Weekly Trinity journal., 1861-12-21
The Mountain Expressmar.


set iu your store, or shop, or parlor, or cabin,
comfortably cleaning from the latest Union or
alta the news, or eagerly devouring the contents
of some letter from loved ones away beyond sea
and mountains by what process these welcome
messengers of intelligence and affection reached
you, in mid winter, over mountains, and across
dangerous and flooded streams? If you have not,
you have yet duty to discharge, debt of obi-
CATION and gratitude to pay, silent, earnest,
thankful prayer yet to offer for the MOUNTAIN Ex-
PREssMAS, who daily braves deep SHOWS, madden
ed, flooded rivers and all the mortal dangers at
tendant upon mountain travel during Califor-
MIA winter, to please and crafty you with the la
test news from home and abroad.
The California Expressman is an institution in
himself, and belongs to a class wholly original,
which the necessities of our golden State origin
ally brought into existence. A bright mind with
smatterng of Lindley Murray and Noah Web
ster, may succeed a lawyer the man who
" guesses" and " calculates" with modicum of
common sense and caution may accumulate for
tune trading or selling goods a man with large
egotsm and thimbe full of brains may foist
himself upon the gullble public as great man,
and make distinguished politician" an ex-
pert, with some cunning and venturesome nerve
will make fair gambler and even an editor
may attain respectable reputation by the inge-
nous use of pair of scissors, and few excla-
nation and interrogation points But it requires
the unity of all the above qualities to constitute
a reliable California Expressman. He must be
intelligent, possess horse sense" be selfreliant,
have undaunted courage, have unfinching nerve,
his character for honesty he above reproach, and
venture all perils from robbers, SHOWS and floods.
He must have successfully encountered all the
trials and risks of his profession before his repu
tation is made. Hundreds, nay thousands, ambi
tious ones have endeavored to attain a reputation
as expressman in California, but not more than
one out of every hundred succeeded, and few in
deed have all the requisites to win q notorety as
such.
The above reflections are induced by incidents
of the storm and flood of last week. III. G. Sha
fer, better known to everybody in this and ad
joining counties as Charley Shafer, In the employ
Of Greenhood & Newbauer, and who for nearly
all the dangers of express life, was drowned on
the th inst in attempting to swim his mule across
Browns creek, four miles from this place. Char
ley had started from Shasta in the morning with
fifty pounds of express matter, for Weaverville,
had crossed Trinity mountain, and reached Lew
iston in safety. Here he found the river over
flowing its banks, and portion of the bridge
gone He abandoned his mule, took his express
bags on his shoulder, crossed the boiling torrent
in small boat, walked to Rush creek, which he
found flooded and the bridge gone. He crossed
in some way unknown to us, borrowed mule of
Mr. V. Chamberlain, and crossed Browns noun
tain, at the foot of which runs Browns creek, in
which be lost his lfc This stream. like all 9th
ers in this portion of the State, was madly pour
ing its waters oceanward. Fearless, daring and
intrepid, Charley plunged his animal into the
whirlng, rushing torrent, and all that's left
of the brave, noble expressman, lies buried in
the sand of Browns creek, Or floating on its wa
terry road to the Pacific. Many heart has sped |
its grateful prayer to Him who doeth all things
WELL" in whose keeping neither snow, nor storm,
nor food, may the eternal calm of rest of
the world-tried SOUL for Charley.
Quick, brave, daring, Of unquestioned ntegri-
ty, with a light joyous spirit, and withal endow-
ed with good sense, Charley stood at the head of
his profession, fine type of the California Ex
pressman. He was general favorile, and had
the confidence and esteem of all.
Tom. Tyree, of New River. on Monday, the
9th inst, when the waters were yet almost at
their maximum hight, shouldered an axe, put in
one pocket box of matches, in another piece
of bread and meat and started on foot from Lake
City for Weavervile, to get the express: Lake
City is fifty five miles from here, and the first
forty miles which Tom. had TO travel embraced
but one possible stopping place. He had to cross
the loftiest and most tedious mountain in Trini-
ty, with, to him. an unknown depth of snow on
the top, and washed at either base by swollen
creek, over which no bridges have ever yet been
built. Tom. made the trip in two days he cut
fourteen large trees during the trip, upon which
to cross streams, and walked eight or ten miles
out of his way to find suitable ones, at that. He
started back during storm, to encounter the
same or greater dangers. Tom Tyree possesses
the rnetle out of which Expressmen are made,
and the New River miners cannot feel too CRATE
full for the dangers and risks be encounters TO
supply them with papers and letters in their iso-
lated homes
A REAL LITTLE SAMARITAN.-On the authori-
ty of gentleman who recently travelled West
over the New York Central Railroad, a Cleve-