Eureka daily sentinel. [volume] (Eureka, Nev.) 1871-1887, 1877-04-26
RAMBLING i r
The Statement Of Ottard Ieonidas
C~avendish BassaIl, alias j. w.
staley. O'staley, etc.

We received the following statement
from one of the young fellows con.
victed of burglary at the last term OF
Court, and publish it for what it il
worth:
II STATEMENT.
l will begin with The time and place
of my birth. l was born in Ohio, in
1860, and in 1852 was taken by my
father and mother to the State of vir-
GINA, the former home Of my mother,
who was the daughter of Sir Ottard
Leonidas Cavendisn, and Lilonna,
daughter of Osceola, a Seneca chief of
some distinction among the tribe.
In 1864 | was taken from there to New
Orleans, the former home Of my
father, Jean r. Bassall, Jr., a son of
Jean Il. Bassall, a French missionary.
Both Of my grand parents were mar
ried on the same day ut the lodge OF
Osceola, the brides father, and, as a
natural consequence, had not met often
after my parents were born. My pa
rents eloped and went to Ohio and
eral years. In the meantime, my
grandpa,
J. r. BASSALL,
was killed in a duel, and his wife died
of grief. My other grand parents, Sir
o. l.. Cavendish and wife, died of
smallpox, and my parents went on to
settle up the estate.
NONE TO SETTLE.
But, alas! there was no estate; moth
ing but debts, and accordingly they
went to work to pay them, and would
have done SO if fathers house had not
burnt down, and my mother being in
disposed could not get out of the house
until she received injuries such as to
cause her death on the same day my
father returned home; and so it was
that l became an orphan, for after set
Ting his business he gave Inc in care
of an old friend of the family and APP
pointed him my guardian. MIR. Rob
ert f.. O'Staley. That has been III
years ago now and | have never
learned, nor am l likely to learn of his
whereabouts, or if he is living. Sub
s~equently / was taken to st. Louis,
Mo-, by O'Staley in 1867, where we
lived for Is month";, and returned
home again in the fall Of 1868. ! went
to school that winter in the district
we lived in Tennessee, near Shelby
Vile, and in October of 1869, went to
his home i'm New Orleans, and lived
there until the next summer, where |
was sent to the Sisters School" In
June vi went to Kipgstown, Indiana,
where we stayed until September,
again coming to st. Louis, and from
there went to New Orleans in Janu-
airy 1871. | was his constant and only
companion in all of these travels. We
again, in Nav, 1871, came to 81. Louis,
from there to Chicago. and again To
New York city, Brooklyn, and thence
TO Washington, ID. g., Baltimore. and
to my former home in Virginia, and
came TO st. Louis in December, 1871,
where we lived until I ran away in
May, 1872. and came West ITO grow
up with the country" ] went to To-
peka, Kansas, and got in with a
PARTY OF HUNTERS,
Who were going down further south
and west, and from there we went to
Wichata. and from thence on the Ar
kansas, where we stay ed one month
and came back via Eliworih, and
thence to Abiliue, junction City, and
back to Topeka in July; from there |
VENT to Denver, Colorado, and STAYED
until o tober; from there / came to
salt Lake, where | met a man that |
knew, but he did not known me; so
you may bet / did not stay there very
long, but cut sticks for Phoebe, where
| arrived broke, which hitherto | was
unacguainted with the meaning of the
word, but through the kindness of
Mr.. bradshaw and Bob Archer-both
well known in this State-I got a situ-
alton where they were, tending bar in
he Mint Saloon, which | held until
Bradshaw started a saloon of his own,
under the firm name of Bradshaw Il
Banner. From there l went to work
for Antonio Cardinis, afterward killed
by Charley Peasley. / worked there
until March, 1873, and from there
came to Eureka, where | remained but
three days before going to Virginia
City and Carson, and in June / landed
in San Francisco. / had some
money, aud you bet I saw the best
that was to be had, which was
nothing m or tame, AS you are
probably ware of, as everybody in
tiil> CouHlIy upes tndt mas bten tntTt.
Well l got a little light in the pocket,
as Is the case with anyone who wants
TO sea the sights in San Francisco. /
commenced rustling for something to
do, and which "a no very hard to find
If you looked for it; but / wanted to
| go to sea, and to sea / went. l mace two
trips to Puget sound on a lumber YES
sol (the Victor) to Port Gamble, and
hired to go to Callao, Peru, on the
same vessel, that was to sail on the
week following; but / got good and
sick of the sea, and thought l would
quit it. Accordingly | came to Esreka
again. and stayed four or five months;
went East again in IA and returned
during the holidays OF IA and rs;
went West again to San Francisco. got
a situation in Benicia at the Solano
Hotel, stayed there two weeks, came
back to San Francisco, and stayed
until May rs; thence to Sacramento;
from there to Lake Tahoe, over the
lake to Glenbrook, Carson and Vir-
ginia City. That fall l returned TO
Eureka and stayed here until last
spring. j went out on the railroad,
returning three or four months later TO
Eureka, where | have been since; and
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