USA > California > San Bernardino County > History of San Bernardino and Riverside counties, Volume II > Part 7
USA > California > Riverside County > History of San Bernardino and Riverside counties, Volume II > Part 7
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It takes a good musician to play a bass drum, this may sound funny, but it is a fact nevertheless, Frank Clark our ex-President was our bass drummer for over eighteen years and the accuracy of his beat, the steadi- ness of his nerves and his unfailing loyalty has led us over many trying strains.
During the great conflict across the seas, eight of our boys voluntarily offered their services to the United States Government and actually served under the Stars and Stripes. They were Geo. Combs, H. A. Bartee, C. L. Craig, C. L. McCrary, E. A. McCurdy, Rob Johnson, W. Kidder, N. Cresmer and one of them, Charles Craig, gave his life in the service of our country.
It is not amiss to say that during the Liberty Loan campaigns, Red Cross drives and other war work, the Riverside Military Band freely and voluntarily gave its services in the aid of these good causes and at no time, was the organization found wanting when called upon.
We wonder sometimes just how many people know what constitutes a well balanced band, and I will say that a band may be likened unto a large organ or piano, and the director as a player. You all know that the average piano has eighty-eight notes and likewise, a good band must be so constituted to take care of all of these notes. Every man has his part to play, and every part must be played correctly and each player must be in harmony with his fellowmen, and the brunt of bringing the players to perfection necessarily falls upon the director. Our band in the past several years through the excellent reputation it had obtained through hard and strenuous labor, has played and taken part in many noteworthy engagements and I will call attention only to a few of them as follows: Mckinley Parade, Roosevelt Reception, San Diego Exposi- tion, Odd Fellows Encampment at San Francisco and San Francisco Exposition. We will always endeavor to keep the good reputation which we now have and will strive hard to please the citizens of our beautiful city and those who may come to it.
In conclusion, I will say that our organization is deeply grateful to the citizens of our community in making it possible to have erected this wonderful new bandstand. We feel that our efforts have been appreci- ated by the citizens at large and if the same co-operation will be given to us in the future, Riverside will always be proud of its military band.
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DEDICATORY RESOLUTIONS: Music being the purest and most uncor- ruptible of all forms of public recreation and pastime,
We, the people of Riverside, do present and dedicate this building to all forms of musical entertainment by voice or instrument ; and espe- cially to the use of the "Riverside Municipal Military Band."
We dedicate this building to Drama and Pageantry.
We dedicate this building to the uses of our Public Schools for music and play and commencement exercises.
We dedicate this building to all non-partisan patriotic service, in the interest of the City, the State, the Nation; and for the promotion of International good will .- Horace Porter, Mayor.
At the dedication of the band shell in Fairmount Park, September 26, 1920, as it has been named, owing to its shape, there was a very large attendance. On the program there was given some history of the band. Its first public appearance was in May, 1901, and its first out of town engagement was at Redlands, July 4, 1902. There was an interesting program throughout, in additon to the foregoing history. Riverside has always given its band a hearty support. There was voted for the construction of the shell $10,000, but in consequence of donations from private parties, of material, etc., and plans by Architect Arthur Benton and of engineering skill by City Surveyor Albert Braunschweiger there was only used of the money voted about $5,000. It is the oldest organ- ized band in the State. The musical program at the dedication was very much appreciated.
Of the charter members of the band consisting of the following names, F. Clark, Harley Johns, Perry Norris, Henry McDonald, Will Huntoon, Roland Miller (director). Will Brundige, Ralph Allum, Harve McMullen, Harry Woodward, J. A. Porter, only about two are now members.
The band has been occasionally to other places during its existence, notably in the Mckinley parade and the Roosevelt reception, both in Riverside ; at the San Diego Exposition ; the I. O. O. F. Encampment, San Francisco, 1915, and the San Francisco Exposition, 1915.
The Sunday afternoon and week evening concerts in Fairmount Park, concerts in the summer time, are always listened to by thousands, and at our fairs and all public occasions the band fills a very necessary place. Much of the success of the band of late years has been due to the musi- cal abilities of the manager, Gustav Hilverkus.
The city makes a liberal appropriation for the public concerts which are so well patronized, and the band is one of the most popular institu- tions of Riverside.
THE PEG LEG MINE, AND THE STRANGE DISAPPEARANCE OF THOMAS COVER. The dry details of history are sometimes very barren subjects for the general reader, except for the nine day wonders" that are at times coming up among people which can be interwoven into them. Such is the story of Peg Leg Smith and the discovery of the rich Peg Leg mine. its loss through the death of Peg Leg himself, and the repeated attempts of Tom Cover and others towards its discovery and his final disappear- ance in his last attempt.
Southern California with its almost interminable and trackless, water- less deserts, is full of discoveries of rich mines and of their loss through inability or death of the discoverer. The tales of prospecting expeditons hy hundreds of people and their adventures would fill a large book. The romance of the desert has never been told.
It has a fascination for the average man or woman, too, that can never be overcome without a trip that is sure to uncover that coveted treasure to the particular individual undertaking the journey. The
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writer speaks from personal experience when he says that the fascina- tion of the prospector's trip can no more be overcome than the gambler's craze, but with the difference that if the prospector wins no one loses.
To the lover of nature, a camping trip on the desert and in the moun- tains in and surrounding the desert is full of new and interesting things and experiences. It is on the mountains as a rule that precious metals are to be found and everything is new almost in the vegetable, animal and mineral kingdoms, and the wonder is that anything animal or vege- table can exist at all. The cactus as it is full of juice has as its sole pro- tection the spines with which it is covered or it would soon disappear. The yuccas, the junipers and the mesquite seem to be in their native ele- ments, for they are found only on the desert. The mesquite trees may possibly be hundreds of years old for anything any one knows to the contrary. They start and when they are in a location where the drift- ing sands may once take hold and accumulate as they grow, the sand keeps constantly accumulating around the base as they make growth until there are only a few green twigs to be seen, which as they grow keep constantly being filled up until there may be a large mound with no visible trunk above ground, all of it being covered up by the drifted sand and the tradition of the desert is, that if you are in search of wood you take a shovel along. Where there is no sand drift the mesquite produces a bright yellow flower, and in the fall a large crop of beans which is used as food by the Indians and their animals.
How any vegetation can maintain itself amid such dry surroundings, is one of the mysteries that scientists so far have not ventured to explain. Nor how certain little desert squirrels manage to exist or the turtles that are occasionally met with, but rarely as the Indians use them as food. The mountain sheep, too, used to be plenty, but are now practically exterminated, but their old trails still are there to show they, too, could live under adverse conditions. They may have been able to live as do the cattle that are around the edge of the desert, that have heaquarters around a spring and lie around it for a day or two until they get hungry, when they wander out on the desert gathering the scanty feed they find there, and stay as long as they can stand it without water, when they come in to get water and lie around again until they get hungry to repeat the process. Occasionally a venturesome cattleman sinks a well and puts up a windmill in favorable locations where it is not too far down to water and ekes out a scanty living in this way and in favorable seasons when rains are more abundant then the stock thrives and gets fat.
But it is not of the stockman who is settled in a way, but the prospec- tor who is always on the move, camping only in a favorable location where is water and moving along as soon as the available country has been looked over only to move on again, that we wish to write about and hear from. Men there are who have spent many years of their life going out and coming in as supplies give out, to go out again full of hope that the next move may bring them something worth while. Many of these prospectors are what is called in desert phrase "grubs-staked." that is, they are furnished supplies by someone who has confidence in them, with the condition that they have an equal share in anything they find. Occa- sionally rich prospects are found in this way and the prospector is generally honest enough to share with the party who pays for the pros- pecting. Occasionally these "finds" are lost and never found again. Most of these lost mines are found by someone who gets lost and in his wanderings picks up some specimens which are rich, but cannot find the exact spot ever after, or it may be that the prospector dies. Such was the Peg Leg mine that has been a tradition for many years. Vol. 11-4
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The story goes that Peg Leg Smith started out with a party of fifty men from St. Louis in 1830, for an extended trapping expedition in the Southwest. The party found themselves on the head waters of the Colorado River in 1836. They spent some time in this occupation, mov- ing down the river until they found themselves as far down as the mouth of the Gila River. Away down opposite Southern California they turned West. About the third day out they camped, when one of their num- ber climbed a little hill or butte about fifty feet high, to get a look at the surrounding country. He found the hill covered with loose pieces of black rock intermingled with pieces of yellow metal. This was before the days of forty-nine, with the remarkable results of the discovery of gold. It did not occur to them that this was gold, although the presence of gold was known to the Spaniards, and so for the time being nothing seems to have been done with the discovery, although it was finally sur- mised that the yellow substance in the rock was gold, and Peg Leg Smith's party all disappeared, and Smith seemed to be the only one left with any knowledge of the discovery.
The next we hear of Smith was as a sort of horse thief and trader in the Sierras, seemingly indifferent whom he got his horses from, some- times helping one tribe of Indians steal from another, and again help- ing the Indians come down the Cajon Pass and drive bands of Spanish horses away out on the Mojave desert, to trade them off with needy travelers for jaded or wornout horses, or at Salt Lake. Salt Lake was a good market for horses. On one of these raids, Smith got wounded in the leg, making it necessary to cut off the leg, which he did with the assistance of an Indian, the surgical instruments being a hunting knife, and an Indian or keyhole saw. The loss of the leg did not incapacitate Smith for war raiding, for he was as active as ever. Horses were cheap in those days, a bottle of whiskey or a pound of powder being the value of one. Uncle Sam coming in about this time to California, put a stop to Peg Leg's raids, for he would not steal from his own countrymen. The next we hear of Peg Leg was in connection with his rich specimens of which he never seemed to be without, and he was always about to dis- close the location of his find, and is stated to have started out with a party for that purpose, but after the start, for some reason he turned back and this is about the last we hear of him for he disappeared. Some say he purposely deceived others about the location. There can be no doubt about the specimens wherever Smith got them. Some say it was beyond Smith mountain, which took its name from him, out beyond Temecula. Ever since that time expeditions have been gotten up to hunt for the Peg Leg mine. Once in a while there comes a report that it has been found, but it is still hidden.
The strange lure of the desert when once it gets hold of one can never be shaken off, it comes on again and again like the crave of the drink- ing man for a fresh bout, and indeed it is not so very strange that it should be so, the desert is so wonderful. You go out and away from civilization for weeks or even months knowing nothing of the great world. You have no care on your mind. Only at long intervals when perhaps you go to the nearest point of supply, load up with fresh supplies and away you go careless of how the world "wags." It is really a new world and you are healthy and happy, for no tradition exists of anyone getting sick on these expeditions. Mother earth takes care of that for as you lie down on her bosom night after night, all vour ills, physical and men- tal disappear and when you come back to civilization you are a new man. But the old lure of the desert comes back again and again and one's own insignificance is revealed, for the world and its vanities, its hopes and
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aspirations, successes and disappointments goes on just the same in our absence.
Such was the case of Thomas W. Cover, "Tom Cover" as he was familiarly known. An old miner from Montana where he had, so it is reported, made a find and a stake, pulling out and coming to Southern California about 1868. Originally his family was from Maryland, but their anti-slavery principles compelled a change of residence (about the time Tom was fourteen) to the State of Ohio. He was a wanderer and a typical prospector-Pike's Peak being one of his lures. Coming to Southern California in 1868 he was one of the leading promoters of the Silk Center Association that was the first effort towards colonizing the Riverside Valley, where arrangements were being made to settle several hundred families in silk culture. The death of Mr. Prevost put an end to the colony scheme and Mr. Cover was left with the disposal of the lands purchased, which he did by taking three of the founders of River- side to the lands where a sale was effected. Mr. Cover aided as surveyor on the canal that was built to bring water on the lands, finally settling with his family on an eighty acres of Government land, which he set out to vines, limes and oranges, selling a portion of it. Here he finshed up by setting it all to navels. When well settled and the land in bearing, the old prospecting craze took possession of him again and he went out on several occasions fortified with specimens, maps and all the informa- tion to be had in search of the fabulously rich, I had almost said mythical Peg Leg mine. On the last occasion he was accompanied by a neighbor, W. B. Russell with a team and light spring wagon. Mr. Cover was also fortified in his search by interviews with a Dr. DeCourcey of Yuma who was said to have been the physician who attended Peg Leg in his last illness.
Mr. Cover set out on his last expedition on September 5, 1884, to prospect for the mine on the desert west of Indio, and from there over to the country near Julian and towards Warner's ranch in San Diego County. The country is partly on the bed of the old Gulf of California below sea level, part of it until it runs into the mountains, but easily accessible, being level, but with deep sand and short of water, but enough to those who know where to find it. On one side is a large tract called the bad lands, consisting of dry barren clay all wrinkled and cut up by gullies and dry washes, and looks like it might be an interminable maze, where if you once get into it you might get a labyrinth, but not a place where anyone would want to get into either, for curiosity or in search of gold. Some distance beyond the bad lands, Cover and Russell separated -Russell to go around a hill with the wagon and Mr. Cover to go over it, prospecting as he went, to meet at an agreed place. Russell's story was to the effect that he lost his way and got into trouble by bad roads, upsetting his wagon and being delayed in consequence for several hours, and when he got to the meeting place Mr. Cover was not there. Mr. Russell searched and waited for a day or two, and with no success he started for Indio, but leaving provisions and water in case Mr. Cover might turn up. On reaching Indio Mr. Russell engaged an Indian to trace up Mr. Cover's trail, but he returned after a time stating that after following the trail for a distance it was lost on high solid ground. Search- ing parties were sent out to see if any trace might be found. There was a reward of $1,000 offered by his family for discovery of the remains, for by this time it was not possible that Mr. Cover could be alive any- where there, the only theory being that Mr. Cover met with an accident. or that two brothers by the name of Helms who had known Mr. Cover in Montana (and whose brother it was said Mr. Cover had a hand in
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lynching), and who lived in the neighborhood caught Mr. Cover and put an end to him. Proof of that was said to have been found in the ashes of a big fire and half burnt bones found therein. However, that may be the reward was never claimed. There was an insurance on Mr. Cover's life of $2,500 which the insurance company refused to pay for years, but finally compromised by paying one-half and so the matter rested for some years, until evidence was adduced that Mr. Cover had never been lost, but that he had voluntarily disappeared, and that there were personal and private reasons involving no reflections or disgrace on any- one in particular. This evidence was found on a tramp who got drunk, and on being searched had a letter on his person from Wilson Russell to Tom Cover, which did not disclose the secret of Mr. Cover's residence, but asked Mr. Cover to send him some money on pain of exposure of the facts of the disappearance. This was and is the last phase of the Cover disappearance. Mr. and Mrs. Russell were killed in a railway accident at the crossing in Riverside and the Cover family has disappeared, and it is supposed there is nothing in the way of stating the facts at this late day. But the Peg Leg mine is not yet discovered, despite the fact that an item in the evening paper a few days ago said it had been discovered and the Peg Leg will still be one of the many unsolved myths of vast treasures lying hidden, to be found and make the discoverer fabulously rich.
THE TRAMP. Whether the tramp question is just one of those tem- porary irregularities that arise in all countries from extraordinary causes, or one that has taken root so that it will be difficult to eradicate would be difficult to tell at the present time. It would appear to be more of an American question than one pertaining to Europe where they have con- ditions that have been settled for ages. There are several varieties of tramps, but the true type is the one who will not work and would rather move about from place to place, mostly begging for his living where he can and partly stealing it when conditions favor.
Whether we can class the vagrant as a tramp who, when his numbers accumulate to such an extent that he can commandeer a freight train, as was done here lately and move towards whatever point he is going is a question. It is only in times of great dullness of trade when large num- bers of people are thrown out of employment that they seem to be a menace to society. Coxey's army during the Cleveland administration, when they marched to Washington to demand attention to their condition is a case in point, when about the only attention they received was an order to "keep off the grass." Such numbers as these demand the atten- tion of the political economist more than the plain individual.
The one that is commonly classed as a tramp is one who travels around from year to year, never staying long in a place, coming South in the winter and going North in the summer with a chronic aversion to work and only working at light jobs such as fruit picking when forced to by necessity to get a little money. Many of them are professional beggars and make good wages by begging from the Mexicans who are lib- eral when in funds. Some of them have a few fancy articles to sell of paltry value, but which are showy. Some of them sell pictures of the saints to the lower classes of Catholics. Others of them who are more ambitious sell fancy articles made of wire, such as clothes hangers. Others again act as tinware menders, selling easy soldering tin for home use. All of them have ahout the same characteristics. A good part of the day is spent round the campfire, and in cold weather they spend most of the day sunning themselves to get warmed up. The majority of them
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do not carry any blankets, trusting to sleeping, in inclement weather, in barns and haystacks. Seldom is there any Mexicans or Negroes among them, but they may be of any nationality. The most of them are ardent socialists, but having no fixed habitation and no homes they have no vote. The woman tramp is practically not known. Among them there are cripples, one legged or one armed, but seldom or ever have lost limbs in the service of the United States Government. Many of them have traveled considerably and are fairly intelligent. As a rule they are harm- less. Criminals occasionally mix up with the tramps to hide and escape observation. The old tramp knows all the favorable camp locations, and at each camp where they are not disturbed or told to "move on" there is always a set of cooking utensils, such as coffee pot and frying pan. These utensils are always left in place for the next comer. One tramp who had just started out to be a "bad man" and did not know camp usages was caught destroying the camp equipage, and very roughly handled. It seemed to have done him good, for he afterward went back home, his wanderlust completely cured. It is the rule of the camp that each provides his pro rata of wood; if not, they do not share the camp- fire. They live off the country a good deal, stealing vegetables and fruit and when they want it, they have chicken. One rancher who was rather hard on the tramps suffered severely in many ways. Boards would be "borrowed" from his outhouses for firewood. His chickens were always locked up at night, but when a chicken was wanted a handy screw- driver was used to take the hinges off the door and replaced when the chicken was secured. The coyotes got the blame for the loss of the chicken.
The writer's place was a noted resort for the tramps, because there was a large grove of eucalyptus for shade in summer and protection in winter. A noted character was there for one season off and on whom I will call Jones. Jones finally ended his tramping career by getting sent to prison for several years for burglary. Jones was rather fond of eggs, and occasionally bought a few at the writer's home. He always paid with a dollar. The eggs were kept in a screen porch. When Jones came for eggs he always came inside the porch, and when the woman went inside for change for the dollar he helped himself to one or two more eggs than he was entitled to. Being suspected he was watched and found out, which put a stop to his petty stealing. When he went down to the camp he was not at all backward in telling how he got caught and joined in the laugh. A few days later a lone man got into camp rather late with no wood, which meant no hot coffee or fire for him, but the newcomer said he would get some wood by going up to the "old man's" woodpile, meaning the writer and get some. Jones told him he need not try that game for he would prevent him the result of which was that the woodpile remained intact. So Jones was willing to steal the "old man's" eggs, but he would not allow anyone to steal his wood.
Another tramp who was a very deft wire worker, who worked in the summer in the orchard and on the farm, turned out to be very use- ful. He had been originally a miner, but met with an accident in the mine that incapacitated him from mining. He did not care for steady work, but took proportionate pay. He was very faithful, selling fruit to all who came and accounting for the proceeds faithfully. He would go away in the winter and come back in the summer for several seasons, always reliable where he was trusted. An occasional visit around the campfire was quite a treat and gave views of life from another standpoint to the writer. As a rule the tramp is deficient mentally, and without ambition above getting something to eat and some tobacco. He is happy
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