USA > California > Lassen County > Illustrated history of Plumas, Lassen & Sierra counties, with California from 1513 to 1850 > Part 50
USA > California > Plumas County > Illustrated history of Plumas, Lassen & Sierra counties, with California from 1513 to 1850 > Part 50
USA > California > Sierra County > Illustrated history of Plumas, Lassen & Sierra counties, with California from 1513 to 1850 > Part 50
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In October, 1855, Lassen came back to Honey Lake valley, accompanied by Isadore Meyerwitz, Joseph Lynch, - Greenwood, and a Spaniard named Lazier. They brought a good supply of provisions, blacksmith and mining tools, a plow, and such other implements as they thought would be necessary or useful. They also brought a number of cows, oxen, and horses. Lassen then located a tract of land one mile square, embracing the place where they had encamped while engaged in mining, and now included in the ranches of John Hulsman, Joseph Lynch, and David Titherington. This he did not survey until the following spring, and never had it placed on record. In a short time the Spaniard and Greenwood went back to Indian valley, leaving Lassen and Meyerwitz alone in the valley. Soon after, John Duchene came over from Quincy, where he had gotten into some difficulty, and hired himself to Lassen. Newton Hamilton and Marion Lawrence, called generally Commanche. George, came over the mountains, packing a good supply of provisions. It was their intention to locate land ; but they did not do so that season. They made their camp with the others, and began prospecting.
Fearing that the snow would fall to such a depth as to prevent his stock from sustaining themselves by browsing, Lassen cut about twenty tons of hay from the bunch-grass that grew in such abundance, and stacked it near his camp. The next thing required was a shelter for himself and men during the winter. They then erected the long, low, log house, which has never been without a pioneer tenant to this day, Joseph Lynch having lived there constantly. The cabin, or house, is nearly fifty feet long, sixteen wide, six logs high, and covered with a shake roof. At either end is a room sixteen feet by twenty. One of these Lassen used for a general storeroom, and the other for an apartment to live in, and which he floored with lumber cut with a whip-saw. At one end of this room was built a rock fireplace, with sufficient capacity to admit cord-wood. The openings to the outside world were a door and a three-foot-square window, over which barley sacks were nailed to keep out the cold. The small room in the center was used by Peter as a
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sleeping apartment, and where it is said that he always kept a bed for a traveler or a friend. In this rude hut the pioneers of Lassen county, Peter Lassen, Isadore Meyerwitz, Joseph Lynch, Newton Hamilton, Marion Lawrence, and John Duchene spent the winter of 1855-56; and though this humble dwelling has furnished a pioneer with shelter for a quarter of a century, it gives evidences of remaining a monument to the memory of its builders long after the last one shall have passed away.
During the year a man named Moses Mason came into the valley and located a piece of land adjoining Roop's on the north-west corner, but did not remain upon it or make any improvements. The next year his notice was recorded, and reads as follows :
" NOTICE.
"I, Moses Mason, do take up and claim this valley on Smith creek, of some four hundred acres, more or less.
"November, A. D. 1855.
M. MASON.
" A true copy of the original.
" May first, 1856.
ISAAC ROOP, Recorder."
During the winter, Lassen and his companions busied themselves in sawing out lumber with a whip-saw for sluices, and splitting rails for fencing. About five thousand rails were gotten out, and in the spring were used to fence a portion of his land. The weather was so mild and pleasant that the stock passed through the winter with but little need of the hay he had provided.
It is stated in the "Sketches" published in the Mountain Review, that in December, 1855, William Hill Naileigh (better known as Captain Hill), -McMurtre, Captain Gilpin, and two others were piloted into the valley from Gold Canon, Nevada, by old Winnemucca, the Pah Ute chief, and that they prospected on Gold run, and discovered what was known as the Hill diggings.
Early in the spring of 1856, Newton Hamilton, Isadore Meyerwitz, Joseph Lynch, and Commanche George (Marion Lawrence) also made locations of land on their own account. Commanche . George located a tract near Janesville, which now forms a part of the Haley Brothers' ranch, plow- ing an acre of land, which he planted to corn and potatoes. He soon after sold it to Squire Lewis Stark of Quincy, for a trifling consideration. Newton Hamilton located a section of land, on which he made no improvements, and the same spring sold to A. G. Hasey, L. C. McMurtre, and W. T. C. Elliott. Joseph Lynch and Isadore Meyerwitz each located a section of land below the site of Janesville, on which they did no work. Lynch afterwards sold his location to George Fry and De Witt Chandler.
In the month of July, Meyerwitz went out upon the lake to take a ride in a boat which he had built. With him were George Lathrop, - Reed, and Jack the Sailor, who were all residing with him in his cabin, and an Indian squaw. When they had proceeded some distance from the shore, the boat was capsized, and Meyerwitz and the squaw were drowned, the others being able to swim to the shore. After this sad event, Lathrop became possessed of the location the drowned man had made. He did not improve it any, and the same year sold it Manly Thompson.
On the fourteenth of March, 1856, Ebenezer Smith came over from Meadow valley, Plumas county, and located a section of land about three miles below that of Meyerwitz, on the south-west side of Honey lake, which he did not improve, and in January, 1857, sold to Nicholas Clark and Thomas Eaton. The former has retained the interest thus acquired from that day to the present time, and has resided upon the land for many years past.
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According to the records, these are all the land locations made prior to April 26, 1856, at which time the first attempt at a form of government was made. Others had come into the valley, however, and it is probable that many of these had taken possession of tracts of land which it was their intention to formally locate in the near future. Isaac N. Roop came back that spring and took possession of his old location, and occupied the log cabin he had built in 1854.
Except a few entries made from time to time in the records of Plumas county, and a few documents now in the office of the secretary of state at Carson City, pertaining to the part taken by the citizens here in the organization of the territory of Nevada, the only records of this section prior to its organization as a county are contained in two little books, 7x9 inches in size. One contains all land entries and claims of all kinds, and the other the laws promulgated for the terri- tory of Nataqua, arbitration trials, and other judicial proceedings. These books are in the possession of Mr. Arnold, Governor Roop's son-in-law.
Up to this time no attention had been paid to the matter of a government, or the establish- ment of laws and the selection of officers to administer them. Now, however, so many people come into the valley, and interests became so likely to clash at various points, that it was deemed necessary by the settlers to establish some system of government. The exact location of Honey. Lake valley was a matter of grave doubt. It lay so near the line that the majority of the settlers believed it to be beyond the limits of California, and therefore a portion of Utah, which then extended west to the California line. The eastern boundary of California was the 120° of west longitude, and this they all knew ; but not having means at hand of ascertaining the location of that line, and thinking it was as far west as the summits that divided them from Plumas county, they imbibed the idea that they were beyond the limits of California, and without the jurisdiction of Plumas county, of which they would otherwise have formed a part. This line was known to eross Lake Tahoe at about its center, and a pretty definite idea of its location could have been obtained by climbing one of the summit peaks, and with a compass in hand marking the location of the lake, following the line north with the eye. This was not done, and probably was not thought of; nor were any other steps taken to ascertain the exact location of the valley. They were of the opinion, and acted upon the assumption, that they were cast of the 120° of west longitude.
Aside from this reason, they were east of the Sierra summits, and within the great Nevada basin, and felt that they were a community separate and apart from those in California. They decided to create a new territory, wherein they might have a seat of government accessible at all seasons of the year; and to establish this, they met in solemn convention on the twenty-sixth of April, 1856. After careful and due consideration, they adopted the following statutes, which are spread upon record in one of the little books now in the possession of Mr. Arnold :
"A NEW TERRITORY FORMED AT HONEY LAKE VALLEY .- LAWS AND REGULATIONS FOR ITS GOVERNMENT.
ADOPTED APRIL 26, A. D. 1856.
" Pursuant to previous notice, the citizens of Honey Lake valley met April 26, A. D. 1856, in mass convention, at the Roop House (the old fort), for the purpose of forming such laws, rules, and regulations as are deemed necessary and advisable in view of the settlement of said valley.
"The meeting being organized by the election of Peter Lassen to the chair, and Isaae Roop secretary, the following laws were unanimously adopted by the citizens:
L.W. BUNNELL'S HOTEL, BIG MEADOWS, PLUMAS CO.CAL. .. OG. A SUMMER RESORT, ALTITUDE 4400 FT. Our
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"SEC. 1 .- Inasmuch as Honey Lake valley is not within the limits of California, the same is hereby declared a new territory, and the boundaries thereof shall be as follows, viz. : Beginning at a point where the 38} deg. of North Latitude crosses the East line of California; thence East to the 117 deg. West Longitude ; thence North to the 42nd deg. North Latitude; thence running West to the 120 deg. West Longitude (N. E. corner of California); thence south to the beginning; the said territory to be named Nataqua (i. e., woman).
"SEC. 2 .- Each actual male settler twenty-one years of age shall have the right to take up a claim of six hundred and forty acres.
" SEC. 3 .- Any person taking up a claim shall put up a notice describing the boundaries of said claim as near as possible, and also cause the description to be placed on record.
"SEC. 4 .- All claims shall be surveyed within ninety days from the date of the putting up of the notice and recording, and said survey, together with the recording, shall be done in the presence of the claimant.
"SEC. 5 .- All claims so taken up and surveyed shall be improved or occupied by the claimant or his substitute.
"SEC. 6 .- All that tract of land lying between Roop's house and the timber on the West, and between the top of the bluffs on the North side of the Susan River and three hundred yards west of the Emigrant road, Roop shall cause to be laid out in a town plat, and each settler shall be entitled to one lot in said plat, provided he causes a building to be placed thereon by the first day of May, A. D. 1857. All portions of said plat not claimed and improved according to the provisions of this section shall belong to said Roop.
"SEC. 7 .- Any claimant shall have the privilege to settle on or improve a town lot or his claim, and that either shall be held as an improvement of his claim of six hundred and forty acres.
"SEC. 8 .- No person shall divert water from its original channel to the injury of any prior occupant.
"SEC. 9 .- All difficulties and disputes shall be settled by an arbitration composed of the citizens of the valley, and all decisions of this board shall be final.
" SEC. 10 .- No person shall sell, trade, or in any other manner dispose of any spirituous liquors to the Indians; and any person or persons misusing, maltreating, robbing, or stealing from the Indians shall be considered an offender, and upon any person making a complaint in writing to the Recorder that such offense has been committed, the Recorder shall forthwith summons the citizens together, and they shall form a board of arbitrators, and after hearing all the evidence, they shall determine and assess such punishment as they may deem proper.
" SEC. 11 .- The Recorder shall be chairman in all such boards, and shall keep a docket of all proceedings had in said boards, said minutes to be recorded in a book. In the absence of the Recorder, a majority of said board shall elect a chairman, and majority shall decide all business of said board.
. "SEC. 12 .- That there shall be a Surveyor and Recorder elected to hold their office until their successors are elected and qualified.
"SEC. 13 .- That there be declared a public road, as follows: beginning at the boiling springs on the North side of Honey lake, thence to run in a Westerly course on the North Bank of Susan River to the Roop House; said road to be one hundred feet wide, and named Emigrant Road.
"SEC. 14 .- That there be declared a public road as follows : beginning at the Roop House, and to run to the Big Meadows on the north fork of Feather river ; said road to be one hundred feet wide, and named Lassen Road.
38
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"SEC. 15 .- That there be declared a public road as follows : beginning at the Roop House, and to run a westerly course to the East line of California ; said road to be one hundred feet wide, and named Shasta Road.
"SEC. 16 .- That there be declared a public road as follows: beginning at a point on the Emigrant road three-quarters of a mile East of Roop's East line, and thence to run south to the south-east corner of Smith's ranch; thence southerly to the south-west corner of Hasey's ranch ; said road to be eighty feet wide, and named Gold Run road.
" SEC. 17 .- That there be declared a public road as follows : beginning at the south-west corner of Hasey's ranch, and thence to run easterly to the south side of Honey Lake; thence to the Truckee Meadows; said road to be eighty feet wide, and named Honey Lake road.
"SEC. 18 .- That there be declared a public highway as follows: beginning at the south-east corner of Meyerowitz's ranch, on Honey Lake road, and thence to run North to the Emigrant Road ; said road to be eighty feet wide, and named Central road.
"SEC. 19 .- That Isaac Roop was elected and qualified a Recorder, and Peter Lassen was elected and qualified a Surveyor, and each shall act in his respective office from this date.
"SEC. 20 .- That to a strict adherence to and fulfillment of the above laws and regulations, we, the undersigned, permanent settlers of Honey Lake valley, pledge ourselves and our honor, each to the other, to stand to and abide by the same, and defend them inviolate.
" In testimony whereof we, the undersigned, hereunto set our hands and names this twenty-sixth day of April, A. D. 1856.
Peter Lassen. R. J. Scott.
Wm. Hill.
M. Mason.
Issadore Meyerowitz. E. Dow.
L. C. McMurtre.
David Hescock.
G. W. Lathrop.
Paul Hulsa. E. W. Shaw.
A. G. Hascy.
Isaac Roop. W. S, Davis. W. T. C. Elliott. E. Smith.
Joseph Lynch.
John A. Strode. M. T. Shores. Marion Lawrence.
" I hereby certify that the above is a true copy of the original.
" ISAAC ROOP, Re'd.
" The following was omitted by me :
" On motion of Peter Lassen, it was resolved that, in order to fully promulgate these laws, the Secretary be directed to furnish the editor of the Shasta Republican with a copy of them for publi- cation, with a request that other papers throughout the state copy. The convention then adjourned sine die.
" ISAAC ROOP, Sec.
PETER LASSEN, Pres."
With this meager code of laws, and but the two officers to administer them, the new territory of Nataqua was launched upon the political sea. It embraced about 50,000 square miles, or nearly four times the area of the states of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut combined. The boundaries of the territory had they ever been run, would have been about as follows: 38}º of north latitude intersects the east line of California about fifty miles south of Carson City, the capital of Nevada ; thence running east to the 1170 of west longitude, takes us half way across the state of Nevada, near to the town of Belmont; thence going north to the 42° of latitude we reach the vicinity of the south-west corner of Idaho; west to the 1200 of longitude takes us to the north-east corner of California; following down this we reach the point of beginning, somewhere in Alpine county, California. This embraces all of the counties of Roop, Washoe, Storey, Ormsby, Lyon, Douglas, Churchill, and Humboldt, and portions of Esmeralda, Nye, and Lander, in the state of . Nevada ; and a part of El Dorado, Alpine, and Mono, in California.
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It is amusing, now, to think of these twenty men meeting together and forming a territory of such vast dimensions ; the more so when we call to mind the fact that in Washoe, Eagle, and Car- son valleys, and in Gold canon, there were people enough to outnumber them ten to one, who were · not consulted in this disposition of themselves; and the further fact that not one of this score of law-makers lived within the boundaries they themselves set for the new territory, every one of them being west instead of east of the 120° of west longitude. Of course all these paradoxical cir- cumstances arose from the prevailing ignorance of the topography of the country east of the Sierra, and the framers of these laws neither intended to include their unknown companions so far to the south, nor exclude themselves.
Having formed their government, the settlers proceeded to make and record their locations of land. In April and May the following claims were recorded, embracing each a section of land: A. G. Hasey, on Gold run, which was soon transferred to Thomas P. Kingsbury ; John Strode, one mile north of Hasey's, which was relocated in August by William Morehead; W. T. C. Elliott, known as Rough Elliott, on Gold run; M. T. Shores, on Gold run, which was relocated in August by T. N. Kingsbury ; Florency Smith, on Susan river; Paul Hulsa (relocated in December by J. W. Davis), William Hill, I. J. Hill, and John Hollingsworth, on the north side of Susan river, east of Roop's ranch; Dow, Estep, and Aganett, two sections in copartnership, south of Hasey's; W. M. Lyttle & Co., south of Hasey's ; Mathew and George Lathrop, on the south, and about eight miles down Honey lake; R. J. Scott, on the south side of the lake, and about nineteen miles cast of Lassen's ; George Epp- stein, adjoining Smith's, and about five miles from the south-west corner of the lake; Stephen Raney, adjoining Eppstein on the south. The locations made in June were : Henry Denney and Henry Kulty, a section together, adjoining Commanche George on the south; William Weatherlow, on the north side of Susan river, about three miles down the stream from Roop's; John Griffin, adjoining Weatherlow's; Stephen O'Laughlin and Ephraim Roop, for grazing purposes, south of Susan river, five miles east of Roop's and west of Curlew butte; - Henery, between the forks of Susan river and Willow creek.
In July, locations were made as follows : T. P. Kingsbury and D. A. Breed, two sections lying between O'Laughlin's and Commanche George's claims ; John Adams, lying east of McMurtre and south of Carter; R. W. Dezoe, adjoining Smith on the west ; Joshua Abbott, adjoining D. P. Carter on the south; E. C. Gillette, one-half section crossing Susan river and including Curlew butte ; Samuel Brunie, a section in Antelope valley, about three miles north-east of Roop's house; G. W. Byerly, along the river and south of Weatherlow; W. B. Galphin, adjoining McMurtre on the north ; H. C. Nichols, east of Eppstein ; L. E. Cushman, south of Nichols; Ebenezer Smith located the boiling spring on the north-east side of the lake, and a building spot 60x100 feet for a bathing- house.
In August, Florency Smith located a tract on the south side of the river; J. B. Mankins east of Roop, and J. C. Mankins south of Roop; David Hescock, Francis Lannigan, and Charles Nixon, a section on the east of Byerly on the north side of the river, and east of Roop on the south side of the stream; James and William Shelton, adjoining Hescock & Co. on the east; T. C. Smith, next to J. B. Mankins.
In September, William Weatherlow located an irregular tract one and one-half miles in length, which had been located the year before by Moses Mason, and abandoned. The location Weatherlow had made in June was about this time relocated by L. M. Robertson, but was soon after relinquished by him ; also, the location make by John Griffin in June was claimed at this time by William N. Crawford, and soon after relinquished. In October, Leduc Vary located a section at Deep springs;
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J. W. Sanbanch took up a section on the north-west side of Antelope valley. In November, M. W. Haviland located a " seccion " adjoining Morehead, and A. D. Morton one next to him; William N. Crawford made a location on the lake shore, but abandoned it two days later; D P. Dexter took a claim west of Scott ; Logan E. Whitaker adjoined Scott on the north; William Morehead on the lake shore near Dexter (soon after relocated by R. J. Lennox) ; William N. Crawford and L. M. Robertson, a section next to Morehead; Thomas Mitchell relocated J. Wycroft's section ; Antone Storff adjoined Mitchell on the north. In December, John W. Davis relocated Paul Hulsa's claim; Joseph Libler located next to Stephen O'Laughlin; A. N. Silverton located a section now embraced in the ranches of Scholl & Cahlan, J. H. Maxwell, and John C. Davis.
November 23, 1856, the following power of attorney was placed on record by A. G. Hasey : "NOTICE-Know all men by these Present; that I the undersigned have been and is hear by apointed to act as Agent or Substitute to represent the Claim of Mrs. L. M. Ellis .- Belcher."
On the twenty-ninth of August, 1856, Isaac N. Roop, who had been acting in the capacity of recorder, appointed I. Ely and J. H. Patty his deputies, with full power to act in his stead, himself placing their appointment ou record; and soon after went to Shasta to remain until the following spring. J. H. Patty had placed but six claims on record when he was summarily ousted from his position by the following proceedings which appear on the record:
"HONEY LAKE VALLEY NOV 16/56
"As it became necessary to hold an Election in this valley for the purpose of electing a Recorder pro tem to fill the vacancy of Mr I Roop until his return to the Valley or until timn vacates his office the Citizens therefore proceeds to Elect a Recorder pro tem " Wherein WM HILL Presids President
"W W L LENNOX Secty.
"On Motion Mr Goodwin, Hasey & Davis was put in nomination to fill the office.
"they then proceeded to take the Ballot when Mr Hasey was declared unanimously Elected to fill that office.
" there being no important business be four the meeting a motion of Mr Morton it was adgourned sine die.
W W L LENNOX Secty."
The reason these proceedings were held does not fully appear; but it may be judged that a change was desired by some for personal reasons. This thought is suggested by the fact that on the twenty-ninth of the same month W. W. L. Lennox copied verbatim the notice Roop had posted up and placed on record of the first location in the valley, and caused it to be recorded by the new official. He thus relocated, or "jumped," Roop's claim, including that portion which had been designated as a town site in section six of the laws adopted by the first assembly of the territory of Nataqua. It might have been done for other and better reasons.
The above locations embrace all those made in 1856 and placed on record in the 7x9 book of records of the territory of Nataqua. When the territory was formed in April, 4,880 acres of land had been located, 400 of which had been abandoned by Moses Mason, seven gentlemen being the property holders, and the improvements consisting of two log houses, a little rail fencing, and a ditch. When the year 1856 came to an end, 36,840 acres of land had been taken up and recorded, being about 15,000 acres more than are now being actually cultivated for hay, grain, and vege- tables, though by no means as much as is now owned and claimed in the county.
The first entry of any nature whatsoever made upon the civil records of the territory of Nataqua was in the matter of the estate of Isadore Meyerowitz, who had been drowned in Honey lake. It is thus recorded on page one of the little book :
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"ESTATE OF ISSADORE MEYEROWITZ
US GEO LATHROP, Admr.
"At a meeting held this 15th day of July, A. D. 1856, Geo. Lathrop was duly elected adminis- trator for the Estate of Issadore Meyerowitz, Dec., and Win Reed R. J. Scott and John W. Cushing were elected Appraisers.
"ISAAC ROOP Recorder"
The next entry is as follows :
" July 27, A. D. 1856.
" Isaac Roop was this day sworn in by due process as Recorder.
" Peter Lassen was this day sworn as Surveyor by Recorder
" Geo Lathrop was this day sworn as administrator by the Recorder "ROOP, Recorder "
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