The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1891-08-29

LIFE OF A PIONEER.
Ups and Downs of Prominent CaIifor-
mans Now. in Seattle.

Mr.. E. ". Marston, OF Oakland, a California
pioneer, is at the Rainier hotel, with his wife
He has had an eyentfal career aud can relate
many interesting incidents of the carly DAYS
Last night he said to a observation-disclosures re-
porter: ''We landed at san Francisco in the fall
OF ls49. when there were no wharyes there, and
the tide ebbed and flowed up TO the point where
Montgomery now stands The place was moth
ing but little Spanish landing then At first |
bought an interest in little steamer that piled
the Sacramento. Though the country is health
ful enough now, il was full O. malaria then.
The shakes took me before long. At first had
one every other day; then one day, and finally
two a day. They shook me down 20 seventy
pounds, though my normal weight was no.
81 concluded then to quit and so sold out and
started for the Sierras up in the northwest cor
ner of the state. Though I was so light |
tramped with friend over the whole i75 miles,
carrying on my back my bed, my outfit and my
gold pan.
at was early III December when we struck
the Grass Valley up there in the Sierras near
the head OF the Feather river Almost the first
thing / noticed WAS some tall pine stumps cut
of about fifty feet from the ground. / wondered
who could have climbed up there to do that
work, but before long | found out that. the
SHOWS are SO deep up there in
mountains that man could stand in the snow
and do the chopping. The snow actually reaches
depth of fifty feet there in winter. All the
n q.
had deserted the place and We went into one of
the empty huts-built of shakes and fastened
together with vine rope not a nail used in the
construction. We found little food there ana
cooked a meal. The next day it began to snow.
and my friend, who had to get 10 Marysviile in
three weeks, started back at once, for he was
afraid of being showed in and having 70 stay
weeks or months. Thus was left alone in the
mountains there, and since was a mere boy at
the time the prospect was not particularly
cheerful.
''But made up my mind 20 stay until got rid
of the shakes. The second morning one o. the
two men left as "a guard in the valley came over
TO see If was destroying anything, but he found
was peaeeably disposed. 1t was about time fer
my Q O'Clock shake to come on. and / told hin,
about my sickness. lie said that when he WAS
crossing the plains he had spent several weeks
on the Humboldt river, where the cattle had
been able 10 get good pasturage. While
there he had contracted the ague,
but old Indian had given him
pills which had cured him completely He had
given these pills TO Others, and one dose of them
had always cured the shakes. He bad two left,
and those he brought TO me. / took them Just
rs my O'Clock shake was ending, and lhous h
for months had had "A o'clock shake none
came that day, nor has one come since though
have been waiting forty years. To this day I
have never found what those pills were made
Of They seemed to BE- of some sort of grass like
timothy pounded and rolled up together
"The snow came very deep and piled up in
huge drifts which covered nearly everything.
You could travel on the crust, except in the
middle of the day. and il you took a shovel
along YOU could coast in il in a way that beats
tobogganing hollow.
after several months man came along look
ing for iaborer 10 60 ON one OF the forks of
the Feather to help in "a mine owned BY four
of them. He offered me an ounce of
dust day-Sl6-and SO went
with him. IN little while one
of the men left, aud took his share The dig
giugs were very rich. We worked eleven months
found that during that period We had averaged
si2,01 apiece Tor each month, each of Us had
over 100000
''with my share OF the money! went to an
other fork OF the Feather where some relatives
ard friends had found some exceedingly rich
prospects We spent months in building a
fiume four feet deep, eighteen feet wide and
seven miles long for placer mine. You can
imagine the labor when tell you that sll of the
timber for it was whipsawed by hand | in
vested all my money in the fume and Just rs i;
was done cloudhurst came. The river rose
and rose-and since then / have never seen a
silver OF that seven miles of fume.
Il borrowed 500 10 square myself ami get
away. Then 1 began as merchant IN Tuolufnue
county, where STAYED seventeen wears Ten
years more IN san Msteo county and ten in Oak.
land brings rue t. the present time"
MI. Marston Is one Of the prominent men OF
Oakland and was for yesrs member of the
school hoard there