The Centre reporter. [volume] (Centre Hall, Pa.) 1871-1940, 1877-03-08
" MORMON GULCH. "
The Story Of the First California
State Election.

The "reminiscences Ct California
pioneer are thus graphically detailed Ia
4 recent issue Of the SAN Francisco
Bajiv Evening BuilstiH
Iii / do not mistake my reckoning the
rein ana election day came toEetLgr-
Tuesday, November Is, 1919. Il was
the first election IN California for the
State officers ot the eouuiry's ycunges.
sister al the Union. ana the rSin WAS the
tirs; Of that rainy season. Il was q
damp dav, bat il WAS far from oe.ng 81
dismal or a dull day in our camp. We
were in !" Ola Iu0lumue, III q camp
then noted for It's richness and excep-
tionally free from the wild, lawlesS and
tragic scenes which toa often. in those
DAYS, brought 70 mining camps an evil
name, and desperate characters to make
the game worse even than the name. /,
was known IS Mormon GiRlch, and was
situated about four miles from West Van
Benschotau's noted camp on Woods
creek. and eight miles from the San9-
raniAn camp ,Dow Sonora, which was g.
tie southern mines then tie same as
Hangtown tPlacervillei was to the
northern mines,
PIONEERS or MORMON GULCH.
Mormon Gulch was not a duh camp.
II had its characters. and among the
chief men were A 4 Tuttle. aftervarl
county Judge Of Tuulumne; Nike
Tubbs. an English sailor, our alcalGe.
and his brother the sheriff; Tom Wade.
in after years q prominent citizen OF
Nokelumne Hi and mayor Of Placer
Vile; Charley Shaw. wild Texan, who
succeeded Tnbbs IS sheriff; Oliver
Twist-the Only name he went by in
camp-a mountain ma@, son Of an old
trappfr. and q uimrOl who never failed
to bring down his grizzly m the three
.. bar hunts we had; Poker Burns.
famous f1r his Munchausenisms in praise
of the NJ. r. city: Yankee, who was the
only New Englauder among rs; and last
and luckiest, Niger Bob, faithful
slave. who maintained his tlissipatel and
worthless raasfer-a son uf an Alabama
elergvnial-ia his extravaganza at the bar
and the monte and poker tables, uucom-
pIaIn.n IL, ont OF the r5ch claim he was
allowed to hold up the gulch. lie vas
a general fav0rite. and before the first
rain fell he sold his claim and started for
Stockton, there to provide in some wav
to send his young master back again to
Montgomery: but the wretchel man fell
by the wayside on the journey from ez-
cessive drinking. and Bob, unable 10
find any teamster willing to carry the
corpse 10 Stockton, had it deceu.ly
buried near the old Mountain House. =
returned to the camp and took up O fresh
claim, which proved mine, indeed. to
him, for in a few months he made his
pile in it.
There were two notorious characters,
not exactly Of the camp, but who regu-
larly once a fortnight made it the scene
Of their bowling orgies. They were
known as - Nick-Of-the-Woo and
"Oregon Tom, and 10 Proctor as the
Jibbenainosay would have paled his
Intellectual dramatic fire before the de-
moHical display Of our Nick, bad lie
ever encountered him when in the
height Of his good time with his in
separable other daredevil bacchanalian,
the partner Of his morning luck in the
diggings and the sharer Of his big trees in
camp, when the whisky suffered until
their joint purse was emptied. The
pair always entered the camp at night,
never left it or slept while their " dust .
held out, and regularly departed before
daybreak, when the protractel spree was
over. just where their claim was, no
one in camp, except Oliver Twist, knew.
and all that he could be induced to say
OF it was, that it g was lousy with gold, p
rs it must have been to maintain them
4
when drinks were four bits, cigars dol
lar, and their average squanderings a
least four or five ounces per day. But
with all their Tiproarionsness they were
scrupulously "square" in their dealings
and as open handed as princes are pro.
verbally accredited to be. There were
among the improvident and desperate a
dozen or more who had deserted from
Major Graham's command Of the United
States cavalry, ordered to California that
wear, and they were far from being q
favorite acquisition in the gulch. The
most obstreperous of the party was call
ed Bill Bailey (they had all assumed fic
titious names to escape Identification
and more pestiferous trough never
cursed a peaceful camp with his alb
hored presence. He was too indolent t.
work and had not money to gamble, but
he kept pretty full of whisky, and in hi.
cups was insulting and quarrelsome. HI
had cunning enough, nevertheless, t.
know with whom it was not safe to quar-
rel, and of these Nick, Tom and Olive
were his especial fear.
THE FIRST STATE ELECTION.
Il was the morning of the first State
election in California that the first rair
Of the wet season came. 1t poured in
cessantly all that day and until noon O
the day following. For about two weeks
the coming of election day had been the
leading topic. The prefect of San Joa
quin district, Captain Nelson Taylor
had visited the camp, made official proc
lamation of the election, appointed th'
alcade's tent as the polling place, ant
three Of the most prominent men as OH