The weekly Shasta courier., 1873-01-25
JOAQUIN MILLER.

ue .. +. OuTOnicle Ol tue -Utll, Gull
tains a communication from a correspcn
dent, iu which some of the exploits of
Joaquin Miller, while he was resident Of
this county, are related. The S. f. Post
discredits the. whole story, as pat lis!ed in
the Chruuicle, and says Joaquin Miller nev
er took Bass horse
The following is ccry of an indictmcn,
now on file in the Clerks Office OF this coun
ty: oa. ; tH1't
The People of the State of California
agains, Heiner Miller, in the Court of Ses
sioas. in the county Of Shasta, July term,
A. ID. 1859
Heiher Miller is accused by the Grand
Jury of the county of Shasta, By this ipdict.
ment, of the crime Of grand larceny, fel
ooy, committed as follows:
TSh.t the said Heiner Miller, at the ceuD.
ty Of Shasta, on the 10th day Of July, A,
ID. 1859, one gelding horse, of the value oI
eighty dollars one saddle, at the value Of
Hfteea dollars and one bride. of the val
ue of five dollars, of the property, goods aud
chattels of one Thomas Bass, then and there
being found, then and there feloniously and
wiilfully did steal, drive and take away,
contrary TO the statute in such cases made
and provided, ard against the peace and
dignity of the people Of the State
JAMES d. MIX,
District Attorney.
Names of with, sses-Thomas Bass. Viii
diam Kappie.
Indorsed ga true bill" D. D. Rar
Eill, Foremsn Grand Jury.
Filed Jply 10, 1859. H. L Van Horn,
Clerk District Court By A. c. Taylor
Deputy
Last Summer, when joaquin Miller came
to this county to obtain his halfbieed
daughter, Carrie, he got cut of the stage a,
Pit River ferry, aud walked up the trail to
Pittsburg, some twelve miles, and stopped
a day or two with Brock, who then owned
a mining claim there, but who now resides
on Pit River, instead of "on the Oregon
stage road at the foot of Mount Shasta" as
the Chronicles correspondent states. Mil.
ler hen made arrangements with Brock
to go up to Jim Smiths ranch on Mont
gomery creek, tributary of Pit River, and
get Carrie and take her down to San Fran
cisco, which arrangement Brock carried
out, while Miller went on up to Oregon
When Miller came up for the girl, Brock
Theodore Popejoy, Dr. Silverthorn, and
Others who knew him in early days, expe-
rienced no difficulty in recognizing in the
famous Joaquin Miller the Hener Miller,
who, in 1859, was arrested and indicted on
charge of stealing Thomas Bass horse
And while the sketch in the Chronicle was
faulty ia number of details, it was cor
rect ia most of the statements.
When Miller's poems first began to at
tract attention, and before the world knew
him as genius, one of the men who accom-
panied Constable Babcock when he brought
his prisoner to, Shasta, tod us that the new
candidate for literary fame, was the Heiner
Miller who borrowed Bass horse in 1859,
without going through the cereunony OF con.
sultiug the owner We then Investigated
his history in this county, aud became con-
vinced that Joaqu quin and Heiner Miller we're
one and the same. Afterward, when the
fame of the poet had spread far aud vide.
and the dark srots in his early life were still
unknown to the, world at large, we were
importuned by pioneer residents here to
publish full history Of his exploits 10 this
county, as they thought it would create q
great sensation aud add to the reputation
Of our paper. But, admiring'th the genius of
the poet. and sym pathizing with the man
beset with sorrow and remorse, we refused
to mirror his faults and indiscretions to the
public. Still later, when sketches of Mil
lers life here begun 10 find their way into
metropolitan prints, we received numerous
offers Of Peeaaiary reeompense if We would
collate aud farnish the applicants With the
history and details of his adventures here,
but we declined to engage iu such capacity,
for 1t is our disposition to help any human
being "puIliug bard against the stream"
and We thought thatit Joaquin Miller could
start out in poverty from amid the mouu-
tain solitades Of Shasta, and raise himself
to eminence By the force aud brilliaucy of
his genius, we would not haste to engage in
throwing stones at him, but would even
excuse him for taking little romantic ride
on Bass horse.
Since SO much has been written about
Miller career in this county, and many mis-
made in that connection, We may,
at some future time. publish correct nc
count of bis adventures from the abundant
but unused material and facts in our posses.