Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1890-06-22
THIRTY YEARS ago.
INCIDENTS ATTENDING THE NoMINA.
TON OF LINCOLN.
The Cholera Visitation of Early Days-L.
c. Chambers Experience as
Sacramento River Tar.

The nomination by the Republican Ma
tional Convention at Chicago, of Abraham
Lincoln for the Presidency, was the allah.
sorbing theme OF comment by the press
and people of the country, and all sorts Of
sketches of Lincoln and incidents of his
life were being published. Lincoln was
sitting in the telegraph office at Springfield
while the Convention was balloting TO,
candidates for the nomination. When the
third ballot was reached and the States be.
gan changing to Lincoln, and when eyery.
body else was excited and nervous, the
great man sat quietly and listened to the
bulletins as they were sent to the waiting.
room by the manager of the office. Finally
the latter wrote on slip of paper and sent
to Lincoln the following: 'Mr. Lincoln
you were nominated on the third ballot y
The latter took the paper ir his hand and
looked at it long and silently, not heedine
the noisy exultation all around him. and
then rising. and putting the note in his
vest pocket he quietly remarked There's
little woman down at our house who
would like to hear this. I'll go down and
eSAl dCA' 1uio ouOWcu SOIuGIQlDg OF the
real character of the man While Others
were thinking only of the political signi6.
canoe and importance of the news Lin.
coins thoughts were of his wife and home,
and the joy that the news would take into
his household.
Several amusing incidents occurred when
the committee called at his house to notify
him of his nomination. One of its mem.
bers was tall Judge Kelly, of Pennsylvania
As he shook hands with the future Presi.
dent each eyed the others ample propor-
tons with genuine admiration, Lincoln for
once standing straight as an Indian and
showing his tall form in its full dignity.
What is your hight" inquired Lincoln.
coin. ?" -''--
six feet four" replied Lincoln.
Then said Judge Kelly. ..Pennsvlva.
mia bows to Illinois. NY dear man. for
years my heart has been aching for a Pres.
ldent that | could look up TO, and | have
found him at last in the land where we
thought there were none but little giants"
Many members of the Convention who
had never seen Mr.. Lincoln called that
evening to pay their respects and see what
he looked like. The best of good feeling
prevailed, Lincoln having fund of good
stories to tell, and pleasant word and
smile for each visitor. At one time there
seemed to be little hesitation on the
part of new corners to approach the host,
when Mr.. Judd cried out Come ND, gen.
tlemen. come up; its nobody but old Abe
Lincoln J" One we'll dressed New Eng
lander remarked: II was afraid should
meet gigantic rail splitter with the man
ners OF tiatboatman and the ugliest face
in creation; but l found Lincoln COM
plete gentleman"
Douglas was the first man in Washing
ton to be apprised of Lincoln's nomina-
ton, and he saiu to several Republican
Senators We'll, Lincoln and have called
each other some pretty hard names on the
stump, but Pll do him justice-he is an
honest, able and very popular man."
.........The San Francisco Call recently
had an article on the great cholera vista
ton in early days. in which it said "In
the fall of 1850 cholera ravaged California.
1t was most fearful and fatal in Sacra.
mento and in the northern division of the
State. The death-roll was reckoned il,
hundreds. The travel up and down the
Sacramento was mainly by small river
craft, schooners, sloops and il-boats of a
few tons. Steamboats, had not reduced the
prices of passage below $50 deck and $50
cabin, and in descending the river and bay
to San Francisco many preferred to come
by the cheaper manner on the sailing yes-
sell which usually made the trip in two or
three days. The mortality on these was
frightful. One schooner left Sacramento
with forty-two passengers for San Fran
cisco. On the third day she arrived with
only three of the number alive. The others
had been seized with cholera on the passage
and died. A printer named Bugbee was
one of the survivors. He was attacked by
the terrible malady, but withstood it, and
was the only one of his companions on the
schooner who was able to walk ashore on
arrival. The corpses were committed to
the river and the bay as the victims died,
until there were no longer men on board
able to put the bodies overheard Of the
officers and crew only one mate survived,
and Bugbee alone managed to sail the yes-
sci from Red Rock to San Francisco Ma
rysville was sorely afflicted, as was every
settlement and camp up the Sacramento,
American Feather and Yuba rivers and in
the mines, but in no other place was the
mortality so great as in Sacramento City,
In the southern division the cholera was
comparatively mild. Only two deaths
occurred in Stockton, both of persons of
Spanish blood and reckless in mode of life.
in San Francisco it ragged with alarm
ing malignity, taking off several notable
citizens. County Treasurer George W.
Endicott, leading merchant, of high So
cial position and old Pilgrim stock, from
Boston; Woodruff, the popular ieweler;
DR.. Johnson, a noted humorist and wit;
Sam Maynard, prominent business man,
were early victims. Deaths by scores &C.
CURED in the hospitals and in the poorly
provided houses, lodging-houses and tents
in every part of the city.
The cholera was brought to California
hx,c md ~
grafton across the plains. On each route,
on sea and on land, the mortality was very
large. Terrible suffering was experienced
by the emigrants who came overland. The
infection prevailed throughout the Union.
In the South and West, along the Missis-
sippi and Missouri, were its most fatal
ravages. The elder Booth. the great ira
gedian, fell victim to it the year follow
ing his visit to California. Never since has
it spread with such destroying effect"
......... Printers generally-and of course
very unjustly-are suspected of having an
aversion TO water. There were three
among those VINO stuck type" here
thirty years ago who certainly were not
Chandler, Sylvester II. Jenner and Charles
C. Philbrick. Bent on having good time,
they one day procured sail-boat and got
ready TO shoot out upon the bosom of the
Sacramento river for sail. Chandler and
Jenner had taken up their positions in the
stern of the craft, while Philbrick was
charged with the duty of showing off from
the shore In doing so he managed 10
capsize the boat, and Chandler and Jenner
both went overheard. Chandler was the
heavier, and didn't know how to swim,
and, like the famous McGinty, down be
went to the bottom. AS he came up,
Jenner straddled his shoulders, and down
he went again. On coming up the second
time he was rescued by a Chinaman
Chandler insisted that the whole thing was
plot of Jenner and Philbrick to drown
him. A local paper said of the affair:
such a remarkable feat of agility as Levi
performed in emerging from the muddy
waters has never been witnessed since the
days of Sir John Falsiaif, when he strug-
gled out of the river Thames, after having
been dumped from a buck-basketn Jen-
neT still follows type-sticking for living
on one of the San Francisco papers; Chan
dler long since graduated from the bust
ness. and is now real estate agent in "a
flourishing interior city, on the bank oil
the stream in which be came so near losing
his life. Philbrick has been lost some.
where in the shuttle.
.........T The Republican County Convention
met at Philharmonic Hall on the 10Th oil
June. 1860, 10 choose delegates to the State
Convention Geo Rowland as Chairman O.