Knoxville weekly chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1875, 1871-11-22

Sketch OF Joaquin Mlllers
1 first saw Miller in the mountains of
North California in 1851. He was then q
mere bov, aud could not have been more
than thirteen or fourteen years of age. He
was with an old man called Mountain
,JoeD who had been one Of Fremont's
guides, and who treated him as his own
boy. He had taught him the use of the
pistol, with which he afterwards made
himself famous in that country. NIiller's
home was somewhere in what was then
Oregon territory, and it was said he had
run away from it. The summer following,
Mountain Joe" led a party of miners
against the Indians, and in the fight which
ensued, Miller was shot in the face with
an arrow, and nearly lost his life. Not
long after, he originated, with Mountain
Joe and McDougal, the great gold excite
ment known as 1.-The Lost Cabin which
many Californians will remember with
regret. This McDougal was famous
character. He was brother of Gov. Nc
Dougal, of California, one of the finest
looking men in the mountains, and known
about the country as Prince George"
Whether the Lost Cabin" was a reality
or a myth, and there are many who be-
lieve it was not all myth, the company
always had bags of gold-dust, although
they were never seen to be engaged in
mining. They rode the finest horses, were
armed with the choicest weapons, and
wore the most splendid accoutrements,
"Prince George" especially being noted for
the magnifcence of his dress. Every few
months they would drop down. to San
Francisco, put up at the best hotels, and
attract the attention of the whole town by
their lavish expenditure of money. Then,
as suddenly as they came they disappear
ed, and all attempts to follow them, or trace
the sources of their wealth, were utterly
futile. In time the Lost Cabiners disap-
peared, and it was said they had Joined the
filibuster Walker, in Mexico. McDougal
never returned and it is believed that he
is at this moment chief of the Patagoni-
ans; and all trace of Mountain Joe" has
been lost.
Miller next turned up with the Indians
near Mount Shasta, leading them in their
fights with varied success. About this
time the Pitt river massacre occurred,
when the whole valley was retaken by
the Indians, and the settlers either killed
or captured. Whether Miller was or was
not engaged in this affair is not known,
or was not at the time nevertheless, re-
ward was offered for his body, dead or
alive. He was captured one morning
with a small Indian camp, while sleeping
after hard ride from the settlement, and,
while the Indians taken with him were
shot, he was carried to Shasta City and
put into irons to await execution, but for
fortunately, Just in the nick of time,
another party OF Indians broke into MS
prison and rescued him.
firing of this border warfare, Miller, af-
ter while, changed his mode of life. For
a time he rode pony express to and from
a gold-mining campin the interior through
an Indian country, where no other man
could or would go, making friends wher-
ever he went. He wrote quite a number
of songs about this period, for the miners,
which, to this day, may be heard in the
camps of the Pacific. Relinquishing the
"express business" Miller next hoisted
his Single as attorney-at-law, and was
elected Judge by the people, which office
he held for some two or three years with
an honorable record, both as judge and
as a citizen. 1t is hardly possible he could
have edited paper, as report has it, for his
education had been quite meager, extend
ing only to few months schooling in a
log hut. When he became " attorney"
he had literally no book education.