The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1897-02-04
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the recipient of another elk horn chail
Up in Humboldt he is known as ths
presidential chair maker, and it is tbs
fond belief of his old cronies in ths
backwoods that the results of Seth.
labors are veritable chairs Of state arc
the proudest possessions of the Whi.s
House
One of the most disastrous of the
early expeditions into the Humboldt
region was that of the Gregg company
of placer miners of Trinity county IL
the winter of 1849 These miners found
themselves at Rich Bar, on the upper
Trinity, without sufficient provisions
and poorly clad; they determined to
reach the coast instead of returning te
the Sacramento Valley, as the rest OF
the miners were doing They started
November 5th with only ten days
provisions, and the weather was sc
bad that they had horrible time of it
After reaching Humboldt Bay, on De
cember 20, they tried to 60 down the
coast to reach some settlement. They
divided into two parties. and it is hard
TO say which suffered most. Captain
Gregg died of starvation, another man
was badly torn by a grizzly, and all
were mere wrecks of their former sell
YES by the time they reached the towns
They were in a game country, but
they were poor in woodcraft, and il
was the rainy season, when it was next
to impossible to keep their ammuni
ton dry.
One of the party, however, a miner
named Van Duzen, made bear record
early in December that is hard to beat
even in the days of repeater rifles. L.
K. Wood, the historian of the party
writes: II heard the report of rifle
then two more in quick succession,
fastened to his assistance and shall
not soor forget what I saw. There
stood Van Duzen, reloading his rifle
for the fourth time) near by lay three
grizzly bears. two dead and one with
his back broken. Two smaller ones
stood near, looking first upon their faI
len comrades apd then upon u.s.
Wood was ready and shot one of them
and third membr of the party, nam.
ed Wilson, killed the last of the grizz
lies This shooting was done with old
fashioned Kentucky rifles at very close
range-not more then fifteen PAGES
Van Duzen's remark, as reported, was
"Well. boys, I'm glad you come up but
l was good for one more"
Presuming too much upon THEN
good fortune and hungry enongh tc
''eat fried boot leather Wood and
three others, a month later. attacked
eight grizzlies in forest glade; they
shot one bear, but the others treed
them instantly. One poor fellow was
forced to take an excegingly small sap.
ling, it being Hobson's choice, and as
it bent over with his weight two of the
bears clawed him down and mauled
him to their satisfaction for an houl
or more. He was badly used-up hun.
ter, bnt his companions carried him tc
the settlements and eventually he re-
covered.
This article would be incomplete
without few words about the noun
taineer in his ''hours Of ease"- Scat
tered through the great northern viii
derness OF California are" post office
corners" and small towns that nestle
in bends of rivers or in fertile noun.
tain valleys. The stage roads are the
connecting links. and the stage driver
is still the hero of the epic. At inter
walls, where horseback trails that leao
to lonely cattle ranches meet the high
ways,are wayside INNS, ,overgrown cab
ins, where some pioneer of a thrifty
turn of mind VIII care for ones horse
and dispense rude but lavish hospi
tality at very reasonable rates. AL
sorts of curiosities seem to drift nat
uraily to such place, and the ole
trappers haunt it in their times of re
creation. Though they are a sober
folk when afield, most of tnem know
how to"even', dnring the rainy sea
son.