USA > California > Lassen County > Illustrated history of Plumas, Lassen & Sierra counties, with California from 1513 to 1850 > Part 49
USA > California > Plumas County > Illustrated history of Plumas, Lassen & Sierra counties, with California from 1513 to 1850 > Part 49
USA > California > Sierra County > Illustrated history of Plumas, Lassen & Sierra counties, with California from 1513 to 1850 > Part 49
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73
" From the volcanic tables which cover the region in the vicinity of Lassen's peak rise a great number of cones of all heights, several of them being nearly as elevated as the peak itself. Some of these are sharp-pointed ridges, while others have well-defined circular craters at their summits. A line of these cones runs in a northerly direction to beyond Pit river; some of them are nearly
336
9,000 feet high; and Black butte, about fifteen miles east-north-east from Lassen's, is probably over 9,500 feet above the sea. Around the base of this are several lower cones, some with finely formed craters now covered with forests.
" On the north-eastern slope of the peak, at about 2,000 feet below the summit, is a crater sur- rounded with vertical walls, except at one point. The exterior slopes are covered with ashes and pumice.
"Four or five miles north of the summit of Lassen's peak is a cluster of irregular, truncated cones, having all the appearances of a very recent origin. Several persons gave their independent testimony that, from 1854 to 1857, these cones were constantly emitting large quantities of steam and gases. Their sides were found to be of loose ashes, and their broad summits were covered with loose, angular fragments of lava, as if they had been raised up and broken by a force acting from beneath. The rocks of which these cones are made up is that peculiar variety of rhyolite, for which Richthofen has proposed the name of Nevadite. It has a resemblance to granite, so that at a dis- tance, and without close examination, it would be taken for that rock. The minerals which make up this curious variety of lava are chiefly quartz and feldspar (both sanidin and glassy oligoclase, according to Richthofen), with long, slender prisms of hornblende and hexagonal crystals of mica sparsely disseminated through the mass. The feldspathic material is drawn out into an imperfectly fibrous form, which is half-way between pumice and the ' Pele's hair' of the Sandwich Island vol- canoes. This condition has evidently been the result of the flowing of the mass of lava after the consolidation of the quartz, and while the feldspathic ingredient was still in a plastic condition. This is shown by the fact that the threads or fibres are all directed in one way, which was evidently that of the movement of the mass. The quartz is present in very large quantity in this rock; it is transparent, but full of fine flaws and cracks.
" On all sides of Lassen's peak evidences of the existence of former glaciers were observed. The traces of them were most numerous and best preserved at an altitude of from 7,500 to 8,000 feet; but they occurred in abundance between 6,000 and 9,000 feet. An immense glacier formed on the south slope just below the farthest cone, and flowed south, covering a table several miles in extent, and descending to the canons of the Feather river. Another one originated along the divide east of the peak, and descended into the valley of Hat creek."
In the Christmas number of the Sacramento Bee for the year 1881, Rev. J. H. C. Bonte describes his impressions of Lassen's peak, in an article entitled " Angling in the Sierra," in this beautiful language:
"The Lassen group is a brotherhood of mountains; a congress of oval summits; a celestial gathering of redeemed volcanoes, resting on the bosom of the great Patriarch. The place of their resort is a royal court, where this conclave of imperial heights receives embassies from the sea. It is a temple where they receive the homage of the sun, moon, and stars. It is the king's treasure- house from whence largesses are distributed to the humble valleys. The entire ascent of Lassen from Big Meadows up to the snow-line, 10,777 feet above the sea, is easy, and never percipitous. It is a terraced mountain, with alternate meadow and forest, and is remarkable for the absence of the hideous and uncouth, for the even splendor of its ever-ascending terraces. The terraced meadows! what wild pranks of nature's art! what rich combinations of colors, which almost pro- duce a visible music ! A terraced forest above, and one below, grass, flowers, richly colored shrub- bery, cataracts leaping gently with spread wings into the meadows! Rivulets a few inches in width, running between banks of greenish-brown moss, with flowers bending over them as if dropping a tribute of perfume while inhaling the vapor. Loving tolerance, exquisite courtesy of
RESIDENCE AND HOTEL OF DR W. PRATT, PRATTVILLE PLUMAS CO., CAL. A SUMMER RESORT.
337
flower and tree-enough to draw tears of joy from eyes weary with human strife. Such scenes possess personal magnetism, the art of fascination. Their grace, repose, serenity, and purity soften the heart, impart peace, arouse the moral desires, love, and reverence. The terraced meadows and forests of Lassen's peak linger in the memory like a reminiscence of Paradise. Farther up the birds disappear, and the eternal silences settle down on the scene, and wonder is succeeded by awe ; awe gives way to solemnity, and solemnity blossoms into peace and gladness. The tone of Lassen is golden, silvery, and gladsome. It suggests force, vitalizing power, held in equilibrium. In the evening, the scene is iridescent; in dark nights, the stars hang down like hyacinths; on moonlight nights, it is solid silver. In the early morning a thin, sheet-like cloud lies on the western curve; the sun shines on the summit, the moon on the base, all in living rivalry to see which can weave the most lovely garments of light and cloud, and a gentle effervescence in the air proves the suprem- acy of the sun. As you stride over the little meadows near the snow, the frost crumples under your steps, and brown moss filled with prisms of ice reveals the splendors of the Aurora Borealis beneath your feet, and the sun floods your soul with warmth and gladness."
The altitude of a number of prominent points in Lassen county has been taken and registered by Lieutenant Tillman. Some of these are on the summit ridge that divides the two counties of Plumas and Lassen.
Feet.
Feet.
Lassen peak
. 10,437
Lassen's grave .. . 4,281
Mount Dyer
7,369
Stockton's mills . 4,639
Johnson's ranch 4,379
Summit of Taylorville and Susanville road .. 6,428 Thompson peak. . 7,752
Goodrich's ranch, Mt. Meadows. 4,883
Pass south of Milford 5,999
Eagle lake 5,115
McKissick peak 7,083
Milford 4,420
Adams peak. 8,432
Willow ranch, Long valley 4,275
Beckwourth pass 5,192
Junction House, Long valley 4,639
Summit peak. 8,302
Shaffer peak 6,864
Honey lake
3,949
Horse lake 5,030
Susanville
4,195
State Line peak, east of Long valley. 8,405
EARLY HISTORY OF LASSEN COUNTY.
It is a matter of considerable doubt as to who was the first member of the Caucasian race to pass through or come within the limits of this county. Several bands of trappers, after the trip made to California in 1833 by Captain B. L. E. Bonneville's party under Joseph Walker, pushed their way into the Nevada basin, and it is possible that some of these may have visited Honey Lake valley, though not probable, for they generally came as far as the sink of the Humboldt, and then crossed north to Snake river. The records of these trapping parties are meager, consisting chiefly of the lives and personal adventures of some of the more noted of the trappers, and of Washington Irving's "Bonneville." There were undoubtedly many trapping parties of whose movements we know nothing, some of which might, perhaps, have visited this valley. Ewing Young, in the fall of 1833, led a trapping company from the tributary streams of the Columbia river into the upper end of the Sacramento valley. The record fails to state the exact route taken, and it may have been by the way of Goose lake and Pit river; in fact, that is the most practicable route of travel between
37
338
the two points named. In such an event, they would have passed through the north-western corner of this county.
James P. Beckwourth, who discovered Beckwourth pass in 1851, and settled in Sierra valley the following spring, claimed to have visited Honey Lake valley in 1845 with a party of hunters and trappers, among whom was old Greenwood, after whom Greenwood valley in El Dorado county is named. The record of his life published by the Harper Brothers shows that he was in California at that time, but fails to tell us of any such visit, or of any incident at all similar to the following, which is related as being the occasion of his revealing his early knowledge of Honey lake. The incident is related as follows : Soon after Beckwourth established himself near his pass, a party of miners from Jamison creek came to his place in pursuit of a small band of marauding Indians. Beckwourth told them that, judging from the course taken by the fugitive savages, they were probably heading for a large valley which he had visited, as above stated. He could not tell just how far the valley was, but thought it could not be more than seventy-five or one hundred miles. He then gave a description of the place as he remembered it, saying that he saw at least a thousand Indian lodges on the border of a large lake of brackish, muddy water; that on the west the moun- tains were covered with a growth of tall, thrifty timber, while on the north and east they were entirely devoid of such vegetation; that the general character and appearance of the valley were the same as those he had passed through many hundred miles to the eastward. This is as good a descrip- tion of Honey Lake valley as could or would be given by a man who had, like Beckwourth, only visited it as he had hundreds of others throughout the almost boundless west. The men were satisfied that he was acquainted with the country, and knowing of his long life among the Indians, asked him to take charge of their party and go in pursuit of the savages. He agreed to this, and they started immediately. They rode hard until sundown, and during the night proceeded as rapidly as was consonant with the difficulty of keeping the trail. Just at daybreak in the morning they reached the brow of the mountains to the south-east of where the town of Milford now stands, and were just in time to observe the party of a dozen savages whom they were following emerge from the timber at the base of the mountain some two miles in advance. Just beyond, on the south-western margin of the lake, were encamped a great many Indians, and the little band of pursuers decided to return home. They failed to overtake the fugitives, but they confirmed Beckwourth's statement of a prior knowledge of Honey lake.
Early in January, 1844, Lieutenant John C. Fremont, while on his first exploring expedition to the coast, passed down from Oregon to the Truckee river in search of the fabulous Buenaventura river. On Christmas, 1843, he was at the lake near the southern boundary line of Oregon, then named by him and still called Christmas lake. From this lake, which lies just cast of the one hundred and twentieth meridian, he kept his course in a southerly direction until he came to Mud lake, and then to Pyramid lake on the fourteenth of January, 1844. While it is possible that he touched the eastern edge of this county in his passage, it is probable that he passed down just a few miles east of the line that divides the states of Nevada and California. Certain it is that he did not see Honey lake, or else mention would have been made of it in his report. This is the first company of white men that is absolutely known to have come even so near as this to the county.
From this time, except the possibility of Beckwourth, Greenwood, and others having been here in 1845, no one is claimed to have visited the valley prior to 1848. During that summer Peter Lassen and Paul Richeson were engaged in finding a northern route from Fort Hall to the upper Sacramento valley. It is claimed that, in their search through the mountains for a suitable route, they visited Honey Lake valley ; but it would seem as though this could not be so, for if they had
.
339
come through the pass to Honey lake, it would appear to be very poor judgment, indeed, to select the route by the way of Mountain Meadows and Pit river, which was the famous Lassen road. This road has been described a few pages prior to this in a history of Lassen's life. Though it would seem improbable that Lassen and Richeson, after coming through Noble's pass to Honey Lake valley, would have selected the long and difficult route they did in preference to this one; still it is possible, and those two gentlemen may have visited this valley in 1848. It is certain that they were in the county, for the route ran from Mountain Meadows northerly to Pit river.
A great many emigrants passed through the western end of the county in 1849, following the Lassen trail, but as they were bound for California and the gold-fields, they paid no attention what- ever to the country through which they were passing. Indeed, it is a matter of considerable doubt if they knew they had yet arrived in the state of California. The Lassen road fell into disrepute that year, and the next season was not used to any extent, if at all. The writer has never met any one who came over that road in 1850.
Early in the spring of 1851 a prospecting party of eighty men, headed by a man named Noble, and now known as Noble's party, after crossing Indian valley, passed through the mountains to Honey Lake valley. The company soon returned and disbanded, but Noble, who was impressed with the value of the pass through the mountains which they had found, went on to Shasta, then the chief town in the extreme northern portion of the state, and made known his discovery to the enterprising business men of that place. The pass was then called and has since been known as Noble's pass. Realizing the fact that the opening of an emigrant route through the upper moun- tains with its terminus at Shasta would be of vast benefit to that town commercially, the business men of the place raised a subscription, and hired Noble and a small party of men to go out to the Humboldt, and divert as much of the stream of emigration as possible through the new pass, and to the town of Shasta. Early in the summer of 1852 Noble started with his comrades upon their journey.
It was in August, 1852, that Noble's party reached the Humboldt. There soon came along a train of emigrants, in which were a number of returning '49ers, who were acquainted with the sad results that had followed in former years a departure from the regular trail, and who were also posted on all the methods and ways of the early Californians. No sooner did Noble and his party tell them of the new and shorter route to the valley, than the old Californians became highly indig- nant, and not only declined to try the new road, but threatened violence to its advocates if they persisted in their efforts to induce the unsophisticated emigrants to do so. Matters were amicably adjusted, however, and a few emigrants agreed to try the new route.
The company thus made up traveled the old Lassen or Oregon trail as far as Black Rock, and then struck across the desert twenty-five miles to Granite creek; thence sixteen miles to Buffalo springs; thence nine miles to the mouth of Smoke creek; up that stream four miles; thence ten miles to Mud springs ; thence seventeen miles into Honey Lake valley, where John D. Kelley now lives. Crossing the valley and passing through the present site of Susanville, they crossed the summit of the Sierra by Noble's pass, following then the course of Deer creek to its mouth. As soon as it became demonstrated that this route possessed superior advantages in the mat- ter of feed and water, as well as being shorter than any other, agents were kept stationed at the intersection with the overland trail, for the purpose of turning the emigration over this road and into the northern mines. That year, and for a number of years thereafter, the new road was traveled quite extensively. Had the emigrants of 1849 who departed from the old road at the same place to follow Lassen's Horn route been lead by this trail, and
340
thus shown at that time the advantages of the road, instead of the disadvantages of the Lassen route, a great difference would have been made in the early development of this region. In other words, had Lassen made this his route, instead of the long, difficult, and dangerous trail he selected, it is more than probable that the great bulk of the overland travel to California would have come through Honey Lake valley and Noble's pass, instead of following the Truckee and Carson trails. As it was, however, the experience of those who trusted themselves to the Lassen road in 1849 had the effect of throwing all so-called cut-offs into disfavor, and the result was that the great tide of emigration still >urged along the old trail, and refused to be seduced by the specious arguments of those who sought to divert it into other channels.
During the year 1853 the route was improved and shortened considerably, and travel through Honey Lake valley increased rapidly. The agents, who were stationed somewhere in the vicinity of Lassen's old sign board, explained the advantages of the new route so successfully that many were induced to try it. That season Isaac N. Roop, postmaster at Shasta, came over from that eity with a few companions, for the purpose of establishing themselves on the line of the road, where a profit- able trade could be carried on with the emigrants. Roop located a tract of land one mile square, at the head of Honey Lake valley, and posted a notice upon his claim, of which the following is the record on the book of claims kept by him in 1856, as recorder for the territory of Nataqua :
"NOTICE.
" I, Isaac Roop, do take up and claim the following-described tract of land : Beginning at a pine tree on the south side of Susan river, at the foot of the bluffs; thence running north some four hundred rods, more or less, to a pine stake set at the foot of the bluffs on the north side of Susan river ; thence west to the timber; thence south along said timber to the top of the bluffs on the north of Susan River; thence up said river on the top of said bluffs two miles; thence across Susan river to the top of the bluffs on the south side of Susan river; thence down on the edge of said bluffs to the edge of the timber; thence to continue in a south-easterly course to the place of begin- ning (this being in the head of the valley).
" Sept., A. D. 1853.
ISAAC ROOP.
"July, A. D. 1854. Built a house on the above claim. Left for Shasta, Nov., A. D. 1855. " A true copy of the original, this first day of May, A. D. 1856. ISAAC ROOP, Recor."
This was the only location made in the valley that season, the other members of Roop's party abstaining from making any land claims whatever. They all, including Roop, soon returned to Shasta to spend the winter, leaving the valley as they had found it, save the lonely notice which reared its head above the sage-brush, and wondered at the desolation which surrounded it. It will be observed that in the notice he applies the name Susan river to the stream that comes down from the Sierra and flows easterly to Honey lake. It is claimed by some that this name was then given the stream, by him in honor of his only daughter, Susan, who was then living in the east. By others it is maintained that an emigrant girl named Susan De Witt, who died on the road, and was buried a short distance east of the Buffalo salt works, in Nevada, has her memory perpetuated in the name of this stream. Still others say that a young lady bearing the name of Susan passed through with one of the trains in 1852, and that her name was bestowed upon the stream. These contradictory opinions are held by the early settlers, all of whom would seem to have been so situ- ated as to know the facts in the case; and as it is impossible to decide between them, we let the matter stand as it is. One thing is certain : Roop, in his notice, left the first record of this name
L.N. BREED.
341
for the beautiful mountain stream, and it is not improbable that he bestowed this title upon it to better define the boundaries of his location. It is, however, also improbable that emigration would pass this river for two seasons without a name of some kind being applied to the stream.
During the year 1854 the Shasta people still maintained agents along the Humboldt to attract emigration over this road, and the travel through the valley was large. These emigrants were all bound for California, and none of them thought of stopping short of the mines on the other slope of the mountains, the majority going clear to the Sacramento valley, only to turn around and make their way back into the mountains.
In May, 1854, Roop and .John Hill went from Shasta to the valley, to see if the snow was sufficiently melted to admit of the passage of a wagon loaded with supplies. On the way, they overtook a prospecting party of about a dozen men, one of whom was Hyram K. Wilcox, who had left Shasta a few days before. They all came on to the valley together, arriving on the sixth of June, the prospectors soon becoming dissatisfied, and returning across the mountains. Roop and Hill also went back to Shasta, and Roop soon returned with a load of merchandise and supplies, accompanied by his brother Ephraim Roop, William McNall, Captain William Weatherlow, and others.
During the summer, this party built the rough, one-story log house, about 20x30 feet in size, which still stands in an orchard in the eastern suburbs of Susanville, and is owned by A. T. Arnold, Mr. Roop's son-in-law. This building was covered with a shake roof. Since it was used for a fort in the Sage-Brush War, it has been called Fort Defiance. In this building was placed the stock of goods that had been brought over from Shasta, and a brisk and profitable trade was carried on with the emigrants. That summer, Mr. Roop located a water right on Pah Ute creek, then called Smith creek, and posted up the following notice :
" NOTICE.
" I, the undersigned, claim the privilege to take all of the water out of Smith creek at the junction of the two forks where this stake stands. I shall build the dam some six feet high, and carry the water along the South hill to the emigrant road.
" August, A. D. 1854.
" Recorded this first day of May, A. D. 1856.
ISAAC ROOP. ISAAC ROOP, Recd."
From this creek they dug the Roop ditch, about one-half a mile long, by which they conveyed water in close proximity to the log house. While working upon this improvement, it was always necessary to leave a guard at the house ; for, though the Indians were not openly hostile, their predatory habits compelled the early settlers to be constantly on their guard to protect their prop- erty. When winter set in, Roop and the larger number of his companions returned to Shasta, while a few stopped in the valley until spring, though there was no necessity for their doing so.
During the year 1854, Lieutenant E. G. Beckwith, in charge of an exploring party, passed through the valley. The war department had sent out, the previous year, several exploring expedi- tions to examine the various routes across the continent, for the purpose of ascertaining which was the most feasible for a trans-continental railroad. One of these detachments, under the charge of Lieutenant Beckwith, crossed Honcy Lake valley, and went through Noble's pass to Fort Reading. They then went up the Sacramento and Pit rivers, passed down the old Lassen trail, and again to Fort Reading. The observations and conclusions of Lieutenant Beckwith are embodied in his report, which was submitted to congress by the secretary of war, and is to be found in the " Pacific Railroad Reports, Volume 2."
342
In the early part of the year 1855, Peter Lassen was living with Isadore Meyerwitz (or Meyer- owitz) on a ranch in Indian valley, located by them in 1850. In June, 1855, he started over the mountains on a prospecting trip, accompanied by Kenebcck, Parker, and another man, themselves mounted on horses, and their outfit packed on the backs of mules. They came into the valley three miles west of Janesville, where they pitched their camp just back of the ranch now owned by Richard Bass. The next day Parker and the one whose name is unknown started out to make some kind of a trade with the Indians, going around the lake to the north in search of them, and encamped in the vicinity of the hot springs. At the same time Lassen and Kenebeck traveled towards the north-west, along the base of the Sierra, and after going about six miles, camped at a pile of bowlders, which are in front of, and but a short distance from, the first cabin he built in the valley. They prospected for a few days, and were so gratificd at the result, that Lassen returned at once across the mountains to procure men and supplies to work the place systematically.
In the latter part of June, Lassen came again to the valley, accompanied by Joseph Lynch, William Gallagher, and Samuel Knight. They brought with them a complete mining outfit and a supply of provisions. The first thing necessary was to bring water to the claim, and this they did by digging a ditch two miles in length, from the little stream now known as Lassen creek. This ditch has always been called the Lassen ditch. After they had worked a couple of weeks a cause of difference arose between Knight and Lassen, and the former took what property there was belonging to him and left the valley. About ten days after the diteli was completed the water supply failed ; but during that time the claim had paid them good wages. They therefore decided to go to Indian valley and make preparations to return here and spend the winter.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.