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,- V4 '' pvf -' V - - .- 5F-:3gl--sp VWP"f- Haif mral ifetmtm ESTABLISHED 1S77-EEW & THE RAGING OF SOLDIERS DESERT TO GO OFFICERS GO jfi'ffr 3Lvi v t Vtfyi W V Mv V. WMmWMWiI VPlfM I0MC MWY CALIFORNIA ADMITTED AS A STATE; (corvniGnT.I EN.RILEYHAD, -with Lis family, taken the house -which Col. Mason had formerly used, and Maj. Canby and wife bad se cured rooms at Alva rado's. Capt. Kane -was Quartermaster, and had his family in the lib use of a man named Garner, near the redoubt Burton and Co. F were still at the fort; the four companies of the 2d Inf. were quartered in the barracks, the same building -in which we had our Headquarters; and the com pany officers were quartered in hired buildings near by. Gen. Smith and his Aid, Capt. Gibbs, went to Larkin's house, and I was at my old rooms at Dona Augustia's. As we intended to go back to San Francisco by land, and afterward to travel a good deal, Gen. Smith gave me the necessary authority to fit out the party. There happened to be several trains of horses and mules in town, so I purchased about a dozen horses and mules at $200 a head, on account of the Quartermaster's Depart ment, and we had them kept under guard in the Quartermaster's corral. I remember one night being in the quarters of Lieut. Alfred Sully, where nearly all the officers of the garrison were assembled, listening to Sully's sto ries. Lieut. Derby ("Squibob") was one of the number, as also Fred Steele, "Neighbor" Jones, and others, when, just after tattoo, the Orderly-Sergeants came to report the result of tattoo roll call ; one reported five men absent, an other eight, and so on, until it became certain that 28 men had deserted ; and they were so bold and open in their be havior that it amounted to defiance. They had deliberately slung their knap sacks and started for the gold mines. Dr. Murray and I were the onlv ones present who were familiar with the coun try, and I explained how easy they could all be taken by a party going out at once to Salinas Plain, where the country was so open and level that a rabbit could not cross without being seen ; that the deserters could ;iot go to the mines with out crossing that plain, and could not reach it before daylight. All agreed that the whole regiment would desert if these men were not brought back. Sev eral officers volunteered on the spot to go after them ; and, as the soldiers could not be trusted, it was useless to send any but officers in pursuit. Some one went to report the affair to the Adjutant-Gen-aral, Canity, and he to Gen. Itiley. I waited some time, and, as the "thing grew cold, 1 thought it was given up, and went to my room and to bed. About midnight I was called up and informed that there were seven officers willing to go, but the difficulty was to get hoiscs and saddles. I went down to Larkin's house and got Gen. Smith to consent that we might take the horses 1 had bought for our trip. It was nearly 3 o'clock a. m. before we were all counted and ready. I had a musket which I used for hunting. With this 1 led off at a canter, followed by the others. About six miles out, by the faint moon, I Eaw ahead of us in the sandy road pome blue coats, and, fearing lest they might resist or escape into the dense bushes which lined the road, I halted and found with me Paymaster Hill, Capt. N. H. Davis, and Lieut. John Hamilton. Wc waited some time for the others, viz., Canby, Murray, Gibbs, and Sully, to come up; but as they were not m right we made a daeh up j the road and captured six of the de serters, who were Germans, with heavv knapsacks on, trudging along the deep, sandy road. They had not expected pursuit, had not heard our horses, and were accordingly easily taken. Find ing myself the senior officer present, I ordered Lieut. Hamilton to search the men and then mareii them back to Monterey, suspecting, as was the fact, that the rest of the party had taken a Published by permission of I). Applclon kJCa., publihhcre of llic Personal Memoirs jf Gen. W. T. hcriuuu. SERIES. MEMOIRS tW,i2r enerai ttek by Himself THE GOLD FEVER. TO THE GOLD FIELDS. INTO BUSINESS. road that branched off a couple of miles back. Daylight broke as we reached the Salinas River, 12 miles out, and there the trail was broad and fresh, leading directly out on the Salinas Plain. This plain is about five miles wide, and then the ground becomes somewhat broken. The trail continued very plain, and I rode on at a gallop to where there was an old adobe ranch on the left of the road, with the head of a lagoon or pond close by. I saw one or two of the sol diers getting water at the pond, and others up near the house. I had the best horse and was considerably ahead, but on looking back could see Hill and Davis coming up behind at a gallop. I motioned to them to hurry forward, and turned my horse across the head of the pond, knowing the ground well, as it was a favorite place for shooting geese and ducks. Approaching the house, I ordered the men who were outside to go in. They did not know me personally, and ex changed glances; but I had my musket cocked, and, as the two had seen Davis and Hill coming up pretty fast, they Mission of obeyed. Dismounting, I found the house full of deserters, and there was no escape for them. They naturally sup posed that I had a strong party with me, and WHEN I ORDERED THEM TO "FALL IN" they obeyed from habit By. the time Hill and Davis came up 1 had them formed in two ranks, the front rank facing about, and I was taking away their bayonets, pistols, etc AVc dis armed them, destroying a musket and several pistols, aud, on counting them, we found that we three had taken 18, which, added to the six first captured, made 24. We made them sling their knapsacks and begin their homeward march. It was near night when we got back, so that these deserters had traveled nearly 40 miles since "tattoo" of the night before. The other party had capt ured three, so that only one man had escaped. 1 doubt not this prevented the deser tion of the bulk of the 2d Inf. that Spring, for at that time so demoralizing was the effect of the gold mines that everybody not in the military service justified desertion, because a soldier, if free, could earn more money in a day than he received per month. Not only did soldiers and sailors desert, but Cap tains and Masters of ships actually abandoned their vessels and cargoes to try their luck at the mines. Preach ers and professors forgot their creeds and took to trade, and even to keep ing gambling-houses. I remember that one of our Regular soldiers, named Reese, in deserting, stole a favorite double-barreled gun of mine, and when the Orderly-Sergeant of the company, Carson, was going on furlough I asked him wieii he came acro&J Keese t? try and get my gun back. When he re turned he told me that he had found Reese and offered him a hundred dollars for my gun, but Reese sent me word that he liked the gun, and would not take a hundred dollars for it. Soldiers or sailors who could reach the mines were universally shielded by the miners, so that it was next to useless to attempt their recapture. In due season Gen. Persifer Smith, Gibbs, and I, with some hired packers, started back for San Fran cisco, and soon after we transferred our Headquarters to Sonoma. About this r ; f3&9- "r rave to Wm time Maj. Joseph Hooker arrived from the East, the regular Adjutant-Gen- I eral of the Division, relieved me, and I became thereafter one of Gen. Smith s regular Aids-de-Camp. AS THERE WAS VERY LITTLE TO DO, Gen. Smith encouraged us to go into any business that would enable us to make money. R. P. Hammond, James Blair and 1 made a contract to survey for CoL J. D. Stevenson his newly-projected city of " New York of the Pacific," situated at the mouth of the San Joaquin River. The contract embraced, also, the making of soundings and the marking out of a channel through Suisun Bay. We hired in San Francisco a small metallic boat, with a sail, laid in some stores, and pro ceeded to the United States ship Ohio, anchored at Saucelito, where we borrowed a sailor-boy and lead-lines with which to sound the channel. "We sailed up to Benicia, and, at Gen. Smith's request! we surveyed and marked the line divid ing the city of Benicia from the Govern ment reserve. We then sounded the bay back and forth, and staked out the best channel up Suisun Bay, from which Blair made out sailing directions. We then made out the preliminary surveys of the city of " New York of the Pacific," all of which were duly plotted ; and for this work we each received from Steven son $500 and 10 or 15 lots. I sold enough lots to make up another $500, and let the balance go ; for the city of " New York of the Pacific " never came to anything. Indeed, cities at the time were being projected by speculators all refund the bay and all over the country. While we were surveying at "New York of the Pacific," occurred one of those little events that showed THE FORCE OF THE GOLD FEVER. We had a sailor-boy with us, about 17 years old, who cooked our meals and helped work the boat, On shore wc had the sail spread so as to shelter us against the wind and dew. One morn ing I awoke about daylight, aud looked out to see if our sailor-boy was at work getting breakfast; but he was not at the fire at all. Getting up, I discovered that he had converted a tide boha into a sail-boat, aud was sailing for the gold mines, ne was astride this bolsa, with i a small parcel of bread and meat done i up in a piece of cloth ; another piece San Carlos. of cloth, such as we used for making; our signal stations, he had lixed into a sail; and with a paddle ho was directing his precarious craft right out into the broad ha', to follow the general direction of the schooners and boats that he knew were ascending the Sacramento River. He was about a hundred yards from the shore. I jerked up my gun, and hailed him to come back. After a moment's hesitation, he let go his sheet and began to paddle back. This bolsa was nothing but a bundle of tulc, or hull rush, bound together with grass-ropes in the shape of a cigar, about 10 feet lonir and about two feet through the butt. "With these the California Indians cross streams of considerable size. When he came ashore, I gave him a good overhauling for attempting to desert, and put him to work getting breakfast. In due time we returned him tojiis ship, the Ohio. Subsequently, I made a bargain with Mr. Harlnell to survey his ranch at Cosumnes River,- Sacramento Valley. Ord and a young citizen, named Scion, were associated with me in this. I bought of Rodman M. Price a surveyor's compass, chain, etc, and in San Fran cisco a small wagon and harness. Avail ing ourselves of a schooner, chartered to carry Maj. Miller and two companies of the 2d Inf. from San Francisco to Stockton, we got up to our destina tion at little cost. I recall an oc currence that happened when the schooner was anchored in Carquinez Straits, opposite the soldiers' camp on shore. We were waiting for daylight and a fair wind; the schooner lay an chored at an ebb-tide, and about day light Ord and I had gone ashore for something. Just as we were pulling off from shoro, we heard the loud shouts of the men and saw them all running down toward the water. Our attention thus drawn, we saw something swimming in the water and pulled toward it, thinking it a coyote ; but we soon recognized a large "grizzly bear, swimming directly across the channel. Not having any weapon, we hurriedly pulled for the schooner, calling out, as we nearcd it, "a bear! a hear!" It so happened that Maj. Miller was on deck, washing his face and hands. He ran rapidly to tho bow of the vessel, took ivlm te famte itie torftfe, mtfl fot hte WASHINGTON, D. 0., .THURSDAY, JUNE k 1896. the musket from the hands of the senti nel, and fired at the bear, as he passed but a short, distance ahead of the schooner. The bear rose, made a growl or howl, but continued his course. As we scrambled upjthc port-side to get our guns, the mate, with a crew, happened to have a boat onjthe starboard-side, and, armed only with a hatchet, they pulled" up alongside the bear and the mate struck him in the head with the hatchet. The bear turned, tried to get into the boat, but the mate struck his claws with repeated blows and made him let go. After several passes with him, the mate actually killed he bear, got a rope round him, and lowed him alongside the schooner, where he was hoisted on deck. The carcass weighed over 600 pounds. It was found that Maj. Miller's shot had Mission of Santa Barbara. struck the bear in the lower jaw, and thus disabled him. Had it not been for this, the bear would certainly have upset the boat and drowned all in it. As it was, however, his meat served us a good turn in our trip up to Stockton. At Stockton we disembarked our wagon, provisions, and instruments. There I bought two fine mules at $300 each, and we hitched up and started for the Cosumnes River. About 12 miles off was the lokelumne, a wide, bold stream, with a canoe as a ferry boat. We took our wagon to pieces, and ferried it- and its contents across, and then drove our mules into the water. In crossing one mule became entangled in the rope of the other, and for: a time we thought he was a gone mule; but at last he revived and we hitched up. The mules were both pack animals; neither md ever before seen a wagon. Young'Seton also was about as green, and had never handled a mule. Wc put on the harness and began to hitch them in, when one of the mtile3 turned his head, saw the wagon, and started. We held on tight, but the beast did not slop until he had shivered the tongue-pole into a dozen fragments. The fact was tl'iat Seton had hitched the traces before he had put on the blind bridle. There was considerable swear ing done, but that would not mend the pole. There was no place nearer than Sutter's Fort to tepair damages, so we were put to our wits' end. We first sent back a mile or so, and bought a raw hide. Gathering up the fragments of the pole and cutting the hide into strips, we fixed it in the rudest manner. As long as the hide was green, the pole was very shaky ; but gradually the sun dried the hide, tightened it, and the polo ac tually held for about a month. This cost us nearly a, .day of delay; but, when damages' were reparied, we har nessed up again, and reached the crossing of the Cosumnes, where our survey was to begin. T-lQ':xpedieiite, or title-papers, of the ranch described it as containing nine or 11 leagues" on the Cosumnes, south side, and between the San Joaquin River and Sierra Nevada Mountains. We began at the place where the road crosses tho Cosumnes. and laid down a line four miles south, perpendicular to J Mission of the general direction of the stream ; then, surveying up thestream, wc marked each mile so as to admit of a subdivision of 9110 mile by four. The land was dry and very poor, with the exception of here and there some small pieces of bottom-land, the great bulk of the bottom land occurring on tho north side of the I stream, we continued me survey up some 20 miles into the hills above the milPof'Dailor and Sheldon. It took about a month to make this- survey, which, when, finished," was duly plotted ; and for it we received one-tenth of" the land, or two subdivisions. Ord and I took the land, and we paid Seton for his labor in cash. By the sale of my share of the laud,.subsequcntly, - - ivitJoiu ana onrtnmg." I REALIZED $3,000. After finishing; HartnelFs survey, we crossed over to Dailor's, and did some work for him at $500 a day for the party. Having finished our work on the Co sumnes, wc proceeded to Sacramento, where Capt. Sutter employed us to con nect the survey of Sacramento City, made by Lieut, Warner, and that of Sutter ville, three miles below, which was then being surveyed by Lieut. J. W. David son, of the 1st Dragoons. At Sutter ville, the plateau of Sacramento ap proached quite near the river, and it would have made a better site for a town than the low, submerged land where the city now stands; but it seems to be a law of growth that all natural ad vantages are disregarded wherever once business chooses a location. Old Sutter's cmbarcadcro became Sacramento City, simply because it was the first point used for unloading boats for Sutter's Fort, just as the site for San Francisco was fixed by the use of Yerba Buena a3 the hide-landing for the Mission of "San Francisco de Asis." I INVESTED 31 Y EARNINGS survey in three lots in in tins survey in tnrec lots in Sacra mento City, on which I made a fair profit by a sale to one McNuIty, of Mansfield, O. I had only had a two months' leave of absence, during which Gen. Smith, his staff, and a retinue of civil friends were making a tour of the gold mines, and hearing that he was en route back to his Headquarters at So noma, I knocked off my work, sold my instruments, and left my wagon and mules, with my cousin, Charley Hoyt, who had a store in Sacramento, and was on the point of moving up to a ranch, for which he had bargained, on Bear Creek, on which was afterward estab lished Camp "Far West." He after ward sold the mules, wagon, etc., forme, and on the whole I think I cleared, by those two months' work, about 80,000. I then returned to Headquarters at So noma in time to attend my fellow Aid-de-Camp Gibbs through a long and dan gerous sickness, during which he was on board a store-ship, guarded by Capt Geo. Johnson, who now resides in San Francisco. Gen. Smith had agreed that on the first good Opportunity he would send me to the United States as a bearer of dispatches, but this he could not do until he had made the examination of Oregon, which was also in his com mand. During the Summer of 1849 there continued to pour into California A PERFECT STREAM OF PEOPLE. Steamers came, and a line was established from San Francisco to Sacramento, of which the Sonator was the pioneer, . ii 7 charging 16 a passage, and actually coining money, umer uoats were duui out of materials which had either come around Cape Horn or were brought from the Sandwich Islands. Wharves were built, houses were springing up as if by magic, and the Bay of San Francisco presented as busy a scene of life as any part of the world. Maj. Allen, of the Quartermasters Department, who had come out as Chief Quartermaster of the San Francisco. Division, was building a large warehouse at Benicia, with a row of quarters, out of lumber at $100 per 1,000 feet, and the work was done by men at $16 a day. I have seen a detailed sol dier, who got only his monthly pay of $8 a month, and 20 cents a day for extra duty, nailing on weather-boards and shingles, alongside a citizen who was paid $16 a day. This was a real injustice, made the soldiers discontented, and it was hardly to be wondered at that so many deserted. While the mass of peo ple were busy at gold and in mammoth speculations a set of busy politicians were at work to secure the prizes of civil Government. Gwin and Fremont were (Contiiiuod on second pace.) SS. as? S VOL. iVfc- ITS LAST CAMPAIGN. Shields's Division Raced with Stonewall Jackson. PORT REPUBLIC. Daring Deed Under a Heavy fire. SLIM RATIONS. No Praise for the Federals Ex- eept from the Enemy. BY J. M. CUI.VN, SECRETARY SOUTHERN CALI FORNIA. HISTORICAL SOCIETY, LOS ANGELES, CAL. Continued from last week.) BOMPTLY AT 4 o'clock on the morning of the 8th of June, the Third Brigade began its march. The road for most of the dis tance ran through a dense forest, and was in a wretched ly bad condition. We made good time n o t w i t h -standing the bad roads. Five or six miles from Port Republic rumors of the disasters that had befallen Carroll's Brigade began to reach us. The Fourth Brigade had engaged the enemy early that morning, and been re pulsed with heavy loss; two guns of one of our batteries had been captured ; the bridge, the objective point of the expedition, was in the hands of the enemy, and orders were for our brigade to move to the front as quickly as possible. As we proceeded a few stragglers from &,- Gen-. James Shields. the advance brigade passed us, some slightly wounded, others badly scared. One, a stalwart six-footer, evidently a new recruit who had seen but little serv ice aud was disgusted with what he had seen, was very deliberately making his way to the rear. The usual chaffing hegan : "Wounded?" "No J" "Scared?" "Naff!" "Coward? Played out?" "Naw ! See here," stopping and fac ing his tormentors, " if you fellers want to know what's the matter with me I'll tell yer. I hain't got no socks to my feet, and I'll be blnnkety blanked if I'll fight for any Government that won't give its soldiers socks ! " And followed by the jeers of the advancing column he moved to the rear. We reached the Lewis farm a little after noon, and were relieved to find that rumor had considerably magnified the disaster. We went into bivouac near the edge of the woods, about two miles from the bridge, to await orders. CoK Daum, in command of the artillery, advised an immediate attack upon the enemy at the bridge, but to this Tyler and Carroll objected. Our linc-of-battle was formed, and at place rest WE STOOD AWAITING DEVELOPMENTS. No attack was made that afternoon, and we bivouacked on the field. From our bivouac we could plainly see the white covers of Jackson's baggage wagons on the other side of the river. The sight of a baggage train with its store of rations made the aching void in our stomacn acne an tue naraer, ir a void can ache, and the hope of captur ing that train made us anxious for hos tilities to begin. All that afternoon we listened to the roar of the battle of Cross Keys. The receding sounds of the ar tillery as the shades of evening fell, tell ing us too plainly that Fremont was fallim; back, were not soothing lullabvs to go to sleep by. We knew that our turn would come on the morrow. stun im I Milk XV - NO. 34-WHOLE NO. 773 Next morning a little after sunrise the battle began. It opened with an attack on our left by Winder's Brigade (the famous Stonewall Brigade), Poague's and Carpenter's batteries Opposed to these on our left were tho 1st W. Va., 66th Ohio, 84th and 110th Pa., three guns of Clark's battery, threo of Huntington's and one of Robinson's. These were located at the famous coal pit. Our artillery and infantry soon made it so hot for Winder and his artillery that they fell back out of range. Winder's next move was an attempt to break our center. Sending the 2d and 4th Va. with a piece of artillery along the slope of tho 'mountain, which was covered with woods, to engage our troops We Stood Awatixo Developments'. on the left, with his brigade reinforced by the 7th La. Tigers, they advanced across a wheatfield to strike our and center. right On they came with their usual dash and rebel yell. The oth and 7th Ohio, standing in a line at a " ready," allowed them to advance within short range. Then, simultaneously, with a terrific volley they SILENCED TIIE TELI. on many a lip forever. Our artillery was hurling grape and canister into their front, while the 29th Ohio and 7th Ind. on our right enfiladed their left. In a short time the Stonewall Brigade "that never retreats" and the Tigers were on the run. We charged down through the wheatfield and drove them back almost to the river. The two rebel regiments that attacked our left were also driven hack. Here it was that the 'Confederate General Imboden, in hh " Stonewall Jackson in the Shenandoah' published in the Century war papers, says: "Jackson found his old brigade had yielded slightly to overwhelming pressure. Galloping up, he was received with a cheer, and calling out at the top of his voice, 'The Stonewall Brigade never retreats; follow me!' led them ba,ck to their original line." This is simply Confederate bravado. Imboden was attending to some bucking mules down in a canyon, and draws on his imagination for what he attempts to describe. We were close enough on the heels of the fleeing brigade to see Jack son's attempts to rally it. We saw a mounted officer dashing back and for ward in front of the retreating line, try ing to stop the rout. From prisoners taken here we learned that this officer was Jackson. He did not make a success of the rally. If he led them back to their " original line,,r it was the line they occupied in the morning before the battle begun. Im boden had forgotten that the Stonewall Brigade retreated at Kernstown. Jack son, more truthful, in his official report of the battle, says : " Winder advanced with great boldness for some distance, but encountered such a heavy fire of artillery and small-arms as greatly to disorganize his command,which fell back in disorder. The enemy advanced across the field, and by a heavy musketry fire forced back our infantry supports, in consequence of which our guns had to retire." The Stonewall Brigade and the Tigers were saved from annihilation by a spir ited attack made by Scott's Brigade, of Ewell's troops, on the 7th Ind. and 29th Ohio, the regiments that formed the extreme right of our line. These gal lant regiments held the Confederates at "With Their UsuAii Dash 'and Keeei. Yisll. bay while the oth and 7th Ohio, making a half right wheel by companies, STRUCK THE nKJCCLS on the flank, and they were forced fall back. to Here occurred one of those daring deeds that, if successful, are lauded heroic; if unsuccessful, are damned aa foolhardy. Tho Confederates when driven back had been compelled io ( i