Dodge City times. [volume] (Dodge City, Kan.) 1876-1892, 1880-11-06

II
grand army of California pioneers that
assembled along the banks Of the Mis-
souri, from early in March to late in
May. ls49. They represented all
classes, all States and Nations, al
trades, callings' and professions; but
not all ages. Out of every hundred it
would have been hard to pick one man
over forty; and to every five hundred
men there was hardly one woman.
There were young fellows of twenty,
fresh from college, young lawyers,
young doctors. young preachers. young
farmers. young invalids. Some were
in wagons by pairs, trios, quartets;
some mounted on mules, ponies or
horses, with an extra animal to pack
the necessary provisions; and some
few were bold and hardy enough to un-
der.ake the adventure afoOt, trusting to
the rifle for their supplies. One Of
these latter, an lrishman, carrying a
pack heavy enough to have killed q
mule in fortnight, was picked up on
the Platte four hundred and fifty miles
out from St. 10, and brought through
in train as far as Thou
sand Springs Valley, where he was
expelled for misconduct. He worked
his way on foot to Sacramento, and,
after accommodating 5000 in the mines,
returned to Western city, where he
became an Alderman and a capitalist.
with millions at his command. He was
last seen on the road near the sink Of
the Humboldt, cutting the throat OF q
mired horse and feeding himself upon
choice bits of the carcass. The pas
sage from the Missouri to the Sacra-
mento occupied from one hundred to
one hundred and thirty days. Gener-
ally the provision was made for but
ninety days. and this mistake caused q
scarcity Of supplies. The cholera fol-
lowed the trail, as plague pursues the
pilgrims to Mecca. and the graves of its
victims were thicker than mile stones
on the highway. There was no time
for waste of sympathy on the dead or
tenderness on the dying. They were
buried in haste, without stone or cpl
taph to mark the spot. and hunger or
fear of the pestilence hurried the sur
vivors of the train with all possible
speed. The aggregate of the grand
army has been variOusly estimated at
from 80, 900 to $4,000. The latter num-
Der is perhaps nearest the mark. The
first arrivals were as early as July. The
main body came in from the 10th to the
18th of August. They all headed for
Suffers fort (Sacramento). But dur
ing the winter and spring preceding
their coming the discoveries in Ell Do
RADIO County had extended from Colo
mo along the American, Weber Creek,
Matthew's Creek and Hangtown Creek,
as far eastward as Weavertown (now
as much lost place as Babylon or Min
eveh) and HangtOwn, now known as
Placerville. These towns or camps are
directly on the line of route from Car
son Valley to Sacramento, and thou
sands of the grand army stopped and
tried their fortunes there. In the
spring of 1850 the County of Ell Dorado
contained greater population than
San Francisco or Sacramento, nine
tenths OF it being engaged at placer
mining.
There was no organized civil Govern
ment on the American plan till the 18th
of November, lS49. when Peter H.
Burnett was elected Governor and John
McDougall Lieutenant-Governor.
Among the Argonauts chivalrous re-
spect for woman was carried to the ut
most extremity, and often to the ludi-
crous; as single instance will explain.
In the spring and summer of 1850 some
two hundred miners. nearly all Ameri-
cans. were working on one of the many
"dry creeks in the foot hills. forty
five to fifty miles to the eastward of the
Sacramento valley. They were "do-
ing well," that is, those who worked
faithfully ten or eleven hours day
were making from SIG to $50. out Of
which they had to pay expenses-say
three to four dollars day-for wear
and tear of tools, clothes. board, medi-