THE ARGONAUTS OF CALIFORNIA
BEING THE REMINISCENCES
OF SCENES AND INCIDENTS THAT OCCURRED IN CALIFORNIA IN EARLY MINING DAYS
BY
A PIONEER
And believing that it will be of some historical value as well as of interest generally to know the names of those who were the first to venture forth in the search of gold, and by whose energy and labor the foundations of a great state were laid, and also a general prosperity created throughout the entire country, I have therefore prefixed to the work the names of those that I have been able to obtain, numbering about 35,000, and including among them the names of several thousand who are now living in the various States of the Union.
TEXT AND ILLUSTRATIONS DRAWN FROM LIFE BY C. W. HASKINS.
PUBLISHED FOR THE AUTHOR, BY FORDS, HOWARD & HULBERT NEW YORK 1890
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1889, by C. W. HASKINS, In the Office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington, D. C.
R. PIERCE & CO., PRINTERS, 53 LAFAYETTE PLACE, N. Y.
TO THE SURVIVING MEMBERS OF THE ADVANCE GUARD OF GOLD HUNTERS, THE CALIFORNIA PIONEERS AND THEIR DESCENDANTS, WHO ARE NOW LIVING THROUGHOUT THE UNITED STATES, THIS BOOK IS MOST RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED BY THE
AUTHOR.
PREFACE.
While residing in the village of Kingston, located upon the Cœur D’Alene River in the silver mining regions of northern Idaho during the winter of ’87-’88, and being compelled to remain within doors during the winter in consequence of the great depth of snow and intense cold, in order to pass away the time I amused myself by writing an account of scenes and incidents that occurred in California in early days in the mining regions, and which came under my observation. These events are written entirely from memory, but I have endeavored to give as near as possible the correct date of the events and incidents mentioned, as well as their location and names with all of which I was familiar. As to the the correct description of scenes and events, I ask the remnant of that band of sturdy Argonauts who laid the foundation of a great State to bear me witness.
C. W. HASKINS.
Index to the Names of the Forty-niners.
Members of the various Pioneer Associations in the U. S. who are now living, Page 360
Forty-niners residing in various parts of the Union who do not belong to any Association, “ 385
Survivors of Col. Stevenson’s Regiment, “ 394
Forty-niners now living in the Atlantic States, “ 395
Forty-niners who went over-land to California, “ 395
Forty-niners who sailed from City of N. Y., “ 414
Forty-niners who sailed from the States of Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut, “ 453
Forty-niners who sailed from New Orleans, Philadelphia, Baltimore and other Southern ports, “ 476
From various Eastern ports, “ 495
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
Frontispiece. “Hello, Bill!” The Start for California. Brazilian Music. The Swell at Cape Horn. An Able Seaman. Forty-niners at the Hotel in Lima. The Operatic Shark. The Prolific Topmast. The Calm. Neptune’s Orchestra. The Bullwhacker. “Ye Done it Weel.” The Dandy Miners. Smoked Out. The Frisky Flapjack. Hangtown in ’49. “None in Mine.” The Industrious Prospectors. “I Shust Nose It!” Bulling the Mine. “Ther, Ther, T, other One.” The Ducks Take Water. Dutch Charley. Dan Boone and the Bear. The First Rat in Hangtown. Rats in Sacramento City. The First Young Lady in the Mines. The Spartan Mother. The Boys Aloft. Emigration of ’50. The Howly Fragment. The Argonaut and His Mule. The Steamboat Runners. The Miners’ Meeting. On His Trail. “I’v Shtruck it, Thin.” The Sailor Boy. The Chap Who Insulted a Lady. The Claim Jumper. The Art of Self-defense. Didn’t Believe in Compromise. The Disgusted Speculator. “Write Often, Boys.” The Jack Tars on the Hill. The Geological Lecture. Old Nick’s Grand Entrée. A California Cyclone. Only Two Days in the Mines. A Simile. Female Influence Illustrated. Not Ready to Go. The Voice of Old Dick. Big George and the Road Agent. “There She Comes, Boys!” Miners’ Comfort. “Dis am a Free Kentry, Massa.” Coasting in Idaho. Law and Order Triumph’s. Charley, the Female Stage Driver. Hank Monk in Time for Lunch. The Picket Guard. The Gambler’s Charity. The Road Agent Outwitted. From Fry-pan to the Fire. A Newcomer. Force of Habit. The Deserted Camp. Syd’s Last Prospect. Skunked. Ruined Castles. Meeting of the Old-timers. An Unexpected Festival. The Gold-saving Machine. Tex Gives Satisfaction. Not Raising Mutiny but Sugar. It’l Be Our Turn Next. Bob the Fiddler. The Power of Music. Old-timers in the Hall. Phantoms of the Old timers. Sam Plunket and the Indians. The Bear in a Quandary. The Power of Beauty. The Bean-pot Comet. Dick Arnold to the Rescue. The Brave Policeman. A New Motor. The Plum-duff. Donkey Instinct. Tex and the Alcalde.$1’49 Mosquitoes. The Bear and the Prospector. Sharpshooters. Discovery of the Old River Beds. Lost in the Mountains. Nature’s Lullaby. Discovery of Red Hill Gold. Bob Lost a Fortune. The Surprise. Curiosity Satisfied. Mining Ground Transformed. “Is it Me Agint?” “No More Frontier in Ourn!” Not that Kind of Bird. The Tarantula in the Boot. The Boston Boy and His Bugle. Found His Brother. Kanakas at Work. The Flight of Time. The Miller Taking Toll. Yank Revisiting Old Scenes. Coasting in Idaho. Town of Wallace. A Flush Hand. The Mississippians. The Return East. “Good Morning, William.”
CONTENTS.