USA > California > Nevada County > Bean's history and directory of Nevada County, California. Containing a complete history of the county, with sketches of the various towns and mining camps also, full statistics of mining and all other industrial resources > Part 40
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Extraordinary preparations had been made for the approaching mining season ; great piles and long lines of dirt had been thrown up for washing, in anticipation of early and heavy rains ; the old mining law in the first place had limited claims to fifteen feet square, this had been extended, in the summer of '50, to thirty feet square. In the fall of '50, to enable those who remained in the " dry diggings " to keep constantly employed, it was made a regulation that all might "throw up" dirt to any extent, and the dirt thus thrown up and the ground thus covered could be held by the man doing the work until water came. But no water came ; the winter was dry and warm ; a few light showers and some damp fogs in November constituted the "rainy season " until the end of February, 1851, and but a few weeks of rain followed then, so that the mining season was almost an entire fail- ure. Some of the miners turned their attention to bringing in water by ditches ; the Squirrel Creek Ditch was projected by the miners on Rich Flat for their own use, in November, 1850, and the work being all done by labor shares was complete and the water run through about Christmas day ; a company was formed to bring water from Deer Creek, at Nevada, by means of a large ditch, and their surveyor running the preliminary line was met by a Nevada party viewing the route for a similar purpose ; this resulted in the union of the two parties, and in the construc- tion of the Rough and Ready Deer Creek Ditch, completed in the fall of '51; but as these projects provided no means of work to the miners then waiting, the great majority sought new locations, and the town became apparently deserted. Buildings that had cost $5,000 were sold for less than ten per cent. of the cost, were torn down, removed, and reconstructed into boarding houses, stores, hotels and ten-pin alleys on the river bars, and into road-side hotels and barns on ranches ; provisions were sold for less than the freight from Sacramento; merchant after merchant failed, house after house closed, and the town became a skeleton of itself. It still continued, however, to be a considerable village, the center of a rich and val- uable mining country, which was well developed and worked after the various ditches were brought in, viz : the Squirrel Creek, the Rough and Ready Deer Creek, and the Slate Creek ; with good hotels and stores, a fine Masonic hall, a very neat church, and was thriving fairly, when, in July, 1853, the whole town was destroyed by fire, save only a few buildings on the outskirts. The town was par- tially rebuilt, in a more concentrated body, the citizens and business men showing commendable energy and enterprise ; but again on July 8, 1859, a fire occurred which swept away every frame building in the main body of the town. At this time the placer diggings around the vicinity had become exhausted to a great ex- tent, the palmy days had passed, and no quartz veins had, as yet, been opened successfully; therefore this last blow proved too heavy, and the town, as such, seems to have become among the things that were. About twenty-five or thirty houses now occupy the place where once stood about three hundred, some of which were R2
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ROUGH AND READY TOWNSHIP DIRECTORY.
then among the finest buildings in the mountains. At one time, during the years 1855 and '56, there were established in Rough and Ready a Masonic Lodge, an Odd Fellows Lodge, an Odd Fellows Encampment, and two Divisions of the Sons of Temperance, all of which-were large in numbers, prosperous, and in a highly flourishing condition. At this present time, there is a large and flourishing Lodge of Good Templars, who occupy the Odd Fellows' Hall, but no other association or organization exists.
I have not sketched the local excitement arising from quartz discoveries, com- mencing with the discovery on Kentucky Ridge, and continuing on late into '52, when every man, woman and child (what few there were of the two last) rushed furiously after a fortune by " taking up " and recording every seam of white rock, or quartz bowlder, visible above ground, as a ledge, and bought stock and paid assessments until every body became, just as the bubble did, flat broke ; nor of the quartz epidemic in 1855 and '56, following the discovery in Osceola, when every body again went and did likewise, or rather like-foolish ; nor of the repetition of the same old story, now in fact, in 1865 and '66, become a "thrice told tale ;" nor of the discovery on Sailor's Flat, and the building of New- town, in September, 1850; nor of the great Ripple Box Tunnel; nor of the curious mingling of civil authority and lynch law in the hanging of the Indian " Collo" for killing a young man, whose name is forgotten ; nor of the terrible affair at Bridge- port, committed by a drunken crowd who tried, (or enacted the farce of a trial,) by a lynch court, and hung an innocent man in March, 1851, on pretense that he was Knowles, a noted Oregon and California horse thief, and concerning those who sat as jurors and officiated actively otherwise, I have been told by one who was present, and afterward noted the facts as they occurred, that not one of them died otherwise than by sudden and violent death, viz : by shot, or stab, or bludgeon, or drowning or cholera, or by fire ; nor of the killing of Campbell, by Larue ; nor of the murder of Scobey, and our midnight raid, en-masse, horse and foot, to surround and capture his murderers ; nor of the scout, by your humble servant as J. P., with a posse comi- tatus, and capture of Wemah and his beautiful boy " Lulu," to hold as hostages for the surrender of certain murderers of his tribe ; nor of the inglorious defeat of another posse in the same campaign, by Walloupa and his naked, breech-clout warriors, much to the chagrin of said posse and to our satisfaction ; nor of the "Hounds," the " forty thieves," who took and tied up an innocent man and gave him fifty lashes, on a charge of stealing, while the actual thief stood by and encouraged the Hounds in their work ; nor of the fiend, Jim Lundy, and his murderous duel at Industry Bar, with the young and gallant Dibble, his victim-nor of those who seconded him in as foul murder as was ever perpetrated ; nor of Gen. Green and his famous Indian expedition through our hills ; nor of our plank road survey from Marysville to Nevada, in 1852 ; nor of our great Landers' Bar Irish wing-dam lawsuit, in the spring of 1851, for a piece of ground valued at $100,000, with Sawyer, now Supreme Judge, Buckner, Freeman, Whitesides, Si. Brown, Tom. Bowers, etc., as counsel, in which we were thirteen days trying the case with a jury, and with cost bill paid by defendants, (after a day's argument re-taxing costs,) to the tune of $1,992, paid in gold dust at $16 per ounce ; nor of our high-cock-a- lorum Justice's Court, in the fall and winter of 1850, with W. G. Ross, lately killed by Charley Duane, as our first Justice of the Peace, and Steve Ford as Constable, the proceedings in which discounted Judge Olney's injunction case ; nor of the
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robbery of Jack Elder, Constable, canght under his chin and lifted out of his saddle, pistol in hand, by the limb of a tree; nor of the shooting of his partner, Wilson, while stealing a wagon load of barley left on the road ; nor of Brundage's mass meeting of the people, called in 1850, to organize the State of Rough and Ready, adopt a constitution, secede from the United States, and set up on our own hook an independent government ; nor of the preacher who wanted " a show" when the boys staked off the grave yard into mining claims whilst he was saying the last prayer over the corpse, the prospect having been discovered "rich " in the loose dirt thrown out of the grave; nor of the fight between Smock and a certain limb of the law; nor of the first appearance of Lee & Marshall's Circus, at Rough and Ready, in March, 1851 ; nor of Fordyce's first contract for carrying the mail from Nevada to Marysville, in 1850, on mule-back ; nor of the stage ride in the first Marysville coach, one day to Empire Ranch and all next day to get into Marysville ; nor of the grizzly that chased Robinson into Deer Creek, when it was cold enough to freeze the ears off a brass monkey ; nor of the first sermon in Rough and Ready, when the " boys " rolled up their monte and faro banks-fifteen tables going-on a Sunday afternoon, listened to an eloquent sermon, preached in the gambling saloon, took up a collection of $200 and presented it to the preacher; nor of the first ball or dance given in our town, where we had six women to two hundred and fifty men, more fights than you could count, and six pistol shots fired through the floor of the ball room from below, nobody hurt; nor of our prospecting trip to Grass Valley after night, blankets, pick and shovel on each man's back, when gold quartz was first discovered on Gold Hill, in October, 1850, and of our getting there at daylight, among the first on the ground, to the chagrin and surprise of the Grass Valleyans, who thought they had it all to themselves. And so on, and so on, through a thousand of wild scenes and strange incidents that would, in this day, sound, perhaps, more like shadows from Baron Munchausen's adventures than sober truth ; but you have told me to " cut it short," and you see I have done so.
Churches.
There are three Church organizations in Rough and Ready township, all of the Methodist persuasion ; one at Rough and Ready, one at Pleasant Valley and one at Spenceville. All under the charge of Rev. E. W. Rusk.
Sabbath Schools.
The Sabbath Schools in the township are as follows : One at Rough and Ready, A. A. Smith, Superintendent ; one at Spenceville, - Raymond, Superintendent, and one at Pleasant Valley, A. Fulweiler, Superintendent.
Schools.
There are seven schools in the township, six of them public and one private, as follows: One at Rough and Ready, J. C. Boynton, teacher ; one at Newtown, Z. T. Smith, teacher ; one at Pleasant Valley, James Leonard, teacher ; one at Mooney Flat, Miss Curtis, teacher ; one at Spenceville, Mrs. L. Simeral, teacher, and one in Penn Valley, - Powers, teacher. Also, a private school at Randolph Flat, under the charge of Mrs. Jeffries.
Good Templars.
The Good Templars have three Lodges. One at Rough and Ready, organized February 25th, 1865, by C. B. Frost, D. G. W. C. T., and now numbers eighty-two members in good standing ; mects every Saturday evening. . One at Spenceville, organized about the same time, by A. A. Smith, G. W. C .; and one at Pleasant Valley. Both meet on Saturday evenings.
THE
ROUGH AND READY TOWNSHIP DIRECTORY.
For the Year commencing January 1st, 1867.
Adams L. B. farmer, Rough & Ready Adams M. W. miner, Rough & Ready Adams W. N. farmer, Rough & Ready Alexander Thos. farmer, Rough & Ready Arbegast Geo. miner, Rough & Ready Arnold J. N. carpenter, Rough & Ready Austin F. W. farmer, Rough & Ready Austin Hiram, farmer, Rough & Ready Ayres D. M. farmer, Rough & ready
B
Bagley A. L. miner, Rough & Ready Baker Otis, miner, Rough & Ready Balch J. R. miner, Rough & Ready Baldwin Wm. L. miner, Mooney Flat Ball Wm. Rough & Ready
Barker Williamson, miner, Rough & R Barnhart John, miner, Rough & Ready Barnhart Nich's, miner, Rough & Ready Bartlett E. G. farmer, Kentucky Flat Bartlett W. H. C. miner, Rough & Ready Bawn F. Rough & Ready
Beezley Silas, farmer, Rough & Ready Bennett Joseph, farmer, Rough & Ready Bennett Samuel, Rough & Ready Berry James, farmer, Rough & Ready Beyer George, farmer, Rough & Ready Bourne R. C. farmer, Rough & Ready Bourne Thos. C. farmer, Pleasant Valley Boynton J. C. teacher, Rough & Ready Bradshaw S. S. miner, Rough & Ready Brandt J. C. farmer, Spenceville Brown A. Y. miner, Rough & Ready Brown C. F. Rough & Ready Brown David, carpenter, Mooney Flat Brown E. W. farmer, Spenceville Brown G. D. Rough & Ready Brown H. M. Rough & Ready Bryson John, miner, Rough & Ready Buckingham -, farmer, Rough&Ready Buckley John, Rough & Ready Buffington W. H. carriage trim'r, R&R Bullard G. miner, Rough & Ready Butler Jonathan, farmer, Rough & Ready C
Call Peter, Campbell A. L. miner, Rough & Ready
-
Carmack S. miner, Rough & Ready Castien H. miner, Rough & Ready Chambers J. M. miner, Rough & Ready Church H. C. teacher, Indian Springs Church J. F. stage prop, Rough & Ready Church L.
Cleveland L.
Coffey William,
Cole C. J. hotel, Wood's Crossing Colyer John, miner, Indian Springs Congleton A. farmer, Rough & Ready Connolly Philip, farmer, Rough & Ready Conrad John H. farmer, Penn Valley Cook Abner, miner, Rough & Ready Cooley Caleb, farmer, Pleasant Valley Coombs C. T. miner, Rough & Ready Corey Sam, farmer, Penn Valley Curran Wm. shoemaker, Rough & Ready
D
Dahle Philip, miner, Rough & Ready Daniels Ephraim, miner, Anthony House Daniels James,
Davis John, farmer, Rough & Ready
Davis Shepherd, miner, Debat John, farmer, Newtown
Deconey Manuel, miner,
Deeds George, farmer,
Deeds John, farmer,
Denton E. N. farmer, Rough & Ready Dezell Jas. lumberman, Rough & Ready Dickinson C. B. farmer, Rough & Ready Dickinson Wm. miner, Rough & Ready Dimond W. A. miner, Rough & Ready Doody B. W. trader, Anthony House Douglass James, toll keeper, Rough & R Downey J. R. farmer, Rough & Ready Driscoll John,
Dunham D. J. farmer, Indian Springs Dykeman S. H. ditch ag't, Rough&Ready
E
Eberlein G. W. miner, Rough & Ready Eberlein Wm. miner, Rough & Ready Eddy G. W.
Ellis Levi, farmer, Rough & Ready Emery Webster, farmer, Indian Springs Ennor James, farmer, Penn Valley
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ROUGH AND READY TOWNSHIP DIRECTORY
F
Finlaw A. farmer, Rough & Ready Finlaw Jabez, teamster, Rough & Ready Fippin John, Fleming Isaac, farmer, Rough & Ready Flint George, shoemaker, Rough&Ready Foreman D. R. farmer, Mooney Flat Forsythe Robt. water agent, Mooney Flat Frost C. B. miner, Rough & Ready Fulweiler A. farmer, Pleasant Valley Fulweiler A. water ag't, Pleasant Valley
G
Gassaway C. D. farmer, Rough & Ready Gassaway William, teamster, Rough & R Genong John, farmer, Rough & Ready Gilham S. M.
Gilham W. B. farmer, Rough & Ready Glines Jos. teamster, Rough & Ready Goodman E. trader, Rough & Ready Goodwin A. F. farmer, Rough & Ready Grant Geo. ditch agent, Rough & Ready Grove David, carpenter, Rough & Ready Grubbs W. L. farmer, Rough & Ready Gunson Robert,
H
Hackett Wm. ranchman, Hackettstown Haig David, Hanson Audrew, miner, Pleasant Valley Harris Charles, Harris Wm. farmer, Kentucky Flat Hartley Wm. farmer, Mooney Flat Hartung A. farmer, Rough & Ready Hatch H. L. farmer, Indian Springs Hatch M. D. toll collector, Spenceville Hatch M. P. toll collector, Indian Springs Hawes V. C. miner, Haynes Joseph,
Hays I. N. farmer, Rough & Ready Henwood A. farmer, Rough & Ready Herrod R. miner, Rough & Ready Hickman Wm. farmer, Rough & Ready Himes J. innkeeper, Holmes John, miner, Penn Valley Horton Lewis, farmer, Penn Valley Huett Andrew,
Huett James, miner, Rough & Ready Huffman H. J. carpenter, Rough & Ready Huntress J. S. miner, Rough & Ready Hyatt Jacob, toll collector, Pet Hill Hyatt O. C. toll collector, Pet Hill
I
Icard John, teamster, Rough & Ready Inskeep W. S. miner, Rough & Ready J Jackson W. H. teamster, Mooney Flat Jacobs Rodney, saloon, Rough & Ready
K
Kelsey Charles, Kottman Wm. water agent, Newtown Kunnon B. miner, Newtown
L Ladd Perley M. miner, Rough & Ready Landis Ben. farmer, Rough & Ready Landis John, merchant, Rough & Ready Lawrence M. G. farmer, Rough & Ready Lewis Joseph, miner, near Newtown Lyons Jerry, farmer, Mooney Fiat
M
McAlly Jas. miner, Rough & Ready McCharles H. farmer, Rough & Ready Maguire J. M. miner, Rough & Ready Maloney M. farmer, Penn Valley Manion Carey, farmer, Rough & Ready Marsh Isaiah, farmer, Indian Springs Marryfield James, farmer, Rough & R Martin Francis, miner, Rough & Ready Mason A. C. farmer, Rough & Ready Massey William, farmer, Rough & Ready Meek Joseph, farmer, Rough & Ready Melbourne E. L. miner, Rough & Ready Mellon J. R. Rough & Ready
Meredith Wm. C. teamster, Mooney Flat Merrill Marshall, shoemaker, Spenceville Millish Chas. miner, Rough & Ready Mills Ed. farmer, Rough & Ready Mills Henry, miner, Rough & Ready Montgomery F. P. miner, Penn Valley Montgomery J. L. farmer, Penn Valley Montgomery J. S. farmer, Rough & R Moose J. L. miner, Rough & Ready Morey N. L. miner, Rough & Ready Morrison E. H. miner, Rough & Ready Murphy Pat.
N Newman J. F. toll collector, Rough & R Nichols Dawson, farmer, Spenceville Nicholas S. B. miner, Rough & Ready Norton Robert, farmer, Rough & Ready Novay John P. farmer, Pleasant Valley Nutter Wm. M. farmer, Indian Springs
O
Oague W. B. farmer, Rough & Ready Otis Thos. P. miner, Mooney Flat O'Toole P. miner, Jones Bar
P
Page A. J. farmer, Rough & Ready Painter G. W. miner, Rough & Ready Pelham A. J. farmer, Rough & Ready Pelham O. farmer, Rough & Ready Pelham W. A. farmer, Rough & Ready Perkenpine John, miner, Rough & Ready
%
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ROUGH AND READY TOWNSHIP DIRECTORY.
Pinkham R. D. gardener, Rough & Reayd | Snell J. laborer, Rough & Ready Piper S. W. farmer, Rough & Ready Snyder J. P. miner, Pomeroy E. H. miner, Grass Valley Pomeroy Lucius, clerk, Rough & Ready Potter L. R.
Potts -
Powers A. M. teacher, Rough & Ready Price J. K. P. miner, Rough & Ready Putman Rufus, teamster, Rough & Ready Puttemeyer H. miner, Newtown
R
Rapp H. A. farmer, Pleasant Valley Rapp Peter, farmer, Pleasant Valley Raymond C. B. farmer, Spenceville Rees A. W. miner, Rough & Ready Rex H. V. miner, Rough & Ready Reynolds John, miner, Rough & Ready Richards John, miner, Jones Bar Ricky John, carpenter, Mooney Flat Robbins E. miner, Newtown Roberts H. Q. miner, Rough & Ready Robertson Jeff.
Rogers Dan'l, miner, Rough & Ready Rouse W. L. farmer, Indian Springs
S
Saltzman E. A. farmer, Kentucky Flat Saulsbey John, miner
Saxon James, farmer, Pleasant Valley Schardin H. merchant, Newtown Schlotthauer J. clerk, Rough & Ready Schwartz T. farmer, Rough & Ready Schmidt Jacob, saloon, Rough & Ready Scott C. W.
Shark Robert,
Shephard Jas. teamster, Rough & Ready Shepherd N. H. farmer, Rough & Ready. Shepherd R. C. farmer, Rough & Ready Sheridan Edward, miner, Rough & Ready Sheridan Peter, miner, Rough & Ready Sherman T. V.
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العوت الارشيف
Sheffield S. H. postmaster, Rough & R Shoemaker Dav. farmer, Anthony House Shoemaker R. farmer, Anthony House Shortridge C. S. farmer, Rough & Ready Sifford Henry, farmer, Rough & Ready Sifford L. N. farmer, Rough & Ready Sifford Monroe, farmer, Rough & Ready Single John, blacksmith, Rough & Ready Slack A. L. ag't W. F. & Co., Rough & R Smith A. A. miner, Rough & Ready Smith Geo. farmer, Mooney Flat Smith John, miner, Rough & Ready Smith Z. T. teacher, Newtown Snell Geo. farmer, Rough & Ready
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Son William, farmer, Newtown Stanton John, teamster, Mooney Flat Stanton Wm. farmer, Mooney Flat Stark T. J. farmer, Pleasant Valley Stark W. M. farmer, Pleasant Valley Stephenson D. V.
Stockdale Moses, miner, Newtown Stull P. L. farmer, Rough & Ready
T
Tayler John, butcher, Anthony House Taylor C. O. miner, Newtown Taylor Wm. farmer, Penn Valley Thomas Jos. miner, Kentucky Flat Thomas Wm. miner, Anthony House Thompson A. saw mill, Kentucky Flat Thompson B. farmer, Pleasant Valley Thompson Peter, farmer, Rough & Ready Tibbals Samuel, miner, Rough & Ready Tibbets Oren, farmer
Timmons S. M. C. butcher, Spenceville Tinkham Gilbert, farmer, Indian Springs Torpie F. farmer, Rough & Ready Trail Edwd. H. miner, Rough & Ready Tunis Wm. miner, Rough & Ready Tydd Peter, farmer, Pleasant Valley
V
VanSlyke A. P. farmer, Indian Springs VanBlaren J. farmer, Anthony House
W
Wagoner D. farmer, Rough & Ready Wagoner D. jr., farmer, Rough & Ready Wagoner Thos. farmer, Rough & Ready Walker S. L. teamster, Indian Springs Walling J. M. hotel, Rough & Ready Walling L. A. hotel, Rough & Ready Washburn W. D. lumberman, Rough&R Washam Wm. farmer, Rough & Ready Weeks Geo. W. farmer, Rough & Ready Westerfield W. H. trader, Mooney Flat Whisner Henry, miner, Rough & Ready Whitney G. teamster, Mooney Flat Wilcox Nathan, rancher, Rough & Ready Williams G. H. farmer, Rough & Ready Williams J. A. rancher, Spenceville Williams Manuel, miner, Newtown Williams Win. farmer, Pleasant Valley Woods H. W. trader, Rough & Ready Woods James, miner, Rough & Ready Wray James, miner, Rough & Ready Wyatt Geo. L. teacher, Rough & Ready Wyatt Wm. C. miner, Rough & Ready
*
SKETCH OF LITTLE YORK TOWNSHIP.
BY J. E. SQUIRE.
Little York, from which the name of the township is derived, is situated on a narrow ridge between Steep Hollow and Bear River, and on the line of the old Truckee emigrant road, from which source its first settlement was derived. When the emigration reached this point they considered their toilsome journey completed and began to look around for temporary employment. Gold was found generally distributed in the water courses in good paying quantities, but not sufficient to mect the extravagant expectations of those who came to amass a fortune in a few months and again return to their homes and friends at the East ; hence up to the spring of 1852 there were but few permanent miners in this section, although some of the " forty-nine" emigrants, among them Joseph Gardner and J. E. Squire, still of Little York, and John Dunn, now of Nevada, employed most of their time in successful mining operations in this vicinity. Among the favorite places which often attracted back our impatient, roving and broken miners was a ravine head- ing in the town and extending southerly into Bear river, to which they would resort to make a raise of a few hundred dollars to enable them to make explorations for richer " diggings " in distant parts of the State. Finally, in the fall of 1850, a small party of miners (L. Karner, now deceased, H. H. Brown and J. H. Bailey, of Gold Run, and D. Crippin, last heard of in the grand Union army,) concluded to locate upon the ravine and built a cabin at the upper end, near where Curran & Buckman's cement mill now stands, which was the first house upon the ridge. They very superficially worked over the ravine during the winter, made from eight to ten thousand dollars, and left in the spring of 1851. Soon after, William Scott (whose name the ravine now bears) and others took possession of it and made more money, working it over, than the first locators. They pursued their work into the extensive gravel beds which lay at its head and exposed in a cut, about fifty feet long and ten feet deep, the celebrated blue cement, which has lately attracted so much interest and yielded such rich treasure. Although gold was visible over the whole face of the cut, yet by the rude method of mining at that time, it could not be economically extracted, and mining again languished in this section until the spring of 1853, when a couple of men by the name of William Starr and John Robinson, who had seen what they called " hill diggings," came along and began to prospect in the gravel banks around the head of the ravine, avoiding the channel of the blue cement. Starr, Karner and several others located just at the east of the blue cement lead, and commenced the first tunnel into these gravel hills. Their drift dirt was good, but there was not enough water to wash it and there was not much done that season in their claims. Robinson commenced prospecting lower down, on the face of what is known as Counsil Hill, and in a short distance found
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LITTLE YORK TOWNSHIP DIRECTORY.
a prospect of a dollar to the pan ; the report of which soon spread to the neighbor- ing mining camps, and from thence to more distant parts of the country, and the place was soon thronged with an excited and eager crowd. The entire gravel range, embracing a great extent, and many hills, was soon located, the present site of the town laid off and lots distributed among the miners.
A ditch was soon commenced, to bring the waters of Bear river to the mines ; saw mills, stores, saloons, mechanics' shops, and a meeting house, were erected --- and even a theater started. By the 1st of September, the place was filled and sur- rounded with all the accessories and accompaniments of a large and thriving town, with a population of six hundred inhabitants. Most of the old denizens of the place and of those who came from neighboring camps immigrated from New York and other Eastern States, and those who came in a little later were from Missouri and other Western States, and provincial prejudices were very strong. A public meeting was called, in August, to elect a Recorder and name the town, when the Convention immediately divided between Eastern men and Western men. The Eastern men, after a hard struggle, succeeded in electing Crippin for Recorder, and gave the name of Little York to the town (instead of St. Louis) in commemoration of their victory.
As might be expected in all towns at that early period, there was a large propor- tion of roughs and rowdies, who were a trouble and terror to the peaceable and well-disposed. The leader of this class was a young man of great muscular power, of desperate character and abandoned habits, called Dick Fisher. No man, espe- cially if he or any of his confederates took a dislike to him, was safe in his person or his property. However, for some violation of law Fisher was arraigned before a magistrate and convicted by the verdict of a jury. He was much exasperated toward the jurymen, and threatened that he would whip one of them, by the name of Tyce Ault, and soon confronted him, with a pistol in hand, for that purpose. Ault tried to avoid him, but Fisher pursued when Ault turned upon and shot him several times, from the effects of which he soon after died, since which time the town has not been afflicted with that class of men. This is the only homicide that has occurred here.
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