ness, ran diagonally across the main lode, that was
half gold. Immense quantities were surreptitiously
taken by the workmen, who were compelled to strip
themselves on coming out of the shaft, step across
the room, put on other clothes, leaving the mining
suit to be examined by the inspector, a person
appointed for the purpose. All sorts of devices
were employed to conceal the gold. One miner
152
HISTORY OF AMADOR COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
threw away a pair of old boots. The inspector
examined them, and found several ounces of speci
mens, which the owner expected to get after night
fall should enable him to get the boots unobserved.
Some concealed specimens in their hair; and even
the anus was used for that purpose. A small quartz
mill was set up in an abandoned tunnel, for reducing
rich rock. Notwithstanding all possible vigilance
on the part of the superintendents, a great deal was
stolen. A kind of demoralization existed among
many of the miners, especially those of foreign birth,
which caused such abstractions to be considered as
commendable, sharp tricks rather than ciimes.
A great number of persons have lost their lives
here, some by carelessness, and some by unavoidable
accidents. Any one may see that familiarity with
danger will breed contempt for it, by watching the
miners going up or down the shaft. Three or four
will get into the tub, and as many more on the out
side, and go up or down as though they were riding
along a smooth road instead of being suspended,
where a fall would precipitate them a thousand feet,
against timbers and rocks. An indiscreet movement
of the head, when the bucket is in rapid motion,
has resulted in shaving a man's head half away.
Sometimes incorrect signals are made with the bell
wire, and a bucket is raised when it should be low
ered; at other times, a trap along a level will be
left open, and a man walking along with a dim
light will "fall a hundred or two feet, to be killed or
maimed for life. Sometimes a ladder will give
away, and a man will fall from the carelessness or
awkwardness of the carpenter who put up the lad
ders. Some sixty men had been lost in the first
twenty years of its working.
Although the mine was called the Hayward mine,
several other men have had interests at different
times. When the mine was in debt, partial inter
ests were disposed of to obtain necessary means to
work it.
O. L. Chamberlain, Dan Fiddler, Charles McNe-
mair, and A. H. Rose, have been at times part
owners. The latter's interest was a result of a piece
of questionable enterprise, not, however, unusual
with that smart operator in quartz mining. In 1864
or 1865 a number of persons were willing to take the
usually unprofitable position of Public Administrator.
After the election it was learned that not only a share
in the rich Hayward mine, but a hundred thousand
dollars in dividends, were the unclaimed assets of
Charles McNemair, who went to Frazer river in 1857,
before the Hayward mine had become a paying insti
tution, and was supposed to be lost. In due course
of time Mr. Tynan, the Public Administrator, filed
a petition for letters of administration, showing at
the same time probable proof of the death of McNe
mair, who was last seen going up the river in a boat,
which was reported to have foundered with all hands
on board. A stay of proceedings was obtained by
the introduction of an affidavit to the effect that
McNemair had been seen in British Columbia subse
quently to the alleged loss of the boat, and conse
quently might be still living. It is said that this
affidavit was procured by A. II. Rose, to delay events
until he could purchase the interests of the different
heirs of the McNemair estate. At all events, he soon
appeared as claimant, he having sent a trusty agent
to Illinois, the former home of McNemair, who had
purchased the whole estate, a share in the mine, as
well as the accumulated dividends, for about three
thousand dollars, a mere bagatelle compared to its
real value. What representations were made to
effect this transaction is not known; but several visits
were made to California by lawyers in the interests
of the heirs, and it was some years before the matter
was hushed up. It is needless to say that no more
information of the missing man was received after
the purchase of the estate by Rose.
After the mine had been successfully worked for
about fifteen years, it was sold to a joint-stock com
pany for six hundred thousand dollars, and was listed
on the mining market at the Stock Exchange as the
Consolidated Amador. The mine was too well known
to be used as a bait for the public, and was not called
on the board a great while. The mine perhaps paid
for itself but did not equal the expectation of the
stockholders. It was twice burned out, the immense
amount of timber in the mine and the great cham
bering, making it an impossibility to stay a confla
gration after it had once got fairly started.
The first of these fires occurred in April, 1870. It
was supposed that it originated from a lighted candle
being left on a timber in the north shaft. The men
below were hoisted out of the other shafts and the
mine closed up. Some days after an examination
was made; a number of men going down the shaft
were rescued with the utmost difficulty on account
of the noxious gasses engendered by the fire. As
the lower levels were still burning, the shafts were
covered up and the hoisting works removed. The
mine was repaired at an enormous expense, as it was
supposed that the rock would continue at an infinite
depth, but though the sump, or advanced shaft, was
carried down to two thousand two hundred and fifty
feet, no ore body below the seventeen-hundred-foot
level was worked. At that point the great lode had
shrunken from forty to less than six feet in width,
with a run from north to south of thirty feet, instead
of four hundred and fifty, and very moderate in pay
at that. The lower sinking failed to discover any
new development of the vein; in fact, the fissure was
all that was found, and when the last great fire
occurred, it was deemed best to abandon the locality
and open the mine in a new place, some six hundred
feet towards the north, on the ground near the old
Wolverine claim, which had been many years before
consolidated with the Badger and Eureka. The rock
now being taken out at a depth of four hundred and
fifty feet, is not of the kind formerly found in the
south end of the claim, but perhaps will pay for
FRUIT f\ANCH/ RESIDENCE OF JOHN NORTHUP.
JULIEN DISTRICT. AMADOR COUNTY. CAt
RANCH <#* RESIDENCE OFA.A.VAN.SANDT.
Tf N5. i AMADOR COU NTY, CAL.
OF THE
UNIVERSITY,
QUARTZ MINING.
153
crushing. The superintendent does not expect to
find good rock until the walls become well defined.
THE RAILROAD MINE
Is the name given to a vein of quartz some two or
three hundred feet east of the Wolverine. It was
worked down four or five hundred feet, and, though
some rich rock was found (a thousand dollars once
being taken out of a candle-box full of rock), the vein
was neither rich nor permanent, and the work was
suspended. The wall rocks were hard, with little
gouge, a surface opening only being indicated.
THE WILDMAN MINE
Was on the north side of the creek. Some good
rock was taken out of this ground, but, like the
majority of quartz veins, has not made its owners rich.
As this vein is located out of range with the other
mines, many experienced miners believe that proper
cross-cutting towards the west will be likely to strike
a paying chimney.
THE MAHONEY.
This ground was formerly owned by Hayward,
who thought he had found a thousand dollars when
he sold it to the Mahoney brothers for that sum.
Though not equal to the Consolidated Amador, it
made very handsome dividends for a good many
years. The vein, forty feet wide or more, was
worked down nearly eight hundred feet when work
was suspended on account of the death of the last of
the four Mahoney brothers, by consumption, in the
course of a few years. A few years since it fell into
the hands of Senator Stewart of Nevada. Some
sinking was done by James Morgan of the Oneida
Mining Company, nothing new being developed.
The company erected a mill near the hoisting works,
the rock formerly having been crushed by a water-
mill on the creek some distance away. At a depth
of eight hundred and fifty feet the vein is not well
defined, the walls being much broken. The rock is
supposed to pay only moderately. Those who saw
this place in an early day would be ready to say
that the quartz veins here made a sharp turn to the
east, into what is called Tucker hill. This hill is
netted with quartz veins sometimes in slate and often
in the hard hanging-wall of the main range. Some
small fortunes have been made out of the occasion
ally rich veins, which, though promising on the top,
soon pinch out. Nearly all the ^surface has a little
gold in it, and the gulches in the vicinity were the
best around Sutter creek.
The true direction of the main lode may be seen
by the cavity made by the falling in of the upper
portion of the mine worked twenty years ago.
THE UNION OR LINCOLN,
Or, as it is sometimes called, the Stanford mine, was
the first discovery in Sutter creek. E. B. Mclntyre,
Samuel Hanford, Levi Hanford, E. C. Downs, N.
Drew, and others of Amador, formed a company in
20
1851 to hunt a quartz mine. They first tried Quartz
mountain near Lower Rancheria. This not proving
satisfactory , they divided into smaller parties and tried
other places. One of the parties came on the south
side of the ridge, Sutter creek then having about a
dozen inhabitants. Much money had, even then,
been expended in sinking on barren veins, and the
company had made it a condition that no shaft
should be commenced until gold was found in the
ledge or vein in place. Floating rock with gold in
it was found on the flat west of the present Mahoney
and Union locations. Some narrow veins were found
on the hill-side near the sulphuret works, but these
not proving satisfactory they ran an open cut a few
feet in depth and struck the main lode, in which they
found a speck of gold. As this satisfied the condi
tions of the incorporation, a shaft was commenced
and good rock soon after discovered, from which,
with modern machinery, fifty or seventy-five dol
lars to the ton could be extracted.
They found a company of men working quartz on
the south side of the Tucker hill, who set up a claim
to the discovery they had made. To quiet all dis
putes, the south side company, consisting of Malva-
ney, Sherwood, Armstrong, and others, were taken
in, making the company which was thereafter called
the " Union," numbering about sixteen men, E. B.
Mclntyre being president, and N. Drew, secretary.
A water-mill was builfc, near the present residence of
R. C. Downs, with five stamps. This was the first mill
in Sutter Creek, the Hayward mill being next.
David Armstrong, who afterwards built a saw-mill
near Pine Grove, was the mill-wright. The power
was a breast-wheel, with a wooden shaft and wooden
cams, the latter being set into the shaft in mortises
and curved at the end to match the tappits, which
were also of wood, set into mortises in the square
wooden stems of the stamps. Armstrong was a
good mechanic, and the work was well done, though
much power was lost in the unavoidable friction of
the wooden machinery. It worked as well as could be
expected, and something over expenses was made
out of the quartz. The gold was saved on blankets
laid along the sluices, which were washed every half-
hour. Quicksilver was tried, but it would not unite
with the gold. An amalgamator from the Nashville
mine, on the Cosumnes, was hired to superintend
the sluices. He discovered that the quicksilver was
adulterated with lead; after this was gotten rid of
there was no difficulty in amalgamation.
In 1852 the mine and mill were leased to a com
pany that made five thousand dollars to each partner.
After the expiration of the lease, the Union company
again worked it, Frank Tibbetts being superintend
ent. It was a common report that two million
dollars were taken out of the mine during the next
eight years, but the company became bankrupt, and
in October, 1859, the mine fell into the hands of
Leland Stanford, who made R. C. Downs superin
tendent. Under his management the mine became
154
HISTORY OF AMADOU COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
highly remunerative. It was now called the " Lin
coln," and was worked by Downs and Stanford until
1873, when it passed into the hands of some foreign
capitalists, who put up a mill on the south side of the
hill, and made other inprovements. At present the
mine is not worked, the shaft and pumping machin
ery being used to drain the Mahoney mine. In this
mine the paying vein was next to the hanging-wall,
which, as in the Mahoney, the adjoining mine, was
the hard, metamorphic slate, called " blue granite "
by the miners. A cross cut into it indicated no
change or prospect of a parallel vein. The gouge
was on the foot-wall, which at a depth of five or six
hundred feet, gradually changed to a quartzose char
acter. The pitch of the vein was sixty-seven to
seventy degrees from horizontal, and was from two
to twenty feet thick. It will be seen that this cluster
of mines was practically exhausted at a depth of
less than one thousand feet, though deep sinking
may, as in the Hayward mine, reveal a stronger
vein than the surface one; the. well-defined foot and
hanging-walls favoring the presumption.
The most startling and serious accident that ever
occurred in the mines in this county, happened
here, in 1875. The following account taken from
the Independent, a dail} 7 paper published at Slitter
Creek at the time, will be read with interest:
" Now that the dead and alive are all out of the
mine and properly cared for, we shall attempt to
give a correct version of the affair. On Friday
morning, at seven o'clock, the day shift were let
down, consisting of fifteen men, part of whom went
on the three-hundred-foot, and part on the five-hun
dred-foot level. Those on the first were working
in the stope, and three running the tunnel toward
the old south shaft, which had been deserted for
upwards of eight years, and was filled with stagnant
water and foul air. Hardly had the drifters worked
an hour when they broke through, and. at first, a
small volume of water rushed in and drove them
out. The alarm was immediately given, and fore
man Horn, with another man, went down. They
found William Wadge and Antonio Robles almost
dead from suffocation, and took them to the top.
Wadge soon recovered and was taken home, while
Robles suffered terribly for some hours, when he
was removed, but died during the night. The most
intense excitement now prevailed, and Superintendent
Stewart, Foreman Horn, and others, commenced the
work of getting to the remaining men below. The
foul air had become so strong that no light would
burn within thirty feet of the three-hundred-foot
level. The workmen exerted every nerve to extri
cate the now supposed dead men. Finding that all
chances were lost to pass the first level, the water
buckets were put to use, and at night they had
cleared the water out to within a few feet of the
five-hundred-foot level, yet they could not descend.
All night the work went on, and by morning four
of the unfortunate men were found. Saturday after
noon the shaft was so cleared of the bad air, by the
aid of the air pumps, that Mr. Horn managed to
reach the top of the lower level.
"About eight o'clock, while the water bucket was
down, the signal rope was pulled and the bell rung,
which caused great excitement above. When the
bucket arrived at the top, there sat upon it Joseph
Bath, and alive. He sang out to the astonished
crowd, ' I am all right, there are three more alive
in the lower level.' Reader, imagine the scene. We
cannot give it in words. The bucket was lowered,
and up came the three other men. It is impossible
for us to give a description of the feelings of the
people at this time. Mr. Bath has given us a full
account of the whole affair at least what happened,
underground and in all history nothing has ever
come to our notice that can in the slightest compare
with this. None of the men about the mine have
a word of fault to find with the management from
first to last. We hear nothing but praise to Super
intendent Stewart and Foreman Horn for their untir
ing perseverance. For over two days and nights
Mr. Horn never left his post, and not till the last
man was found and taken out did the brave man
have any rest.
" We here give the names of the dead and living
in full. Dead Patrick Frazier, leaves a wife and
four children, Ireland; John Collier, wife and five
children, Ireland; Dennis Lynch, Ireland, wife and
two children; William Coombs, England, wife and
two children; W. H. Rule, England, single; Gr. B.
Bobbino and Bartolomeo Gazzolo, single, Italy;
Antonio Robles, Mexico, single; Nicolas Balulich,
Austria, wife and four children. Saved Jos. Bath,
wife and four children, England; Bart. Curotto,
wife and four children, Italy; Stefano Poclepovich,
wife and six children. Italy; AVilliam Wadge, wife
and several children, England; John O'Neil, Ireland.
Mr. Frazier had an insurance of one thousand dol
lars, and Mr. Collier a policy of two thousand dol
lars in the Phoenix Mutual of Hartford.
"Seven were buried on Sunday, and two on Mon
day. Never before has so much sadness and sorrow
been mixed .with so much joy and hnppiness as has
been the case within the past three days."
The accident was evidently owing to a faulty
survey, which failed to indicate the proximity of
the old works. It is said that some of the victims
had presentiments of the danger, and bid their
families good-bye on leaving home the morning of
the accident. The feelings of the parties inclosed
in the drift must have been terrible. It was expected
that all were dead, but the drift being ascending,
the chamber of air prevented the water from filling
it. Those who attempted to swim out through the
submerged end of the level were lost. Can imagina
tion conceive a more terrible situation ?
THE MECHANICS' MINE
Was a vein a mile east of the Mother Lode in the
vicinity of Sutter creek. The rock was good-look
ing, and for a time the mine was considered promising,
but it proved a losing concern, and is not worked
at present.
THE HERBERTVILLE MINE
Is some mile or more north of the Sutter creek
cluster, the intervening ground not having any
strong croppings indicating a large lode, though
several shafts have been sunk on the thin veins
which appear at the surface. The Herbertville is
singular in having the loot-wall of the hard meta
morphic slate. The direction of this vein hardly
conforms to the general trend of the Mother Lode;
QUARTZ MINING.
155
it is also somewhat out of range, being to the east of
the other mines; from these circumstances it is con
sidered, by many experienced miners, as an acci
dental deposit, not occupying a true fissure. It was
first worked in 1854, by Jones & Davis. The vein
was twenty feet wide in places, and had a" run of
nearly three hundred feet, pinching out at the depth
of six hundred feet. The rock was very good, fre
quently paying forty dollars a ton. It was among
the best mines twenty years ago, but is not worked
at present. If this was an accidental vein, it was a
happy accident for the owners at least. A cross
cut to the west might discover the true vein. A
boulder, weighing several tons and quite rich in gold,
was found, some years since, in a situation which
indicated it as a float from a vein farther west. E.
B. Mclntyre of Sutter Creek is the owner of this
chance for a mine.
SPRING HILL.
Though promising at the beginning, these mines
had ruined nearly all who had been connected with
them. " Quartz-mine" debts were harder to collect
than saw-mill debts, which is saying a great deal.
Sharp practice was often necessary to get pay for
hay, grain or timber furnished the mines. In 1857,
Stone, of the Buena Vista ranch, sold the Spring Hill
Company a quantity of hay,, but when he called for
his money he was put off on various pretexts. He
was as shrewd as they and had a sheriff watch the
mill, to attach the amalgam when it was taken up.
It was hidden in the lower works out of his way.
The sheriff went down after it. The mining company
quit pumping and let the shaft fill up with water>
not soon enough, however, to save their amalgam.
Stone got his pay. It is not intended to convey the
idea that quartz mining is necessarily demoralizing,
more than any other business which happens to be
unprofitable. The mill and mine (Spi'ing Hill) was
owned by P. M. Eandal, B. F. Pendleton, and
Palmer until 1858, when they finally broke up, the
creditors taking the property and running it with
success, paying off the debts, after which, about
1861, it fell into the hands of Isaac Perkins. He
ran it for four years at a loss; then the Hoopers,
father and son, tried it with no better success. In
1867, work was suspended until it was consolidated
with the Keystone Company's property.
THE KEYSTONE.
This mine has the most eventful history of any
of the Amador mines. Though never called on
the stock-boards, it has almost a world-wide reputa
tion. It was here that quartz mining in this county
commenced, and here were made the first failures as
well as successes. In the history of the beginning of
quartz mining, we left the Spring Hill and Granite
State making their first efforts in the work. We
have seen that the Spring Hill was located by the
minister company, consisting of Davidson, Herbert,
Glover, and Cool. The Granite State was located by
Wheeler; the Walnut Hill, named after Beecher's
famous seminary near Cincinnati, by two brothers
named Holt. The mill was in the house now used by
the Keystone company, as an office and assaying
room. After the mill and mine had been run for a
while at a loss, the two brothers proposed to run it
themselves for what they could make out of it. They
found a bonanza, making twenty thousand dollars in
a short time.
The Granite State was located near the present
Keystone mill; the Spring Hill towards the creek,
these mines had, at first, been worked with arastras
which made selected rock yield one hundred dollars
per ton, but the process was slow and was abandoned,
though an attempt was made to run the arastras by
water-power, which also was a failure. These three
mines constitute the property now known as the
Keystone.
CONSOLIDATION OP
The Granite State and Walnut Hill. About 1857
these two mines had some share-holders in common,
one of whom, Samuel Mannon,made a proposition that
they should consolidate, which was adopted, the new
company being called the Keystone; but the move
did not relieve the indebtedness which was over
whelming, everything being attached for much more
than it was worth. A mortgage on it was foreclosed,
but an older judgment, in the hands of A. H. Eose
and Phil. Crusart, took the mine, Eose eventually
becoming sole owner. It was not supposed to be a
paying property, though it was worked more or less,
the mill being used for custom work as well as for
the mine. Once during the time it was sold to Frank
Tibbetts, who run it at a serious loss, and the prop
erty reverted to Eose. In 1869 it was sold to J. M.
McDonald, Michael .Reese and others, of San Fran
cisco, for one hundred and four thousand dollars,
which was thought by outsiders to be an enormous
price. It had previously been offered for fifteen
thousand dollars, but the rich discoveries then being
made along the range in the vicinity of the Seaton
mine shot quartz up with alarming rapidity. It
is currently reported also, that the Mint receipts for
custom work, were used to enhance the apparent
value of the mine. At all events the first workings
were a total failure. The old proprietor was heard
to say that that no child born would live to see the
mine pay for itself!! This may all be legitimate
among stock- dealers.
DISCOVERY OP THE BONANZA.
Old miners had suspected another vein to the east
in what was considered the hanging-wall, though
this opinion was not shared by the former proprie
tors. Occasionally a blast in the hanging-wall
would show stringers of quartz which indicated
another deposit. A cross-cut was started, but a
beginning had hardly been made when rich quartz
was uncovered. Quartz in the hanging-wall was a
novelty, but there it was sparkling with gold. The
156
HISTORY OF AMADOR COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
first month's crushing paid forty thousand dollars,
and the next and ever since the same. By select
ing the best rock it could be made to pay a million
a year for an indefinite time, but all rock that will
pay two dollars, which is considered about the cost
of extracting and crushing, is worked. The vein is
a boulder vein, that is, lying in bunches, kidney-
shaped, and varying in size from a few tons to forty
thousand tons. The bunches are connected by
stringers. It will be recollected that the boulder vein
in the Hayward mine was next the foot-wall, and
was not uniformly rich. There seems to be no rule
governing in such deposits. The pitch of the mine
is about forty-five degrees. The following figures
from the actual survey will give an idea of pitch.
Distances. On the slope. Horizontal. Vertical.
1st Level 475 ft. 294.77ft. 394.23ft.
..556 358.63 424.88
" ...681 439.25 520.40
" 812 523.75 620.51
" 950 612.76 725.96
..1080 696.61 825.30
The run north and south is seven hundred and
sixty-five feet between the pinches. The best de
posits are found on the flat portion of the foot- wall,
these places acting like a riffle in retaining the
quartz. Within the last two years new and sub
stantial works have been erected. From the hoisting
works to the mill, everything is arranged for con
venience. The ore falls into substantial ore houses,
that will hold a month's crushing, so that a repair of
the shaft or mine will cause no delay of work.
One hundred and thirty men find constant em
ployment here. The rates of labor have not varied
much for twenty years, and are
For Under-ground Miners, per day, $3 00
Laborers above ground, " " ,...***' 2 50
Blacksmiths " " 3 50
Carpenters " " 4 00
Engineers " " 300
The lumber used in one year is enormous:
5,000 round timbers" with sawed lumber $26,000 00
25,000 pieces of lagging, @ $95 00 per M. 2,375 00
2,000 cords of wood @ $6 00 per cord 12,000 00
It will be seen that nearly two hundred thousand
dollars is distributed annually by this mine in the
matter of expenses.
The Assessor furnishes the following report of the
proceeds for 1879, which may approximate the facts:
Amount of rock crushed, in tons 39,000
Total yield $451,000 00
Expenses claimed by mine 273,000 00
" allowed by Assessor 195,000 00
BIG GRAB.
The history of these mines would be incomplete
without an account of the daring attempt, under
cover of an agricultural claim, to obtain possession
of all these mines. In August, 1869, that portion of
the county was surveyed and sectionized by J.
G. Mather, and the plot of the section and mines,
and other improvements thereon, reported to the
general office at San Francisco.
36
A. H. Rose had a vineyard and farm east of the
town of Amador; so it was supposed that it would be
on the east half-section, section thirty-six. As sec
tions sixteen and thirty-six in each township had
been donated to the State for school purposes, no
alarm was raised or objections interposed when a
patent for the east half-section was applied for, and
obtained from the State; though the fact that Henry
Casey, instead of A. H. Rose, the actual owner of
the vineyard, applied for and obtained the deed to
the land, Rose acting as his business agent, would
naturally cause inquiry and suspicion of fraud.
The plot, as subsequently corrected, and now on
file in the State Surveyor General's- office at San
Francisco, is as follows:
31
Section 36, T. 7 N., B. 10 E.
T. 7 N., R. 11 E
(UNIVERSITY;
y. OF Jr
QUARTZ MINING.
157
When the plot had been consummated Henry Casey
disappeared, and A. H. Kose appeared, armed with
a deed from the State, as the claimant for millions
worth of property. It is not necessary to follow the
matter through the courts. It is sufficient to say
that it was finally carried up to the Secretary of the
Interior. The following, from the Washington cor
respondent of the Sacramento Union, will give a clear
idea of the dangers the Amadorians have surmounted:
" WASHINGTON, April 9, 1873.
" Extraordinary professional and lobby interests
are being organized and concentrated here by A.
H. Kose, to bear upon the Secretary of the Interior
in the important case of the Keystone Consolidated
Mining Company, the Original Amador Mining Com
pany, Bunker Hill Quartz Company, and the town
site of Amador, against the State of. California.
The purpose is to secure a reversal of the decision of
the General Land Office, whereby to turn over to
Eose and his associates property worth millions of
dollars, for which the nominal sum of four hundred
dollars was partly paid by Henry Casey, the alleged
grantee from the State. The case involves extraor
dinary features, apparent frauds, as well as a princi
ple of the utmost importance to thousands of mine-
owners and mines in controversy, situated on the
Mother Lode of California, which have been worked
since 1850. Eose sold, for one hundred and thirty
thousand dollars, the Keystone mine, and he now
seeks to recover it in the name of Casey. The town
of Amador was founded in 1850, its site, and all
the mines situated upon the east half-section of sec
tion thirty-six, township seven north, range ten
east, Mt. Diablo meridian. In 1870 certain parties
procured a United States survey of that township,
and, it is alleged, induced the Deputy Surveyor, by
fraudulent field notes, to represent the mines and
town as located upon the west half of the section.
This was to deceive occupants, so as to induce
them to apply for the wrong tract, while the specu
lators could, without opposition, purchase from the
State for four hundred dollars, and receive a patent
for the tract on which these properties were actually
located. The fraud was discovered and exposed by
abundant proofs, demonstrating unquestionably the
surveyor's infidelity, in returning as agricultural
land the richest half-section of mineral land ever dis
covered. The patent not having been issued, the bona
fide mining claimants and town authorities immedi
ately applied to the Land Department for patents
under the mineral and town site laws, but the
would-be purchasers from the State then boldly
claimed that the School Land Act of March 3, 1853,
was a grant en presente of both surveyed and unsur-
veyed, and both mineral and agricultural, lands com
prised in the sixteenth and thirty-sixth sections of
every township, and consequently that the mineral
lands in controversy situated in the thirty-sixth sec
tion, passed to the State immediately on the passage
of the Act of 1853. To this it in replied that min
eral lands were excluded from the grants to the
State; that the State title did not vest in any lands
uniil surveyed, there being prior thereto BO sections
sixteen and thirty-six; the Act of 1853 provided that as
to mineral lands only township lines should be run,
which provision was not repealed until July 9, 1870;
that it was competent for Congress, before vested
rights attached, to make a diiferent appropriation of
the lands; that before the survey Congress did, by
the Act of July 26, 1866, make a different appro
priation of the mineral lands; that if this were not
so, yet the particular tract in controversy was
expressly excepted from the State grant by the
seventh section of the Act of 1853, by reason of its
settlement and the erection of dwelling-houses
thereon prior to the survey. The local land officers
and the Commission-General of the Land Office
decided against the pretentious of the private claim
ants who use the State's name, and the case is now
pending on appeal before the Secretary of the In
terior. The danger grows out of the fact that the
Supreme Court of the State of California, in the case
of Sherman against Buck, decided that the Act of
1853 did vest title to all sixteenth and thirty -sixth
sections in the State prior to the survey. And
although it is believed the court will grant a rehear
ing and reverse that decision, its action, neverthe
less, lends color of support to the attempt now making
to obtain possession of the Amador mines and estab
lishes a principle fraught with immense danger to
thousands of other interests. Eose is here person
ally pressing the case, in addition to Wm. H. Patter
son and other well-known California lawyers and
lobbyists to assist in its prosecution. It is probable
dilatory tactics will be employed to postpone the decis
ion of this tainted claim until the Benjamin Snelling
case from the Marysville district can be presented to
the Secretary for a decision of the naked question of
the right of the State to the sixteenth and thirty-
sixth sections of mineral lands; so that if the right of
the State is affirmed, it will be comparatively easy to
find a pretext for deciding Eose's case in his favor.
The question has a vital importance to all mineral
occupants on the sixteenth and thirty-sixth sections.
If the mineral claimants in either the Keystone or
Snelling cases are defeated, then all mines upon simi
larly numbered subdivisions, or which upon future
survey may prove to be so numbered, are at the
mercy of the first applicant to purchase from the
State at one dollar and twenty-five cents an acre. It
is represented here that the parties who are initiated
in this speculation have already taken the requisite
steps to file the first applications for all similar sec
tions throughout the State. The same dangers
threaten mineral occupants in every other mineral
State."
" WASHINGTON, April 28, 1873.
" The Secretary of the Interior to-day decided the
very important and much contested cases of the Key
stone Mining Company et. al., vs. State of California,
and of Benjamin Snelling vs. the State of California,
both of which involved the question whether the
grant to said State of sections sixteen and thirty
six for school purposes by the Act of March 3, 1853,
included said sections when they were on mineral
lands. The Secretary held, first, that the title to
said sections sixteen and thirty-six does not vest in
the State until survey has been made, which brings
into existence and locates said section, and that said
minir.g companies, having appropriated said lands
under the Act of July 26, 1866, prior to such survey,
they had the better right. Second, that the seventh
section of the Act of 1853 exceptsfrom the grant all
of sections sixteen and thirty-six, on which there
had been, prior to the survey, a settlement by the
erection of a dwelling-house or the cultivation of any
portion of the land, and that the settlement referred
to was technically known as pre-emption settlement.
Third, that the grant was not intended to include,
and does not include, said sections when they are on
mineral lands. The decision was given against the
State in both cases."
158
HISTORY OF AMADOR COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
Extraordinary reports are current as to the means
by which this fraudulent survey was accomplished.
J. G. Mather was not in the field at the time, though
his name was attached to the plot returned to the
office. His deputies were Uri Nurse and Marcellus
Nurse, father and son, the latter doing the work.
Some say the survey was made by moonlight; others
that a lantern was used, and some go so far as to
name the persons who acted as chain and torch
bearers in these midnight surveys. Young Nurse is
reported as saying that he made fifteen thousand
dollars during the season. Mather is made to bear
the responsibility, and has not since been employed
by the Government in any work, nor is he likely
to be.
The contest was finally terminated November 22,
1880.
" In the case Ivanhoe Mining Company vs. Key
stone Consolidated Company, the Supreme Court
held that in the grant of the sixteenth and thirty-
sixth sections of the public lands to the State of
California for school purposes, the title to the mineral
lands did not pass, for the reason that it was the
established policy of the Government to withhold the
mineral lands from sale, and that in this case the
land in question, having been improved before the
survey, it was exempt from sale by reason of section
seven of such law."
The owners of mines and houses on the famous
thirty-sixth section may now rest, secure in the
results of their industry.
THE ORIGINAL AMADOR,
Sometimes called the Little Amador, is the mine on
the north side of the creek, which was taken up by
Thomas Rickey and son in February, 1851. This
mine was about the first to pay dividends, J. T.
Burke, still living in Amador, being thesuperintend-
dent. In 1854, it passed into the hands of some
Germans, who ran it until 1857, when it gradually
failed, work being totally suspended in 1858. In the
meantime it was sold to Haverstick and Leninger of
lone, the latter soon becoming the sole owner, the
mine at this time being valued at only two hundred
and fifty dollars. J. T. Burke, the first superintend-
dent, leased the mine from Leninger, giving him half
the profits. His knowledge of the mine enabled him
to pay Leninger the sum of eight thousand dollars
forjiis share of the profits. After the expiration of
the lease, work was suspended until 1862, when J. T.
Burke bought it for three thousand dollars, one-third
down, balance in installments. The mine paid for a
short time, but the rock failing, it went back to
Leninger, who sold it to John C. Faul for a nominal
price. The mine was developed under his manage
ment, the hoisting works and mill being rebuilt.
The reputation of the mine was such that it
was sold to an English company in 1870, for six
hundred thousand dollars. It is not considered
a paying property. Work is nearly suspended
at present. Old miners think that a cross-cut
to the west might strike a paying vein. The
present works are near the hanging-wall. A shaft is
now being sunk on the summit, near the Bunker
Hill ground. The hoisting is done with a wire cable
from the old hoisting works nearly a thousand feet
away.
THE BUNKER HILL.
This is one of the mines included in the famous
thirty-sixth section, a portion of the ground being on
the doubtful tract. Superintendent Palmer furnishes
the following information about the mine: It was
worked in 1851, by Snediker, Briggs, and others, mak
ing the quartz pay twenty dollars per ton, until the
works were carried down some depth. It is now four
hundred and fifty feet deep, with two veins of paying
rock. The vein next to the hanging-wall is about
five feet thick. The second one varies from one foot
to thirty feet in thickness, and is what is called a
chimney, dipping to the north about forty-five
degrees. The hanging- wall is well defined and reg
ular; the foot-wall being somewhat broken. The
general pitch is about twenty-eight degrees from a
perpendicular. The two veins are about sixty feet
apart, no gold being found in the slates between
the veins. The sulphurets, constituting about three
per cent, of the entire rock, are worth about eighty
dollars per ton, this being about one-tenth of the
entire product, which at these figures would be about
twenty-five, dollars per ton. The rock shows an
improvement as a greater depth is reached.
New hoisting works, mill and chlorination works
are being erected, and a new shaft is being sunk.
The mill is to have forty stumps run by water-power,
and everything is to be substantial and first-class.
The property is owned by a joint-stock company and
bids fair to be highly remunerative.
There are no mines of note for some distance north
of the Bunker Hill; though several shafts have been
sunk no valuable lodes were opened.
THE PENNSYLVANIA.
This mine was worked by J. W. Pierson, of Oakland.
Either bad management or other causes have given
it an unenviable reputation. About a year since,
fortunately while there was no one in the works, it
caved in, the whole works collapsing. As the mine
is being dismantled it is likely that it was not found
profitable.
THE GOVER.
This is an old mine with a varied experience, the
balance generally being on the wrong side of the
ledger. It has been worked to a depth of one thou
sand and thirty feet; has two veins, the one next the
hanging-wall about seven feet thick containing the
pay. The pitch is about forty-five degrees. The
vein one hundred' and thirty feet west is about four
feet thick and does not contain much gold. A cross
cut at seven hundred feet showed no improvement in
the west vein; at this depth the eastern or hanging-
QUARTZ MINING.
159
wall vein was good, averaging twelve dollars and a
half per ton, but gradually became poorer as a greater
depth was reached. The west vein was not tested
below the seven-hundred-foot level.
There is no appearance of a chimney in this mine,
the vein maintaining about the same width on a run
of seven hundred feet. This is a solitary case, every
other paying vein being in the shape of a channel,
chute, or chimney. The hoisting works and water-
power mill (twenty stamp) are substantial and well
arranged. The" town, called New Chicago, built up
on the strength of this and the adjoining mines, is
distressingly quiet. There is a prospect (January 1,
1881) of the Gover resuming work.
THE BLACK HILLS.
This is, to some extent, a repetition of Murphy's
ridge in the southern part of the county, the veins
being irregular in location and very much so in their
value. Immense sums have been taken out by the
Italians, Austrians and Mexicans, who have been
working this section for twenty years or more. There
is a strong hanging-wall but no foot-wall except the
ordinary slate. Sometimes the quartz shows in large
chimneys of barren rock a hundred feet thick; at
other times it ramifies into a thousand seams all
containing gold. The hills have been sluiced, hydrau-
liced, coyoted, and tunnelled and worked in every
way conceivable, and still a great number of men
make a living for their families, most of whom live
in the hollows below the mine in a primitive style?
with goats and children swarming over the hills.
Efforts have been made to mine this scientifically,
and long tunnels have been run under or down the
hanging-wall, which has a slope of about forty-five
degrees, but the Mexican with his crow-bar and
bataya still holds the country. The gulches heading
against this quartz reef were all rich, clear to the
summit, and it was by following up these that the
rich threads of quartz interlacing the hill were found.
THE SEATON MINE.
Twenty years ago this was a power in the land. It
was immensely rich in places. It adjoins the Black
hills on the north. The same rule as at the other
mines in this cluster holds good, i. e., a strong hanging-
wall. A mill and hoisting works were erected, and
the results were such as to make a boom in quartz; a
million of dollars seeking investment in the county
in a short time. Some of these ventures have proved
failures, others exceeded the most sanguine expecta
tions of the investors. The mine is owned by an
English company, and at present is not paying
dividends, but perseverance may uncover another
bonanza which will repay them for all their toil.
THE POTOSI.
This mine was developed by the Hinksons of
Drytown, and for many years was a source of profit,
if not of fortunes. The wall rock on the east is
here broken off, and for two miles, or until Plymouth
is reached, the veins are scattered, spreading in
some instances to two thousand feet in width. Some
mills have been erected, and though occasional runs
have been made which were profitable, the mines
in general proved a poor investment. Most of the
veins are held by persons too poor to sink on them,
the prospects not being good enough to induce cap
italists to invest. Some of the veins, with econom
ical management, may pay for working at the top,
and thus pay for testing them.
QUARTZ MOUNTAIN.
Although this is not usually considered on the
range, or Mother Lode, it is most convenient to
consider it here. It is an immense body of quartz
covering twenty acres or more of ground. It seems
to be a vein, perhaps one hundred feet thick, and
perhaps a thousand feet long, which, from its original
inclination, has fallen over to the eastward, as much
as twenty acres lying nearly flat, forming a promi
nent object for miles around. It early attracted the
attention of quartz miners, and was examined and
claimed in 1851, at the time of the first quartz
excitement. The ravines in the immediate vicinity
were not rich, although a three-hundred-dollar
lump is said to have been found in the long gulch
running from it towards the creek. It is rock of a
peculiar character, being much purer, and more
compact than the quartz of the Mother Lode. The
bullion from it is of low value, being worth only ten
or twelve dollars to the ounce, and very light, forty
per cent, of it being silver, on which account it is
hard to save. The quartz, notwithstanding its favor
able appearance, has not yet milled above two dol
lars per ton, and has proved a losing business to
all persons engaged in it. The ore has been treated
in every possible method, but the successful reduc
tion of it has not yet been accomplished. The sul-
phurets are extremely rich, being worth five or six
hundred dollars a ton. South of the Quartz mountain
the country has been .very rich in coarse gold. Some
quartz veins crop out on the heads of Deep and
Indian gulches, which have the same pitch to the
west that characterizes the Quartz mountain, and
are probably a part of the same formation. As
Rancheria creek above the town contains liJLtle
gold, and there is little indication of an ancient
river bed in this vicinity, it is highly probable that
Deep and Indian gulches, as well as the flats around,
were enriched by the system of quartz veins, to
which Quartz mountain belongs. Mack Culbert and
sons are working a vein on the hill above Indian
gulch, with fair prospects of making it pay. It is
likely that a thorough search will discover workable
veins. Reference was made to this mountain in the
article on quartz veins.
PLYMOUTH GROUP OF MINES.
It is more convenient to consider them under one
heading, although there are several incorporations,
the management being by one set of men. The situa
tion of the mines will be understood by a diagram:
160
HISTORY OF AMADOR COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
The Plymouth mine was discovered by Green
Aden in 1853 or 1854. The mine, then called the
Phoenix, was developed by the Hoopers, and was
worked by them until 1871, when it passed into the
hands of Hayward, D. O. Mills and Company. It
was then worked under the superintendence of
Charles Green, who developed it into its present
profitable condition. The mine is singular in the
fact that it is the site of a glacier erosion, which
smoothed down every rock, however hard or soft,
leaving none of the hard reefs so prominent in con
nection with other paying quartz veins. A reef of
rocks across the lower end of the valley, west of
Puckerville, formed the moraine or terminal line of
the erosion.
The ordinary hanging-wall is thought to be some
six hundred feet to the east of the vein, but as a drift
has been run only eighty feet in that direction, the
hanging-wall may be much nearer than is supposed.
The vein, which averages fifty-two feet in thickness,
had a moderate slope towards the east, until it
reached a depth of one thousand feet, when it sud
denly became much flatter, having a slope of about
forty-five degrees. The richest quartz was found on
this slope, there being a sudden increase in quality
as well as quantity at this bend. A nother peculiarity
of the mine is that the pay chimney runs towards
the south. . In this connection it may be well to
speak of the lawsuit now pending for trespass and
damage. Though Alvinza Hayward is a principal
owner in both the Empire and Pacific, other stock
holders have interests in but one, and in working
down on the chimney, which runs into the Pacific, the
Empire men received profits which accrued from the
Pacific ground; hence a suit for two hundred and
fifty thousand dollars damage. The Empire acknowl
edged a demand for eighty thousand dollars, but this
did not satisfy the Pacifies. To complicate matters
still more, the Merchants' Exchange Bank of San
Francisco, through some business complications with
Hayward, stepped in as an intervener, and the suit
became a triangular duel. An army of lawyers and
short-hand reporters was brought up from San
Francisco and quartered around Jackson. Two
thousand pages of testimony were taken to be used
in the higher courts, for this was but the beginning
or skirmishing line in the war. Those who have
never read the account of the "triangular duel' 1 in
Captain Maryatt's " Midshipman Easy," may get an
idea of this suit by imagining a three-handed game
of euchre, all parties playing against Hayward, who
was bound to be euchred in any event, having the
most of the cost (o pay. An award of seventy-one
thousand dollars damage was made by Judge Moore,
before whom the case was tried, and the matter is
still running through the courts.
The chimney at the depth of twelve hundred feet
has gone five hundred and ninety-two feet to the
south, at which point hoisting works of the most
substantial kind are being constructed, the shaft
being square, with four compartments. The tall
tower stands over the shaft, a prominent feature in
the landscape. This elevation is to give room for
waste rock that often accumulates to an inconven
ient degree around mining works. The eighty-stamp
mill, the largest in the county, is run by water-
power, the canal being a portion of the company's
works. A large portion of the timber and lagging
used, comes down the canal, which receives its sup
ply of water from the Cosumnes river. About four
thousand tons of rock are crushed each month, yield
ing forty thousand dollars or upwards.
Like other large mines, this consumes a great
amount of material, the yearly demand being
3,500 cords of wood valued at $21,000
7,000 pieces of round timber. 21,000
35,000 pieces of lagging 3,500
In addition to this, half as much may be reckoned
for dimension timbers for new works on the surface.
The names of some one hundred and fifty men are
on the pay-roll.
ENTERPRISE.
North of the Plymouth group the mines have not
been developed, though there are indications of
extensive quartz deposits. Indian creek, which
follows nearly the course of the quartz lodes, was
quite rich, as were the side gulches putting into it.
A few j^ears since a town was started on the pros
pects of the Enterprise mine, which flourished for a
time, but when the work was suspended the place
shrunk away. The mines along this range seem full
of water, the west or foot- wall (the west bank of
Indian creek) having numerous springs, which may
come from extensive mineral deposits on that side.
A mineral lode has once been a water channel though
subsequent erosions and cleavages may have changed
its course.
NASHVILLE.
On the north side of the Cosumnes is the place
called Nashville, formerly Quartzburg, which, though
in El Dorado county, may be mentioned in connection
with the Amador mines as being the extension and
probable termination on the north, as the Gwin mine
is on the south, of that remarkable deposit which
we have endeavored to describe, called the Mother
Lode in Amador county, as north of the Nashville
group, and south of the Gwin mine, the quartz
deposits are irregular and cannot compare, in pro-
QUARTZ MINING EAST OF THE MOTHER LODE.
161
ductiveness or regularity, with the mines between
the two named points. This mine was worked at an
earlier day than any of the Amador mines, as the
mill was a model for some of them. The mine was
developed by Dr. Harris of Nashville, Tennessee, who
sunk for his company some forty thousand dollars.
The first power used was steam, but afterwards a
dam was thrown across the river at a cost of thirty
thousand dollars, which was a needless expense, as
a small canal a mile or two in length, has since been
equal to the power gained by the dam. During the
Summer of 1851 a man by the name of Eustice, from
Missouri, discovered a rich vein near Nashville,
which he allowed the Mexicans to work for a royalty,
which was an arrangement that they should purchase
their supplies of him, which condition they generally
observed. The Mexicans worked the rock with
arastras, with which they are experts, and made it
pay much better than did the mill men who came
after them. As many as thirty or forty of these
might be seen grinding at a time. Perhaps two
hundred men, women, and children were congre
gated around the mine, which pinched out at a depth
of about a hundred feet. The arrangement was
mutually satisfactory and profitable, and Eustice car
ried away about sixteen thousand dollars for his
share. The mines are not worked at present, and
seem never to have been as rich and asextensiveas the
mines in Amador county. This closes the account of
the great Mother Lode as it exists in Amador county.
In the chapter on the formation of mineral veins,
reference to the mines is occasionally made.
CHAPTER XXIX.
QUARTZ MINING EAST OF THE MOTHER LODE.
Downs Mine Mark lee Tellurium Thayer Clinton Mines
Mace Range of Mines Pioneer and Golden Gate Mines
Quartz Veins West of the Mother Lode Kirkendall Soap-
Stone or Steatite Mine Quartz Mining in the Future
Put Money in Thy Purse School Cabinets Copper Min
ing General Craze Country Formed into Districts Funny
Notices New Towns Result of the General Search
Chrome Iron Failure of Meader Remarkable Discovery
Present Condition of Copper Mining. Newton Mine.
No man who has made gold mining a subject for
thought, ever doubted that the gold found in our
gulches and rivers originally came from the quartz
veins. When the news of the discovery of gold in
the quartz at Sutter Creek and other places was
learned, the belief that the quartz veins on the upper
range of placers, which were not inferior in richness
to the lower ones, became general. Soldiers' gulch
had several veins crossing it, and so had numerous
other rich placers. Quartz boulders, with gold
riveted through and through them, were sometimes
found, as well as rough quartz, which did not appear
to have been moved any great distance from the
vein. Small veins were found with considerable
gold in them, and in 1867 there were not less than
one hundred stamps in operation within a few miles
21
of Yolcano, and nearly two hundred on the upper
range. The following table will show that the upper
veins were being fully tried:
Location in
Amador county
Name of Mill.
M
i <
" 1
&
/
:
or
No. Arastra.
Power
Cost.
Present Occupants.
Amador City .
Clinton '.'.
Amador
Bunker Hill..
Fleeharti
Hazard
1856
1855
1866
1857
1856
iS56
1865
HI
8
Id
8
4r.
to
111
steam
s & w
steam
water
steam
s & w
steam
s & w
water
s & w
steam
water
steam
water
s & w
water
S & W
water
s & w
water
steam
s & w
steam
^ater
<' earn
10.000
12,000
10,0:)0
6000
40,000
40,000
10,000
10,000
20,000
10,00(!
100,000
10,00
10,000
8,000
5,000
10,000
40,000
7,500
10,000
15,000
10,000
10,000
40,000
10,000
15,000
20,000
10,000
12,000
9,000
10,000
20,000
8,000
4,000
20,OCO
15,000
20,000
9,000
8,00(i
5.0CO
8,000
Middleton & Co.
William A. Palmer.
Gardner & Fleehart.
Gardner & Fleehart.
Gashwilder & Co.
Hooper & Co.
W. J. Paugh.
E. T. Steen.
Hooper & Co.
Creed & Wood.
Seaton M. Co.
Ragon & Co.
C. T. Mea'Jer.
S. C. Fogus.
C. T. Meader.
Tubbs & Co.
James Morgan.
Biuno & Co.
Gushing, Ryder & Co.
Hurst & Co.
A. Hay ward.
R. C. Downs.
A. Hayward.
R. C. Downs, Supt.
Mahoney Brothers.
C. T. H eader.
C. T. Wheeler.
California Furnace Co
Keystone
Spring Hill. ..
Rockv Falls..
Union
1858
i860
1857
1865
1865
1864
i860
1862
1806
1854
1804
1864
1868
1858
1858
1858
185S
1866
1859
186a
1S5S
1 8 65
1865
186i
I860
1*63
10
M
H;
<(
10
16
10
10
10
40
4
10
20
Hi
III
41,
20
1'i
20
12
10
10
Hi
HI
10
LO
u
Dry town ... .
Plymouth
Totosi
Seaton
Fiddletown ....
Jackson
Richmond .. .
Coneys
tluobards ....
Kearsings ....
t>
Tubbs
Lower Randiccia
Pine Grove.
Rancheria. . .
Sutter Creek
ii <>
Volcano
Oneida
Italian
Tellurium . . .
Loval League
Badger
Downs
Eureka
Lincoln Q M Co
-Vlahoney .
Meader
VVildumna . . .
Belding
Eagle
Fogus
Golden Gate..
Italian
Monday
J. T. Farley.
Kurd & Co.
Rose & Co.
Fogus & Co.
Lawton & Co.
C. T. Meader.
J. T. Farley.
W. H. Thoss.
Lawton & Co.
Tulloch & Co.
M. Tynan.
ii
ii
ii
Mitchells .
u
Pioneer
Sirocco
18&5
u,eo
in
20
it
u
Sulphuret
Tulloch
Till loch
1864
1865
1865
1865
15
1
12
2
'l
ii
ii
"
Tynan
It took twenty years of costly experience to learn
quartz mining and the nature of quartz veins. There
were these differences in the veins on the Mother
Lode and in the other parts of the county; on the
Mother Lode the veins generally had a north and
south direction; on the others they ran in all direc
tions; though, often than otherwise, conforming in
directions to the rifts of the slate, they turned appar
ently at every little obstruction and had no uniformity
of direction, dip, or strike. There was a gouge or
selvage beside the Mother Lode; scarcely any at all
on the upper veins, many of the largest of the veins
being encased in solid walls, in fact, as the miners
use to say, melted into it. Along the Mother Lode
was a solid wall (frequently on both sides) which was
continuous, and could readily be traced through the
county; on the upper ranges the wall rock, or rock
adjoining the quartz, would change its character
every few feet, sometimes being a hard metamor
phosed flinty rock, at other places turning to steatite,
or soft, earthy slate. Those of our readers who
studied the Mother Lode, in its entirety, will remem
ber the functions of a firm wall rock and the
importance of a gouge, one as holding the quartz
deposit to its place, the other showing a deep fissure
or a greater length of deposit. There is a probability
that the aggregate amount of gold in the West Point
system of veins, which also crosses Amador county,
is greater than in the Mother Lode of the same
length, and so of the other veins that traverse the
eastern part of the county within a few miles of Vol-
162
HISTORY OF AMADOU COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
cano. The great sea that deposited the rocks,
did not leave the material for a firm overlying bed.
The corals, building up reefs, and modifying the
influence of the ocean currents, perhaps, interfered
with the deposit of a stratum as uniform in its char
acter as was done a few miles farther west. At any
rate, when the mountains were lifted out of the sea
the mass of rock overlying the gold-bearing strata
opened in various directions, besides at the axis of
elevation; hence the water holding gold and other
minerals in solution found its way to the surface,
sometimes through limestone, sometimes through
granite or syenite, and sometimes through soft slate,
the fissures following no direction long, nor extend
ing to great depths, as at the Mother Lode, though
the conditions admit of exceptions.
With these few general remarks the subject of
their formation may be dismissed and a few of the
mines noticed.
THE DOWNS MINE
Apparently conforms more nearly to a true fissure
vein than any in the upper series yet found, though
differing in its direction from veins on the Mother
Lode. It has a gouge, a large amount of vein mat
ter or distinctly characterized rock, and firm walls,
all of which conditions are favorable to permanence
and depth. This mine was located as early as 1857
by Phil. Scibenthaler, Geo. Felmath, and others.
The rock on the surface was worked by arastras and
paid from forty to one hundred dollars per ton.
They then enlarged the works and put up a twenty-
stamp mill. There was not rock enough avail
able to keep the mill running, and the company
failed, work being suspended until 1866, when the
whole property was bought by James M. Hanford
for one hundred dollars. Work was resumed, the
quartz being hauled to the Fogus mill, two and a half
miles below Volcano, for reduction. The milling was
badly done, saving only eight dollars and twenty-five
cents per ton. A year later the shaft was sunk forty
feet deeper. Two tons ground in an arastra paid
twenty-six dollars per ton. This so encouraged the
proprietor that sinking was continued still further.
A swell was struck ir the vein which now became
four feet in thickness, though the body of the vein
had no greater amount of gold than before, now pay
ing only twenty dollars per ton; but this was good
rock. Fifteen feet deeper the vein contracted to its
original width of two feet. The next crushing of
rock, taken from below the swell at a depth of ninety
feet, paid sixty-eight dollars per ton by the arastra
process. It was also discovered that there were two
continuous parallel veins within the two wall rocks,
which were about thirty feet apart, though one of
the veins was of much less value than the other.
The narrow vein (the first one worked) is now pay
ing, by mill process, twenty-five to forty dollars per
ton. The mill is run by water-power and all the
appliances are calculated to work economically. All
the circumstances point towards a permanent and
profitable mine. The vein has an easterly and west
erly direction and can be distinctly traced some dis
tance towards the west, showing good rock all the
way. J. N. Peck & Co. own one extension under
the name of the Golden Star, and Benjamin Ross
another'.
THE MARKLEE MINE.
This mine is north of Volcano and not far from
Dry Creek. It was worked with profit for aboiit two
years. Many good runs were made on it. May 11,
1872, sixteen days' run with twelve stamps netted
thirteen thousand dollars. It was sold to an
English company, who put some one in charge who
was either unacquainted with quartz mining, or had
a job on hand, as he drifted away from the pay
chute, at least in the opinion of the workmen who
seemed to be better acquainted with the nature of
the quartz than the foreman. The mill and hoisting
works were removed and the mine and improvements
left to ruin. In the opinion of many the mine is still
good.
THE TELLURIUM
Is a few hundred feet east of Pine Grove. The
quartz in this vein is in considerable quantity, form
ing a regular vein. It appears rather white and pure
to contain much mineral, but is said to pay thirty or
forty dollars per ton, which, however, is very doubt
ful. The name Telhirium seems to have been given
rather as a fanciful title than because any of that
mineral exists in the rock. As usual with mines
owned in cities or out of the State, the management
has been given to incompetent men, the working of
the mine being experimental rather than practical.
THE THAYER MINE
Was on the north side of Grass Valley creek, and
in 1859-60 was a promising vein. A man by the
name of Thayer (from the city, of course) gave his
name to it, and also demonstrated the inutility of
new quartz machines, like many before and since,
and probably many yet to come. His plan was an
enlargement of the Chile wheel, which, in this
instance, was made ten or twelve feet in diameter,
shod with iron castings, and traveling in a circular
gutter fifty or sixty feet in circumference, also lined
with iron. The principle was correct enough, and
has since been used with good effect with heavy cast-
iron balls rolling in a cast-iron basin four or five feet
in diameter; but in his case the castings worked
loose, both in the track and on the circumference of
the wheel, making a total wreck in the course of a
few days. The machinery was sold for old iron, and
work suspended for some years. Some miners
jumped the claim and opened a paying vein, at least
for a time. The surface of the vein, or a sheet of it,
perhaps twenty feet wide, was found flat on the
ground, having apparently fallen over. A hundred
tons of this rock, crushed at the Fogus Mill, paid
about thirty-four dollars per ton. An attachment
was laid on the money by three lawyers from Mokel-
QUARTZ MINING EAST OF THE MOTHER LODE.
163
umne Hill, all of whom were dignified as Judges.
An expensive lawsuit followed. Surveyors were
sent to map the ground, experts to theorize on the
probabilities of the existence of a vein, and, in fact,
the whole legal mining machinery which had been
introduced into Comstock mining litigation, was
brought into play on the real discoverers of the pay
ing vein. They had to yield. The mine is now
nearly forgotten.
THE CLINTON MINES
Were once considered good, but are not worked at
present. These belong to the Pine Grove range,
and, like them, have a short run in length as well as
depth.
THE MACE RANGE
Has the north and south trend following the rifts
of the slate. Though rich on the surface, they
pinch out at a short depth, and are not true fissure
veins. It would seem possible that these veins are
produced by surface action, that is, by the precipita
tion of minerals held in solution, by water flowing
over the surface, as the veins seem to have no con
nection with a gold-bearing strata, like the veins on
the Mother Lode.
A good vein of ore in this vicinity may yield three
or four thousand dollars before it pinches out. The
milling is done by a custom mill at five dollars per
ton, owned by F. Mace.
Though these veins have a family resemblance,
they differ much in character in the course of a few
miles, sometimes being clear, hard, and blue in text
ure and color, and then shading into syenite sand
stone or hornblende. In some, the gold, though pay
ing well for milling, is so fine as to be almost
impalpable. In this case, the breaking down of a
vein by glacial or other erosion would not make rich
placers.
It may be observed of the country generally, that
quartz boulders of any size usually indicate the
proximity of a quartz vein of similar character, prov
ing that the streams or rivers forming the beds of
gravel, were small. This, however, does not apply
to the great east and west river, which had its chan
nel on the divide between Dry creek and Sutter creek,
which escaped the great glacial erosion. A river
which could sweep millions of tons of volcanic boul
ders down the slope of the mountains, could and did,
sweep along boulders of quartz three feet in diameter.
Such a boulder was found in 1857, on Union flat,
above any bed rock. It was of clear, blue quartz,
without any admixture of iron, and had several
hundred dollars in pure gold in a kind of stratum
on one side, the other side being barren. The rock
bore a great resemblance to that of the Sheep
Ranch mine in Calaveras county, said to be one of
the best paying mines in the State.
PIONEER AND GOLDEN GATE MINES.
Between the Mace, or West Point range, and Vol
cano, are veins of a very- distinct character. They
are narrow but well defined, going straight down,
neither widening or pinching out. Of this character
are the veins named at the head of this paragraph.
The veins do not follow the trend of the country rock,
but seem to be rather in a transverse fissure. They
are from sixteen inches to two feet in width, paying
from twenty to forty dollars a ton. The mine owned
D y W- Q- Mason, is of this group. The vein varies
from three to nine inches in width, averaging about
thirty-five dollars per ton, though in places the
rock is quite rich, paying several dollars to the
pound. This range of mines has not been sufficiently
explored to determine the Value of them.
QUARTZ VEINS WEST OP THE MOTHER LODE.
These are numerous, and some of them quite
large, being in some instances thirty or forty feet
thick, as at Dr. Randall's ranch near lone, and at
Mrs. JSTichol's ranch, in Jackson valley. The lower
range is quite as extensive as the Mother Lode, and
in the rich gulches and placers adjoining, bears evi
dence of having considerable gold. In the vicinity
of French Camp, some of the small veins are said
to have gold enough to pay for crushing, but as they
do not hold their size, but ramify into numerous
branches, they are not likely to be extensively
worked. The Kirkendall range near Irish hill, was
thought to be rich, but work on it is generally sus
pended.
In the vicinity of Stony creek the quartz seems
to be auriferous, but here, as at French Camp, the
veins are neither permanent nor well defined. It
would seem that in all this western range of quartz
veins, copper, not gold seems to be the predominat
ing mineral.
SOAP-STONE, OR STEATITE GOLD MINES.
These mines are some miles east of the lower
range of quartz veins, and seem to be connected
rather with the serpentine or green ledge formation.
There is considerable doubt in the minds of many
who have not examined the locality, as to the pres
ence of gold in steatite; but the fact that all the
gulches running from the locality were rich, ought
to set all doubts to rest. Attention was called to
these places twenty years since, by specimens of
the steatite with gold, like bronze, well-distributed
through it. There was some coarse gold found occa
sionally. Major Barting, who did the most to test
these veins, found a piece in this vein thirty feet
from the surface, which weighed some sixty grains
or more.
It is claimed that the rock contains twenty or
thirty dollars to the ton; but all attempts to save it
have been failures, the gold being so fine as to float
off on the top of the water.
QUARTZ MINING IN THE FUTURE.
Much money has been expended in quartz that
has not been returned. A few have become wealthy,
others have made a living, and many have worn
164
HISTORY OF AMADOR COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
themselves out in the unsuccessful search for gold.
The fact that gold, which made the placers, was
originally derived from quartz, and that many of the
veins are still rich, will induce the examination of the
last one where there is any probability, or even possi
bility, of finding it. GOLD ! what a magic in the
word! What a spell it will work. For gold, man will
dare the depths of the earth, the heights of the
mountains, the heat of the tropics, and the ice regions
of the pole, the solitude of the plains and the crowds
in cities.
Those who preach moderation in seeking it are the
first to sniff a strike, and the fiercest to strive for its
possession. Until human nature is changed, the gold
hunt will continue.
" ' PUT MONEY IN THY PURSE.'
" Make it thy soul's delight to gather coin. Suffer not
thy thoughts to stray from this purpose. Make cor
ners in bread, so that the poor shall go hungry.
What is it to thee that hundreds suffer? Make cor
ners in water, though the great Father poured it out
without stint for all his children. Fence it up ;
gather it in'to reservoirs and make the thirst as well
the hunger of the people fill thy purse. What were
hunger and thirst made for but to help thee put
money in thy purse ? Watch the progress of industry,
and buy up the land that lies in its course. Hold
it for high prices ; hold it until the homeless and
landless must have it at any price. What is it to
thee that industries are paralyzed? Put money in
thy purse.
" Thy brother may be fainting by the wayside,
crushed by misfortune and sickness. Heed not his
cry of agony. Shut all avenues of the heart to the
cries of suffering humanity. What is the world to
thee? Put money in thy purse.
" The world is full of beauty. Every little flower
that opens its petals to drink in the sunshine, is full
of marvelous, self-acting machinery. Heed it not.
Turn not aside from thy great work. The rocks of
the earth, all the elements, tell a wondrous story of
the creation, extending through myriads of ages, of
changes from chaos to order; from darkness to light
and life; of alternating ages of torrid heat and icy
solitude. The stars spangling the infinite blue deep,
tell a marvelous tale of the extent of God's works,
and suggest the possibility of a future greatness of
the soul ; of a wandering at will through endless
beauty wondering, admiring, and learning. Leave
such things to fools; they are nothing to thee. Put
money in thy purse.
" Work for money with all thy might, mind, and
soul, and it shall flow to thee, as the water floweth
to the sea, in streams ever widening and deepening,
gathering strength as it comes. Thou shalt own
broad acres in the hearts of cities, and principalities
in the country. Thy flocks shall cover a thousand
hills, and thy bank accounts increase by day and by
night. Though in the pursuit of wealth thy fea
tures become the incarnation of all that is vile, a
record of years of sin, at thy approach with the
golden key the doors of palatial residences will fly
open; obsequious servants will conduct thee to the
innermost shrine; melodious voices will sing for thee
the sweetest songs; gray-haired wisdom will lend
thee its aid, and youth and beauty will come to thy
arms. Thou mayest ride rough-shod over the people,
for hast thou not the wherewith?
< k But know, O mortal! that thy millions cannot
purchase one atom of love or respect; that the poor
est sewing girl in the city, or the dirtiest dustman,
is richer than thou art, for some one may have for
them a tender thought; but thou shalt be abhorred
of all. When sorrow cometh to thee, no heart will
beat in sympathy, no tears will mingle with thine.
Every man's hand will be against thee, as thine has
been against mankind. Every dollar of thy millions
will be a demon to gnaw thy withered, nhrunken
soul. Thy heart shall be like a desert land, without
green thing, fountain, or shade. The harpies of the
law shall quarrel over thy ill-gotten wealth, as the
wild dogs and wolves over the fallen bison of the
plains, "and thou shalt have lived in vain, for what
doth thy wealth profit?"
Gold mining and the pursuit of wealth will go on
nevertheless, and may be regulated, but not pro
hibited.
SCHOOL CABINETS.
Cabinets of elegant curiosities abound everywhere,
but, notwithstanding, there is a great deal of con
fusion regarding the names of the commonest rocks.
The metamorphic slates, constituting the wall rocks
of the quartz veins, are generally called granite,
than which nothing is more different. A collection
of a hundred common rocks, properly labelled and
cased, at the school-houses, would cost but little and
would soon have a perceptible effect in remedying
the confusion.
COPPER MINING.
Copper, in quantity, was first discovered in Cala-
veras county, at the place afterwards called Copper-
opolis, by W. K. Reed, July 4, 1861. The outcrop,
along where the Union and Keystone mines were
located, was very marked, and large quantities of
oxidized ores were taken out near the surface, as well
as fine specimens of native copper, some of which
were arborescent or crystallized in form. There were
also large quantities of impure oxide of copper (cop
per smut) mixed more or less with red oxide. These
ores were all shipped to Swansea, England, for reduc
tion, and the profits were such that fortunes of half
a million were made in a little time. It is said that
the Union mine opened the largest body of ore ever
discovered in the world, the shipments from it being
made on an immense scale. The run of ore was
three hundred and fifty feet long, and from four to
nine thick at the upper level; twenty-one feet at
the depth of two hundred, and thirty-one feet at the
depth of two hundred and fifty feet, all of No. 1 and
No. 2 ores. Other mines in the vicinity were also
rich. The shipments from Stockton of the Copper-
opolis ores, netted in 1863 six hundred thousand
dollars; in 1864 over one million dollars. For the
first year or two little attention was paid to cop
per in other places, but the rapid development of the
mines, and shipment of ores with profitable returns,
soon set hundreds to tracing out the copper forma
tion. The gossan or calico rock, so named from the
spotted appearance caused by patches of iron rust,
was found in a thousand places, and on uncovering
.,.-.
\\^-
V-&*"
RESIDENCE: AND LIVERY STABLE OF PETER PAGAN,
SUTTER CREEK, AMAOOR C? CAL.
LITM, BftlTTOH trlltr.
QUARTZ MINING EAST OF THE MOTHER LODE.
165
the rock, mundic or sulphuret of iron was generally
found a few feet from the surface with a little copper
also. Considerable veins were found at Lancha
Plana and Campo Seco, especially at the latter place.
Several companies were organized and the shipping
of ore commenced. In 1862 Dr. Newton, near Ione>
commenced sinking for copper on general principles
rather than any practical knowledge of the ores or
croppings; but the following Summer, 1863, he struck
a vein of shipping ore, and the excitement in Amador
county commenced. It was found that the calico,
or gossan rock, was common over a tract of country
eight or ten miles wide, east and west, and extend
ing from the Mokelumne to the Cosumnes rivers.
GENERAL CRAZE.
Within four months, or by the first of October, at
least one thousand men were at work sinking on
every discoloration of rock that could be found. At
first some attention was paid to the range, but soon
the veins were found everywhere, though not in
sufficient quantity to be of any commercial value.
A vein of four inches of black oxide of copper was
discovered on the top of Bald hill, near Buena Vista,
and shares were soon selling at the rate of two hun
dred thousand dollars for the prospect. This claim
or mine was known by the name of Bull Eun. The
Star of the West, not far away, also went up to a
fabulous price. Quite a town, Copper Centre, sprang
up in the vicinity and many more sites were staked
out. The lone City company struck a vein of a few
inches in thickness near Stony creek, and shares
were immediately held at two thousand five hundred
dollars per hundred feet. Shares in an adjoining
claim without the color of copper were worth two
hundred dollars. Copper could be melted out of the
ores of many of the veins with a common black
smith's forge. This was the case with a vein an inch
or two in thickness near Sutter creek (name of the
mine forgotten), and forthwith each hundred of the
two thousand feet was worth one thousand dollars.
Many of the companies incorporated with a capital
stock of one hundred thousand to one million dollars,
and opened offices, hired secretaries at salaries from
fifty to one bundred dollars per month, issued hand
somely printed certificates of stock, and did
everything that Washoe companies did. Large
handsome signs such as, Office lone City Copper Min
ing Company; Office Chaparral Copper Mining
Company, indicated the " Copper on the brain "
which was afflicting almost every one.
COUNTRY FORMED INTO DISTRICTS.
The country was all districted off, recorders
elected, and laws passed, which were recognized in
the courts as valid and binding. The fees for
recording a location were usually one dollar, with
an additional twenty-five cents for each name
attached to the notice. Some of the recorders would
make one hundred dollars a month at this alone.
Placer mining was nearly suspended in the hunt for
copper. Not less than three hundred companies
were doing constant work between the northern
and southern boundaries of the county, besides
others who were doing enough to hold the ground.
Tunnels hundreds of feet long were run in the hard
metamorphic slates, just to strike the supposed range.
The serpentine range had a green color, and was
thought by many to be copper ore. " Uncle Thomas
Rickey " formed a company of two hundred or more,
to run a tunnel into this, near Poe's ranch. " It would
only cost a dollar to get in, and if they struck any
thing there would be enough for all." This tunnel
was run something over two hundred feet. Fifty
companies were sinking near Horse creek, one hun
dred near Forest home, fifty or more in the vicinity
of lone, as many more near Jackson and Stony
creeks; in fact, it was hard to find a hill which was
not claimed, with a little work done to hold the
ground. Some of the notices were amusing enough.
FUNNY NOTICES.
Hon. W. A. Ludlow, now of Oakland, is authority
for the following:
" tack Notes thee unter singd clant two Huntent
foot Sought on thes Loat from thee mans Neten
bushes
Febuary 12 1863
Clamte sought ter Pint three"
" Nota Bean Is here By given notes ter unter
signed clame too cooben clames of too Hunter feet
square sought Nort too 200 Hunter feet
Thounship
No 5
AmTore country feb 12 63 "
" Take Notes the untersiGent chlames North 400
foot to a mains neeten Bush for Preubens of Mining
Coper
Febuary 12 one thousand 800 63 "
Lest people should think this style was owing to
the absence of the school-master, the following notice
for the sale of property in Berkeley, in the shadow
of the University, is appended:
'FERR SALL TUR MES Ezi."
Selling claims or" shares was a profitable business,
and stock gambling came near being established.
Almost every person had his pockets full of rocks,
and wanted to sell shares.
The finest and best arranged collection of ores and
croppings was collected by Judge Carter, of lone.
Some twenty or thirty of the leading mines were
fully represented, cropping and ores being arranged
in the natural order from the top down. It should
have been preserved for the use of schools.
NEW TOWNS.
Forest Home, Mineral City, and several other
towns sprang up in the northern part of the county,
where the excitement was greater, if possible, than
in any other part. The One Hundred and One, or
166
HISTORY OF AMADOR COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
Cosumnes Company, shipped considerable ore, as did
several other companies. The McNealy Company
(Arroyo Seco Copper Company), near Muletown, also
shipped several hundred tons of ore. C. T. Meader,
of Stockton, became the copper king of the State,
buying into many promising locations, the Newton
mine among others. This was extensively oper
ated, and numbers of teams loaded every day for the
water-front.
RESULT OP THE GENERAL SEARCH.
A thousand shafts were sunk, many of them strik
ing copper in small quantities. The serpentine range,
spoken of in the chapter on geology as an axis of
elevation, seemed to be the center of the copper
belt. The deposits on the eastern side were gener
ally in bunches of a few tons, capped with iron ore.
At one point, between Stony and Jackson creeks
twenty-three of these chimneys could be seen within
a space of half a mile square. Around the Mountain
Spring House the " mineral caps" were equally notice
able before they were removed for grading the turn-
piked road. This section of the country is well
worth the attention of mineralogists for its indica
tions of other minerals than copper. Some of the
shafts near the serpentine struck asbestos in consider
able quantities, which is likely to be valuable.
CHROME IRON
Was also found in quantity in several places, one
vein, now claimed by the Westfall brothers, being
nearly three feet thick. Twenty years since, this ore
was worth sixty dollars per ton, but since the dis
covery of large quantities of it in Sonoma and other
places, it is worth only the cost of mining it.
In the Autumn of 1863, some five or six companies
were shipping ore, and a hundred more were expect
ing to do so soon, but the whole thing collapsed in a
few months, leaving the million of dollars or more,
which had been expended in the search, a total loss.
FAILURE OF MEADER.
The first intimation of the coming panic was the
failure of C. T. Meader, the copper king. He had
not only bought into copper mines, but into quartz
mines as well. The Coney mine had passed into his
possession, and he had engaged extensively in ship
ping under the name of " Meader, Loler & Co."
When his failure came, it involved the mines in
which he was engaged in litigation, which had the
effect of tying them up for several years. Among
the causes mentioned was the depreciation of copper,
which went down, in the course of two years, from
twenty-eight to fourteen cents a pound. It was said
at the time that this depreciation was the result of
a conspiracy on the part of the Swansea Companies,
to break down the mining of copper in California;
but the reports of the discoveries, not only in Ama-
dor and Calaveras, but all over the State as well,
would be likely to affect the market. In Nevada
county the Well claim was said to be inexhaustible,
having a body of ore two hundred feet in width.
In Arizona there were, as it was said, miles of dykes
of ore standing in sight on the top of the ground.
The mines of Lake Superior were also pouring into
the trade a marvelous quantity of copper, so that
it was hardly necessary to suppose a conspiracy.
Four years afterwards, Meader, in accounting for
his failure, said that his copper stocks had depre
ciated in value two million two hundred and forty
thousand dollars, and that his total indebtedness
was one million two hundred and ninety thousand
dollars. The extreme depreciation continued for sev
eral years, totally suspending copper mining, many
of the claims being abandoned, and all being allowed
to fill up with water. From this latter circumstance
came the discovery of a cheaper method of reducing
the ores.
At the time work was suspended many of the
tools were left in the mines. When the water was
pumped out three or four years afterwards, a
REMARKABLE DISCOVERY
Was made. Every piece of iron or steel left in the
ground had been decomposed, and around it was an
oxide of copper, with a brown luster, which would
assay ninety -five per cent, copper. Shovels, hammers,
drills, iron bars, car wheels, and spikes used in fast
ening timber, were solid copper, bearing some resem
blance to the original articles. The steel drills were ir
regular tubes, the hollow part retaining the shape of
the iron. This was a discovery. Instead of having to
ship the ores to Swansea at an enormous expense,
they could be leached; that is, after the exposure of
the ores to the air they decomposed, and became
converted into sulphate of copper (blue stone of
commerce) which was soluble in water. The water,
beino 1 run into large vats, was brought into contact
with scrap-iron, which could be bought for a trifle;
the iron had a stronger affinity for the sul
phur, and the copper was precipitated in the form of
a brown powder, which was nearly pure copper.
By this method very poor ores can be worked with a
profit. It must be said, however, that not all the
copper ores can be worked in this manner. The
number of veins containing workable ore, is, per
haps, hundreds, possibly thousands. Though no
colossal fortunes will be made, yet they are likely in
the future to give profitable employment to a great
number of men.
PRESENT CONDITION OF COPPER MINING.
The Newton lead, owned by a Boston company, is
the only one that is extensively worked. This was
the first to make -use of the process of leaching and
precipitation. Under the able management of Ed
ward Johnson, the mine has not only been put on a
paying basis, but the way shown to utilize the
small bodies of copper ores which abound on the
east side of the serpentine ledge, as well as the
larger ones on the west side. The works now cover
several acres of ground. The vats, piles of scrap-iron
which now come near to the mine by rail the piles
JACKSON.
167
of ore, through which the water is slowly soaking,
and the hoisting works, all serve to make a business
appearance.
The main shaft is four hundred and thirty feet
deep, from which four levels have been run each way
about two hundred feet, exposing large bodies of
double sulphurets of copper and iron. These levels
are all connected by winzes with the air shaft. Some
of the higher grades of ore are sent to Swansea for
reduction, but the larger part are reduced on the
ground. About forty men are employed about the
works.
Eeduction by leaching is also in use, to some ex
tent, in the mines near Forest Home. Copper mining
is a promising element in the prospects of the county.
CHAPTEE XXX.
JACKSON.
Capture of the County Seat Killing of Colonel Collyer Loss of
the County Seat Bull Fight and Election Mines First
School Improvements in 1854 Hanging Tree Griswold
Murder Great Freshet 1861 Great Fire 1862 Flood and
Loss of Life 1878 Big Frolic Celebration of Admission Day
Mokelumne River Murphy's Gulch Hunt's Gulch
Tunnel Hill Butte Basin Butte Mountain Butte City
Marriage in High Life The Gate Ohio Hill Slab City-
Clinton Spaulding's Invention.
DURING the Summer of 1848 this was a stopping-
place for persons traveling between Dry town and
Mokelumne river, though some mining was done
with batayas by the Mexicans, at the spring near the
National Hotel. The number of bottles left around
the spring by travelers, gave it the name of Bottil-
leas, until it was changed to Jackson, in honor of
Colonel Jackson, who afterwards settled there. It
does not appear that any number of men wintered
here in 1848, though some of Stevenson's soldiers
wintered at Mokelumne Hill. The first permanent
white resident of which any account can be found is
Louis Tellier, who still resides on the first location.
When Jim Martin and his company of eight passed
through Jackson, or rather where it was not, tjiere
was a Mexican cart standing near the spring. Louis
Tellier's first house was a log cabin covered with raw
hides; he also had a large army tent which had been
used in Mexico. In early days freight to Sacramento
was as high as one thousand dollars per ton. In 1850
it was reduced to two hundred dollars per ton. To
Volcano from Sacramento it was two hundred and
fifty dollars. There were no bridges, and, even in
Summer-time, both men and animals were sometimes
drowned. Lumber was worth thi^ee dollars per foot,
the floor of a small room costing six hundred to one
thousand dollars. The roads were mere Indian
trails, which were, in many instances, too narrow to
let wagons through.
There were two roads to Sacramento; one by
way of Eancheria and Drytown, the other by wny
of Buena Vista. Louis Tellier caused the latter
trail to be cut wide enough for a wagon, at his own
expense. The trail nearly followed the road towards
Lancha Plana to Stony creek, thence to the right
over the Blue ridge. During the Summer, Mr.
Hough, Mrs. Hough and her sister, came to the
town, these two being the first white women in
the town. Mrs. Hough is now living in Diamond
Springs, the second is living in Jackson, the widow
of McDowell, the first Justice of the Peace in Jack
son. The union of Miss Hough and McDowell, was
the first wedding. Mrs. Silas Penry is the daughter
by that marriage. Charles Boynton built the " Astor
House," and also a bowling saloon. History does
not give us many particulars regarding the archi
tectural merits of the " Astor House," nor as to the
architect who planned it. It was equal to any build
ing in the city, however, though it was built of logs,
and daubed with mud. There was a cabin near
where E. W. Palmer's house now stands; also one
on the site of his stable, occupied by John Papac,
a Chileno. Towards the Gate was a cabin, with the
sign, " brandy and sugar," hence called the Brandy
and Sugar Hotel, kept by a man by the name of
Kelley. He also sold bread and butter; a slice off
a loaf baked in a Dutch oven, was sold for one dollar;
if buttered, two dollars. He charged one dollar
per night for room to spread the. blankets on the
ground floor.
A Dr. Elliot had a tent near the site of the Central
House where he sold goods. During the Autumn an
emigrant sold his tent for six dollars; the rains com
ing on soon after, he paid one dollar a night for the
privilege of sleeping under it. Evans came in March,
1850, with some beef, slaughtered on the Cosumnes,
packed on some animals. He hung his meat on a
pole resting on two forked posts, and soon sold out
and went after more. His business flourishing, he
soon after opened a store at Secreto (near Clinton)
another at Butte, and a larger one at Jackson, near
the site of the National Hotel. His store was of
logs, and, not being well chinked, he filled up the
holes with hams, the shank bones sticking out all
around. He soon associated with him D. C. White
(who afterwards put up the soda works), and A.
Askey, the latter having remained with him since.
Duncan & Gage (who afterwards kept a Chinese
Bazar at San Francisco), Levinsky, Sloan, Stevens,
Stockier, Captain Dunham, and others, came soon
after Evans. Levinsky had a large store for many
years, as also did Sleekier. Stevens run the Young
America saloon; Sloan afterwards lighted Jackson
with Aubin gas. Captain Dunham kept a meat mar
ket near the hanging tree. There were also the two
Doctor Shields (called the big doctor and the little
doctor), one, it is not certain which, having a wife.
In August, 1850, there were but seven buildings
in the town, some of which were empty. These
were Louis Tellier's, White & Evans', Henry and Fred-
erich Eeeves' (on the hill near Butterfield's), one
where Kent now lives, occupied by Mr. Hough and
family, one at Palmer's house, and also one near his
168
HISTORY OF AMADOR COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
stable and the Brandy and Sugar Hotel. Dan Wor-
ley, now living near Drytown, visiting Jackson one
day, thought to get a clean square meal cooked by
a woman, but except for the name of the thing
would as soon have eaten in his own cabin. Bill of
fare: Fried steak, bread, and black coffee, $1.00,
with, " If you don't like it stay away."
FIRST GREAT EVENT IN JACKSON.
This was no less than the capture of the county
seat. This brilliant exploit seemed to have had its
origin in the fertile brain of Charles Boynton. When
Calaveras county was organized, Double Springs
somehow obtained the county scat. It had but one
house, which answered for Court House, saloon,
store, and hotel. The place had not grown as was
expected. The county seat, metaphorically speak
ing, was reaching out its arms for a more suitable
home; and Jackson, with its less than a dozen houses,
was willing to receive it, and nurse it to greater
strength. Elections and Acts of the Legislature,
means usually invoked in such matters, were set
aside as involving too much time, altogether too
slow for the lively town of Jackson. One morning,
while Double Springs was resting quietly on its
dignity as a shire town, the enemy appeared, smil
ing as usual. They (Charles Boynton and Theo.
Mudge) walked up to the county seat's bar, and
throwing down the coin, according to the custom
of the country, invited all hands to imbibe. The
population of the town, or at least the larger part,
responded with alacrity, the larger part being Col
onel Collyer, a rather pompous, portly Virginia gen
tleman, fond of telling good stories, and fonder still
of good liquor, never refusing the opportunity for
either. While one detachment of the enemy art
fully engaged the attention of Colonel Collyer, who
was county clerk, and in that capacity custodian of
the archives, another detachment at the other end
of the room gathered the archives under his arm,
tumbled them into a buggy, and ran away with
them to Jackson. When the Colonel found the
county seat had vanished, he raised his portly form
an inch or two higher, swung his cane furiously
around his head, and "swore that the army should
be called out to vindicate the dignity of the court.
A shake shanty, at the foot of Court street, had
been prepared for the bantling, and, on the arrival
of Boynton and Mudge at Jackson, the archives
were desposited with the proper ceremonies, the
liquors being remarkably fine; and Jackson became
the center of government for the great territory of
Calaveras, which extended from Sacramento .to the
Rocky Mountains. Judge Smith, the County Judge,
seemed to be on hand, ready to administer justice;
in fact, he was suspected of having connived at the
abduction, which act, it is said, was in part the
cause of the tragedy occurring soon after. The
County Clerk was induced to take his place, and
issue the proper papers, dated at Jackson, for the
convening of a court.
TRAGEDY KILLING OF COLONEL COLLYER.
At the election for county officers, held soon aftei
the removal of the county seat,- Joe Douglass, can
didate for the clerkship against Colonel Collyer
received the larger number of votes. The Colone
locked up the returns in his desk, in order to hold
the office until his successor was qualified, which
could not well be done without the counting of the
votes, with his official signature to the result. Judge
Smith broke open the desk in the absence of the Col
onel, counted the returns, and issued the certificates
of election to the successful candidates, Joe Doug
lass among the rest. This put a new face on the
aifair. The feud, occasioned by the removal of the
county records, now grew into an open war.
Threats to shoot Judge Smith on sight induced him
to arm himself, and when they met, near the foot
of the present Court street, Smith commenced firing,
hitting Collyer, who does not seem to have been
armed, two or three times. The shots were fatal,
and Collyer fell at the foot of a large oak tree grow
ing there, and shortly after expired. Smith was not
tried for the homicide, but public indignation was so
strong that he resigned. It is said, however, that as
Smith was a Northern man and Collyer a Southern
man, the people took sides accordingly in approving
or condemning, and thus foreshadowed the great
contest of ten years later.
The few residents of Jackson got up a celebration
of the Fourth. McDonnell was the orator, and com
pared the Constitution to a " crystal palace with its
pedestal towering to the skies."
EIGHTEEN HUNDRED AND FIFTY.
In the Fall a great immigration came in, and by
the 1st of December, Jackson had in the neighborhood
of a hundred houses. Harnett, who afterwards
lived in lone valley, built and kept a restaurant near
the Astor House. Henry Mann and John Burke
also had a restaurant, near the tree afterwards
famous as the "hanging-tree." It was in this house
that the Indian, Coyote Joe, was tried for killing the
blacksmith near the Gate. The wife of Helmer Tur
ner, present Deputy County Clerk, is a daughter of
Henry Mann; a son is junior partner of the firm,
Hutchirison, Mann & Co., engaged in insurance in
San Francisco. Mr. Mann lost his life in a singular
manner. A tame bear was kept tied to the famous
tree near Mann's restaurant. One day he had been
moved to a lot where some shoats were kept, which
his bearship commenced killing. Mr. Mann, in try
ing to return the animal to the tree, Angered the
bear, which gave him a hug that proved fatal in two
or three days. Mrs. Mann afterwards married W.
L. McKimm, the wedding taking place on the top of
Butte mountain.
Streeter and family, who afterwards lived on Dry
creek, resided here during the Winter of 1850-51.
Sheldon Streeter was the first white child born in
Jackson.
RESIDENCE AND RANCH OF 320ACRES JEFFERSON BAIRD.
3 MILES N.E. FROM PLYMOUTH, AMADOR C.9 GAL.
RESIDENCE AND LUMBERYARD OF E.S. POTTER.
PLYMOUTH, AMADOR C CAL.
OF THE
TJNIVERSITT)
JACKSON.
169
Medical attendance was expensive in those days,
physicians charging enormous fees. The following
fee bill was posted up in a doctor's office:
For one visit with medicine $ 16 00
Reducing a fractured limb $50 00 to 100 00
Parturition 100 00
The following story on medical charges is on the
said so of Tom Springer of the Ledger:
" Doctor Marsh, who was murdered in Contra Costa
county about 1856, was formerly owner of a ranch
in this county. Being called upon in a professional
capacity to visit a sick child, he got the mother to
wash a shirt for him.
" On leaving he made out a bill for services amount
ing to fifty cows the exact number of the woman's
herd of cattle. She acknowledged the debt, but at
the same time made out a bill to the same amount
for washing his shirt. The doctor went off grum
bling at the high rate for washing in California."
SECOND REMOVAL OF THE COUNTY SEAT.
Mokelumne Hill having outgrown Jackson, was
hankering for the distribution of the public moneys
among her own people. According to the law passed
by the Legislature in 1849-50, the county seat might
be moved every year if a majority petitioned for an
election and two-thirds voted for the change. It
was little trouble to get names on a petition of any
kind, and, as events subsequently proved, not very
much trouble to get votes in those days. An election
being ordered, Jackson would make an effort to keep
it. Though Mokelumne Hill had the votes, Jackson
had the talent and daring, which, once before, had
captured the county seat.
It was determined to gather a great multitude by
means of a free bull-fight, hoping to out-vote Mokel
umne Hill. Accordingly a corral was prepared, bulls
engaged, and great inducements offered, or, as the
play bills said, unparalleled attraction.
The bulls, some seven or eight in number, were
brought in some day or two before, and fierce looking
fellows they were, with their long slender horns and
sleek hides, and the excitement was immense. It
looked as if Jackson had got the bulge on the Mokel
umne " Hellyons." Lest the cattle might be sur
reptitiously turned loose, a guard of three or four
men with rifles, was stationed at the gate to insure
the safe keeping of the animals. But the Mok-
Hillians were not asleep. They began to gather in
horses; they were not going to be beaten with a bull
fight. They announced that the bull-fight was not
coming off. A delegation of trusty men was sent to
Jackson to watch the enemy. During the night they
plied the guards so well with whisky that they slept
at their posts, during which time the Mok-Hill-
ians quietly undid the fastenings without disturbing
the sentinels. Getting on the opposite side of the
corral they raised a great hullabalo, hearing which
the guards sprang to their feet only to be tossed and
trampled by the infuriated beasts, which charged at
a run through the open gate and were gone in a
moment.
22
The Spanish bulls having gone, an attempt was
made to get up an entertainment with American cat
tle, but they would not entertain worth a cent, and
the crowd programme was a failure. It was now
learned what the horses at Mokelumne Hill were for.
Bands of men were riding furiously all over the coun
try voting at every precinct, but the horses of
Jackson were few, and when the sun went down
Jackson was beaten, because the other side had the
most horses. An enormous vote was cast, out of all
proportion to the population.
MINES.
The gulches around Jackson were generally good,
though no such strikes were made as in Mokelumne
river. The north fork of Jackson creek was good
to its head; the south and middle forks were also
good. The best spots were near the junction of the
creeks, not far from the National House. A few men
made as high as five hundred dollars per day at
times. Thomas Jones had one of the best claims.
Nuggets worth two hundred and fifty dollars were
taken out near Dick Palmer's house. Hough also
had a good claim near the same place. One day
some immigrants inquired where they could find
diggings, and a place was pointed out. In a few
days they took out fourteen pounds each, and went
home. The flats in the vicinity of Tunnel hill
were also good. Jackson owed its prosperity more to
being a convenient center than to any mines about
the town. The different forks of the creeks came
together at Jackson. The roads to Volcano, Mokel
umne Hill, and the southern mines, passed through
here, and all helped to make it a center for a large
extent of country.
FIRST PREACHING.
The meeting was held in Mann's saloon in 1850.
The preacher (Southern Methodist), took a drink
before commencing service. His preaching was
profitable to himself at least, his receipts at the
close of the sermon being over a hundred dollars,
of which sum Harnet gave twenty dollars, and
Laura Stubbs, afterwards Harnet's wife, giving ten
dollars. This Avas about all the preaching that Win
ter. Davidson and his three partners (of what was
called the Minister Quartz Company, working at
Amador), preached occasional!} 7 the following Sum
mer. I. B. Fish was the first established preacher.
He belonged to the Methodist Episcopal Church.
He was a fearless man, of good mind and
great force of character, and did not hesitate to
denounce the popular vices of the age. At lone,
especially, he won the enmity of saloon-keepers and
gamblers. The first church was built in 1853 by
subscriptions, costing two thousand dollars.
THE FIRST SCHOOL
Was taught by Mrs. Trowbridge, using the Methodist
church for a school-house. She was one of the few
pioneer women who felt the responsibility of living
where female influence was so great, and will be
170
HISTORY OF AMADOR COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
remembered as using it for the advancement of so
ciety. Several children, around Jackson at the
time, were going to ruin for the want of a mother's
care. Mrs. Trowbridge obtained clothes for them,
induced them to go to school and otherwise cared
for them. Geo. 0. Ash, now a leading member of
the Methodist Episcopal Church in this State, owes
his early training and subsequent success to Mrs.
Trowbridge's care when he was a motherless waif.
IN 1854
The advent of the county seat gave Jackson a
great lift. Several brick buildings were put up
about this time, among which was the building at
the bridge used as a Court House after the big fire,
the house used by Ingalls as a drug store at
the corner of Main and Water streets, and some
others not recollected.
With the increase of population came also all
kinds of mercantile institutions, where beauty and
frailty had a market value. The sounds of music,
the clinking of glasses, the chink of money as the
gambler paid out his losses or raked in his winnings,
were in time and tune with the other towns of Cal
ifornia, neither better nor worse. The town was or
ganized, and a Board of Trustees and Mayor elected.
When the first term of court under the new organ
ization was in session, the Grand Jury recommended
that some attempt be made to suppress the disor
derly houses meaning the houses of ill-fame. No
attention was paid to it, but at the next session the
Grand Jury acted more vigorously. Several men
were indicted for keeping disorderly houses. The
Grand Jury, visiting some of the houses, were
shown licenses fordoing business, which the "parties
construed into doing their kind of business; so they, the
Grand Jury, indicted the town authorities for issuing
the licenses, though the charge was " for obtaining
money under false pretenses." A. C. Brown, acting
as attorney for himself and other members of the
Board, acknowledged the service of the papers, and
gave security for appearance.
The affair caused quite an excitement, but ended
in nothing, as District Attorney Axtell appeared in
court the next morning and entered a noils prosequi
in the cases, and Judge Gordon dismissed them.
The indictments against the parties keeping the
disorderly houses were continued until the next
term, and then dismissed for want of evidence. Al
though these matters did not result in suppressing
these institutions, they showed that public o-pinion
was getting intolerant of the display of such places,
and from this time they rather evaded than courted
publicity.
GAS WORKS.
About this time, Sloan and some others established
gas works. Pipes were laid along the streets and
in all the public places. The works were on the
ground occupied by the rear of R. W. Palmer's staMe.
There was a bench of three retorts, and a tank or
gasometer holding perhaps five thousand feet. Pitch
wood was used for making the gas which was called
Aubin gas. Great hopes were entertained of the
project, but the quality of the gas, owing to the
defective machinery for purifying it, was uncertain.
Sometimes the light from it was brilliant, then going
entirely out; and the experiment was abandoned.
The pipes were afterwards utilized as water-pipes.
THE GREAT FRESHET.
Eighteen hundred and sixty-one found Broadway
built quite across the creek, the houses resting on
posts, which were set in the ground but a little ways.
It was nine years since the flood of fifty-two and
three, and the people either had forgotten, or would
not believe that the forks of Jackson creek would
sometimes float a steamboat, and so they rested in
security. The American Hotel, Young America
Saloon, and other good houses, were built over the
channel on Broadway. On the continuation of
Main street, beyond the Louisiana Hotel (now
National Hotel), was a row of barber-shops and
saloons. The rains commenced about the first of
December, and continued without much inter
mission for some weeks, until the ground was so
full it could hold no more, each shower sending the
streams, already full, over the banks. When the
main rise occurred, bringing down trees, timber,
fences, and mining machinery, the channel soon
choked. The flood now turned into Water street,
running along in front of the Louisiana Hotel,
carrying off the wagon-shop to the west of the hotel,
with its contents, and endangering the safety of all
the buildings along the street. At this point the build
ings began to give way. The American Hotel
actually floated up stream a little, which caused the
remark that it always was a contrary concern and
would not go like other buildings, referring to its
having been an unprofitable investment. Slowly the
mass of buildings, with the bridge, gave way and
started, grinding along and tearing away the out
buildings which had been built from both sides into
the creek. The row of barber-shops and saloons on
the next crossing hardly checked the movement, and
the mass went grinding and crashing into the canon
below, and the channel was cleared and the danger
passed. Some twenty buildings went off in this
burst, involving a loss of perhaps fifty thousand
dollars. The quantity of lumber of all kinds that
went down the creek through Jackson was enor
mous. It was fished out at all points. Several
thousand feet could bo gathered in a few hours, so
much broken, however, as to be useless except for
wood. Much of it went into the bay and thence to
sea.
INCIDENTS OF THE FRESHET.
The buildings taken away from the foot of Broad
way and Main streets, with their contents, went
tearing and crashing down the canon, and for some
j weeks, broken doors, windows, counters, and all
JACKSON.
171
kinds of goods, were thrown ashore or fished out of
the creek below. One day, Dr. Crawford and Sam
Folger, the latter now in business in Jackson, were
engaged with others in wrecking in Jackson valley.
Now a door, which they recognized as coming from
the Young America saloon, would come to land;
then a window from the American Hotel; then a
part of the outhouse of the Louisiana, the parties
extracting a good deal of fun out of the work. A
bottle of some kind of liquor, miraculously preserved
from breaking, during its journey through the
Devil's Mill, as the canon was called, came rolling
and bobbing along, and was fished out. Now the
Young America had the reputation of keeping the
best liquors in the county. If it should be some of
Bristow's whisky, as Mrs. Toodles says, "it would
come so handy;" but there were barbers' and doctors'
shops carried away also, and it might be hair oil, or
hair dye, or some other horrible stuff, and it naturally
fell to the Doctor to try it. He smelled and tasted,
and smelled and tasted again, and ominously shook
his head. "Better not touch it, Folger, it may be
poison. Let me try it again;" taking a liberal sam
ple, again shaking his head, but the indescribable
look of satisfaction over-spreading his countenance,
induced Folger to test it also. It was some of Bris
tow's best, and a very acceptable find to the wet
fishermen.
THE HANGING-TREE.
This tree which has become noted wherever the
name of California is known, formerly stood near
Louis Tellier's saloon, and was a live-oak, with sev
eral branching trunks. It was never very beautiful,
but was a source of so much pride to the citizens,
on account of its history, that its likeness was
engraved on the county seal, so that its appearance
is not likely to be forgotten.
Its use at first as a hanging-tree, was quite acci
dental; but in the course of time the tree was a
terrible hint for the quick solution of a criminal
case, and when the tree was injured by the great
fire of August, 1862, so as to necessitate the cutting
of it down, the feeling regarding its fate was not
altogether sorrowful.
The first case was "Coyote Joe," an Indian,
charged with killing a blacksmith at the Gate, for
the purpose of getting his money. He was tried
by a jury of miners, Dr. Pitt acting as foreman, and
found guilty, as some of the specimens the black
smith was known to have, were found on the Indian's
person. The trial was in a restaurant, not far from
the tree, and he was soon hanging.
The second case was that of a Chileno, who stabbed
a woman who was his cousin; he was tried by a jury
of citizens, found guilty, and shortly hung.
In 1851, two Frenchmen were murdered in Squaw
gulch near the Gate. One was stabbed with a long
bowie-knife thirteen times, dying immediately; the
other, though cut five or six times, lived for several
days. Suspicions were fixed upon a youug Mexican,
who was afterwards arrested by AVaterman H. Nel
son, Sheriff of Calavoras county (this being before
the organization of Araador) at Sacramento, and
brought to Jackson handcuffed to another young
Mexican who had been arrested for horse-stealing.
The examination was before Bruce Husband, Justice
of the Peace. The testimony was so positive that
there was no doubt of the guilt of the accused, and
as the atrocious details of the murder came out the
French portion .of the population became excited
beyond all control, and they determined to hang the
Mexican at all hazards, and so told the Sheriff, who
determined that the prisoner should be taken to
Mokelumnc Hill for trial. The French armed them
selves with shot-guns, and the Americans with pistols,
the latter with the intention of defending Nelson if
ho was assaulted. The murderer was still hand
cuffed to the other Mexican who was arrested for
horse-stealing. How to get them apart was the
question, and at one time it seemed as if both would
be hanged together, but Martell, the blacksmith,
finally cut the chain in two, releasing the horse-thief.
Now commenced the exciting part of the affair. The
Frenchmen had assured Nelson that they would not
hurt him. The Americans looked on, admiring the
pluck of the officer, caring little what became of the
" greaser." It was remarked that if one shot-gun
went off there would be fifty dead men in five min
utes. Twice the rope was placed around the fellow's
neck, and twice it was cut by the Sheriff. Sompayrac,
a French merchant, was asked to say something to
allay the excitement, but he only shouted, " Hang
him! hang him!" Nelson was finally overpowered
and the Mexican was hanged. It may be a matter
of doubt whether Nelson's apparent struggle to
maintain the dignity of the law was not half, at
least, in the interest of the mob, as no arms were
used or exhibited by him.
The other prisoner got out of the crowd and went
to the Union Hotel. The proprietor, Colonel Allen,
remarked that the crowd would hang him also,
" Did you steal a horse ?" asked Allen of him. "Yes,
I took a horse and rode him." (Allen.) " You sabe
este camino?" pointing to a trail that led down the
creek. "Si Sefior." (Allen.) " Vamos" giving the
Mexican a shove. He left, making excellent time as
long as he was in sight, and thus escaped, for that
day at least, a hanging.
Some accounts state that the two Mexicans were
banged, but the above statement seems to be the most
authentic.
In 1853, a party of Mexicans, said to have been
Joaquin's band, robbed some Chinamen, killing two of
them and tying the others on the creek below the
town. Joe Lake, a butcher, in his rounds to sell his
meat, rode up to the camp at the time the robbery
was going on, and was killed by the Mexicans. One
Chinaman escaping, came to the town and gave infor
mation of the tragedy. A party was made up and
the Mexicans were pursued and overtaken; in the
172
HISTORY OF AMADOR COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
running fight which ensued one was severely
wounded and was afterwards arrested in Lancha
Plana, taken to Jackson and hanged.
In 1854, in March or April, a Chileno living in
Jackson, attempted to rob a China camp on Cook's
gulch, west of Jackson. The Chinamen got the bet
ter of him, tied-him and brought him to town, where
he paid the penalty of his crime by hanging.
March 23. 1854, a Swede, name unknown, was
hung at Jackson, for the stealing. of a horse from
Evans and Askey. As there has been much talk
of this matter, a short account of the stealing of the
horse and its subsequent recovery, and the capture
of the man, may not be out of place: The horse, a
valuable and noticeable one, was taken from the
stable on the night of the 17th. Suspicion immedi
ately fixed itself on the person afterwards arrested,
who had been camping in the vicinity, with no
ostensible occupation. The camp was visited, but
the man was gone. A blanket stolen at the same
time, was found there, however, which served to
confirm the suspicion with regard to the author of
the theft. He was traced out of town towards the
south; thence he turned north, making a wide cir
cuit, and got on the Drytown road. At the Cos-
umnes ferry, the man and horse crossed early in
the morning, both man and horse being identified,
as they were subsequently at Mud Springs (El
Dorado). Here they lost the trail for one day, but
recovered it again on the Auburn road, both horse
and man being in company. Here he offered to sell
the horse, saying that he had sold the mate for
three hundred dollars. He was eventually captured
near Bridgeport, in Nevada county. The chain of
evidence establishing his possession of the horse
from the time of the stealing to his capture, seemed
perfect. From these circumstances, no value what
ever was attached to the bill of sale which he pro
duced, which read as follows,
"Sac. City, March 16, 154.
"Mr. C. Bennet Bot of C. Cuper, for one gray
horse, Three Hundred & Forty Dollars. Title guar
anteed.
"\V. Holman, Auctioneer. C. CUPER."
Nor of the story which he told of having purchased
the horse from a traveler on the road, with the
transfer of the bill of sale.
On the way back, hundreds recognized both man
and horse, so there seems no possible doubt of the
guilt of the man, whatever may be thought of the
hanging. He had a trial of only a few minutes, on
the steps of the Louisiana House, at sunrise, soon
after coming to the town. A rope was put around
his neck, and he was hurried to the tree, only a few
people being present. He tried to explain away the
charge against him, saying that he bought the horse
of a traveler, who transferred the bill of sale with
the horse. He could not speak English, and Levin-
sky, whose store was near, interpreted for him.
His body hung until noon before it was cut down.
There was a valuable ring on one of his fingers. A
man, now living in Jackson, whose name does not
deserve mention in this book, not being able to pull
the ring off the swollen finger, cut it off; some say
on a butcher's block, which was near by. It is also
current that the several claimants to the ring played
a game of cards, to see who should have it.
Public opinion was very much against the lyrichers
in this affair, and the next Grand Jury found bills for
a high crime against several prominent citizens, who
took an active part in the matter, and they found it
convenient to be absent from the town, at several
subsequent courts, to give color to the legal fiction
that the parties named in the indictments could not
be found.
In 1855, two Mexicans tried to rob a China camp,
about four miles below Jackson. They met with
unexpected resistance; one being stunned with a
blow from a hatchet, the other making his escape.
The Chinamen wound their prisoner with ropes from
head to foot, so tightly that he could not bend, and
then guyed him up liked a smoke-stack to a steam
saw-mill, and sent to town for help to arrest him.
When the whites got there they found him standing
in the middle of the camp with ropes reaching out
from him, all around, holding him to his place. He
was brought to town and hung.
August 10, 1855, Manuel Garcia, one of the Eanch-
eria banditti, was wounded in the running fight on
the Calaveras river, taken and carried to Campo
Seco, from which place he was taken to Jackson by
Perry and Eichelberger. He was immediately hung
by the people.
Soon after this, or about the 15th of August, two
Mexicans were hung for complicity in the Eanchcria
murders. Manuel Escobar, of the same party was
the tenth and last. The tree was injured in the
great fire of 1862, and was cut down.
QRISWOLD MURDER.
On November 7, 1857, Martin Van Buren Griswold
was murdered under circumstances that attracted
the attention of the people, not only of the county,
but also throughout the State. Griswold was a
daring, self-possessed, and powerful man, who
crossed the plains to Oregon in 1848. On his arrival
in Oregon he learned of the discovery of gold in
California, and, with his usual decision of character,
he immediately turned toward that place. He
arrived in San Francisco in April, '49, and went to
Placerville, where he mined with rather indifferent
success, but afterward struck it rich at Oregon Bar,
"making his pile." After traveling about California
awhile, he started for New York by way of the
city of Mexico. While there he got out of coin and
went to the mint to get his dust exchanged for gold,
which they agreed to do, but afterward insisted upon
his taking silver. He brought the mint officers to
a sense of right by drawing his revolver upon them,
and departed with the gold coin. He reached New
JACKSON.
173
York without farther mishap, New Year's day, 1850.
After spending a few weeks with his family, he
started again for the Golden State, this time by way
of Milwaukee and the great North-West, the then
terra, incognita, but now the great wheat-field of
the world. Passing down the RedBiver of the North
to the Selkirk settlements, he swung away toward
the McKenzie and Copper Mine rivers to the out
posts of the fur companies, and from thence made
his way to Oregon, which place he reached Christ
mas day, 1850, having been nearly a year in making
the trip, passing through the territory of twenty
different tribes of Indians without a mishap. For
some years he oscillated between San Diego and
Siskiyou, San Francisco and the Sandwich Islands;
was a prisoner among the Klamath Indians, from
whom he escaped after two years of imprisonment,
during which time he experienced many desperate
adventures. He finally settled down with Horace
Kilham, an extensive mine and ditch owner near
Jackson. Large quantities of gold-dust were bought
and sold at this place, the safe having at times
fifty thousand dollars or more in it, a great tempta
tion to Chinamen (several of wJiom worked about
the place) who were in the habit of working for a
mere pittance. One day he was missing; on examina
tion the gold in the safe was also gone. For a
moment suspicion fell on Griswold, but his friends
scouted the idea of Griswold playing the scoundrel.
Foul play was certain. With a man of his active
temperament it was difficult to tell where he might
not have been waylaid.
Hundreds of men from the adjoining mines were
soon there; every possible contingency was can
vassed. It was discovered that the China cook was
also gone, and had been seen some miles away in
company with other Chinamen. A thorough search
of the premises was now made, but not until th e
next day was any clue to the mystery found, when
the body of Griswold was found under the China
man's bed. Death was produced by two fractures of
the skull, apparently by a blow from the rear, by
a blunt instrument, though it was apparent that
after the infliction of these wounds he had been
struck in the front by some sharp instrument, again
breaking the skull. To make assurance doubly
sure, the murderers had drawn a chord tightly
around the neck; but this was needless, the work
was thoroughly done. In the room was found a heavy
club, also a slung-shot, which had been seen in the
possession of the Chinaman some weeks before the
murder. Large rewards were offered for the appre
hension of the China cook and his friends, who had
been seen with him, the Chinese residents of Jack
son contributing largely. The whole State was on
the watch. The parties were arrested in Marysville
through the assistance of the Chinese residents,
there. The key of the safe, some jewelry, and other
articles known to have been in the safe, were found
on their persons. They received a fair trial, had the
benefit of able counsel, and were found guilty. Three
were sentenced to be hung, and were executed on
the sixteenth day of April, 1858. The fourth one
indicted was given the benefit of a doubt, and his
trial postponed; but he anticipated justice by com
mitting suicide in his cell. Fou Seen, the cook who
is supposed to have planned the murder, and called
in the other parties to assist in the matter, was none
of the simple " Heathen Chinee," but had been an
extensive traveler, and was, in China, a desperado.
GREAT FIRE AUGUST 23, 1862.
So far fires at Jackson had been comparatively
insignificant. Drytown had been swept as if by a
whirlwind. The citizens of Jackson had looked
across the river and seen Mekelumno Hill, their an
cient rival, blackened with the charred remains of
their town. Jackson had, to some extent, provided
for a fire, having two fire-engines and a hook-and-
ladder company. Shortly after one o'clock the
alarm of fire was raised, and smoke was seen issuing
from an out-building in the rear of the assay office.
The firemen were quickly at their posts, and for a
few minutes it seemed that the firemen had the better
of it. There are different accounts as to the cause
of the failure to control it; some say that the water
in the tank or cistern failed; others that the assist
ant engineer ordered another stream from the main
engine to bo turned on without increasing the supply
hose, which so weakened the force of the streams
that they would not reach the fire. Whatever may
have been the fault, the fire spread, and in a few
minutes was beyond all control. The houses, mostly
of pine, shriveling in the hot sun, caught like powder
and flashed the fire from one to another, until the
only question was to save life property was not to
be thought of. The Court House being some dis
tance from the fire, permitted the saving of the
records; but the house itself went like a pile of brush.
In some instances people had to make their escape
from beseiged houses with wet blankets over their
heads. Iron bars, one inch by three, used for the
support of balconies, though on the outside of the
buildings, were seen to melt and fall from their own*
O '
weight. A phenomenon occurred here that is much
disputed: the smoke, rolling along the ground in the
narrow alleys, would become so intensely heated
by the flames above as to take fire and explode like
powder. The Union Hotel was built around three
sides of a quadrangle, which was filled with bedding
that the occupants hud thrown out of the windows
in hopes of saving it, but the flames lapped over the
place, and in an instant the whole mass added new
strength to the hungry element. Colonel Allen, the
proprietor, left with his music-box under his arm,
that being the only thing saved. Stoves, hardware,
church-bells, and glass, were melted into one con
glomeration. The fire swept everything on the road
towards Sacramento, till it reached the wagon-shop
near Trenchel's brewery, where it was stayed with
\
174
HISTORY OF AMADOU COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
the aid of a hose used in that establishment. On
the south side it was met by the fire department
from Mokelumne Hill. At night the town was a
smoking ruin, the tall, ghostly chimneys keeping
watch over the seething embers, while the inhab
itants were camped on the surrounding hills, house
less and supperless. Children, for the first time in
their lives, went supperless to bed, and that bed the
earth, and the sky for the coverlet. There was no
despair, however; no wringing of hands and shedding
of tears. Before darkness came, lumber was en
gaged to rebuild some of the houses, and in the
morning was actually awaiting the cooling of the
hot ashes and cinders. Provisions came pouring in from
the surrounding towns, and there was no suffering.
As the people sat around the smouldering rains of
the town, many incidents were related, which, if
recorded, would be interesting reading now. Hair
breadth escapes of children and women snatched from
burning buildings which fell a moment after, were
common enough. In some instances, women seemed
to have been helpless from- fright; in others, the
love for home seemed to be stronger than the love
for life, and they had to be carried out by force.
The fire department came in for its share of the
heroic. Some cynical man had predicted that in
case of a general fire, the boys would lose their engine.
When the engines failed, and the flames were flash
ing from street to street, most of the men ran to
save their families, leaving but a few to see to the
machine, and for a time it looked as if the prediction
was to be verified. Two or three men, however,
commenced tugging at it, when the cloud of smoke
which enveloped them, flashed like an explosion of
gas, compelling the men to get under the truck for
protection; in a moment the smoke and flame
cleared away, and the boys rolled it out.
After the fire was over many a deed of heroism
and devotion came to light; for misfortunes have
the good effect to bring to light the jewels of charac
ter that otherwise mi^ht have never shone through
o o
the incrustations of selfishness. The savings of
years of industry were gone, but the indomitable
energy and perseverance that had built up the town
were not destroyed, and the people went to work.
A hundred new buildings were erected before the
rainy season set in, and in one year all marks of the
fire were effaced.
It has been impossible to collect anything like a
full list of the losses; a few may be mentioned:
Levinsky, $20,000; H. W. Allen, $15,000; W. L.
McKimm, $7,000; J. Samuels, $15,000; Tellier, $1,000;
Harris, $3,000; Evans & Askey $5,000; A. C. Brown,
$40,000; Steckler & Co., $10,000; M. Bruml, $5,000;
H. Kress, $3,500; Moses Medina, $7,000.
The following, from the California Spirit of the
Times, edited by Marcus D. Boruck, will give a lively
idea of the fire:
" LETTER FROM MOKELUMNE HILL.
"MOKELUMNE HILL, August 25, 1862.
"You are pi-obably aware, by this time, of the
total destruction of the beautiful and flourishing
city of Jackson, Amador county. On Friday last I
passe'd through it at four o'clock, and everything
betokened peace and security; but it is now no more,
the lines of the city being scarcely perceptible. 1
visited the place yesterday morning, and a more des
olate and melancholy looking place I never saw;
and seeing it a short time before in all its beauty, I
could more keenly appreciate the destruction which
surrounded me on all sides. But the people, with
that wonderful elasticity which so far forcibly char
acterizes all Californians, were smiling and passin"-
jokes on each other with scarcely a thought of what
had passed. With the exception of three or four
brick buildings on Main street, and a few private
residences to the right as you enter the town from
this place, the city has been totally destroyed. All
the principal buildings, including the Court House,
theater, Amador Ledyer, and Amador Dispatch print
ing offices, the post-office, Colonel Allen's Union
Hotel, and the Louisiana Hotel of Evans & Askey
being in the wreck and ruin.
"The smoke of the fire was seen at this place at
fifteen minutes of two o'clock (five minutes after it
broke out) and there could not have been less than a
dozen opinions as to its locality; every other place
but the right one having entered into its discussion.
At last, Mr. Moses, the telegraph operator, said he
could not get the operator at Jackson, as the circuit
was broken; and then all became satisfied that it
was Jackson. The tire, in the meantime, had mate
rially decreased; but all of a sudden the flame and
smoke could be seen ascending from the hill-tops,
and the conflagration increased with alarming rapid-
it3 r . A large number of people from this place
started for the scene (many of them on foot), a dis
tance of six miles, over the roughest kind of a mount
ain road, and the thermometer , as high as you
please. They arrived at the scene, however, in time
to save the houses of Mr. Coney and Mr. Axtcll,
situated on either side of the road this side of the
gulch, and thus prevented the further spread of the
fire in that direction; all they could do in the town
itself, was to save the Masonic building. The fire
broke out at twenty minutes of two o'clock, and at
five o'clock the destruction of the town was com
plete. When the alarm was first sounded, there
was not the remotest idea entertained that the place
was doomed, the city being provided with an effec
tive fire department, and full cisterns of water. The
fire broke out on the right hand side of Main street,
as you leave the town fur Sacramento, a few doors
from Court street, an avenue which led direct to the
Court House, and in the rear of the Ledi/er office.
When the fire was first discovered, it was about as
big as a man's hat. The apparatus was promptly
brought out, and taken to the cistern on High
street, a few doors from the Court House; the fire
men, under the direction of Chief Engineer Wells,
working admirably. There was a fatal mistake in
getting to work, which consisted in not placing one
of the engines on Main street, where there was an
abundance of water (the cisterns being full to the
brim when I saw them yesterday morning), thus
preventing the fire from bursting through on to the
front, it having commenced in the rear from hot
ashes having been thrown into a barrel which stood
against a frame building. Both engines being at
JACKSON.
175
the same cistern, and that a small one, it soon
became exhausted, and in a short time the firemen
were horror-stricken to find they were drawing
nothing but air. It was at this point that the peo
ple of this place saw the fire decrease, and then as
suddenly increase, for at one time the firemen had
the fire entirely under their control, when the Chief
Engineer was compelled to give the order to change
position; and, in carrying it out, before it could be
accomplished, the fire gained such headway on them
that they could not master it, and spread three dif
ferent ways, barely giving them time to save their
apparatus, with a loss of four hundred and fifty feet
of Button's patent coupling hose. It was then that
no further reliance could be placed in the fire depart
ment, and the apparatus was abandoned, except by
a few who removed it to a place of safety. The fire
now spread with fearful strides, which, combined
with the intense heat of the weather, added to the
terror of the scene. The safety of women and chil
dren was looked to, and an effort made to save
property, but it was useless. The fire swallowed
up everything in its capacious maw, and when the
sun went down on the disaster, the town, including
all the provision in it, was turned to ashes.
"As I have before stated, the fire broke out at a
quarter before two o'clock, and ended its course at
five. At that hour definite information was received
at this place of the great disaster. In fifteen minutes
a meeting was held in front of H. Atwood's Union
Hotel, presided over by Jeff. Gatewood, Esq. The
circumstances were narrated, and a committee con
sisting of Dr. Hoerchner, W. S. Moses, and Dr. Sober
appointed to collect subscriptions. At six o'clock a
four-horse team, belonging to Mr. Taft, started
laden with provisions and blankets, under charge of
Mr. Chas. Spiers, which reached Jackson about
half-past eight o'clock, much to the joy of the inhab
itants of the desolate place. At eight o'clock an
adjourned meeting was held at the Court House,
where reports were made that at least fifteen hun
dred dollars in provisions and money had been
collected, and seven or eight teams forwarded to,
Jackson with provisions. Judge Badgcly spoke at
this meeting, and gave a detailed account of all the
circumstances, he having gone through the fire. I
never saw such good feeling manifested by any peo
ple as those of this place, and more promptitude
shown in acting in such a matter; without their aid,
the people of Jackson would have been in a terrible
condition. They acted in a manner which will
always cause Mokelumne Hill to be remembered
wilh pride and pleasure.
"On this morning sixty dollars' worth of fresh bread,
innumerable provisions and blankets were sent.
When 1 arrived at Jackson this morning, thirteen
hours after the fire, there were at least a dozen
loads of joist, lumber, and planking, in different
localities, waiting for the burning embers to cool,
preparatory to rebuilding. The town will be rebuilt
long before the rainy season, although the losses arc
severe, at least seven hundred and fifty thousand dol
lars, upon which there is said to be an insurance of
one hundred and fifty thousand dollars, which I hope
is the fact. The fire-proof buildings were about as
much fire-proof as a sheet of paper. The Chief Engi
neer ordered the walls of Sleekier & Newbauer's
building, at the corner of Main and Court streets,
to be pulled down, and also that of Levinsky Broth
ers, on Main street, on account of their totU-ring
condition. I should judge that in the construction
of the former, at least two barrels of cement were
used, and, in the latter, not less than a barrel and a
half perfect counterfeits on the name of fire-proof.
"The Amador Ledger will be issued from the Chroni
cle building this week. I have not learned what dis
position the Amador Dispatch people have made in
regard to a re-issue. Springer saved his two inside
forms, but not a letter of type besides. In regard to
the fire department of Jackson (every member of
which is a sufferer by the fire), too much praise cannot
be awarded for their efforts. They were unfortunate,
it is true, in their choice of position, and, like
McLellan, were forced to change their base of opera
tions, and in doing so the enemy attacked their right,
left, and center; but notwithstanding all that, they
made a gallant fight. Disastrous fires have befallen
other departments much more experienced than they.
In rebuilding the town, I would suggest to the depart
ment of Jackson to locate one of their engines in
the neighborhood of where the Louisiana and Union
Hotels stood, near where the new hall was to have
been built, and the truck, on Court street, above
where it stood before.
"It will never do in the world to mass the appa
ratus as was the intention before the fire; and above
all, more cisterns and larger ones; they are the real
dependence for a prompt supply of water in the
event of a fire. To say that we sympathize with
Jackson in this great disaster is unnecessary. The
Spirit gives prompt assurance of that. To condole
with Cahfornians is not to be thought of, but that
there may never be a repetition of the event of Sat
urday last is our fervent wish. B."
JACKSON FLOOD, FEBRUARY 17, 1878.
A remarkable flood occurred in Jackson and
vicinity, on the 17th of February, 1878. For some
weeks the streams had been bank full; but, as sailors
say, everything was made snug and tight, and no
one anticipated any particular trouble, and were
unprepared for a flood which had no precedent in
the history of the State. Since the denudation of
the hills of their wood, the country has become sub
ject to extraordinary showers, the rain coming down
in torrents, or, as the people usually call them, cloud
bursts, which seem to be a condensing point, or
meeting, of two opposing currents of wind which
remain stationary for some considerable time over
a tract of country. The strip of land ten or twelve
miles wide near the foot-hills, seems to be particu
larly subject to these rains. Several of these showers
have passed over the bare hills in the vicinity of
Lancha Plana, and more particularly along the ridge
west of Jackson and Sutter creek. Fifteen, or even
ten minutes' rain, was enough to raise a stream
three feet deep, in a gully two or three hundred
yards long; and streams that have a mile or two in
length, come roaring along with a breast or wall
of water, generally held back to some extent, by
trash or timber, of five or six feet, running a stream
deep enough for a steamboat to float, where ten
minutes before there was scarcely a drink for an ox.
Usualty, these showers extend over but a small
space; otherwise, general destruction would occur.
Those who were watching the weather on that Sun
day morning, noticed a dense bank of clouds to the
south-east, with a line something like the colors
176
HISTORY OF AMADOR COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
seen in tempering steel, dividing this bank from a
similar one in the north-west, both banks of clouds
charged with water; both seemingly determined to
''fight it on that line," the ominous line of precipita
tion being drawn just over Jackson. The wind
which for some time had been quite a gale,
ceased, like a breathing spell before two opposing
armies lock themselves in the embrace of death.
The fall of a leaf could be heard on the ground, but,
high up in the air could be heard the roaring of the
fierce, surcharged currents, as they met each other.
Down came the rain, great drops as largo as bullets,
some feet apart at first, but soon nearer together,
until one could not see ten steps away; in five
minutes the hill-sides were a sheet of running water,
the little gulches were creeks, and the creeks, rivers;
still the rain continued for some time. When its
force seemed exhausted, and silence had come, a
great roar of rushing waters, mingled with shouts
and shrieks, was heard; the waters from the head
of the north fork, and the other forks heading near
the New York ranch, had come rolling in a wall
or breast, variously estimated at five to ten feet
high, carrying before it houses, barns, logs, fences,
and uprooted trees.
It struck Chinatown (the north end of Jackson),
carrying everything in its way. A few were able
to take out some articles, but in five minutes the
stream was full struggling Chinamen, houses, shops,
goods, all in a rolling mass. Most of the Chinamen
escaped before the stream entered the canon. Six of
them went down the stream in the wreck, the
bodies being afterwards found all the way from
Jackson to Buena Vista. Some white men, assisting
the Chinamen, were carried down the stream, but
saved themselves before they entered the canon.
In half an hour or more after the flood had swept
Chinatown away, the middle fork, which is longer
than the north fork, came booming the same way,
with a bulk-head of timber, fences, and trees. It
struck the bridge across the creek near Genochio's
store, forming a dam, and for a few minutes the
stream turned through Jackson, in front of the
National House; and at one time it seemed as if all
that end of the town would be swept away in one
wreck. Several persons narrowly escaped drowning
in the streets. A foot-bridge, belonging to Mushet,
lodged in the street in front of the National. The
bridge finally 'gave way, and the channel cleared, car
rying with it all the out-houses and lumber in its
course. The flood was over, and people could then
estimate their losses.
The Amador Canal Company were damaged to the
sum of thirty thousand dollars by the breaking of
reservoirs and ditches.
The French garden above Jackson lost about two
thousand dollars; Geo. Clark, four miles above Jack
son, one thousand dollars.
Some considerable damage was done to ranches in
the valley also.
The following is a partial list of the losses:
ON WATER STREET.
J. B. Phelps $500 00
H. I. Stribley 200 00
Mrs. Westfall 100 00
N. Draper 100 00
B. S. Sanborn 300 00
R. M. Briggs 100 00
Henry Barton 500 00
Mrs. S. Bradley. . . . 1,000 00
E. G. Freeman 100 00
Mat. Ryan 100 00
W. Little 100 00
A. C. Brown 100 00
C. Weller 100 00
R. Hall 50 00
J. Williams 100 00
E. Genochio 300 00
F. Rocco 2,000 00
J. A. Butterfielcl. . 700 OC
A. S. Kelly $ 100 03
National Hotel 250 00
Benjamin & Ledou. . 1,00000
Thos. Jones 500 00
R. W. Palmer 600 00
B. F. Richtmyer 100 00
Bridges 7,500 00
OX MAIN STREET.
Frank Guerra 10000
Madam Retrou 200 00
B. Sanguenetti 400 00
Benjamin & Carreau 1,500 00
Eight China stores
and contents 15,000 00
P. Kelly 700 00
Geo. White 300 00
Antone Silva 250 00
John Belleuomiui. . . 20000
INCIDENTS.
As one Chinaman sat astride of his house, which
was whirling in the canon, some one asked him:
" Where you go, John ?"
" No sabe," says the Chinaman, in an impatient,
savage manner. It was supposed that he was
drowned in the canon, but two or three days after
the flood, he came to life, or rather he came walking
into town, being probably the only man whoever
successfully navigated Jackson creek through the
canon.
BIG FROLIC.
Thanksgiving day, 185-, was the witness of the
most extraordinary frolic that ever occurred in the
county. No one could tell how, or exactly when, it
commenced, but as the sun went down it was evi
dent that there were sounds of revelry in the air;
but this was no gathering of beauty and chivalry.
As the whistling of the wind through the rigging
sends the sailor aloft to make all snug, or the moan
ing of wind around the chimney portending a storm
sends the thrifty housewife out to gather in her
wash from the clothes-line, so at the ominous signs
the careful mother sends after her son, and the pru
dent wife seeks her husband, for the Bacchanalian
press gang were out.
Some were drinking who never drank before;
Those who always drank now drank the more.
As usually sober men found themselves getting more
than was good for them, they determined that their
friends should share the pleasure or disgrace. An
eminent lawyer once asked, how do men, who never
get drunk, know each other? Did not Byron say of
a man, " He is a splendid fellow and I long to get
drunk with him " ? and of another that he had "tried
him drunk and tried him sober, there's nothing in
him"! All who had held office, or had run for it,
or were known to want it, as well as those who
drank, were sought out and pressed into service.
When the hunt commenced some retreated to their
homes, but the warrant for arrest reached them even
there, and men were torn from their wives' arms.
O. D. Araline's wife, firmly locking her arms around
her husband, declared that if they took her husband
RESIDENCE ^ RANCH OF MRS MARY M.KIDD,
JACKSON VALLEY AMADOR CAL.
RESIDENCE AND RANCH OF 320 ACRES, INGLEFIELD B.GREGORY,
JACKSON VALLEY, AMADOR C?CAL.
JACKSON.
177
they should take her also, and looked as it' she meant
it too, and the party had to leave him.
They took possession of the Young America saloon
and appointed a door-keeper who locked the door on
the outside, opening only for the admittance of new
victims, no egress being permitted. A press gang
waylaid the Judge, who was expecting to hold court
the next day. He resisted their importunities a
long time on the grounds of public duty, but he had
been known to take a spree and no excuse would
answer now. "Good-bye, boys," said he; " it can't
be helped." What took place on the inside can only
be guessed. Some in their wild excitement were
tossed like foot-balls over the tables. Speeches and
songs, and shouts mingled in confusion dire. Four
teen dozen of champagne had their necks broken.
Some were soon helpless on the floor; one or two
escaped from an upper window, and some were able
to keep up the orgies till midnight. When morning
came those who were able had left. The Judge's
pants were found on the steps of the Court House,
other garments in other places. He, with a sense of
public duty still uppermost, was delivering a charge
to an imaginary jury. The officers of course took
care of him until he was sufficiently sober to
attend to business, which was not for some days.
The Grand 
