The Western shore gazetteer and commercial directory for the state of California Yolo County : one volume being devoted to each county of the state, giving a brief history of each county., Part 1

Author: Sprague, C. P; Atwell, H. W. (H. Wallace)
Publication date: 1870
Publisher: Woodland, [Calif.] : C.P. Sprague & H.W. Atwell
Number of Pages: 626


USA > California > Yolo County > The Western shore gazetteer and commercial directory for the state of California Yolo County : one volume being devoted to each county of the state, giving a brief history of each county. > Part 1


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Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43


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SOF URTARTAL


O/FALITW


ELERAR


THE


WESTERN SHORE GAZETTEER


AND


COMMERCIAL DIRECTORY,


For the State of California,


CONTAINING THE NAMES OF ALL THE ADULT MALE CITIZENS OF THE STATE, THEIR OCCUPATIONS AND PROFESSIONS ; THE AMOUNT OF CAPITAL INVESTED; VALUE OF PROPERTY, AS NEAR AS CAN BE ASCER- TAINED FROM THE MOST RELIABLE SOURCES; THE COUNTY, TOWN AND ELECTION PRECINCT IN WHICH EACH RESIDES, AND HIS POST-OFFICE ADDRESS.


YOLO COUNTY.


ONE VOLUME BEING DEVOTED TO


EACH COUNTY OF THE STATE.


GIVING A BRIEF HISTORY OF EACH COUNTY,


ITS ORGANIZATION; PAST AND PRESENT COUNTY, TOWN AND PRECINCT OFFICERS ; THE KIND AND VALUE OF ITS IMPORTS AND EXPORTS ; CONDITION OF ITS FINANCES ; ITS MINING, MANUFACTURING AND AGRI- CULTURAL RESOURCES, ETC., ETC.


The names as well as the business and profession of each individual arranged in alphabetical order, convenient for reference. Together with a copious index to all advertisements and business callings.


COMPILED AND PUBLISHED ANNUALLY BY


C. P. SPRAGUE & H. W. ATWELL, WOODLAND, YOLO COUNTY.


M


Entered according to the Act of Congress, in the year Eighteen Hundred and Seventy, by SPRAGUE & ATWELL, .


.


In the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D. C.


SAN FRANCISCO : PRESS OF BANCROFT AND COMPANY.


> 5


PREFACE.


CUSTOM renders it essential that we should write a preface to a work of this character, otherwise this GAZETTEER would be presented to the public without apology. The compila- tion of the work has been attended with great expense and no small amount of annoyance, yet our thanks are due to most of our county officials and the early settlers of the county for the very generous responses they have made to our inquiries, and for their assistance in gathering statistics. We also extend our acknowledgments to the county clerks of other counties who have furnished us with lists of their county and township officers, Had all thus responded those. lists would have been complete, and information would have been given of which our friends will be deprived.


GOWAN LIBRARY, 1936


. Our work contains more than we promised in our pros- pectus, yet is not in all respects precisely what we at first intended it should be. We did intend to give the incum- brances or legal liabilities upon property in the county; but abandoned the idea for certain reasons, some of which we may mention : We find many mortgages of record uncan- celled, which we have every reason to believe have been paid-the mortgagees having neglected to cancel them. We were not inclined, upon reflection, to risk giving offense by publishing what appears of record and, as a matter of fact, is public property. With this exception we have omitted nothing we suggested, but have added much useful informa- tion not proposed in our prospectus. The public are to be the jurors to determine its merits.


C. P. SPRAGUE, H. W. ATWELL, Publishers.


WOODLAND, November, 1870.


-


ERRATA .- On page 134, fourth line from bottom of page, for "2,743," read "112,744"; page 461, for "J. G. Stephens, " read "J. D. Stephens."


GENERAL INDEX.


Alfalfa


Arroyos, The. 85


Agricultural Ditches 97


Attorneys at Law, tables 495


Agent, tables ...


495


Arrests and Convictions


196


Bridges


45


Bullard's Farm 63


Buckeye Grain Lands . 67


Briggs' Farm


68


Bryte's Dairy


77


Babel Slough.


93


Buckeye Creek


99


Bank of Woodland. 119


Buckeye.


125


Baptist Church


134


Boot- and Shoe-Shops. 146


Bakeries.


147, 496


Breweries


147


Bear Flag.


13


Bar-keepers


497


Blacksmiths and Shops 497


Barbers


499


Boot- and Shoe-Makers.


.499


Boarding- and Lodging Houses. . 500


Breweries


500


Brick-Makers and Yards


150, 500


Butchers and Shops.


501


Business Directory


495


Buildings in Woodland.


117


Clear Lake Wagon-Road


44


Cottonwood Grain Lands. 69


Capay Valley. 72


Cache Creek Lands


73


Cave's Dairy


76


Choice Cows


77


Conrad's Farm 77


Carey's Dairy 78


Creeks and Sloughs 85


Cache Creek. .


96


Cottonwood Creek.


99


Cinnabar.


111


California Mine, The. 112


Churches .


117


Cacheville


124


Capay City


125


Cottonwood


125


81 | Churches and Church Organiza-


tions


131


Christian Church ..


132


Cumberland Presbyterians


133


Catholics.


133


Congregational Church.


134


Cacheville Flour Mills


139


Crouse's Mill.


140


Carpenters' Shops


146


Cabinet-Shops.


147


Capay Valley Winery


148


Craft's Brick-Yard. .


152


Cacheville Brick-Yard


151


Chiccory Garden and Manufac-


tory


152


Cattle.


172


Number of and Value


173


City Papers


178


Clanton's Farm


61


Capitalists


500


Clothing


500


Cattle for Sale 501


Carriage- and Wagon-Shops


142


Carriage- and Wagon-Makers


502


Carpenters


503


Cows for Sale.


506


Cabinet-Makers


.506


Contractors


506


Clerks


507


Caulkers


.505


County Finances


175


Climate. .


176


Carpet-Weavers.


505


California State Government. 539


Division 1


48


Division 2.


49


Division 3. 51


Division 4.


52


Division 5


52


Dairy Farms


74


Dairymen . .


508


Deep Arroyo


86


Dry Creek


100


Davisville


126


Dentists


508


Druggists


509


Draymen


509


| Dr. Ruddock's Farm


62


VI


GENERAL INDEX.


Dairies in Merritt Township 76 | Langville. 125


Ely's Farm.


Elk Slough 91


Eagle Flour Mills 138


Elliott's Carriage Manufactory. 142


Elliott's Brick-Yard 151


Exports. 157


Exporters 157


Emigrants, A Word to. 199


Editors. 509


Engineers ,509


Ferries. 46, 516


Freeport Ferry 47


Fisheries of Yolo 109


Fremont.


124


Flour-Mills. 138


Farms for Sale 510


Farms to Rent.


509


Farms, Large


512


Fishermen


516


Fremont. 16


Green's Ranch. 65


Green's Dairy. 75


Grand Island Dairies 78


Grazing, The. 79


Grand Island


95


Gold Mining.


111


Grape Culture.


170


Geographical Outlines. 1


Gordon, Wm .. 6


Gardens of Putah Creek. 98


General Description of Woodland.117


Glove-maker


517


Gunsmith.


.517


History of Yolo-1841 to 1870 .. 1 to 40


Hungry Hollow. 72


Hesperian College 115


Hotels. 117


Harness- and Saddlery-Shops 146


Hogs. 173


Number of. 173


Value of. 173


For Sale. .518


Horses ... 171


For Sale 517


Trainers.


,520


Hospital Fund. 175


Hotel-keepers 520


Hunters.


521


Islands 9.4


Imports 156


Importers 157


Justices of the Peace 521


Jacks and Jennies. 172, 521


Jewelers. 521


Knight's Landing 119


Lang's Brick-yard. 151


Laundries and Laundrymen 522


Levees.


50


Livery Stables 521


Lumber-dealers. 522


Merritt's Farm. 63


McFadyen's Farm. 71


Merritt's Island. . 97


Mines and Minerals 111


Meat-Markets 118


M. E. Church, The 131


MI. E. Church South, The. 133


Manufacturing Interests 137


Morals.


196


Marriages


178


Mules.


172


For Sale. 526


Manufacturers. 522


Masons and Brieklayers 522


Merchants. 523


Ministers of the Gospel 524


Machinists .. 525


Milliners and Dress-makers 525


Mill-men.


525


Millers. 525


Mill-wrights 525


Musicians 526


Mulberry Trees 527


Natural Divisions. 47


Newton's Mill. 140


Newspapers 176


Nurserymen.


526


Notaries Public. 526


Order of U. A. O. D. 127


Order of F. and A. M. 128


Order of I. O. O. F. 128


Order of I. O. G. T. 130


Order of C. of R. C. 131


Orchards, tables.


526


Orleans Hill Winery, The 149


Projected Railroads 43


Public Roads. 44


Plainfield 64


Prairie Lands


73


Putah Creek. 98


Peanuts. .


104


Public Buildings 115


Publie School-house 116


Plummer's Shop 145


Peters & Howard's Shop 145


Plainfield Farms


64 .


Poultry Dealers 528


Photographers and Galleries 527


Phonography 527


Plasterers


528


Physicians


528


Ferry 47 | Painters 528


VII


GENERAL INDEX.


Prospective Review


199


Surveyors


533


Sericulturists


535


Toll Roads


46


Tules, The ..


50


Tule House Dairy. 77


Timber.


101


Theater


117


Tailors


152


Teachers


.535


Tailors.


.536


Tinners


536


Toll Roads.


.536


Traders, General.


536


Telegraph Operators


536


United Brethren, The.


133


Value of Grazing Lands.


53


Vineyards.


537


Woodland Farms.


60


Willow Slongh Farms.


61


Willow Slough.


86


Water ..


100


Woodland.


113


Washington


122


Woodland Flour-Mills


120


Wagon and Blacksmithing


142


Woodland Brewery


147


Wineries


148


Woodland Winery, No. 2.


148


Woodland Winery, No. 1.


149


Wineries


537


Wagons For Sale


538


Wheelwrights.


.538


Well-Borers


538


Yolo County.


41


Yolo Brewery


147


Yolo Democrat.


176


Yolo Weekly Mail


177


ADVERTISEMENTS.


ATTORNEYS-


Alexander, Armstrong & Hink- 208 son .


Harry Dixon.


212


Daniel E. Alexander.


216


A. P. Catlin.


242


BAKER-


Schluer & Sieber.


22.4


BREWERIES-


Wirth & Co.


340


Scherley & Miller


360


.


AGRICULTURAL IMPLEMENTS


Baker & Hamilton


214


A. Griffith & Co.


206


Gray & Wood.


384


ACADEMY OF MUSIC


278


BLACKSMITH


-


H. Perry


356


BOOT- AND SHOE-SHOP-


-


W. Keller


224


Burnett & Harper.


246


Edgerton & Poorman.


264


Frost & Bush.


336


James Johnson.


404


C. P. Sprague


599


BARBERS-


Scott & Reno


352


Theodore Schumacher.


264


BOOKS AND STATIONERY-


A. S. Hopkins.


204


Edwards & Co


394


Peddlers


.528


Recapitulation of Flour Trade. 141


Robertson's Shop.


145


Refinery ..


150


Recapitulation, General, of Man- ufactures .. 154


Recapitulation of Stock


174


Reclamation of Swamp Lands


51


Restaurants .


529


Recapitulation of Mills


141


Residents and Occupations


205


Smith's Ferry .


46


Sutterville Ferry


47


Sacramento River Land. 53


Scott's, G. M., Farm .. 70


Stephens', G. D., Farm. 71


Scott's Dairy.


79


Sycamore Slough


95


Sulphur Springs ..


101


Silk Culture


106


Schools


134


Seely's Mill


139


Sibley's Mill.


141


Smith's Mill


140


Sash and Doors


141


Schindler's Winery


149


Sales of Town Lots.


158


Sales of Land.


166


Sheep. ..


174


Swingle's Dairy


78


Saloons .


530


Saddlers and Harness-Makers


.532


Students


.532


Stair-Builders and Turners


533


Shepherds and Sheep-Owners


.533


Sheep for Sale


534


Stage Lines. . .


130


Stock Interest of Yolo.


171


VIII


GENERAL INDEX.


BRICK-MAKERS-


L. F. Craft 250


N. Elliott. 268


J. Lang 344


CARRIAGES- C. Elliott 424


COMMERCIAL COLLEGE ---


M. K. Lander. 296


DENTISTS-


Prather & Plomteaux.


216


DRUGGISTS-


Ben. Hastings 212


Ruggles & Machefert 221


DRESS-MAKING --


Mrs. McDonald.


264


DRY-GOODS-


Henry Aronson.


216


FURNITURE-


P. Krellenberg.


210


Smith & Brogan


400


FORWARDING AND COMMISSION


Laugenour & Brownell.


326


GROCERS-


Eaton & Lawson. 212


G. M. Eaton. . 404


GENERAL MERCHANDISE --


Huston, Goldman & Co


560


F. S. Freeman.


302


A. Griffith & Co


206


A. Hoffman ..


390


Flieshman & Kaufman


208


HARDWARE-


Gray & Wood. 384


Gillig, Mott & Co 220


Hawley & Co.


246


C. D. Morin


212


HARNESS --


L. Dietz


264


HATTERS-


Meussdorffer 242


HOTELS-


Orleans Hotel, A. Pollard. . . 562 Capitol Hotel, Furniss & Eaton. 218 Crescent City Hotel, J. M. Enos & Son 246


Lang's Hotel, J. Lang.


.344


Overland House, Dr. Hunter .. 404


INSURANCE- People's Fire and Marine. ..... 310 Phoenix and Home Fire Insur- ance Company. 362


JEWELER-


Eaton & Green.


224


LIVERY STABLES-


W. J. Roberts.


218


Breckenridge & Swain. 378


LUMBER DEALERS-


A. Powell.


212


P. C. Robertson.


242


A. Floyd.


208


Newton & Co.


.366


MUSIC STORE-


L. K. Hammer


216


MEAT-MARKET-


James Asberry.


254


MILLS-


Cacheville Flour Mill


296


Yolo Planing Mill.


220


NEWSPAPERS-


San Francisco Chronicle


334


Scientific Press.


.374


Yolo Democrat


.366


Yolo Mail.


356


PHYSICIANS-


Drs. Ray & Mehring.


302


Drs. Peirson & Jackson


284


Henry Jackson, M. D.


246


R. W. Murphy, M. D. 208


PAINTERS-


J. C. Smith


.352


M. Peterson


284


PRINTERS-


Bacon & Co.


222


Baneroft & Co.


On cover


PHOTOGRAPHER-


L. M. Rne


296


REAL ESTATE AGENTS-


G. D. Fiske.


316


Frost & Bush


356


RESTAURANT- Antelope Restaurant, Buckley & Breckenridge 330


RECTIFIER-


Wilcox & Rock


378


SALOON-


H. Stegall.


254


VEGETABLES AND FRUIT-


C. Goldman


400


WINERY-


Woodland Winery


390


HISTORY OF YOLO COUNTY.


I. Geographical Outlines.


Yolo County is bounded on the north by Colusa and Sutter counties; on the east by Sutter and Sacramento; on the south by Solano and Napa, and on the west by Napa and Lake counties. It is separated from Sacramento and Sutter counties by the Sacramento River; from Solano by Putah Creek, and from Lake and Napa by the summit of a spur of the coast range of mountains.


Upon the organization of the county by the Legislature, in 1850, the boundaries were not very minutely defined; but sufficiently designated to show that they have not been materially changed.


Whatever legislation there has been since the organiza- tion of the county upon the subject of its boundaries, has apparently been more for the purpose of explaining what was intended by the original Act, than for the purpose of making any material changes in its actual boundaries.


Although several Acts have been passed for that purpose, one of which was as late as the session of 1867-8, perhaps there are none more definite than the Act of March 26th, 1857, which is as follows: "The boundary line of Yolo County shall commence at a point in the middle of the Sacramento River, near the head of Merritt's on Steamboat Slough, at a point where the township line, between town- ship number five and township number six, north of the Mount Diablo base line intersects said river; thence run- ning due west with said township line to the range line,


2


THE WESTERN SHORE GAZETTEER.


between range number two and range number three, east of the meridian of Mount Diablo; thence due north with said range line to the south branch or old bed of Putah Creek; thence westerly up the middle of the old bed, as well as the main Putah Creek, to a point in the cañon where the highest ridge of mountains divides the valleys of Sacra- mento and Berryessa; thence along the highest ridge of said mountains, north to the outlet of Clear Lake, or until it intersects a line dividing the counties of Yolo and Colusa; thence east with said line to the middle of Sacramento River; thence south along the middle of said river to the place of beginning:"


That section of country thus bounded and embracing the County of Yolo, has its greatest length from northwest to southeast, measuring on an air line in that direction a distance of fifty-eight miles.


The county has been wholly surveyed and sectionized, from north to south, from Colusa County to Solano County line, a distance varying from twenty-seven to thirty-three miles. It has been surveyed due west from a point on the Sacramento River opposite Sacramento City, a distance of thirty-three miles, that being the greatest width of the surveyed portion of the county-there being an average width from east to west of about twenty-seven and a half miles, except that portion extending south of the sink of Putah Creek, as shown by the map.


The extent of the survey westward may, for all practical purposes, at least for agricultural and grazing purposes, be considered the western boundary of the county, for beyond that survey the mountains are rugged and rocky, and wholly unfit for cultivation or grazing. That portion of the coun- ty which has been segregated or sectionized, covers an area of about nine hundred and forty square miles, which, per- haps for average productiveness of soil, is nowhere sur- passed, and it may be considered capable of supporting as many inhabitants to the square mile as any portion of the country, and we will venture here to digress so far as to observe that, with a population as dense as an average of some of the Eastern States, the number of Yolo's inhabi- tants would exceed one hundred thousand.


3


HISTORY OF YOLO COUNTY.


Except for a distance of three or four miles along the western line of the surveyed portion of the county, the whole surface presents the appearance of a perfectly level plain, extending from Colusa County on the north to Solano on the south, from the Sacramento River on the east to the low hills at the foot of the mountains on the west, with a descent so gradual from the mountains to the river as not to be perceptable to the naked eye.


This plain is only broken by a few creeks and ravines, which are but trenches worn into the earth by the action of water as it has drained from the mountains during the rainy seasons, except Cache Creek, of which we shall presently speak. We should further state that it is broken by a low, gravelly ridge (which does not amount to the dignity of a hill), extending about half way through the county, north- west to southeast, and being from one to two miles in width.


Along the bank of the Sacramento River there is a strip of land varying in width from a few rods to one or two miles, of a rich, sandy loam, unsurpassed in its productive- ness of fruits and cereals. Adjoining this, and further from the river, is a strip of tule and salt-grass land, from half a mile to three or four miles in width, of a black, clayey soil, impregnated with alkali, unfit for cultivation and only used for grazing purposes. Then comes the great body of farm- ing lands of the county. The soil may be designated as a black, clayey loam, intermingled with a small proportion of sand, and it appears to be especially adapted to the growth of wheat and barley, whilst grapes and other fruits grow luxuriantly. Such is the soil of the great body of the county, though the low ridge we have mentioned is a red, gravelly clay, not so productive as the former, yet by no means a poor quality of land.


Cache Creek is the only stream of water of note in the county. West of the mountain spur forming the boundary line, and in the midst of the coast range, is a basin, in which is situated Lake County, and that beautiful sheet of water, some forty miles in length, known as Clear Lake, the outlet of which is Cache Creek, which appears to have marvelously cut its way through that high mountain range,


4


THE WESTERN SHORE GAZETTEER.


for the purpose of transporting alluvium to fertilize the soil of Yolo. As it has merged from the mountains in ages past, it appears to have washed away the hills on either side, and formed that beautiful and productive district of country now known as Capay Valley. It appears to have taken nearly a direct course to empty the waters of Clear . Lake into the Sacramento River; but, ere it reaches its apparent destination, its waters are spread out upon the surface of the soil, and are made to disappear by natural absorption and evaporation. The county for the most part may be said to be destitute of timber, yet there are belts of stately oaks along the borders of Cache Creek, on the banks of the Sacramento River, and on the low hills at the foot of the mountains, sufficient, with proper economy, to supply the county with fuel for a long series of years.


The pen would utterly fail to convey an adequate idea of the native beauty of that district of country, a brief geo- graphical outline of which we have given, especially to one whose travels have been confined to the States east of the Rocky Mountains. Imagination would hardly picture a country more attractive to the pioneer-a country whose soil is more productive of agricultural staples, whose cli- mate is more healthful, and whose native growths of vege- tation are more luxuriant.


Prior to the settlement of this section of country, it is said that the horseback traveler, whilst sitting upon his animal, might bend the tops of wild oats over his shoulders, the roots being still unsevered from the ground. Less than thirty years ago this country, possessing, if we may use the expression, such mines of agricultural wealth, was the abode only of wild beasts. Here the grizzly bear roamed in his majesty over the plains and upon the mountain side, undisturbed by the encroachment of man or beast, con- scious of his superior prowess and of the inability of all other animals to cope with him, he proclaimed himself lord of all he surveyed, and neither the native inhabitants nor brute animals of the country invited him to bend his course for their convenience. Here the elk, the deer and the antelope, congregated in droves of hundreds and thou- sands, grazed upon the rich fields of wild oats, or rumina-


5


HISTORY OF YOLO COUNTY.


ted in the shade of the stately oaks, bathed in the limpid waters of Cache Creek and of the Sacramento River, undis- turbed by the crack of the hunter's rifle, and unconscious of the dangers that awaited them. Here the prowling wolf came down from his mountain haunts in pursuit of his prey-the hare, ground-squirrel and, perhaps, occasionally a deer or an antelope; here worked the industrious beaver at the mouths of Cache Creek and Putah Creek and along the Sacramento River, undisturbed by the trapper and the hunter. In the district of country we are describing, there were two solitary camps of Indians-the one on Grand Island, toward the northern boundary of the county, and the other in a small valley over the first range of hills from Cache Creek Canon or Capay Valley. These were of the lowest order of native Americans, indolent and inactive, and in intelligence but little higher than the brutes; their food consisted of acorns, pine nuts, manzanita berries, clo- ver blossoms and grasshoppers, with such small game as they could kill with their arrows.


II. From 1841 to 1848.


What boy has not listened with pleasant emotions to tales of pioneer life as related by his grandfather, his father or other aged relatives or friends? What child's pulse has not quickened and eye moistened while listening to stories of privations and sorrows, toils and hardships, accidents and dangers, incident to the early settlement, of every coun- try ? Who, in maturer years, does not delight to dwell upon those themes with which he has become familiar by the oft- repeated tales of his sire or grandsire, and especially when they relate to the early settlement of one's native or adopted country ?


Even at this early day, doubtless, many items of interest in the history of this and other counties of the State have been lost to memory, and without the adoption of some means of preserving a record of the facts, in a few years more they would be entirely forgotten, or be known only in tradition.


6


THE WESTERN SHORE GAZETTEER.


The history of a county being inseparably connected with that of the State in which it is located, and with the lives and experiences of its inhabitants, it will be impracti- cal, if not impossible, to confine ourselves strictly to insti_ tutions wholly within the limits of the county, or to persons whose residences have been within its borders. Countries are usually settled by those whose love of adventure and attachment to the frontier, more than avarice, prompts them to press forward into regions uninhabited and compara- tively unexplored; such was the character and disposition of the carly settlers of Yolo County-the most conspicuous of whom was Mr. William Gordon, now a resident of Lake County, to whom we are indebted for many of the facts and incidents we are about to relate. Mr. Gordon may be con- sidered the first white settler of the county, who, so to speak, planted here the germ of civilization, who set ex- amples of industry and morality worthy of emulation by any people.


Before referring, however, to particulars regarding his settlement here, we will relate a tolerably well-authenti- cated story of one who settled here at a much earlier date: It is said, when Mr. Gordon and his party reached the bor- ders of Yolo County, there were at the head of Grand Island two or three half-breed Indians, who were the de- scendants of a Scotchman; that some thirty years prior to the arrival of the Gordon party, the Scotchman referred to was a sailor upon an English vessel who landed in the har- bor of what is now San Francisco; that he, either in fact or in his imagination, was maltreated by the officers of the ship, and so determined, rather than endure such usage, to leave the vessel and cast his destiny alone, in a country only inhabited by ferocious beasts and the lowest order of barbarians. Like Robinson Crusoe, upon the Island of Juan de Fernandes, he wandered forth in quest of associ- ates until he reached Grand Island, now a part of Yolo County, when he fell in with the tribe of Indians before referred to, took up his abode with them, and, after the In- dian style of marriage, took to himself a wife, with whom he lived several years (begat the half-breeds referred to, who, in 1841, were from twenty-five to thirty years of age),


7


HISTORY OF YOLO COUNTY.


and died without ever again visiting the sea-shore or being able to communicate his experience and destiny to his fel- low-sailors or to his relatives and friends in the Old World. Such is the story as we have learned it from one who in- forms us that the facts were communicated to him by said half-breed sons of the red-headed Scotchman. This story is corroborated to a certain extent from the following facts : In the year 1851, on the west bank of Feather River, a few miles distant from where these half-breeds resided, a stone was found of a reddish gray color, about ten inches in length, four inches in width and one inch thick, on which were en- graved the following letters and figures : "1818-Gold cave, in this M. Ship-Lodes, L. M." Whether the Scotchman referred to, in his rambles in that early day, placed the in- scription there after having discovered lodes of gold, hoping that at some future day it might be instrumental in making known his fate to his friends, will doubtless ever remain an unsolved mystery. The stone may be seen at any time at the rooms of the California Pioneer Association at San Francisco. Taking this circumstance in connection with the fact that the half-breeds were actually discovered as above related, we are inclined to the belief that there is something in the story. If but little truth, there is at least a good deal of romance. But to return to Mr. Gordon. He was born in Ohio in the year 1800, while that State was yet a Territory, and much of it a vast, uninhabited wilder- ness. In his earliest infancy, being thus accustomed to frontier life, love of adventure became his ruling passion, and now, at the age of threescore years and ten, he is never happier than when with his favorite rifle he is roaming over the mountains in pursuit of wild game, and but few young men are able to cope with him in the chase. At an early age he emigrated to the Territory of Missouri, and before he was twenty-three years of age he went to New Mexico, and became a citizen of that country, and though he relig- iously adhered to her laws and never uttered a disloyal sen- timent or cherished an unkind thought towards his adopted government, we shall see that the familiar couplet-




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