Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1889-01-12
IN PIONEER DAYS.
A "REMINISCENCES OF EARLY
SACRAMENTO.
An Auction Sale at Suffers Fort
Prices then Ruling-Things
Have Changed.

The pioneers of Sacramento, and man,
Others, will remember the letters formerly
published over the name of "Jeems Pipe
of Pipesville." The writer referred to wa
at one time an auctioneer in this city, anc
the following extract from one of his ole
letters will be of interest to present read
ers. He says:
One of our first sales happened to TAKE
place in the store of Captain Dring, sit
uated inside of "Sutter's Fort" anc
thither | proceeded, on hot and dusty day
IN September, with tacks, hammer and an
nounce bills under my arms-for auction.
GERS in those days posted their own bills
to tack up the notices on the walls of the
fort and on the trees in J and X streets
and | propose to tell the reader how
looked
Suffers FORT IN 1S49.
a two-story building of adobe, with a
slanting root, having on each side an en-
trance reached by fight of ricketty,
wooden steps; the interior composed OF
rooms innumerable, and fitted up in quite
cosy and comfortable manner, for in
those days there resided here the family
OF the Noes, the pioneers of the Sac
ramento valley, and right Hospitality were
strangers welcomed by the genial host,
hostess and his handsome daughters. The
building, or fort" was surrounded by a
thick, high adobe wall, and you entered
the Enclosure by a large wooden gate at
the southern extremity, when, upon turn
ing to the right, the words 'Dring's Store
greeted you. The surroundings of the
place were not of the most elegant charac-
ter-dirt, dust, rubbish and disorder pre-
vailing generally.
One or two curious circumstance oc
Cured at the sale" which | will briefly
chronicle.
Among the "lots" were some 600 pairs of
high boots, which | was told to 'let sliden
at 81 a pair. got SIC, or an ounce of
gold dust, pair for each, and the BUR
chaser resold them for $50 pair. He left
by the next steamer for his home IN the
East, got married, bought several farms.
and had several children, all of whom have
gone into the boot and shoe business. Four
hundred sacks of flour were put up. A
man by the name of Wolfe (good name, |
thoughtl bought the whole lot at SIG per
sack. lie was owner of the City Bakery
bread was 81 a loaf. He made enough out
OF this speculation to get married to rich
bakers daughter, buy -four mill, have
large family, thoroughly well-bred and on
which he doughted, and left request in
his will that any returned Californian
could have loaf of broadly paying for
it-at his shop. The sale wound up by
selling live hog for 800. Pork chops
were 81 each, and leg of pork was worth
$20. The pig was bought by the Baptist
clergyman. He happened to bea butcher,
who on Sunday attended to the sheep. and
out of this little streak of fat luck he
started new wooden church (they then
worshiped in tent, which now fourishes
and Still lives"
Suffers FORT IN 1851
Was very nearly deserted; the trade was
all gone, and but small remnant of the
family of the McC's renamed. There
seemed to be no disposition to repair the
breakages or damages; no desire to keen
this old landmark aAoat, for the food
nearly washed it away, and | believe in
the course of three or four years it was left
to the coyotes and rats; and now all that
is left of
Suffers FORT IN 1871
Is the remnant of the adobe house with its
dirty, dingy, silent room, with broken
window panes and damp cellars, rickety
stairs-the outer walls of the old fort have
disappeared entirely, and the only vestige
left OF the early abode of the genial and
good old Captain Suffer is the aforesaid
dilapidated old building. Still | fingered
there with pleasure and regret. With
bright hopes for the future in the early
gold days | had entered its old gateway,
enjoyed the pleasant society and good fe-
lowship OF friends, in these now deserted
rooms. and Thousand pleasant men,
ories" sprang up to me as | stood for the
last time in the well-known doorway, and
though | have wandered in my time over
the ivy Digit ruins of many a castle where
walls seven hundred years ago reverber-
ated to the sounds of baronial wassailers
whose courtyards once were trod by the
'twinkling feet" of high-born danes, still
there was a charm about this dear old fort
or rather the remains of it, that was jgrs-
sistible, and when upon returning to town
! was informed the place had been pur-
chased by c Mr. Garland, / involuntarily
thought of the lines:
81 feel like one who treads alone
Some banquet hall deserted
Whose lights are gone, schose Garsdnds dead (only
he ism d,
And all but me departed
THE FORT HOSPITAL.
had almost forgotten to mention that
in the early days there was hospital in
side of the fort, my fellow passenger, DR..
w. G. d., of Baltimore, being the resident
physician. Typhoid fever was then rag
ing, and deaths occurred very day.
/ was passing day with Dr. d., who,
by the way, administered 10 mems souls as
well rs bodies, for he was clergyman Of
the Methodist church, and upon the occa-
sion of the little incident am about to re-
late WAS quite PROSTATE by illness himself,
and the fatigues consequent upon his con-
slant attendance on the sick miners, and
entirely unable to leave the fort 1t was
Saturday afternoon man had lust died of
the fever and had to be buried the next
morning some two miles off; no one knew
who he was or where he came from. The
doctor asked me if would read the burial
service at the grave. / told him would :
and now wind up this hurried yarn by
informing the reader of the
sERIo-coMIc OCCURRENCE AT THE GRAVE.
The morning was bright and balmy.
Int uOuy hdu beSi fidceu III ruQe.
wooden, square box, and lifted into an old
wagon without springs. Into this convey
ance jumped four persons-the driver, a
colored man, Charley rs and myself,
prayer-book in hand; arrived at the spot,
completely covered with dust and the heat
intense, We proceeded to dig the grave.
The ground was of that slippery, fine
sandy quality that it was with the great
est difficulty that hole could be made
still we persisted and ultimately succeeded
in digging one to the proper depth
We then, with ropes across, managed &c
lower the coffin into the cavity. We
stood around, solemnly looking at the box
containing ali that was mortal of the pool
stranger, and commenced to read the