Butte record., July 11, 1857, Image 1

About Butte record. (Bidwell, Butte County, Cal.) 1853-1858

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VOLUME L
Her Last F«nt*i)rints,
Often does the wayworn and weary
over-land emigrant, in passing through
Honey Lake Valley, turn his steps from
the more beaten trail or wagon, track,
in order to get a nearer view of the
lake, that makes so important a feature
of the landscape there presented. And
ns he winds along the oft frequented
foot-paths, he will see yet another, and
smaller than the one he is following,
that seems to lead even more dirctly
to the lake; but one in which the
green grass of the valley is trampled
down barely sufficient to mark it as a
trail; hut should he from curiosity fol
low it, as he approaches the low bank
of the lake, he will, if he be a stranger
there, come unexpectedly upon a little
spot of ground, upon which Death’s
seal has been set; a grave has been
marked, not made, for there is no grave
there. And yet a head-board has been
reared, and on it is this inscription
Her last foot-prints.
To very many who have seen it and
know nothing of the circumstances of
its origin it doubtless bears the impress
of mystery, but of the import of that
description, and the causes and circum
stances attendant upon the erection of
that frail monument, oh! would to
Heaven it were all a mystery to me !
that its history were hut a myth to the
reader, and to the world.
******
The over-land emigration to Califor
nia in 1552 w is immense, and marked
its pathway by mementos that still ex
ist, telling their tales of woe not only
in characters of 'camp fires long con
sinned, and bones tbit bleach in the
sunshine,’ but unmarked graves that
never can be numbered.
'fhe company to which I was attach
ed was m ide up mostly of young men,
uumboring twenty-two in all, and re
presenting more th m half the S arcs
of the Uuion. Ad bat one of us were
adventurers, on onr Cast trip to the
new El Doiado. The exception was a
Tennesseean, and as he h .d once be
fore m ade the over laid journey, he
was supposed, and assumed, to know
more of the route, ami ibe requirements
tied duties necessary to a successful
prosecution of the journey, than any
one or all the rest of the company.
It was the general custom ~f compa
nies that year on starting out, to de
s guute one of their number to act as
chiel director or Captain, and as oar
Tennesseean, in c nnection with a fine
(physical development, possessed traits
of character that seemed well calculat
ed to adapt him to the postilion, lie was
unanimously elected our chn f, with the
title of Ciift. Teuu, ns an abridgment
of Tennessee, his real name we nev-r
knew.
Ours was a p ickTrain, we had no
wagon, but a tmt for every five men,
with the single exception ot that ol
Capt. Term’s, which was occupied by
but two ; himself, and one whom he
■claimed as a relative, and wisim he
called Lully; why we never knew.
He was hut a youth, ball and dedicate
in app aranee, and apparently' as til
health, though ever appearing ipsite
joyous and happy Aud such was the
interest taken by the Captain in his wel
fare, that he always cheerfully prefer
red doing double guard du’y at night,
rather than impose the hardship upon
Ills feat companion.
I have said that Lally ever seemed
joyous and happy ; and so he was till
nearly half the journey was accom
plished. We had reached Pacific
.Springs, three miles west of the South
Pass, and had encamped along the bir
der of a hoggy marsh, near the way
side much earlier than usual, so that
mmiurous other companies that throng
ed the .way, inwied by us. Among
tnany &io se-back riders, were several
ladies, and of their number, one seem
ed to lig lar behind the rest. As £be
passed our camp, Captain Tenn very
pleasantly accosted her with—‘You
must hurry up madam, your friends
are getting far ahead of you,’ to which
she replied—‘My hu-baad is yet be
hind ’
Every man of us who beard her, was
strubh with the peculiar tone of he r
soice, as one of sweetness and anxiety
intermingled, while her face beamed
with an expression that alone made
her charming, despite a s x weeks’ ex
posure upon the plains to parching
.winds and a tearing sunshine, liefore
passing entirely from view, she reined
up her horse as if tu wailing for her
husband, and thus remained for a lull
half hour.
At this moment, Capt Tcnn, throw-.
i ng a s iddle upon his mule, and mount
ing, started towards her, which being
observed by bar, Stic too started tnougb
clow ly on ber .way, bot w as soon over
take üby Tean, who otfered w escort
her, as it was already getting «ar'*t. to
her friends, who bud pushed on to Pa
cifiic Creek, two miles beyond. She
accepted h s offer, though reluctantly,
preferring and Lopeing every moment
that her husband would arrive.
lie had been out upon a hunt, leav»
ling his company early in the morning
upon the fc.weet Water, and tlwugh
eminently successful, had pursued his
game further than be bad supposed,
ind it tras Uot till ten in the evening
that he pass d our camp with a com
panion, and their two mules laden with
the flesh of a noble elk, the fruits of
their day’s hunt. It was not alone in
the heart of the wife, that anxiety was
playing its fearful game that night.
From the moment that Lally notic
ed the departure of Tenn, he seemed
like one who had lost his only friend.
His anxiety and grief assumed a fea
ture so closely bordering on despair,
that our utmost endeavors to reconcile
him were utterly without avail, nor
were wo other than absolutely amazed
at the depth ol feeling be manifested ;
and when Tenn did return, which was
near midnight, and had retired to Ids
tent, a murmur of voices was continu
ed therein, till the night-watch an
nounced ihe coming morn.
Pale, feverish, and weak was Lally,
as he mounted his animal that morn
ing. S ailing early, we came upon
the camp of the hunter’s company just
as thev wore ready for a move, and
more than one of us noticed something
we thought as peculiar in the recogni
tion that passed between Capt. Tenn
and the hunter's wife ; but owing to
the circumstance of his gallantry the
evening before, the apparent familiari
ty was thought of no more. Just then
tally was taken more violently ill, and
with every symptom of that dreaded
sto irgc, the chole. a, that while it sport
ed with, had decimated many a compa
ny.
We were compelled to stop and pro
vide for our sick comma? ai Wi '
could. Between four and five !u the
afternoon, during a moment when Lal
ly seemed to be sleeping, Tenn seized
his rifle, and leaping upon his best
mule, said : ‘T..ke good care of tally
when he wakes, lor I intend to have
an elk or antelope before I sleep.’ He
then started back in the direction of
Pacific Springs. Put e’er an h ur hid
elapsed our suffering friend awoke, and
raping himself up and not seeing Tenn
any where around, asked for him. On
being told that he had gone for a short
hunt, and would be back soon, with a
wild shriek that sent a thri 1 to every
hear! around him, he exclaimed, as he
fell back upcm his blankets— He'll never
come again ?
Night came, but it brought only de
lirium U* poor La ly, for Tenn did not
return.
It wis toward midnight, when rack
ed ly a terrible jrin sysm, and liis ;
brain reeling under the pressure of de
lirium, that Lally first revealed the
secret, now preying so heavily upon
his soul, aud what think you it was ?
It was not lhat he was a murderer, not
that ho was worse than this, a seducer,
Lally’s only crime was, being
the basely deceived, and now aban
doned victim of Tenn.
For three days and nights more, did
the lamp of life in p or Lally, flicker
betwe n reason and delirium, till at
last it went faintly nut, and though
‘Mother,’ and ‘Brother,’ were often
up n her lips, she bre ithcd no other
name. Nor cool! we learn her name
from her destroyer, for he never came
again !
“■ * * « • * *
Tan days since, while tripling in
the interior, as I was casually remark
ing upon the probable entrance of eae
ol the branches of the South Pass wa
gon road into California, by the Honey
Lake Valley route, ami was speaking
of the local beauty of the valley aud
its advantages as a place of settlement,
a stranger, occupying a seat in the
stace with me, exclaimed, as it seemed
.■I cost involutarily, ‘Sir, you speak of
Honey Luke Valley, there are remin
iscences connected with that spot, that
1 would deem it a boon above any oth
er gift, would Heaven but blot them
from my memory !’
This was just enough to awaken my
curiosity, aud I remarked that I too,
was acquainted with one fact of inter
est as connected with that locality, and
as all present seemed d> sirous of know
ing w hat it was, quickly aud without a
thought I replied, a graveless tomb
stone ! or rather a heail-loard without
a grave,an inscription without a name!
All present noticed that something
lik“ a thrill of horror shook the frame
of the stranger, he bowed his head but
uttered not a word; while at the re
quest of many present, I entertained
them, or tried to do so, by a recital ofj
scenes and events that occurred during
our three months journey upon the
plums, and among them the incident ofi
Lally’s desertion and death.
On arriving at the hotel and stop
ping for the night, the stranger called
for a room, and asked me to accompa
ny him thither. I followed without
hesitation, believing from I is demean
or that ha bad something which be
wished, perhaps privately, to impart.
Closing the duor, he began at once by
saying,‘You, sir, have related this day
that part of a talc cf tiorror to which 1
was a stranger, and vet I am the only
one living m possession of the full se
cret of its more terrible sequel; and
strange as it may sacai, I feel an al
most irresistible desire io acquaint you
with it, lhat as the world knows a part,
it may also know the counter-part ’
With this short introduction, the
stranger continued —
OROYILLE, BUTTE COUNTY, CALIFORNIA SATURDAY, JULY 11. 1857.
‘I was one,’ said he ‘of that same
company of emigrants to which the
hunter of the Sweet Water belonged
Early in the morning following that on
which we left you at Pacific Creek,
Cant. Tenn, as you called him, came
into camp, and said that he had had a
‘falling out’ with his company, for the
reason that he alone of all. desired to
go the Salt Lake route, while the rest
of the company would take the cut-off.
He determined therefore on leaving
them, and had done so.
‘Possessed of an easy address and
pleasing manner, with his previous
knowledge of the route, he was consid
ered rather as an acquisition to our
company, and being liberal in the use
of his money, it made him many friends
and he was soon recognised as a kind
of second captain of the company. A
few days and we reached Salt Lake
City, and were, encamped upon its bor
ders, and nothing had transpired par
i icul-irly to excite suspicion in regard
to the true character of our new ac
quaintance. Hut during the few days
that we remained near the city, an
intimacy, beyond what propriety would
cleirly warrant, had been observed be
tween Tenn and the hunter’s wife.
They would take long rides together,
remaining away from camp for hours
together. At the time however, but
I'ttle was thought of it, as an expostu
lation on the part of the husband to
the wife, touching her conduct in this
p irticular, seemed to have set all
things right.
o
•Before the day arrived on which we
w ere to renew our journey, and whilst
the hunic, true to his instinct and oc
cupation, with others cf the company,
had gone to the mountains lor a day in
pursuit of game, his wife, accompanied
by Tenn, ostensibly for the purpose ol
billowing in the train of the hunting
patty, al-o left the camp, on two ol
the finest horses that money could
there procure, and took a route in the
directions of the hunters.
‘lt was late at night before the par
ty came in, and when it did come,
Tenn and the wife were missing, and
they never came agoin !
‘Stung to the heart’s core by the
now certain evidence of his wife’s in
constancy, and burning with revenge,
the hunter bid adieu to his company,
and after a hasty preparation, followed
alone in the direction he supposed the
fugitives had tak n. For days, with
his inferior animal had he crowded en,
and yet ao tidings of the guilty ones ;
he was about to despair, when on the
evening of the tenth day from Sail
Lake, having made an unusually long
day’s j ours ey, as lie was approaching
an emigrant camp, he espied among
other objects laying around, the
ite saddle of his wife, for though at a
distance, he tucw it by seme peculiar
ity iu its trappings.
•Urging his animal forward, it being
twilight, he passed the camp unheed
ed, if not unnoticed, towards a camp
fire visible some distance ahead. There
he stopped, and learned that among
those who made up the company in the
rear, were a stranger gentleman and
lady, who on horseback were endeavor
ing by forced rides to overtake their
fiends whom they supposed vvei c then
but about two days in advance.
‘This was the very information the
hunter had been seeking for many a
wary day, ’tvvas all he wished to know.
And now like a demon thirsting lor
revenge, did he hang upon their trail,
as (Icy by day they continued their
hurried flight. At 1 ug'h when they
supposed pursuit bad been given over
if any had been attempted, they joined
another company. What reason they
gave for not being attached to any oth
er company, or for leaving the one to
wh ch they belougad, I never knew,
and again was Teaa doubtless ingrati
atlng h mself into the good graces of
his newly adopted fiends.
‘But little did ho know that there
was one lurking upon his trail, in whose
heart —
‘•One sole desire one pas-don now remains.
To keep life’s fever still within his veins—
Vengeance ! dire vengeance oa the wretch who
cast . . _
O’er him end ell he loved th»t ruinous blest.”
‘And well did he at last compass his
intentions. Day’s had passed, and the
hunter had ascertained that it was the
practice of Tenn to go on every after
noon in advance of the company, in
order to seek out the best camping
ground, sometimes accompanied by his
accredited wife, but not always. It
was upon a time when from a distance
in the rear, the hunter discovered that
Tenn had left the train and had gone
on alone, thal he too came up and was
soon passing the traiu of eight or ten
wagons, when, just as he had reached
the"foremost of them all, he heard a
shriek from within it, and such a shriek
but he heeae l it not, and passing on
only knew by casting a glance behind,
that the train had slopped, and men,
women and children were fast gather
ing round the wagon from whence the
cry had eome ; but befere the hunter
had lost sight of the train, it seemed
moving on again as though nothing had
occurred.
‘Hours had now passed away, and
the usual lime had arrived at which
the signal from Tena should have been
seen denoting the chosen camp-ground,
bat on they plodded, amid the dus.t
and heat of the upper Humboldt bot
toms ; night came, but Tenn had not
been seen, and yet they could not have
passed him without seeing him, so on
again they went, till the growing dark
ness compelled them to stop. They
had passed much good camping-ground
it was good where they then were, but
Tenn was missing.
‘There was deep wailing in that
camp that night. The stranger lady
in her great agony, would wauder
among the tents and wagons, like one,
half bewildered, and at times vehement
ly exclaiming; ‘’twas he! I know
’twas him, and oh, that look he gave
me !' Again, as if her mind were up
on the missing Tenn, when all else was
still in the camp, save the low voice of
her attendant; once more her cry rang
out upon the night —‘ Will he never
ceme again ?’ Aud as her voice died
away along the valley there came back
an echo from the darkness, clear, d>s
tinct, ghoul like, us if from the very
caverns of the night— ‘■He'Ll never come
again !'
‘All were startled, strong m;n trem
bled, from that moment the stranger
wife was a maniac !
‘Sad and sorrowful did that compa
ny leave their camping ground the next
morning. All felt as though a great
calamity had befallen them, and yet
they hardly new why.
‘Search was made for the missing
Tenn, word was passed and the cir
cumstances related to the trains both
in trout and rear ; but— he nexer came
again!
“A wc«ry, cheerless, day after day
journey from the Humboldt towards
the Sierras of California, and the com
pany had reached the luxuriaht mea
dows of Honey Lake Valley, and had
encamped iu full view of, and but a
short d s'ance from, the northeastern
shore of the lake on the willow-fringed
banks of Susan river.
‘lt was now night again, hut all had
not retired, and among them the ma
niac wife, now passive and mild in her
madness, sat iu the tent door looking
at the stars, un i as usual, repeating
oft and again her constantly reiterated
ejaculation and question —‘My hus
band ! Will he never come again ?’
When suddenly springing to her feet,
she bounded w ildly trom the lent, and
uttering, us a prolonged shriek— ‘ He's
come! yes, he's conic again!' she disap
peared iu the darkness, in the direc
tion of the lake.
‘Search was made for her nil that
night and the following day; but to no
purpose, for —she never cunt again!
They true d her foot-steps through the
ti l thou, untrodden grasses, to the
shore of the lake, and there they placed
a head-hoard, but as they uever knew
her name, they marked it thus :
HER LAST FOOT PRINTS.’
But why, I asked, should yon. fee] so
much interest in this memento, or the
circumstances connected with its ercc
tion there t
‘Because,’ said he ‘in me you sec
the kuatcf of the plains. But more
than this, she of whose toot-prints it
makes record — did. see me mice again !
1 did stand before her tent door, us I
had often done before; but until limn,
unnoticed, for I tried again to love
her—l did pity licr, but my love for
her, until too late, ‘never came again.’
For as she bounded «ith outstretched
aims towards me, I eladed her em
brace, yet led her in her light, dll the
waters of the lake barred my further
progress, when turning suddenly to
one side, I beard a splash, a plunge,
a half choked shriek, quickly I turned
and would have saved her, but e’er I
could arrive to rescue her, thrice 1
saw her rise and sink—-she did not
rise, again!
‘For three cheerless weeks and lone
ly, I lingered around the lake, waiting
and watching for her rising—but she
never rose again!’
I now asked the stranger, the hun
ter of the plains, it he could tell me,
what was really then, the fate of Venn,
to which he repried—‘lt is enough for
me to know, ‘he’ll never come again !’
Moke Antiquities.— ln excavating
for a cellar lor Gov. Grime’s new
hou-e at Burlington, lowa, the work
men came upon an arched vault some
ten feel squ ire, which, on being open
ed, was found to contain eight human
skeletons of gigantic proportions. The,
wall of the vault was about fourteen
inches thick, well laid up with cement
of indestructible mortar. Tne vault
is about six feet truss the base to the
arch. The skeletons are in a state of
preservation, and the Burlington pa
p rs says, are the largest human re
mains ever found, being a littlo over
eight feet long.
He that has never known adversity,
is but half acquainted with other-*, or
with himself Constant success shows
us but one side of the world For as
it surrounds us with friends who will
tell us only out merits, so it silences
those enemies from wham, alone, we
can learn our defects.
The more polished the society is,
the less formality there is in it.
Wny are kisses like the creation r
Because they are made of nothing, and
are alj very good.
Give Him a Trade.
If Education is the great buckler
and shield of human liberty, well de
veloped industry is equally the buckler
and shield of individual independence.
As an an unfailing resource through
life, give your son, equal with a go.d
education, a good, honest trade. Bet
ter any irade than none, though there
is ample field for the adaption of every
inclination in this respect. Learned
professions and speculative employ
ments may tail a man, but an honest
handicraft irade, seldom or never, if
its possessor chooses to exercise it
Let him feel, too, that honeft labor
crafts are honorable and noble. The
ratn of trades— the real creators of
whatever is m >st essential to the neces.
sities and welfare of mankind, cannot
be dispensed with ; they, above all
other, in whatever repute they may be
neld by their more faslitiuous fellows,
must work at the oar of human pro
gress, or all is lost. But few brown
handed trade-workers think of this, or
appreciate the real position and power
they compass.
Give your son a trade, no matter
what fortune he may have or may seem
likely to inherit. Give him a trade
and an education, at any rate a trade.
With this he can always battle with
temporal want, can always be indepen
dent, and better is independence with
a moderate education, than all the
learning of the colleges and wretched
temporal dependence. But in this
free land there can he ordinariy no dif
ficulty in securing buia tb? education
and trade, for every youth, thereby fit
ting each and all to enter the ranks of
manhood defiiant of those obstacles
which intimidate so many tradelcss,
professionless young men. Such are
the pocularities of tortune, that no
mere outward possession can be count
ed so absolunely secure or protective
to man. Hoarded thousands may be
swept away in a day, and their once
possessors left with neither the means
of independence or of livelihood.
He was a wise Scandinavian King,
who decreed that his sons should learn
useful tiades or be cut off from their
expected piincely fortunes. They de
murred, but obeyed the decree. The
eldest, ns the ea-iest trade to learn,
applied himself to basket making. In
time be reigned in his father’s stead.
In lime, also, revolution came upon,
and overthrew him, and ho lied dis
guised, wandering and companionless
save his wife and children, his sole re
source far a livelihood was recurrence
to his humble, but honest and useful
trade.
The sons of the rich as well as the
poor, should be strengthened by this
possession. If never used bovond the
learning, no harm is done, while possi
bly it may do incalculable good. It is
a weapon of assault, of defence, which
once fairly seized, can never be taken
from a man’s grasp. Think of it, pa
rents ; examine your boy’s ‘bumps,’ or
lather study the ‘bent of their minds,’
and tastes, and as one of the best and
most lasting services you can do them,
apply them to learning honest trades.
Geographical. —The six great ci
ties of the United States—Boston,
New York, Ph ladelphia, Baltimore,
Washington and New Orleans, are as
neai ly as may be on a direct line run
ning in a northeasterly and southwest
erly direction. St. Louis and S icra
mento are exactly west of Washington
city. Boston. Erie, Detroit and Chi
cago are nearly on the 42d parallel ol
north latitude, which forms the boun
dary between Oregon and California.
San Francisco is directly west of Rich
mond ; Monterey west of'Noifolk, and
San Diego west of Charleston.
A Morkox Stobv. —A man by the
name of Nash emigrated to Utah last
summet, and settled in Provo, a south
ern colony, taking with him his daugh
ter, a beautiful and interesting girl of ;
some seventeen summers, who had
been much sought by the propagators
of the ‘Celestial Kingdom.’ She suc
ceeded, however, in baffling the anti
quated and anointed roues among the
'S,tints,’ and preserved her purity until
after the death of her father and only
protector, whteh occurred during the
past winter, The Bishop of Provo, a
creature named Carter, officiated at
the funeral of Nash, and after conclud
ing the prayer over the dead body of
the father, turned to the weeping girl,
informed her sne was now unprotected
and mutt become his wife! In less
tnan ten days she was forced to yield,
and now swells the number of Carter’s
‘spirituals’ to seven.
The Spaniards account by a quaint
leaend for the constant political dis
turbances in their country. When St.
la go, their patron, went to Heaven,
he interceded for blessings on Spain.
Brave men, handsome women, a fertile
soil, and a fine climate were readily
granted. The Saint then asked for a
good government.
‘No, no!’ was the reply, ‘it that
were conceded as well, the angels
would quit Heaven to live in Spain.’
How noiselessly the snow comes
down. You may see it, feel it, but nev
er hear it. Such is true charity.
A Wag on a Pleasant Place—
John Pcoenix, of California, when rn
route down the Mississippi for New Or
leans, wrote the followeng description
of a stopping place, at the junction of
the Ohio and Mississippi:
Cairo is a small hole, at the junction
of the Ohio and Miss : ssippi rivers, sur
rounded by an artificial bank, to pre
vent inundation. There are here about
thirteen inhabitants, but the popula
tion is estimated at three thousand,
that being a rough estimate of the num
ber of people that were once congre
gated there, when five trains arrived
before a boat left for New Orleans.
They were enjoying the luxury of
small pox at Cairo when we arrived ;
they are always up to something of the
kind ; a continued succession of amuse
ments follow. The sm ill pox having
terminated its engagement, the cholera
makes its appearance, and is then fol
lowed by yellow lever for the season.
Sweet spot! Dickens Las immortaliz
ed it under the name of Eden, as an
evident misnomer, for no man worth as
much as Adam could remain there by
any possibility.
Making an Effort for LiFE.-Lo d
Cockburn says of old Adam Ferguson,
the historian ot Rome, who dressed
like a philosopher from Lapland, ‘that
he lived fifty years longer than nature
meant, by rigid care. Wine and ani
mal food besought his appetite in vain,
but huge messes of milk and vegeta
bles disappeared before him, always in
the never failing cloth and fur. I nev.
er heard of dining out, except at his
nlation, Dr. Joseph Black’s, where
his son Sir Adam, (the friend of Scot?)
used to say, it was delightful to seethe
two philosophers rioting over a boiled
turnip.’
‘Yes,’ said aunt Wiggins, ‘lamin’is
a great blessing, and I’ve marked it |
time and ag’m, bow much better, as a
ginerl thing, children turn cut who
have had good schoolin’. There was
Mrs. Grimes’ sons, they never saw the
inside of a shool house iu their youth,
and see what miserable ends they came
to. Two of them took counterfeit
money and was put in prison, another
went of a mackerel catching, and was
in the cknoctial gale, and the fourth
stole a horse, and ran off and listed in
the sarvise, and the last they heard of j
him, he was a strolling preacher, way i
off in the Ohio settlements. My blcs
sed mother told me it she couldn’t give j
me nothing else, she’d itivo me a good I
edication, and so she did.’
Southern Items. —The following is !
from the Los Angeles correspondence
of the Bulletin :
Maj. Blake of San Diego, with about j
fifty men, is out visiting the Cahuillas. 1
the San Luis Key, and other Indians
in the mountains, inquiring into their ;
c nd tion. He found them friendly,
but suffering for want of means of sub- \
si-teuc. A party of Cahuillas lately :
ran off about fifty horses from Sanßer
nardino.
A man was killed at San Bernardino
several days since, under the f'ol owing
circumst ince ; A man by the name j
of McDonald, who had got tired of ihc
‘brethren,’ was about moving with his !
family to Los Angeles. ILe was walk- ;
ing along when he was assault d by a j
man by the name of Perkins, who, it j
was reported, was a ‘Danite,’ that had
been hired to kill McDonald for a gal- !
lon of whiskey. The latter had a knife 1
with which, in the scuffle, be stabbed
Porkirs mortally, so that he died iu a
short time
A store-keeper near Fort Tejon,
known as ‘lrish John,’ was robbed a
week or two ago of $2,000 by two
men who entered bis house m the night
time.
‘My brndders,’ said a waggish color
ed man to a crowd, ‘in all affliction, in
all your troubles, dar is one place
where you can always find sympathy.’
‘Whirr wlurf’ cried several.
•I de dictionary,’ he replied, rolling
his eyes upward.
Germans in New York. --There are
no less than 100,000 German inhabit
ants in the city of New York. The
foil wing statistics are given regarding ;
them :
‘They have upwards of twenty place
of public worship, upwards ef fifty
schools, ten Look stores and five print
ing establishments, a Getman theatre,
German epera, and concerts innumer
able Many of them are practical fur
riers, surgical instrument makers, man
ufacturers of pianos and fancy ariicles,
grocers, bakers, confeetinners and ho
tel keepers. There arc several Ger
man daily, weekly and monthly news?
papers.
He who is always in want of some
thing cannot be very rich. lie is a
poor wit who lives by bo rowing the
words, decisions, mien, inventions and
actions of others.
The New Cent —One hundred
workmen are employed at the PLila
delobia Mint, now, in the manufacture
of the new cent coin. Each minute
turns out 86, and six hours daily work
makes 278,640 a day. They are be
ing very rapidly put iato circulation,
but the demand is still quite voracious.
NUMBER 36.
Coroner’* Inquest on the Body of Cities S.
Thornton.
An inquest was held yesterday afternoon
by Coroner Harlow, on the body of Giles S.
Thornton. The jury was composed of the
following perstns: C. H. Mason, Henry S.
Lohmann, W. S. Greene, Ed. C. Johnson,
H W. Mcsainger, Phillip Farrclly, J. B.
Ford, C. W. Butler, 0. 11. Mallcry, J. B
White, 11. Butfun, James W. Hurd,
The following evidence was elicited :
Mr. H. B. Lathrop being sworn, stated :
I was in the Bank Exchange last evening
sitting at the table playing cribbage; Thorn
ton came in and taking a chair, set down
and looked on at the game. He had set
there about an hour when Limerick came in
to the Saloon, and approaching Thornton,
said he wished to settle an old grudge exist
ing between them, and asked him to go out
and have a “ stand up fight; Thornton re
plied, “ I am not a fighting man and I don’t
want to have any difficulty with you.”—
Thornton also asked him to go away and not
trouble him; Limerick drew up a chair and
sat close to Thornton, and used very insult
ing language toward him. Alt of us were
sitting all this time ; 1 saw Limerick put bis
hand across his body ns if he intended to
draw a weapon ; we all jumped to our feet
at this time, and as Limerick was drawing
his pistol Thornton threw a tumbler at him;
the throwing of the tumbler and Limerick’s
first shot were almost simultaneous; the first
shot fired, went over Thornton’s head with
out doing any harm; the next shot was low
er down; I was several feet off from the par
ties ; the combatants were about eight feet
apart at the first shot, and almost fifteen feet
apart at the second ; Thornton wae unarmed;
he worked for me as a teamster ; after de
ceased was shot, he was taken to the Orleans
Hotel.
H. B Lathrop, Jr., being sworne said : I was
standing near the table while my father amt
another gentleman were playing cribbage;
saw Thornton sitting there; 1 went to the
billiard table to play pool, and while there,
heard the first shot fired; saw Limerick 6rc
the second shot; heard Thornton say he was
hit; I don't know whether after or before the
third shot was fired ; didn't see whether the
pistol was pointed at Thornton or not.
C Ayres being duly sworn, said : On the
evening in question, Mr. Hamrncl, Mr. La
throp, Mr. Thornton and myself, were sit
ting at a table in the Bank Exchange; the
first two fftatlcmcn were playing cribbage;
I saw Limerick come into the Saloon, and
spose to him; I asked him about a difficulty
which he had just had on the street; he said
that Thornton was the only man who had
ever whipped him and asked Thornton if such
was the case; Thornton laughed, and said
he believed it was. Limerick then asked
him to go out and fight him; Thornton re
fused, saying he was no fighting man, but if
assailed would try and defend himself. Lim
erick then sat down near Thornton, and
said, “ You lie, you dirty son of a bitch;”
Thornton then grabbed the cribbage board;
Limerick then put his hand to his side as if
to draw a pistol, and rising up said, “ don’t
throw a tumbler at me, you son of a bitch:”
Thornton then threw the tumbler, hitting
Limerick, who immediately fired his pistol
but without taking effect; he then fired
again lower down; Henry Hunt then caught
Limerick and held him, about which time
another sh"t was fired I don’t know which'
shot took eftect.
John tihull being sworn, said : I was prey
sent at the time and place specified; was sit
ting at the table overlooking the gamer
Thornton sat opposite me; Limerick came in
and hard words passed between the two?
saw Limerick throw his hand around for
the pistol; Thornton had the cribbage board
in his hand. Thornton threw the tumbler,
and Limerick fired the pistol almost simul
taneously; I only saw the first shot fired,-
heard the other two; Limerick was in the
act of drawing the pistol when Thornton 1
grabbed the tumbler.
Thomas Ford being sworn, said . t wars
present at the Bank Exchange When tho
quarrel commenced I know neither of tho
parties; I saw two tumblers thrown; 1 was
standing at the bar; alter the two tumblers
were thrown, heard Thornton call Limerick
an Irish son of a bitch. Am an entire
stranger to both parties, am sure 1 saw two
tumblers thrown before the pistol was fired.
After hearing the above testimony, tho
jury retired, and after about ten minutes
deliberation returned with the following
VIIRDICT .
We the undersigned Jurors, do find that
Giles S. Thornton came to bib death by a
pistol shot wound by one Edward Lloyd,
(alias Limerick) in the Bank Exchange, in
the city of Oroville, county of Butte, State
of California, between the hours of 9 and
II the 4th of July, 1857.
Signed by all i lie Jurors.
Staging Kit rorrllnnry,—tt Mile Heat.
On Monday last, while the return stage
from Alpha, A. S, Olin’s line was watering
at Jenkins’, Mr. S. L. Bridge, the driver
being dismounted, the horses were started
by command given another horse hitched in
front of the house, and left at fnll sped
Two passengers were inside at the time, one
of whom jumped out with no injury. The
other, a cripple, was obliged to take bis
chances in the vehicle. The horses four in
number, swept along the road, turning all
angles, winding along its sinuosities, avoi
ding tress and rocks, and crossing bridges,
with lbs utmost precision and finally brought
up in front of the American Exchange, after
a run of six miles over a rough, crooked
and dangerous road, with nothing but a
whilfitrec broken! and the cripple still in
side, badly scared, but not otherwise in
jured! The horses apparently were not
frightened, nor had they probably the least
idea of running away, and they only mani
fested the usual symptons of animals after
a hard drive.
This is a specimen of what onr stages'eaa
do without a driver.— VcvaJa Journal.
Goon Grit. — The Sierra Democrat of
Saturday last, comes to us printed on paper
as yellow as “gowld” of which circumstance
the editor Speaks as follows;
The reader will perceive “by reference to
another column,” that the Democrat ie
printed this week on yellow paper. The com
plexion of the sheet is in no measure that
of onr prospects—as will be conceded after a
glance at the array of new advertisements
in this number. The explanation is, wc
have paper cm the road, in the railroad de
pot, on the levee, stuck in the mud, weather
bound or becalmed, somewhere between this
and Vigilantedom—as we are assured by
D. S Lord & Co. that a supply was pipped
two week vgo. We’ll have white paper
next week, if we have to chew pp both oqr
shirts to make it.