History of California, Volume III, Part 18

Author: Bancroft, Hubert Howe
Publication date: 1885-1890
Publisher: San Francisco, Calif. : The History Company, publishers
Number of Pages: 824

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Jedediah S. Smith was the first man who made the trip. From a post of the fur company established at or near Great Salt Lake a year or two earlier,2 Smith started in August 1826 for the south-west with fif- teen men, intent rather on explorations for future work than on present trapping.3 Crossing Utah Lake,

2 Smith was associated with Jackson and Sublette, and the post had been established by W. H. Ashley.

3 Smith, Excursion à l'ouest des Monts Rocky. Extrait d'une lettre de M. Jedidiah Smith, employé de la Compagnie des Pelleteries, in Nouv. Ann. des Toy .. xxxvii. 208-12. Taken from an American paper. The news -- perhaps the paper, but certainly not Smith's letter as might seem from the transla- tion-was dated St. Louis Oct. 11, 1827. This brief letter, in which very likely wild work is made with names in the printing and translation, is in connection with the correspondence preserved in the archives, the best au- thority on the subject. The general accounts extant are full of errors, though each purports to correct errors previously made. Warner, Reminiscences, MIS.,

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JEDEDIAH SMITH.

he seems to have passed in a general south-westerly course to the junction of the Virgin River and Colo-

21-9, errs chiefly in dates and order of events. He makes Smith start in 1824 and lead a party of hunters through the Green River country, south of Salt Lake, over the Sierra Nevada near Walker Pass, into the Tulare Val- ley. In June 1825, leaving his men on the American Fork -- whence the name -- he re-crossed the sierra with two men. Starting back for California in the autumn of 1825 by a more southern route, he was attacked by the Mo- javes while crossing the Colorado, and lost all his men but 2 or 3, with whom he reached S. Gabriel late in 1826. The author of Cronise's Natural Wealth of Cal., after being at much trouble to unravel the various stories, 'gathered the following particulars from those who knew Smith personally, and from documents in the state archives :' 'In the spring of 1825, Smith, with a party of 40 trappers and Indians, left their rendezvous on Green River near the South Pass, and pushed their way westward, crossing the Sierra Nevada into the Tulare Valley, which they reached in July 1825. The party trapped from the Tulare to the American fork of the Sacramento, where there was al- ready a camp of American trappers (?). Smith camped near the site of the present town of Folsom, about 22 miles north-east of the other party. From this camp Smith sent out parties, which were so successful that in October, leaving all the others in California, in company with 2 of the party, he returned to his rendezvous on Green River with several bales of skins. In May 1826 Smith was sent back with a reenforcement. On this trip he led his party farther south than on the former one, which brought them into the Mojaves' settlements on the Colorado, where all the party except Smith, Galbraith, and Turner were killed by the Indians. These three made their way to S. Ga- briel on Dec. 26, 1826, where they were arrested,' etc. Cronise also publishes a translation of 2 documents from the archives, of which more later.

Thomas Sprague, in a letter of Sept. 18, 1860, to Edmund Randolph, pub- lished in Hutchings' Mag., v. 351-2, and also in the S. F. Bulletin, states that Smith, starting from Green River in 1825, reached and went down the Hum- boldt River, which he named Mary River from his Indian wife, crossed the mountains probably near the head of the Truckee, and passed on down the valley to S. José and S. Diego. Recruiting his men and buying many horses, he re-crossed the mountains near Walker Pass, skirted the eastern base to near Mono Lake, and on a straight north-east course for Salt Lake found placer gold in large quantities. He was ordered to return and prospect the gold fields on his way back from California, but near the gold mines he was killed with most of his party.

Robert Lyon furnished to Angel, author of the Nevada IIist., 20 et seq., a version somewhat similar to that of Sprague, including the discovery of coarse placer gold near Mono Lake. His account seems to rest on the testi- mony, in 1860, of Rocky Mountain Jack and Bill Reed, who claimed to have been companions of Smith.

An 'associate of the daring pioneer' corrected prevailing errors as follows in the S. F. Times, June 14, 1867: 'He came into California in 1827, with a trapping party from the rendezvous of the Rocky Mountain Fur Company, on the Yellowstone River. He left his party on the American fork of the Sacramento in the summer of that year, and with two men returned to the rendezvous, where he fitted out a new party and returned in 1828 to the American, where the two parties were combined, and moving northwardly, he reached the Umpqua River,' ete.

It will be noticed that all these versions have the double trip and some other points in common, and that the confusion is largely removed by the original authorities, on which I found my text. Randolph, Oration, 313-14, translating Smith's letter to P'. Duran, and Tuthill, Hist. ('al., 124-5, as well as Frignet, La Californie, 58-60, mention Smith's arrival in 1826 in so gen- eral a manner as to avoid serious error. The same may be said of Douglas,

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OVERLAND-SMITH AND PATTIE-FOREIGNERS.

rado, down to the Mojave villages, and westward across the desert to San Gabriel.4

The Amajabes on the Colorado treated the party well, furnishing fresh provisions, and horses stolen from the Spaniards, and two wandering neophytes guided the sixteen Americans over the desert to the mission, where they arrived in December. The trappers gave up their arms, and the leader was taken to San Diego, where he explained his object, and submitted to Gov- ernor Echeandía his papers, including passports from the U. S. government, and a diary. The coming of the strangers naturally excited suspicion at first; but this was removed by Smith's plea that he had been compelled to enter the territory for want of provisions and water, it being impossible to return by the same route; and his cause was still further strengthened by a certificate of Dana, Cunningham, and other Amer- icans, that the trapper's papers were all en règle, and his motives doubtless pacific and honorable.5 He was therefore permitted to purchase supplies, and under- take his eastward march by a new route; but not, as

Private Papers, MS., 2d series, p. 1, Victor, River of the West, 34, and Hines, Voyage, 110, though these writers speak with reference to later events in Oregon, and derived their information from distinct sources. The Yolo Co. Ilist., S. Joaq. Co. Hist., and other like works describe Smith's adventures, in some cases as accurately as was possibly from accessible data, still with various combinations of the errors already noted.

4 The details of the route are worth preservation briefly, though not clear in all respects. Started Aug. 22d from Salt Lake, crossed the little Uta Lake, went up the Ashley, which flows into that lake through the country of the Sum- patch Indians, crossed a range of mountains extending s. E. to N. w., crossed a river which he named Adams for the president, and which flowed s. w. Ten days' march to the Adams again, which had turned s. E. (This is not clear; the text says, 'a dix journées de marche l'Adams River tourne an s. E., il y a là une caverne,' etc. Query-Did Smith pass from the Scvier to the Virgin, and suppose them to be one stream ?) Two days down the Adams to its june- tion with the Seeds-Keeder, a river with many shallows and rapids, and hav- ing a sterile country on the south; farther to a fertile wooded valley inhabited by the Ammucheebes (Amajabes, or Mojaves), where he remained 13 days. This was 80 miles above where the Seeds-Keeder, under the name of Rio Col- orado, flowed into the gulf of California. Re-crossing the Seeds-Keeder, he went 15 days west into a desert country, and across a salt plain 8 by 20 miles. Here the details cease abruptly, and he next speaks of his arrival in Upper California.

5 Dated at S. Diego Dec. 20, 1826, and signed by Wm G. Dana, Wm II. Cunningham, Wm Henderson, Diego Scott, Thomas M. Robbins, and Thomas Shaw, in Dept. St. Pap., MS., ii. 19-20. An English translation has been published in several works.

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SMITH IN CALIFORNIA.

he wished, to follow the coast up to the Columbia via Bodega.6

The Californians supposed for a month that they were rid of their overland guests; but at the begin- ning of February 1827 some of them were seen at different places, particularly near San Bernardino, where Smith appeared on the 2d of February. There he left a sick man, and thence he seems to have sent a letter to Padre Sanchez by one of his men. The letter, as translated at the time, stated as the reason for return that the trappers in crossing a stream had been attacked by Indians, who killed eight of their number and stripped them of everything but their clothes-a statement that would seem to be false, though Smith bore the reputation of truthfulness.7 At any rate, the trappers had tried without success to cross the Sierra, and were reported to be in a desti- tute condition. The two men to whom I have re- ferred were, I suppose, Isaac Galbraith and Joaquin Bowman, who were detained at the time for examina- tion, and who remained in the territory. Orders were issued to detain the whole party, but Smith had left San Bernardino before the orders could be executed.8

6 Dec. 30, 1826. Echeandía reports Smith's arrival with 14 companions, 40 beaver skins, and many traps; also his visit to S. Diego and his apparent good faith. St. Pap., Suc., MS., xix. 37-8. He enclosed Smith's diary to the minister of war, and it may come to light some day. Smith himself, Excur- sion, 210, says: 'Mon arrivée dans la Haute-Californie excita les soupçons du gouverneur, qui demeurait à San Diego. Il me fit conduire devant lui; mais plusieurs citoyens des Etats-Unis, notamment M. Cunningham, capitaine du Courrier de Boston, ayant répondu de moi, j'obtins la permission de retour- ner avec ma suite, et d'acheter des provisions; mais le gouverneur refusa de me laisser côtoyer la mer en allant vers la Bodega.1

7 The letter is not extant, and its purport only is given in one of Arguello's letters to the governor. It is possible that there is an error somewhere, and that Smith in the original letter spoke of a fight in which he killed 8 Indians, especially as 2 women are also said to have been killed. Sinith himself, Excur- sion, p. 211, gives no details nor even mention of having come in contact with the Spaniards at this time. He says, in continuation of quotation of note 6, 'I marched therefore E. and then N. E. (from S. Gabriel or S. Diego), keeping at a distance of 150 to 200 miles from the coast. I went nearly 300 miles in that direction,' through some fertile regions peopled by many naked Indians, and 'having reached a river which I named Kimmel-che from the tribe living on its banks. I found beavers, etc. Here I remained some days; I intended to return to Salt Lake by crossing Mount Joseph; but the snow was so deep on the heights that my horses, 5 of which had died of hunger, could not ad- vance. I was therefore obliged to re-descend into the valley.'

8 Letters of Santiago Argüello to comandante of S. Diego and to gov., with

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OVERLAND-SMITH AND PATTIE-FOREIGNERS.

When next heard of in May, Smith had moved northward and was encamped in the country of the Moquelumnes and Cosumnes. Padre Duran, of Mission San José, accused the Americans of having enticed his neophytes to desert, but Comandante Martinez pronounced the charge groundless.9 New communications and orders to investigate passed be- tween the authorities; and a letter came to Padre Duran from Smith himself, bearing date of May 19th. It was a frank statement of his identity and situation, of his failures to cross the mountains, and of the ne- cessity of waiting for the snow to melt. He was far from home, destitute of clothing and all the neces- saries of life, save only game for food. He was par- ticularly in need of horses; in fact, he was very disagreeably situated, but yet, "though a foreigner unknown to you, Reverend Father, your true friend and Christian brother, J. S. Smith."10

The next day after writing this letter Smith started

references to replies and other communications, in Dept. St. Pap., MS., ii. 33-7. Mention of Galbraith (Gil Brest) and the 'sick man' in Dept. Rec., MS., v. 89, 115, also of Galbraith in Dept. St. Pap., MS., xix. 16-17. Bow- man is mentioned as one of Smith's men in Los Angeles, Hist., 19, by Mr Warner, and there may be some mistake. The sick man may possibly have been John Wilson, who was in custody in May as one of Smith's men. Dept. Rec., MS., v. 45; Arch. Arzob., MS., v. pt i. 29, 33. Cronise calls Gal- braith's companion Turner.

9 May 16, 1827, Duran to com. of S. Francisco. 400 neophytes have been in- duced to run away. Arch. Arzob., MS., v. pt i. 27. May 18th, gov. orders Mar- tincz not to rely wholly on reports of the Indians, but to send out scouts to learn who are the strangers and what their business; also to demand their passports and detain them until further orders. Dept. Rec., MS., v. 45. On same date Rocha is ordered to institute proceedings against John Wilson, and take depo- sition of Daniel Ferguson, with a view to find out the aims of the strangers. Id. May 21st, Martinez from S. José to gov. The Americans had nothing to do with the flight of the neophytes. Sergt Soto has been ordered to investi- gate, find out what gente it is, not allow them to approach the missions, treat them courteously, etc. A letter has been received from Smith to Duran, which the latter would not receive, but which Martinez had had translated and sent to Monterey for Hartnell to retranslate. The Indians say that there are 12 of the strangers, the same who were at S. Gabriel, and they had killed 5 Moquelumnes in a fight. John Wilson, a prisoner at Monterey, has appar- ently not been missed, and he says something of the party having come from Boston in 18 months to make surveys and buy lands of the natives (?). Arch. Arzob., MS., v. pt i. 28-33.

10 May 19, 1827, Spanish translation of Smith's letter, in Dept. St. Pap., MS., ii. 18-19. English version, in Randolph's Oration, 313-14; and other works. French version, in Frignet, La Cal., 58-60.

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FIRST CROSSING OF THE SIERRA IN 1827.

homeward with but two companions. This was the first crossing of the Sierra Nevada, and the traveller's narrative, though brief and meagre, must be presented in his own words. "On May 20, 1827," he writes, "with two men, seven horses, and two mules laden with hay and food, I started from the valley. In eight days we crossed Mount Joseph, losing on this passage two horses and one mule. At the summit of the mountain the snow was from four to eight feet deep, and so hard that the horses sank only a few inches. After a march of twenty days eastward from Mount Joseph, I reached the south-west corner of the Great Salt Lake. The country separating it from the mountains is arid and without game. Often we had no water for two days at a time; we saw but a plain without the slightest traceof vegetation. Farther on I found rocky hills with springs, then hordes of Indians, who seemed to us the most miserable beings imaginable. When we reached the Great Salt Lake we had left only one horse and one mule, so exhausted that they could hardly carry our slight luggage. We had been forced toeat the horses that had succumbed."11 There are no means of knowing anything about his route; but I think he is as likely to have crossed the mountains near the present railroad line as elsewhere.12

Smith returned from Salt Lake to California with eight men, arriving probably in October 1827, but

11 Smith, Excursion, 211-12. With the quotation given, the letter ends abruptly.

12 Still it is not impossible or unlikely that in this trip or on the return Smith went through Walker Pass, as Warner and others say, or followed the Humboldt or Mary, as Sprague tells us; but the gold discovery on the way as related by Sprague merits no consideration, in the absence of other evidence and the presence of evident absurdities. It is to be noticed that Warner de- scribes this crossing of the sierra by Smith and two men accurately enough, except in date; and I think it probable that he has reversed the order of the two entries to California, the first being by Mojave in 1826, and the second by Walker Pass in 1827. On Wilkes' map of 1841, reproduced in vol. iv. of this work, Smith's route is indicated, on what authority is not stated, by a line extending s. w. from Salt Lake, and approaching the sierra on the 39th parallel, with a lake on the line in long. 119', and three streams running N. between the lake and mountains. A peak in the sierra just N. of 39' is called Mt Smith; and Mt Joseph is at the northern end of the range in lat. 41º. This may all rest on accurate reports.

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OVERLAND-SMITH AND PATTIE-FOREIGNERS.

about the route followed or incidents of the trip noth- ing is known. The Californians apparently knew nothing of the leader's separation from his company, though the record of what occurred during his absence is incagre. On May 23d Echeandía issued instruc- tions, by virtue of which the fur-hunter was to be informed that his actions had become suspicious, and that he must either start homeward at once, come to San José to enjoy the hospitality of California under surveillance until the supreme government could de- cide, or sail on the first vessel that could carry him beyond latitude 42°.13 According to fragmentary records in the archives, it was supposed early in August that the strangers had gone. In September it was known that they were still present, and in October several orders were issued that they be brought to San José. It is not clear that any were thus brought in,14 but it would seem that on Smith's return from the east late in October, he soon came, voluntarily or otherwise, to San José and Monterey with seventeen or eighteen companions.15

The 12th of November Captain Cooper at Mon- terey signed a bond in favor of his countryman. As the agent of Steel, Park, and others, and in the name of the United States, Cooper became responsible with his person and property for the good behavior of Jed-

13 May 23, 1827, Echeandía to Martinez. Dept. Rec., MS., v. 48.

14 Gov.'s orders of Aug. 3d, Sept. 14th, Oct. 1st, 16th, in Dept. Rec., MS., v. 73, SS, 94, 102. Bojorges, Recuerdos, MS., 12-14, the only one of my Cali- fornian writers who mentions this affair at all, says that Soto was sent ont with 40 men to the Rio Estanislao, and brought in all the trappers to S. Francisco. As such orders had been issued, this is likely enough to be truc, though perhaps it took place after Smith's return. Oct. Sth, Isaac Galbraith asks for an interview with Echeandía, wishing a license either to remain in the country or to rejoin his leader. He also corrects an impression that Smith is a captain of troops, stating that he is but a hunter of the company of Smith, Jackson, and Sublette. Dept. St. Pap., MS., ii. 36-7.

15 The Spanish records make the number 17, which is probably accurate, though records of a later event in Oregon speak of 18. Morineau, Notice, MS., 153-4, says that in October 1827 a caravan of 17 voyageurs arrived at S. Francisco from New Orleans. They sold some furs to a Russian vessel, bought horses, and returned by the same way they came. Carrillo, Exposi- cion, MS., 9, says that in 1827 one of the hunters passed through the country with 60 men, reached the house of the comandante general, made plans, etc., and went away unmolested !

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DEPARTURE OF THE TRAPPERS.

ediah Smith in all that concerned his return to Salt Lake. In the document it was set forth that Smith and his men, as honorable citizens of the United States, were to be treated as friends, and furnished at fair prices with the aid in arms, horses, and provisions necessary for the return march by way of Mission San José, Strait of Carquines, and Bodega; but there was to be no unnecessary delay en route, and in future they must not visit the coast south of latitude 42°, nor ex- tend their inland operations farther than specifically allowed by the latest treaties. To this bond Eche- andía attached his written permission for Smith and his company to return, with one hundred mules, one hun- dred and fifty horses, a gun for each man, and divers bales of provisions and other effects which are named.16

Echeandía issued orders for a guard of ten men to escort the trappers to a point a little beyond San Francisco Solano, starting from San José;17 but a slight change must have been made in the plan, for on the 18th the whole company arrived at San Fran- cisco on the Franklin from Monterey.18 This is really the last that is known of Smith in California, where four and perhaps five men of his party remained, be- sides Turner who came back later. I have accredited these men to the year 1826, though some of them probably came in the second party of 1827. The party doubtless left San Francisco at the end of the year or early in 1828, and proceeded somewhat lei- surely northward, probably by a coast route as in- tended,19 and not without some new misconduct, or what was vaguely alluded to as such by the authori-

16 I have, in Vallejo, Doc., MS., xxix. 171, the orginal of this interesting document kept hy Cooper. Three copies were made, one sent to Mexico, one kept in the archives, and one given to Smith. It is written on paper provi- sionally 'habilitated' by the autographs of Herrera and Echeandia, bears a certificate of José Estrada, is signed John Ba R. Cooper. Then follows the antograph of the hunter. 'I acknowledge this bond, Jedediah S. Smith,' and closes with Echeandía's pass.

17 Nov. 15th, E. to com. of S. Francisco. Dept. Rec., MS. v. 107. Lonis Pombert, a French Canadian, left Smith's party about this time and remained in the country. Dept. St. l'ap., MS., xix. 25-8.

18 Argüello to gov. Dept. St. Pap., MS., ii. 45.

19 Bojorges, Recuerdos, MIS., 14, says he left S. Francisco by water on an

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OVERLAND-SMITH AND PATTIE-FOREIGNERS.

ties. 20 While attempting to ford the Umpqua River he was attacked by Indians, who killed fifteen of the company and took all their property. Smith, Tur- ner, and two others21 escaped to Fort Vancouver. McLoughlin of the Hudson's Bay Company sent back a party with one of the survivors to recover the lost effects, in which they are said to have been success- ful. Jedediah Smith returned eastward by a north- ern route in 1829, and two years later he was killed by the Indians in New Mexico. I append part of a map of 1826 purporting to show 'all the recent geo- graphical discoveries' to that date.

An important topic, perhaps connected indirectly with Jedediah Smith's visit, is the first operations of the Hudson's Bay Company's trappers in California. Respecting these operations before 1830, I have no original and definite information, except that con- tained in the statement of J. J. Warner, himself an old trapper, still living in 1884, and an excellent authority on all connected with the earliest American pioneers, although he did not himself reach California until the beginning of the next decade.22 Warner states American vessel. It is possible, but not I think probable, that such was the case, one of the vessels being chartered to take him up the coast to or beyond Bodega. Warner says Smith started up the interior valley, but on ac- count of difficulties in the way, turned to the coast 200 miles above Ross. The men who remained, besides Galbraith and Bowman, were Bolbeda, Pom- bert, and probably Wilson.

20 Feb. 1, 1828, gov. to Martinez. Alludes to the abuses committed by Smith. Dept. Rec., MS., vi. 178. Probably he had stopped on the way to hunt and trap. June 26th, Cooper was thanked by J. Lennox Kennedy, U. S. consul at Mazatlan, for his services in Smith's behalf; will send documents to U. S. min. at Mexico. Vallejo, Doc., MS., xxix. 250. But May 6, 1820, he was ordered as bondsman by gov. to pay $176 due from Smith. Dept. Rec., MS., vii. 148. June 25, 1829, E. reports to the min. of rel. a rumor that the Americans intend to take S. Francisco, a plan which he ascribes to the advent of Smith. Id., vii. 25.

21 There is a discrepancy of one man in totals, but there is also a com- pensating uncertainty about one of the men who remained in Cal. Cronise, Nat. Wealth of Cal., 42, erroneously names two of the three survivors Laughlin and Prior. Victor, River of the West, 35-6, names Turner and Black. The particulars of the Umpqua fight belong to other parts of this series. See Ilist. Or. and Hist. Northwest Coast. The map given herewith is copied from one in Warren's Mem. In Pac. R. R. Repts, xi. pl. iii., being a reduction from A. Finley's map of N. America published at Philadelphia in 1826.

22 W'arner's Reminiscences of Early California, MS., 27-33. The author

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History of California, Volume III, Part 18

Author: Bancroft, Hubert Howe Publication date: 1885-1890 Publisher: San Francisco, Calif. : The History Company, publishers Number of Pages: 824

Author: Bancroft, Hubert Howe
Publication date: 1885-1890
Publisher: San Francisco, Calif. : The History Company, publishers
Number of Pages: 824