Newspaper Page Text
WAR MFARIiimff LIBRARY
Washington, D. c,'
MAY 2 1 1896
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" raw fov turn wtta ttns Iiot'itc tftc liutttc, and fov tu widow amt Dtpuuttf."
ESTABLISHED 87T-IsTEYf SERIES.
WASHINGTON, D. 0., THURSDAY, MAY 21, 1896.
VOL. XV-NO. 32-WHOLE NO. 771;
tibv
K
GOLD IN
A ISHAiRiP
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IA J&0 Wkjttek by Himself ..
MORMON TITHE COLLECTOR AND HIS
METHODS.
End of the
(COrVKIOHT.)
N MY OPINION,
when the Mormons
were driven from
ISauvoo, 111., in
1844, they cast
about for a land
where they would
not be disturbed
again, and fixed on
California. In the
year 1845 a ship
the Brooklyn
sailed from New
York for California,
with a colon)' of
Mormons, of wihch
Sam Bianuan was
the leader, and we
round tnemtnereon
'our arrival in Jan
uary, 1847. When
Gen. Kearney, at
Fort Leavenworth, was collecting vol
unteers, early in 1846, for the Mexican
"Var, he, through the instrumentality of
Japt. James Allen, brother to our Quar
termaster, Gen. Robert Allen, raised the
battalion of Mormons at Kanesville,
Iowa, now Council Bluff?, on the express
understanding that it would facilitate
their migration to California, But when
the Mormons reached Salt Lake, in 184G,
tliey learned that they had been fore
stalled bv the United States forces in
California, and the' then determined to
settle down where they were. There
fore, when this battalion of five compa
nies of Mormons (raised by Allen, who
died on the way, and was succeeded by
Cooke) was discharged at Los Angeles,
Gil., in the early Summer of 1847, most
of the men went to their people at Salt
Lake, with all the money the' had re
ceived, as pay from the United States,
invested in cattle and breeding-horses ;
one company re-enlisted for another
year, and the remainder sought work
in the country. As soon as the fame of
the gold discover' spread through Cali
fornia, the Mormons naturally turned
to Mormon Island, so that in July, 1848,
we found about 300 of them there at
work. Sam Bran nan was on hand as
high priest, collecting the tithes. Clark,
of Clark'E Point, an early pioneer, was
there also, and nearly all the Mormons
who had come out in the Brooklyn, or
who had staid in California after the
discharge of their battalion, had col
lected there. I recall the scene as per
fectly to-day as though it were yesterday.
In the midst of a broken country, all
parched and dried by the hot sun of
July, sparsely wooded with live-oaks and
Efraggliug pi nee, lay the valley of the
American Kivcr, with its bold mountain
stream coming out of the Snowy Mount
ains to the cast. In this valley is a flat
or gravel-bed, which in high water is an
island, or is overflown, but at the lime
of our visit was amply a level gravel
led of the river. On its edges men were
digging and filling buckets with the finer
earth and gravel, which was carried to a
machine made like a baby's cradle, open
at the foot, and at the head a plate
of nlieet-iron or jcinq, punctured full of
boles. On this metallic pkle was emptied
the cnrUi, and water was then poured on
it from buckets, while one man shook
the cradle with violent rocking by a
handle On the bottom were nailed
cleats of wood.
""with this j:riE machine
four mon could earn from 40 to $100
a day, averaging $1(5, or a gold ounce,
per man per day. While the sun blazed
down on the heads of the miners with
tropical heat, the water was bitter cold,
and all hands were either standing in
the water or had their clothes wet all the
time; yet there were no complaints of
rneumat'sm or cold. Yq made our
camp on a small knoll, a little below the
island, and from it could overlook the
busy scene. A. few bush huts nearby
served as stores, boardinghouses, and for
sleeping, butall hands slept on the ground,
with pino-lcaves and blankets for bed
ding. As soon as the news spread lhafc
the Governor was there persons came to
Eee us and volunteered all kinds of in
formation, illustrating it by samples of
the gold, which was of a uniform kind,
" scale-gold," bright and beautiful. A
I'lihlSuliod by pormfcsfon of D, Ajplplm & Co.,
pubiUhut-b of tlio 1'cibuiiul ilcuiirtie uf (Jen. V T.
Jhcj muii,
J "A g
f
&&a Cv
n-i. .cs.
MO
ttoUttl
A. 1
CALIFORNIA.
Mexican War.
large variety, of every conceivable shape
and form, was found in the smaller
gulches round about, but the gold in
the river-bed was uniformly "scale
gold' I remember that Mr. Clark
was in camp, talking to Col. Mason
about matters and things generally,
when he inquired, "Governor, what
business has Sam Brannan to collect the
tithes here?" Clark admitted that
Brannan was the head of the Mormon
Church in California, and he was simply
questioning as to Brannan's right, as
high priest, to compel the Mormons to
pav him the regular tithes. Col. Mason
answered, " Brannan has a perfect right i
to collect the tax, if you Mormons arc
fools enough to pay it." " Then," said
Clark, "I, for one, won't pay it any
longer." Col. Mason added; "This is
public land, and the gold is the property
of the United States; all of you here
are trespassers, but. as the Govern
ment is benefited
out the gold, I do
by your getting ;
not intend to in-
Mining
ferfere." I understood, afterward, that
from that time the payment of the tithes
ceased ; but Brannan had already col
lected enough money wheicwith to hire
Sutter's hospital, and to open a store
there, in which he made more monev
than any merchant in California, during
that Summer and Fall. The under
standing was that the money collected
by him as tithes was
TIIH FOUNDATION OF JUS FOHTUNH,
which is still very large in
San
Fran-
Cisco. I hat evening we all
mingled
ireelv with the miners, and witnessed
the process of cleaning up and " pan
ning " out, which is the last process for
separating the pure gold from the fine
dirt juid black sand.
The next day wc continued our jour
ney up the valley of the American
Fork-, stopping at various camps, where
mining was in progress; and about noon
we reached Coloma, the place where gold
had been first discovered. The hills
were higher, and the limber of better
quality. The river was narrower and
bolder, and but few miners were at work
there, by reason of Marshall's and Sut
ter's claim to the site. There stood the
saw-mill unfinished, the dam and tail
race just as they were left when the
Mormons ceased work. Marshall and
AVimmer's family of wife and half a
dozen children were there, guarding
their supposed treasure; living "in a
house made of clapboards. Here, also,
we were shown many specimens of gold,
of a coarser grain than that found at
Mormon Island. The next day we
crossed the American River to its north
side, and visited many small camps of
men, in what were called the
"dky diggings."
Liltie pools of water stood in the beds
of the streams, and these were used to
wash the dirt; and there the gold was in
every conceivable shape and size, some
of the specimens weighing several
ounces. Some of these "diggings"
were extremely rich, but, as a whole,
they were more precarious in results
than at the river. Sometimes a luckv
fellow would hit ou a "pocket," and
collect several thousand dollars in a few
days, and then, again, he would be
shifting about from place to place,
" prospecting," and spending all he had
made. Little stores were being opened
at every point, where flour, bacon, etc.,
were sold: everything being a dollar a
pound, and a meal usually costing S3.
Nobody paid for a bed, for he slept on
the ground, without fear of cold or rain.
We spent nearly a week in that region,
and were quite bewildered by the fabu
lous tales of recent discoveries, which at
the time were confined to the several
forks of the American and Yuba Rivers.
All this time our horses had nothing to
eat but the sparse grass in that region,
and we were forced to work our. way
down toward the Sacramento Valley, or
to see our animals perish. Still, we con
templated a visit to the Yuba and
Feather Rivers, from which we had
heard of more wonderful "diggings";
but met a courier, who announced the
arrival of a ship at Monterey, with dis
patches of great importance from Mazat
lan. We accordingly turned our horses
back to Sutter's Fort. Crossing the
Sacramento again by swimming our
horses, and "ferrying their loads in that
solitary canoe, we took our back track
as far as the Napa, and then turned 'to
Benicia, on Carquinez Straits. We
found there a solitary adobe house, oc
cupied by Mr. Hastings and his family,
embracing Dr. Scmple, the proprietor of
the ferry. This ferry was a ship's boat,
with a latleen-sail, which could carry
across at one tide six or eight horses.
It took us several davs to cross over,
and during that time we got well ac
quainted with the Doctor, who was quite
a character. He had come to California
from Illinois, and was a brother to Sen
ator Semplc. He was about seven feet
hish, and verr intelligent. When we
first reached Monterey, he had a print-1
mg-press, which belonged to the United
States, having been captured at Ihe
custom-house, and had been used to print
custom-house blanks. With this Dr.
Semple, as editor,
prnr.isiiKD "the
pit irnnvr i v "
a small sheet of news, once a week ; and
wiijii ujiiii;iij
it was, a curiosity in its line, using two
v's for a w, and other combinations
of letters, made necessary by want of j
type. After some time he removed to
Ycrba Buena with his paper, and it grew
up to be the Alia California of jto-day.
Foreseeing, as he thought, the growth
of a great city somewhere on the Bay of
San Francisco, he selected Carouinez
mmu u
Camp.
Slraits as its location, and obtained
from Gen. Vnllejo :i title to a league of
land, on condition of building up a city
thereon to bear the name of Vallejo's
wife. This was Francisca Benicia; ac
cordingly, the new city was named
" Francisca." At this time the town
near the mouth of the bay was known
universally as Yerba Buena; but that
name was not known abroad, although
San Francisco was familiar to the whole
civilized world. Now, some of the chief
men of Yerba Bucna, Folsom, Howard,
Leidesdorf, and others, knowing the im
portance of a name, saw their danger,
and, by some action of the ayuntamicnto,
or town council, changed the name of
Yerba Buena to " San Francisco." Dr.
Semplc was outraged at their changing
the name to one so like his of Francisca,
A Flume on the
and he in turn changed his town to the
other name of Mrs. Vallejo, viz, " Be
nicia"; and Benicia it has remained to
this day. I am convinced that. this lit
tle circumstance was bin- with rnuco.
bier
quenccs. That Benicia has the best
natural site for a commercial city I am
satisfied ; and had half the money and
half the labor since bestowed upon
San Francisco been expended at
Benicia we should have at this day
a city of palaces on the tjarquincz
Straits. The name of " San Frauoisco,"
however, fixed the city where it now is ;
for every ship in 1848-'49, which cleared
from any part of the world, knew the
name of San Francisco, but not Yerba
Buena or Benicia j and, accordingly,
c&Sssggi&Ml
o 4 4G.rwT'-W"Trwj4jn iizfr-Mt i4utULt imi ti
' SMkiiiliW-
ships consigned to California came pour
ing in with their contents, and were
anchored in front of Ycrba Bucna, the
first town. Captains and crews deserted
for the
irold
mines, and now half the
city in front of Montgomery street is
"Wasiiiko Out Gold.
built over the hulks thus abandoned. But
Dr. Scmple, at that time, was all there
was of Benicia; he was Captain and
crew of his ferry-boat, and managed to
pass our party to the south side of Car
quinez Straits in about two days.
Thence we proceeded up Amador
Valley to Alameda Creek, and so on to
the old mission of San Jose, thence to
the pueblo of San Jose, where Folsom
and those belonging in Ycrba Buena
went in that direction, and wc continued
on to Monterey, our party all the way
giving official sanction to the news from
the gold mines, and adding new force to
the "fever."
On reaching Monterey we found dis
patches from Commodore Shubrick, at
Mazatlan, whicl gave almost positive
assurance that the
WAIt WITH MKXrC'0 WAS OVER,
that hostilities had ceased, and commis
sioners were arranging the terms of
peace at Guadalupe Hidalgo. It was
well that this news, reached California
at that critical timrf.; for so contagious
had become the "gold fever" that
everybody was bound to go and try his
fortune, and the volunteer regiment of
Stevenson's would have deserted en
masse had the men not been assured
that they would very soon be entitled to
an honorable discharge.
Many of otfr Regulars did desert,
among them the? very men who had
escorted us faithfully-to. the mines- and
back. Our fcervai'f? also left us, and
nothing hss than SIJ00 a month would
hire a man in California; Col. Mason's
black boy, Aaron, alone of all our then
servants proving faithful. We were
forced to resort to all manner of shifts
to live. First, we had a mess with a
black fellow wo called , Bustamc-nte as
cook : but he cot the fever and had
to go. We next took a soldier, but
he deserted and carried off mv
double-barrelled shotgun, which I
prized very highly.' To meet this
condition of facts, Col. Mason ordered
that liberal furloughs should be given
to the soldiers, and promises to all
in turn, and he allowed all the officers
to draw their rations in kind. As the
actual value of the ration was very
large, this enabled us to live. Ilallcck,
Murray, Ord, and I boarded with Dona
AugUFtias, and turned in our rations as
pay for our board.
Some time in September, 1848, the
official news of the treaty of peace
reached us, and the Mexican war was
over. This treaty, was signed in May,
and came to us all the way by land by
a courier from Lower California, sent
from La Paz by Lieut-Col. Burton. On
its receipt orders were at once made for
the muster-out of all of Stevenson's regi
ment, and our military forces were thus
reduced to a single company of dragoons
at Los Angeles, and the one company
of artillery at Monterey. Nearly all
Yuba Riven.
business had ceased, except that con
nected with gold; and, during that Fall,
Col. Mason, Capt. Warncr JU1(1 I made
another trip up to Sutter's Fort, going
also to the newly-discovered mines
on the Stanislaus, called " Sonora,"
named from the miners of Sonora,
Mexico, who had first discovered them.
We found there pretty much the same
stale of facts as before existed at Mor
mon Island and Qoloma, and we daily
received intelligence of the opening of
still other mines north and" south.
17b be eul(iucd.
vJTalf the world's prdduct of rminin is used
in the United State?.
A pound of;iliG iiiiosfcspiuer web would
reach around tliS world. - '
slip
I
Story of the Crater Movement at
Petersburg,
MEADE OPPOSED.
Testimony Before the Com
mittee on the Conduct
of the "War.
PLEASANTS WOPvKED.
Report in Regard to the Assault
of July SO.
BY CliAItENCE
WILSON, CO.
kko't.
e, 2d TA. PROV.
(Continued from Inst tceek.
EFOEE THE
Committee on the
Conduct of the
War, who, after
the mine failure,
investigated the
cause of the fail
ure, Col. Pleasants
was asked the fol
lowing question :
" Do you know
any reason why
you could not
have had the bet
ter instruments
which were at
Army Headquar
ters?"
"I do not. I know that Gen. Burn
side told me Gen. Meade and Maj.Duane,
Chief Engineer of the Potomac, said the
thing could not be done ; that it was clap
trap and nonsense ; that such a length
of mine had never been excavated in
military operations, and could not be ;
that I would get the men smothered for
want of air, or
onusinrn by fat.ltxo i-Aimr,
or the enemy would find it out, and it
would amount to nothing. I could get
no boards or lumber supplied me for my
operations from Headquarters. I had
to get a pass and send two companies of
my own regiment with wagons outside
our lines to rebel saw-mills and get
lumber in that way, after having pre
viously got what lumber I could by
tearing down an old bridge. I had no
mining picks or wheelborrows furnished
me, but had to take common picks and
have themStraightened for my mining
picks."
FlOnTINO AT
Col. Pleasants also testified that all
these working tools were at Headquar
ters, but he was refused the use of them.
ITe also says he wanted an instrument
(theodolite) to get the triangulations.
The one at Headquarters was refused
him.
The privates of the 48th Pa. worked
like beavers, and entered into their work
with heart and soul. Not getting any
wheelbarrows, which were at Head
quarters, but refused them, they resorted
to using jute bags, which had contained
grain for the Commissary Department,
and nailed iron hoop3, taken from fish
barrels, on hardtack boxes to carry the
dirt out with. Tho men worked in their
undershirts and drawers.
Notwithstanding the adverse circum
stances at the outset, Col. Pleasants had
the whole mine, lateral galleries and all,
ready to put in the powder on the 24th
of July, 1864. With proper tools and
instruments from the Engineer Head
quarters, and with proper support from
Gen. Meade and Maj. Duane, it is as
serted on good authority the work could
have been done in half tho time. The
work was done without accident, in spite
of all adverse predictions and of all de
rision. ,
It was then that the sentiment began
to change some in its favor by Meade.
That which had been declared impossible
was done. The explosion, if rightly
managed, must result in our capturing
Petersburg. Was Meade fearful that
Burnside would derive the credit of it?
The rebel fort was about 170 yards
away, crowning the hill, containing
eight siege guns and 200 wen, sleeping
EXPLODING A W
9s
tranquilly their last sleep, soon to awake
into eternity.
The best of authorities say Burnside's
original plan was a good one. But Gen.
Meade committed an error in deciding
against it, which was the source of many
others. A few houra before the battle,
and part of that time at night, he
ordered Burnside to substitute one of
his white divisions for the colored divis
ion chosen.
The change of plan wa3
A OUKAT DISAPPOINTMENT
and embarrassment to Gen. Burnside.
ne seems to have lost heart in his work.
He called Gens. Potter, Wilcox; and
Led lie to his Headquartera and held a
consultation. Each of the three divis
ion commanders gave good reasons why
their division was not iit to take the ad
vance under Gen. Meade's new plan,
and also stated the morale of their troop3
wa3 not what it should be owing to the
extreme hard service the Ninth Corps
had been subjected to since the Wilder
ness fight.
JSfFinally, Burnside ordered the three
division commanders to " draw straw3 "
to determine which should lead the
charge. The short straw fell to Ledlie,
commander of the First Division. Ledlie
had only been commander of my divis
ion a short time.
Gen. Stevenson, a veteran from the
West, commanded my division (now
Ledlie sj at Spottsylvania fight, May 12,
but the poor fellow was killed there. I
am sure the boys would have had more
confidence in Gen. Stevenson if he had
been with U3 on the 30th, instead of
Gen. Ledlie, and he would have followed
ti3 in beyond the crater, instead of crawU
ing into a bombproof.
If the division commander had fol
lowed us into the rebel lines, the Coloneb
of the three leading regiments, the 2d
Pa. Prov., the 179th K Y., and the 14th
"N. Y. H. A., would have known what
the instructions to be followed were.
As it was the Colonels were not instructed
after reaching the crater, under Meade's
new plan. The colored troops had been
drilled in certain movements luring the
10 days previous, and instructed under
Col. Burnside's original plan, and the
Colonels knew just what to do. That
is just the reason why the first half
hour, and our golden opportunity, was
lost.
In the absence of the division com
mander my Colonel gave the regiment
orders immediately to protect ourselves
from the severe cross-fire from the
enemy in tho trenches on the right and
left flan ks. Before the Com mittee on the
Conduct of the War, investigating the
CAUSES OF THE FAILUnE,
on page 20 of the printed book, Gen.
TIIE CRATER.
Burnside testified as follows: "I re
ceived orders from Gen. Meade to spring
the mine at 3:30 a. m. The troops were
in position at that hour, massed behind
the portion of our line nearest the point
to be reached. The usc, however, failed
to ignite, and delay occurred. It was
reignited, and the mine spuing at 5.
"Immediately the leading brigade of
the First Division (the Second), under
Col. Marshall, started for the charge.
There was some delay in getting over f
our advanced works, and in removing
the abatis and chevaux-de-f rieze in front
of the rebel fort. Clearing that the
brigade advanced rapidly to the fort
that had been mined, now a crater of
large proportions and an obstacle of
great formidableness. Mounting a crest
of at least 12 feet above the level of the
ground, our men found before them a
huge aperture of about 150 feet in
length by GO wide, and 25 to 30 feet
deep, the sides of loose, pulverized sand,
piled up precipitately, from which pro
jected huge blocks of clay.
&." To cross such an obstacle and pre
serve regimental organization was a sheer
impossibility. The lines of the enemy on
either side were not single, but involuted
and complex, filled with pits, traverses,
and bomb-proofs, forming a labyrinth as
difficult of passage as the crater itself."
Also, in tho next paragraph, Gen.
Burnside-says:
"After the training of the previous
six weeks, lying in the front trenches
of Petersburg, it is not to be wondered
at that the men should have sought
shelter in these defenses. The regi
mental organizations, after reaching the
enemy's lines, were completely broken
up in getting over the great obstacles
in both our lines and the enemy'?,"
one regiment mingling with another,
and the officers undertook to reform
them before advancing. Our regiment
(the 2d Pa. Prov. H. A.) Imme
diately advanced some 100 yards be
yond the crater, but the cross-fire from
the enemy in the pits to the right and
left of the crater was very severe, and,
not being supported, they fell back."
It wa3 in thi3 advance that , Co7.
Barney, 2d Pa. Prov., my regiment,
was severely wounded in trying to
reform his men. According to Burn
side's original plan, the colored troops
were drilled and instructed long before
hand to go in after reaching the crater,
on the left and right flarrk, down tho
enemy'3 intrenchments and drive them
out. Then was to follow the whito
troops and immediately charge for
Cemetery Hill, the key to the situation,
Gen. Burnside also says, on page 21,
in giving his evidence:
" The men in the crater and lines ad
joining had become exhausted with tho
SEVERITY OF TIIE DAY'S WORK.
They had made several and repulsed
three distinct assaults, and had fought
hand to hand with the enemy for tho
possession of his pits and works. They
suffered severely under a hot sun from
want of water."
It wa3 part of the original plan to
have Gen. Warren (Fifth Corps) and
Gen. Hancock (Second Corps) make
Cen. Meade.
some demonstration on the right and
left of the crater, in order to
HOLD THE ENEMY
in their positions and keep them from
concentrating against us in the vicinity
of the crater. On this point Gen. Burn
side testified as follows, page 27:
" What reason did Gen. Meade givo
for not having the attack made on the
right and left, as you had suggested ? "
" He never gave me any reasons."
"An attack by the corps on your
right and left was contemplated in the
plan that you first submitted to him ? "
" Yes, sir ; and in the dispatches just
referred to will be found one from mo
to Gen. Meade requesting that Gen.
Warren'3 Corps should be put in, X
first sent him a dispatch, taking as
much, responsibility as I thought I
could, in view of his letter of the 3d of
July, stating that if Warren's men
.coma oe concentrated ana l coma
designate the time when they could go
in, I would let him know. I sent him a
dispatch embracing these words : ' Now
is the time for Warren to go in.' "
"As I understand it, the enemy's
lines were very much weakened on.
their right and left at the time you
sent the dispatch?"
" Yes, sir. As I was informed by my
signal officer, they took troops from in
front of Gen. Warren's Corps, formed
them in columns, and marched them
around and assaulted our men, wko wero
trying to take the crest."
"In your opinion were there any
other troops engaged that day excepting
those who were trying to take the
.crater?"
"No, sir."
" Did not that fact enable the enemy
to concentrate a greater force upon those
who were advancing than they could
have done had they been vigorously at
tacked at other points of their lines? ''
" There is scarcely a doubt of it."
" Do you know any reason why those
other troops along our line (Second
Corps) were not ordered to engage tha
enemy at the time you were endeavoring
to penetrate beyond the crater?
"No, sir; I do not known any reason,
and I do not know of any orders issued
on that day except those concerning iny;
own command."
Gen. B. F. Wade, Chairman of thf
Committee on the Conduct of th
War, says, on page 9, in the book
printed giving the full evidence before,
the Investigating Committee :
" The order of the attack as proposed
by Gen. Burnside was also changed bye
direction of Gen. Meade. Instead oi
moving down to the right and left of
the crater of the mine for the purpose o
DRIVING THE ENEMY
from their lines in those directions, and
thus lemoving to that extent the dangejc
of flank attacks by the enemy upon our
advancing columns, Gen. Meade directed
that the troops should push at once fox
the crest of Cemetery Hill. Gen. Burn
side also contemplated co-opcrativs
movements by troops on the right and
left."
Also, on page 10, B. F. Wade say3:
"In conclusion, they, your committee,
must say that, in their opinion, the causa
r
