The Evansville journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ind.) 1866-1870, 1868-02-14

GABRIEL RENNE.
A Tale OF the First Emigration.
BIZ WIN. X. McGREW, OF CALIFORNIA.
CONCLUDED.

III CONCLUDED.
X
The year eighteen hundred and
forty nine will probably never be du
plicated In the worlds history. A
mere accident had revealedsthe exist
ence Of rich gold placers in California,
and every gale from the Pacific
brought con6rmatiOn Of their marvel
Gus wealth. San Francisco became
| the Mecca Of all nations as ~ one
lZcommon impulse, men turned from
I the old beaten paths OF Commerce,
from the frenzy of speculation, from
\ the workshop and the Office. from the
/ slow plodding routine of agriculture,
1 10 an actual realization Of what at
/ first seemed n04ess extravagant than
the fabledRonders of Alladin. Thou
| sands and tens Of thousands forgot
their old plans and joined the crusade
| for gold. sPerils by sea, and perils by
! land dwindledg into insignitcance
| in the contemplation of sudden for
tunes thatawaited them on.those far
loft shores and when cupidity failed
as an sctuating motive the glories OF a
climate and scenery unequaled in the
balmiest zones, awaited the valetudi-
navian and lover Of nature. The
| Grand Armada was a mere detaoh-
ment compared with the aFgosy that
/ braved the Cape of Storms. while an
| almost unbrOken caravan stretching
half across the continent wound along
the sinuous trail that led toward the
setting sHn-the Ultima Thule Of
Westward, Hol
Again there was life on the Big
7 Meadows--not a solitary group of six
tents, thegRhole plain was one vast en-
campmeut resonant with sounds of
preparation and merriment and the
lowing Of countless herds of ruminat-
ing cattle. The occasional appear
of the human frame was received as
evidence that the place had been the
chosen battle ground sof neighboring
Indian tribes. Nothing suggested
the eventsof the preceding August.
Old rags and broken Implements
passed simply as the refuse from
p camps ofsformeT seasons Here this
great stream of emigration had ed
died, on the very verge OF the desert
barrier, and was reneWing It's exhaust
ed energies for the dreary march.
u News and topics of discussion were
& Econfned 10 the incidents OF the jour
1 ney, depending on the bias and feeun-
4 dity of the narrator 'ssimag ination..
| One evening it vas reported that
a strange being had visited the more
mountaiRsward tents and after pro-
curing a few articles Of food, clothing
and ammunition, had disappeared
again without leavingany satisfactory
account of himself Various AWere
the coDjectures concerning this un.
heralded Fintruder. Some thought
him a hermit, others a hunter. who
Z from some secret motive or ruling
passion had chosen these wastes as
his homer others yet pronounced him
> a renegade white man who, having as
isociated himself with the Indians,
made common cause with them in
lwar and plumber. and his visits
were but to survey theIr quarry Before
F. lpouncingeupOn it. Those whOeht ter
tanned the latter opinion coupled with
"A it approximations Of kRoable, while his
reticence and sudden departure only
intensified the mystery.
There was still another charactAT-
/ entirely unmysterious butno leSs4n-
terestingFwho about this-3imeihtro
{ duced himself to the campers st Big
II Meadows This Parsonage wasfnone
s bother than the famous CaptaiR. j i'm
II Truckee, Ia Piute Chief, we'll known
for his friendly offices toward the
whites. He was braves vivaeious
and, for zone of his race. singularly
e intelligent. He had traversed alone
= hundreds.of weary miles only to give
~ the benefit of his knowledge of the
country to belated emigrant parties
His influence among the Indian
tribes Of that region was almost IN
i limited. He was respected for sagac.
ity and feared for his indOmitablt
courage. Gone evening the old guide
u was seen approaching the camps a
!. Big Meadows from the west, shouting
as he drew near:
II Houghl Heap a white sman
muchee .emilantl wo-haw zexen
/. wagon! Damn! Heap, heap! Waugh !
wb Holloa who the ID are youP' ex.
& EclaiIned one of the campers.
Me big Injuu CaptaiuA jim
sIfTruckee, Muchee friend Hear
\ Rbig Piutel Houghl
81 CaptaiDs Truckee soon made himself
ksociable, and after devoufing a re.
s Espectable@meal, proceede d to shswel
the thousand and one inquirieg con
: / corning tie road ahead, illustrating
: its deviations and obstacles by a dia
T gram ingshiously drawn ia thesdust
! At night the Indian went-of toward
soPthe MOUNTAINS and reappeared the
Y next mor8ing. For several successive
Vt eveningseand mornings this occurred
and at length a suspicion was con
? ccived that he might be ah imn0stor
|. acting a. a spy for some skulking
IBhorde o. savages. A severe erdea
.9ef Of Interrogation only elieIted a half.