USA > California > Riverside County > History of San Bernardino and Riverside counties, Volume I > Part 40
USA > California > San Bernardino County > History of San Bernardino and Riverside counties, Volume I > Part 40
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Came to San Bernardino, got arastra irons, tools and provisions, and about the middle of April built an arastra and commenced working the ledge and continued working it until September, 1859, when I went to Arastra Creek, east of Bear Valley, where I was interested in three gold quartz ledges, and I put up three arastras. The Bear Valley Ledge did not pay much above expenses owing to the big crowd of hangers on.
In May, 1860, Bill Holcomb and Ben Choteau discovered gold placers and quartz claims in what was called Holcomb Valley, about five or six miles north of Bear Valley, and as the sluices at Poverty Point did not
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pay very high the Colwell Company abandoned them and in the same month moved all their belongings over to Holcomb.
Worked on Arastra Creek from September, 1859, till July, 1860, when I sold my interests in arastras and three ledges, and as part pay- ment took some placer gulches in Van Duzen Flat just below Upper Holcomb. My partners, Dr. D. N. Smith and Horace Rolfe, and I worked the balance of the year and all we could during the winter on our claims in the flat, and early in 1861 we got some claims on the bench below Clapboard Town, and one in Union Flat.
In 1860 the Colwell Company located the best claims on the main gulch, just west of the divide between the upper and lower Holcomb Valleys.
The water from Upper Holcomb flows down the Van Duzen canyon to Bear Valley and from Lower Holcomb down the Little Mojave to the desert.
We could not get to bedrock in Upper Holcomb on account of water. Whenever we could get near bedrock in either Van Duzen Flat or Upper Holcomb we found pay dirt.
Could a tunnel be run from the head of Van Duzen Canyon up through the flat to Upper Holcomb no doubt gold could be found in pay- ing quantities.
In 1860-61-62-63 and 1864 a great deal of gold was taken from the Holcomb Mines. In 1860 the Colwell Company used to average three pounds of gold a day, sometimes as high as 40 ounces.
In 1861 the Tom Valencias, Baca, Kelly, Ontivers, Black Jackson, Myers, Kaintuck, Ferguson, Evertson and Bellamy Companies took out 18 to 25 ounces a week from the main gulch and Union Flat.
In Upper Holcomb the Dr. Whitlock, J. W. Satterwhite, Andy McFarlane, Tibbetts, Miller, Bettis, Greenwood, Udell, Sylvester and McMann took out about 20 ounces a week.
In 1861-62 the Jonathan Tibbetts mill crushed rock from the Ogier mine for Judge Ogier from the Mammoth, Olio, San Bernardino and Pine Tree ledges for Lane, Butler & Sliter Co., from the Leyden mine for John Leyden; from the Rattlesnake for Judge Nichols; from the Jacoby mine for Elijah Bettie, and other mines for other parties. They all paid at that time.
In the summer of 1861 there were some 1,200 or 1,400 miners in and about Holcomb. There were 600 in Clapboard Town alone.
McCoy and Cushenbury had a pack train of eighty pack mules carrying provisions, Joel Scranton another, Peter Beck had one, and Sasenach and Davis another.
All the companies that got down to bedrock in the upper basin of Holcomb Valley got good pay. On the flat at Clapboard Town some companies got dollar to the bucket dirt at bed rock. John Satterwhite, Andy McFarlane, Gib McMann fot 50-cent dirt near the Octagon House. Lane, Butler and Sliter paid more attention to their quartz ledges than they did to their placer locations.
In the early seventies-I think it was 1872-Charles Farcior, Ollie Wozencraft and George Bellamy started an open cut from the head of Van Duzen Flat up towards Upper Holcomb Valley, put in sluices and worked there the entire summer. They found they had to remove so much extra dirt to get down to bedrock that it did not pay them at that particular point. They worked until the snow fell in the fall and did not go back the next spring.
-Recollections of Holcomb Valley by Sydney Waite.
RIVERSIDE COUNTY
James Bond
PREFACE
"Of making many books there is no end" was said in the olden time before the art of printing was known and when clay tablets were in use to perpetuate the doings of kings and noted men. The idea of chronicling the doings of the common people is a modern invention and only possible in times when it can be done cheaply and where everything that is not worthy of permanent preservation can be cheaply gotten rid of.
It is customary and proper to give a reason why a book is written, and it is but justice to the reader to say that the writer would never have thought of writing a history of Riverside County and pioneer times unless he had been asked and almost begged to do so. We all like to know how those who went before us lived and acted and what were their motives in life.
Riverside being the founder of the modern colony system in Southern California, the results of which have been far reaching, arising from the great movement of modern times in seeking a congenial clime where a living could be made from a small piece of land where all the benefits arising from a city residence could be combined with a home in the country. California was built on large holdings miles apart. The Mis- sions were first of all built about a good day's travel on foot apart, as the Padres in their humble way in imitation of our Saviour made it a part of their everyday religion to walk whenever they went anywhere, the only exceptions being when they went by water. as from Mexico to California. The change from the Missions and the pastoral system to the modern colonization scheme, with a dense farming population was a very quiet one and can hardly be comprehended except by one who had actually seen the old. The writer came into California about four years after an exceedingly dry season, that of 1863, following 1861-1862, one of the wettest in history, had almost made an end of the pastoral system in Southern California. In the northern part of the State the pastoral system was supplanted by the large grain growing ranches in the '60s and '70s when California was, for the time being, almost a granary of Europe. Northern California was better supplied with means of trans- portation and the South did not pass through the large grain ranch period like the northern part of the state and in a great measure went from the pastoral to the colonial, although the large holdings continued until the small settler could come in and occupy the land.
When the pioneer colonist had possessed the land for a generation or so and begun to pass over the "Silent River" it began to be observed that at the time of settlement there were no newspapers and no records kept, that in a word there was almost nothing but tradition and not even files, of our first newspaper were complete. A pioneer society was formed more for social than for historical purposes, which attracted but little general attention, but on April 16, 1914, at a dinner given by P. T. Evans in honor and remembrance of his father, S. C. Evans, Sr .. at the Mission Inn at which almost to a man nearly every man who had come to Riverside prior to 1880 was present. it was found that there was a rich store of traditional history that was likely to be lost without any- one to chronicle it, and it was suggested then and there that a Pioneer Historical Society be formed that would gather up all these historical relics and put them down in writing, and that would be the only way to
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preserve them, and that it must be done soon before all the pioneers passed away. The society was formed and the writer was designated as historian. Circumstances prevented the writer from doing anything except gather material, for several years and in the meantime John S. McGroarty entered the field to write up an enlarged history, which would not only embrace events but also people who had taken an active part ill laying a foundation for what was proved a much greater success than could have been anticipated. This was hardly started before it was abandoned.
In 1890 there was published a history of Southern California, before Riverside County was formed, in which Riverside got about eight pages of history and where there was considerable space devoted to biography and portraits of individuals.
In 1902 there was published another history of Southern California by J. M. Guinn in which Riverside County got ten pages and a fairly large representation of residents, with and without portraits.
E. W. Holmes published a history of Riverside County in 1912 that was far from complete. Again Robert Hornbeck, an early settler, pub- lished a work entitled "Rubidoux's Ranch" in 1913, which did not pro- fess to be a complete history, but nevertheless gave a great deal of local history and mention of individuals and of early habitations, which was very interesting to those of the early days who had passed through this phase of Riverside history.
In the meantime, while the writer was accumulating material for the Historical Society the Western Historical Association entered the field in October, 1920, with the purpose of giving a complete history of San Bernardino and Riverside counties, and made a proposal to the writer, that he undertake the historical part, having been a resident and active participator in the making of Riverside and Riverside County. It was some time before circumstances would allow of active work, but in June, 1921, work commenced which has been continuous until the present time, February, 1922. Unquestionably this is the most complete history of Riverside that has ever been written and as far as possible from original sources. The aim has been to be correct in the first place and to write in an interesting and entertaining manner, so that the reader might be interested throughout.
I cannot refrain from mentioning the help I have got from all sources to which I have turned for information, and to say further that but for the sympathy and assistance I have received this history could not have been written at all.
Doubtless there will be many mistakes and the hope is that as far as possible they may be overlooked. While it would be impossible to mention names of those who have assisted I cannot refrain from men- tioning the name of Frank A. Miller, who in the early days of the Pioneer Historical Society helped not only by encouragement but in more sub- stantial ways. H. H. Munroe has also been a great assistance in a literary way and also from a knowledge of early history. I have copied freely wherever I have found anything of use, sometimes with credit and more often without. The illustrations in the book, as well as the portraits have been freely lent, and it is hoped that they will give much value to the history.
In conclusion, I wish to say that if the book is not up to the mark in all respects I have done the best I could, not from any hope of pecuniary reward but that there were some things that the people of Riverside wanted to know about the early history of the settlement, and as those who were familiar with early events have almost all passed away and the
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author has endeavored to write them in as interesting a way as he could, and he expresses a hope that the reader will take as much pleasure in reading as the writer has in writing. The following 1 by Carrie Jacobs- Bond expresses the writer's thought in closing better than his own word:
"When you come to the end of a perfect day, And you sit alone with your thought, While the chimes ring out with a carol gay, For the joy that the day has brought, Do you think what the end of a perfect day Can mean to a tired heart, When the sun does down with a flaming ray, And the dear friends have to part?
"Well, this is the end of a perfect day, Near the end of a journey, too ; But it leaves a thought that is big and strong, With a wish that is kind and true. For mem'ry has painted this perfect day With colors that never fade, And we find, at the end of a perfect day, The soul of a friend we've made."
I Words and music by Carrie Jacobs-Bond. Written while sitting in a swing. in the court of the Mission Inn, after returning from a pilgrimage to Father Serra's cross on Rubidoux Mountain in 1909.
INTRODUCTION
The discovery of America by Columbus was one of the most impor- tant events in the history of the world. Improvements in the mariner's compass and in the science and art of navigation made the discovery possible. Spain being the original discoverer naturally was the first to colonize. England somewhat later proved a formidable rival to Spain. Mexico, which formerly embraced the Southern half of the North American Continent, was wholly Spanish. England took possession of Virginia, which originally embracing more territory, was the nucleus of what mey be termed the Southern States. The landing of the Pilgrims and Puritans at Plymouth Rock was the foundation of the New Eng- land States. Thus there might be said to have been three original settle- ments on the North American Continent.
The Spanish settlement under the authority and tutelage of the King of Spain and of the Roman Catholic Church had everything in its favor, but was not and has not been the success that it might have been under happier auspices. The Spanish Grandees with their large grants of land and with the Indians in a sort of peonage and a sort of Theocratic gov- ernment, might have been supposed to be a great success as colonizers, but they have never been.
Although the Grandees themselves preserved in a measure the purity of the race, the rank and file of the colonists were soldiers with no, or but little, immigration of women of their own class, were ordered to inarry Indian women and from them have arisen a large proportion of the mixed race that now peoples Mexico. Negro slavery never attained the prominence under Spanish rule that it did under British and Ameri- can rule, but the Negro produced an admixture that further complicated the race question under Spanish and Mexican rule. Under Spanish and Mexican rule with large grants and the prevailing system of peonage and pastoral pursuits the Spanish Grandees had a golden time and oppor- tunity for the enjoyment of life, and Bancroft the Historian, has well characterized this as the Golden Age in Spanish occupation.
Under the English colonization of America in Virginia, the system was represented by large grants of land by the Kings and at an early date by the importation of Negroes as slaves, supplemented by petty criminals from the old country, who served out their sentences on the plantation, where tobacco was the leading crop, to be supplemented later on by cotton. This was the Autocratic system, the result of which was the Master, the slave, and the "poor white trash." The results were shown in the Civil War from 1861 to 1865 and since to a greater or lesser degree.
On the other hand the Puritans and Pilgrim Fathers came for religious freedom and to found homes. They were to all intents and purposes both political and religious refugees. They were first driven to take refuge in Holland, more on account of religious persecutions, and the very fact of claiming religious freedom was the best foundation for a lovel of civil and political liberty, and they were always foremost until the Declaration of Independence and after, in affirming their civil and religious rights.
It has indeed been said of the Pilgrim Fathers that they did not favor slavery because it was not profitable, but there were other causes that
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led them to forego the possession of slaves. They came here to found homes and to cultivate the soil and to make a living by the sweat of their brow. They were mainly of the common people and not aristocrats in any sense of the word and the love of freedom was strongly ingrained in their very nature. It is true that during the formation and existance of the colony they were under the protection and government of England in the first place, and later on of the British government, but always they were self-assertive and rebellious as British subjects, culminating in the Boston "Tea-Party" and the Declaration of Independence.
Such were the three strains of blood that were instrumental in the formation of the United States as we find them today. The Spanish and Mexican elements paved the way for the greater civilization that was to follow. The Padres with the Missions subdued the Indian of the Pacific and laid a good foundation for the greater civilization that was to follow and showed some of the possibilities of the Pacific Coast.
The South with its aristocrats and their slaves has done practically nothing toward settling up the great domain that was lying idle to be occupied by the people who have "come, seen and conquered," this great land with its future greater perhaps than the most optomistic can antici- pate. But the Puritan is the one who has done something. He came to an inhospitable climate and a more or less infertile soil with natural obstacles in the shape of timbered lands to be cleared before the soil could be used, with hostile and warlike Indians to be subdued with many other obstacles to contend with, which by his indomitable energy have been overcome. Slowly but surely, he has pushed his way west under more favorable conditions, aided by sturdy emigrants from Britain and North- ern Europe, impossible of accomplishment without the aid of steam and latterly of electricity. He has found himself finally on the fruitful shores and in the genial climate of the Pacific Coast,-the same man and the same race that landed on Plymouth Rock. The descendants of the Puri- tans and the Pilgrim Fathers took a new step, one that had never been taken before, and founded a new colony and a new system that had never been tried before, and settled on a dry plain under a hot sun, treeless and waterless, where he could sit under his vine and under his fig tree with none to make him afraid. These being the kind of men that founded Riverside, we begin to see the results that followed and the reason why, and what we have a reason to expect in future. Riverside was the first in point of time and it will be the endeavor in the following history of Riverside County to show in all things that mark progress that she still retains the lead.
James Bayd
History of Riverside County
CHAPTER I
LIFE STORIES
Nearly every old man in the world believes that if the story of his life were written it would make an interesting book. And so it would.
Let it not be thought, however, that we advise all old men to print the stories of their lives. There are almost too many books in the world, as it is, and there are hundrels of thousands of books now that should be read and that are not read. Therefore, it is not well to add to the number.
However, this does not change the fact that the story of any man who has lived to old age would make an interesting chronicle to print. No matter how humble any man's life may have been; no matter that he never was in the wars, or that he has no hair-breadth escapes to relate, his life would still make an interesting story.
For this is the great miracle: That we are born and that we live our lives. And if a man shall have experienced just that and no more, he has come home from a great adventure when he sits down with old age in the twilight of the years.
The humblest and the least known old man of today, what wonders has he not seen? He learned to read by the light of a tallow candle, he saw the advent of the kerosense lamp, and now he ponders over the world's big news in the glow of an incandescent bulb. He has stood on the threshold of time to welcome the steam engine, the telephone, the wireless telegraph, the sewing machine and the motion picture.
If awaiting the child who was born today there be half the wonders in store that there were for the child who was born threescore and ten years ago, that youngster may well be envied and his life story will also be worth printing in a book.
There is always some delicacy in writing one's own life for fear there may be too much egotism, but faults of that kind the writer would ask the reader to kindly overlook.
The 29th of June, 1838 was the day and year of my birth and a small village called Fenwick and Ayrshire Scotland was the place. Ian Mac Laren has graphically portrayed the simple life of the average resident of the country village in Scotland. The happy, simple life in the open air with the plain diet is largely conducive to the robust manhood of the average Scot. In the little village in which I was brought up there was not then, nor is there now, any railroad nor factory to break the monotony and so the petty tradesman was content and happy in attend- ing to his daily secular duties and to his religious ones on Sunday. It was fashionable and customary to have large families and so as soon as the education could be completed at home an opening for the business and active life had to be found elsewhere in the large city or in a for- eign land. My school days were finished at thirteen, but that was too early an age at which to go out alone in the world to fight life's battle and so work on the farm or in the village was the one resource. Oppor- tunities for mental improvement were not wanting and the village library of select books was largely drawn upon for acquaintance with the men and opportunities of the wide world. The village debating society and
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the "Weavers Parliament" which met daily at the noon hour and after work hours around the village pump were largely instrumental in keep- ing the village hermit in touch with the outside world.
Eighteen years old and 1856 found me in London where I stayed for nearly three years gaining experience of life and the world and planning for the future. There was nothing for me in London and December, 1858 found me on the ocean on the way to New Zealand. Four months of interesting experience on the ocean without seeing land or sail showed that the earth is vaster than we have any conception of on land. The publication of the manuscript newspaper and the ship's daily position were the events that broke the monotony of the voyage.
New Zealand was a new country, newly settled and everything, climate, land, birds and vegetation, were all new and full of interest. Animals there were none, nor snakes although St. Patrick is not reputed to have visited the islands in the course of his missionary labors. Sheep farm- ing was the only remunerative business in the early days. Several years found me on a sheep station with nothing to do but walk the boundary and keep the sheep from crossing. Tea and sugar, flour and mutton were furnished and the recipient could cook them to his own liking. Commit- nication with the outside world was had about once a month when some- one was sent for the mail. For reading, newspapers were not to be had, but a few select novels circulated among those who cared to read. "Back to the land" was the cry there as it was and is everywhere and in course of time I found myself on a piece of land where I soon found that a home could not be founded by man alone, and after a time I found a blooming red-cheeked lass who was willing to join her fortunes with mine and make a home. For fifty-three years she stayed with me, helping rear the family that was her care in vigorous life and her pride and devotion in declining years.
A desire for new scenes and a honeymoon tour found us again on the ocean on the way to California via Panama this time under steam. A month's straight sailing found us in Panama and on board an American steamer and this was our first introduction to America. Something a little different occupied the time. Acapulco was visited during the French occupation of Mexico. On the west coast the barefooted, ragged Mexican soldier on duty was almost a laughable incident were it not for the serious side of it. A word from Uncle Sam, however, and the French occupation was terminated and Maximillian's reign was no more. Two weeks of pleasant sailing up the coast brought us to San Francisco with its green hills most beautiful to look upon, now the site of homes of the more prosperous. Nothing was required of us on landing and there were no question asked-we were free to go and come as we pleased-this was in January, 1867.
The mountains and the redwoods of the Coast range took our fancy and there we spent three years in the lumber and shingle mills and in farming.
Southern California with its oranges and semi-tropical products had an attraction that could not be withstood and my wife and I were again on the move overland by wagon. Under the old California, travel to Southern California was by steamer, stage or by wagon. By wagon was our way and three weeks were passed before we got to Los Angeles. California of that time was the great wheat producing state and San Francisco the shipping point. California as the great fruit-producing state was unknown and the road from San Francisco to Los Angeles was an unoccupied waste except for cattle and sheep. San Jose, San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara were the only villages on the way. Los
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