The Republican journal., 1916-02-17
Suggested by the Sailing of
the SuliOte.
p "reminiscences of Gold Mining in the Early
D,vs in California. The Old and the
New Bangor.

DAYS in California. The Old and the
New Bangor
NV DEAR JOURNAL: The two inter-
sting articles on The Sailing of the Su-
note recently published by you appealed
n me for two reasons: first, because the
.,,d excitement of 1S49 took away my
-.otber's favorite brother, whose sad
.r,rv | have heard from childhood.
Ravlng at last turned his face eagerly
boueward from California, he died of
fyphus fever when within sight of New
York barbor, and was brought back to
Week s Mills for burial. And again, be-
.4use the story of the Suliote carried me
back ~ memory to one of those pleasant
Jennings at the Clement home in Day
-,ra Florida. Georgia Ford, Telemachus
ami were there and the conversation
turned upon the early days of gold min
.ag in California. Mr.. Clement, for
hon there can be no better description
than that of grand old man," of the
Aoraham Lincoln type, whose frmness of.
1rnciple and dignity of character were
.rrsugttened and developed by those
laws Of danger and hardship in the min
me- camps, told US many interesting
stories. Some of them l cannot rep, at
Il this late day with any degree of ex-
sctness, but the following is given as
nearly as possible in his own words, and
IN sure he will pardon me for using it:
started for California in 1859, and
-ached the Platte River in company
If lightly men, with twelve teams. We
tsrped on the Platte River several days.
0ne day twenty men of US forded the
F.atte River for a buffalo hunt. We
struck a herd about three miles from
,ra Platte. Most of US killed a buffalo;
leaf man and in some way became
--narated from the rest and were by our
s..1es-I don't know where the others
we're. We both shot buffalo, and
topped to cut meat out of him, 1t was
then well down towards sunset; we were
.cout five miles from the Platte, and our
amp was on the opposite side. | think
71unds of meat out of my buffalo the
at man came across some of our men
and went away with them; anyway /
found myself all alone. put my meat
INTO a common corn sack or meal bag,
led the mouth of the bag with line
hat passed over my shoulder and gave
lie the free use of my arms. | knew
hat in crossing the river if | missed the
iord there were quicksands, and | would
ave to swim for it, meat or no meat.
We hadn't had any water since early in
.ongue was swollen and my mouth
seemed to be all full of tongue. | started
On a lope for the Platte, down what they
all the Platte River bottom, gully
rom the hills about three miles. ] had
gone more than half the way, and was a
little over mile from the river, when |
card the rattle of a snake. | stopped,
and it seems to me jumped backward five
IT six feet all in the same instant. Look
ng in front of me | saw a snakes head
about twelve or fourteen inches above
the short grass. dropped on one knee,
brought the rifle on that snake and fired.
The bullet cut his head not quite off. |
took the gunstick ana struck him two or
three times, whipped out my knife and
ut off the rattles-there were nineteen
IF them-and started again on lope for
the Platte River. 1t wasn't snakes
was after-it was water-w ater-and
got there and got drink and forded the
liver and took my buffalo meat into
amp. The buffalo were coming to the
liver to drink when we shot them; two
hundred of them coming way off across
he plains. We went down another gully
and stood where the gullles came to-
gether, and when the herd came along
We each picked out his buffalo. There
we're thousands Of them in those days,
and the ground fairly trembled under
heir feet. They were not dangerous
unless they were wounded, but then look
out-for a wounded buffalo was bad
thing to meet"
1t | remember correctly Mr.. Clement
told us that the men of this company, to
whom he had paid seventy-6ve dollars
passage money, became discouraged and
gave up the expedition, urging him to
DO the same. He. however, was deter
mined to proceed and joined another
party, to whom he had to pay seventy
five dollars more, which was practically
all the money he had. 1859 was the year
that silver was discovered this side of the
Sierra Nevada mountains, and the min
ing section was perfectly wild. The
party finally arrived in Carson City,
where they ate their first breakfast in a
little adobe hut. There were four build
ings then, and about fifty inhabitants.
The great Comstock mine had been dis
r