The Republican journal., 1881-03-17

horn about dark, and in half an hour we
were on our way to the country seat to
take the men out of jail. Some of our
men were half drunk, others wholly so,
and all were wild with excitement. Nearly
all were armed with six shooters We
ran forward as we approached the Jail,
pistol in hand. Being nimble- footed and
| having no better sense, | was among the
first.
Sheriff Cotton, who had heard of our
coming, and taken up position in the jail,
promptly refused to give up his prisoners
without process of law; and we opened
fire. The sheriff and his posse answered
back-and what scatterment Our
men literally broke down and swept away
board cabins and fences in their flight.
But there were some that did not fly.
One, DR.. Stone, the best man of our 800,
| think, lay dying in the Jail yard along
with few others and there were men
of our party who would not desert them.
The fight lasted in loose sort of fashion
for hours. We would fight while and
then parley awhile. We were finally, by
some kind OF compromise not found in law
| books, allowed to 90 back with our prison
ers and our dead and wounded. This
was known as the "Greenhorn War"
We threw up breastworks on Green
horn. and waited for the sheriff. who had
been slightly wounded, to come out and
came. And never met him any more
till this trouble in Naples. | wonder
how many of us are alive to-day. | saw
the Old earthwOrks only last year. They
ar almost leyeled now. The brown grass
and weeds covered them. As | climbed
! the hill to hunt for our old fortress, a
squirrel scampered into his hole under
the wall, while on the highest rock little
black lizard basked and blinked in the
sun, and kept unchallenged sentinel
remember when we came to bury the
dead. The men were mighty sober now
We could not 90 to town for q preacher,
and so one Of our party had to otficiate
That was the saddest burial | ever saw
The man broke down who first began to
read. His voice trembled so he could not
90 on. Then another man took the
Bible and tried to finish the chapter, but
his voice trembled, too, and pretty soon
he choked up and hid his face Then
every man there cried, | think. They
loved DR., Stone so. He was a mere boy
yet graduate, and beautiful and brave
as Greek of old
All, these, the dead, are the mighty
majority of old Calitornians No one
would guess how numerous they are
California was one vast battle field. The
knights of the nineteenth century lie
buried in her bosom while here and there,
over the mountain top totters lone
survivor still prospecting.
And sit here, at forty year.
Dipping nose in the ,iascon wine
There is an older Californian still
1.-THE oldest inhabitant," indeed, | knew
hin, Il luStE native, a quarter OF Il century
ago in the imptnetrable forests and lava
beds around the base Of Mount Shasta.
He, too. is dead dead in spirit at least,
if not altogether in fact.
Ii valor is 4 virtue, let us at least con
cede that to the red man of the California
mountains There were battles fought
here between the miners and red men
before Gen. Candy was ever heard Of
They were bloody battles, too. But they
never got to the ears Of the world. If
Capt Jack, with his handfGl Of braves,
held the nited States army at bay for
half Il year, You may we'll understand
that We miners met no boys play there
when these Indians were numerous and
united.
But this "old Californian" as knew
him there, is utterly extinct. About the
fisheries Of the McCloud, and along the
stage road on the head waters Of the
Sacramento River, You see little houses
now and then not unlike our miners
cabins Of old. These are the homes of
the few remaining Indians of northern
| California. There is little garden, and
struggling patches OF corn about the
door; two or three miserable ponies
nibble about the barren hill hard by, and
a Withered, wrinkled old squaW or two
grunts under load of wood or water as
she steps sullen and silent out of the path
to let You pass. And that is about all.
Her husband, her sons, are dead or dy
ing of disease in the dark, smoky cabin
yonder. He accepted the inevitable, and
is trying to he civilized Alas long be-
fore that point is reached he will have
Joined his fathers on the other side of
darkness
| spent few weeks at Lower Soda
| Springs, near Mount Shasta, last summer,
in sight of our old battle ground in Cas-
tie Rocks, or Castillo del Diablo, as it was
then called. | tried to find some Of the
men who had fought in that battle. But
one white man remained, Squire Gibson.
At the time of that fight, which took
place on the fifteenth day of June, 1855.
he was married to the daughter of a
| friendly chief, and as he was the only
alcalde in all that country, was a sort of
military as well as civil leader, and in the
battle was conspicuous both for courage
and good sense. He tried to keep me
| was of no account in the fight, and only
in the way. But when was shot down
at his side in a charge through the chap
aral, be took me in his arms and carried
me safely aside. He cared for me after
ward, too, till got well. How glad was
to find him still alive. When YOU 60 up
to Soda Springs, jump out of the stage at
Sweetbriar Ranch, only a few miles this
side Of Soda, and look him up. Do you
think him an illterate boor? He is of
one of the best families in New York, a
gentleman and a scholar.
A few years ago, one of his wealthy sis
ters came out to visit the old man from
the Eastern States. From San Francisco
she telegraphed her approach, and the
probable day other arrival at his mansion.
She came; but she did not find him.
Squire Gibson had long contemplated
prospecting the rugged summit Of an in
accessible mountain. He felt that the
time had come for this work, as his ven
cradle maiden sister, with all her high
ideas of ''famly," approached. He called
his spouse and tawny children about
him, bade them take up their baskets
and 60 very high, up into the mountains,
for acoms. And the gray old Californian
sinched his little mule till she grunted,
tied pig, pan and shovel to the saddle,
and 50 pointed her nose up the peak, and
climbed as if he was climbing for the
| morning star