Weekly Trinity journal., 1871-09-30
THE CALIFORNIA POET.

Among the many stories going :he rounds
about Joaquin Miller the new literary lion of
the day, we find the following, contributed by
one of his early friends:
first saw Miller in the mountains of Northern
California in 1854. He was then a mere boy,
and could not have been more than thirteen or
fourteen years of age. He was with an old man
called " Mountain Joe' who had been one of
Fremonts guides, and who treated him as his
own boy. He had taught him the use OF the
pistol, with which be afterwards made himself
famous in that country. Millers home was
somewhere in what was then termed Oregon Ter
ritory, and it was said he had run away from it.
The Summer following, " Mountain Joe" led n
party of miners against the Indians, and in the
fight that ensued, Miller was shot in the face
with arrow, and nearly lost his life. Not
long after he originated, with Mountain Joe"
and McDougal, the great gold excitement known
as " The Lost Cabin" which many Californans
will remember with regret. This McDougol was
a famous character lie was brother of Cover
nor McDougal of California, one Of the finest
looking men in the mountains, and known about
the country " Prince George" Whether the
" Lost Cabin" q reality or q myth, and
there are many who believe it was not all q
myth, the company always had bags of gold dust,
although they were never seen engaged in min
ing. They rode the finest horses were armed
with the choicest weapons, and wore the most
splendid accoutrements, &C Prince George espec.
tally, being noted for the magnifcence of hi;
dress. Every few months they would " droT
down" to San Francisco, put up at the best no
tells, and attract the attention of the whole town
by their lavish expenditure of money Then, as
suddenly as they came, they disappeared and
all attempts to follow them or trace the sources
of their wealth were utterly futile In course OF
time, the Lost CabinerS disappeared, ard it was
said they had joined the ilbuster Walker in
Mexico. McDougal never returned, and it is be-
lieved that he is at this moment a chief of the
Patagonians; and all traces 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 wal
not at the time nevertheless reward was Of
fered for his body, dead alive. lie was cap
tured one morning with a small Indian CAM
while sleeping, after a hard ride from the settle
ment and while the Indians taken with him
were shot, he was carried to Shasta City, auC
put into irons to await execution. But fortu
nately, just in the nick of time, another party o
Indians broke into his prison and rescued him.
firing of this border warfare, Miller, after
while, changed his mode of life. For time he
rode pony express to and from gold mining
camp in the interior, through Indian country
where no other man could or would go, making
friends wherever he went. He wrote quite a
number of songs, about this PERIOD for the min
ers, which to this day may be heard in the camps
of the Pacific. Relinquishlng the "express busi.
ness, >" Miller next hoisted his shingle as Gator
J ney at law" and was elected Judge by the
: people, which Office he held for some two OIL
three years with an honorable record, both as
Judge and citizen. 1t is hardly possible thai
he could have edited paper, as report has it
for his education had been quite meagre, ex.
tending only to few months schooling in a log
hut. When he became ''attorney," he had liter
ally no book education.