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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 23, 1915)
P,?r tligrilcen F-ast Ore-sronian Rcmnrl-Un Sonrn!r EVfTfion PcniTftort. Oregon, Thursday, September 23, 1915 Twenty Paft On the Trail of Gold in Forty-Nine J. r tl -t r.flii .. ..lit. l ! iui :" ,1 of ( , hanK ,.l;s nirl the tie u. Knc- .,lh I . t.ii, to the f-'-Mil iii I hrir lr,-aiui u s, t i; it fur Mlwr, 1,-st the prei ii l,.T.,u,f s.i I'h-nrf'.i! ih.it tliiir In valine pr.'i,' iii;i-ii I 'ti l nuifitii'.l , -i , I ; n n-!- ! come ar.1 ellnre the iii' treasure fields. Our; n Mates, firm vi, wilh alurmj (he ri'okl,'s race to the . finally i KJ-pi'i-ti-d il a Im-vitale and Jhose . who wen- unit In 1 Teach mid to print i wiimini-'s ac.iiiiM the evil of a no-; n.ii.lir caii-rr m Jn,d the thrones. '. li w.is ii ntuiii;. ,1i'. Families never . vai . I i,. l.reiwfe for the hazardous. : t r ! i . (n-r..v. 'he , our.try. but start ) i.ii I e.iuiiil ml io er the ; i : crew I ;,;,) I'riTk, and did mi lrn I ri ling. i'rr and Nichi'liti krilty dis-e.iv.-r.ng a nuitset. I'l' to ISaJ the i:o.,l vrn'k r-,,1, 1 s were wori.od to i.l a handful ,if men. to whom were lull. Men should not be hanjjoil or banished unjustly, nor should miners be deprived of their rightful proper ty. He vvi'ji spurred on by tH rnaiir ration that th claim, of w hic) he. liml .1,1,' 1 that )r.ir Klhaii Alien and llo-j extorted soodly portion from Me ,a l aliou ilrosh, f.'iis of a minister Uiughlin ud O'ltiley was rich in t Heading. T.i. In l.vti they wrote precious metals.. So it was decided their father; i to call a meeting r all in miners Native silver is found in Hold Can- and formulate rule and regulatiuns for the new district. Incidentally, t'omsioci and his partners covrei m all evidence of their discovery lest , n: Irok. S.lpp- . . th Inter it resen. Mes thin shee-lea,'., 'n verv fine, and lead ".he miners .so it to be. We found silver ore h! -.,1 with 1 n! oard veritable lip like is.-., bay. In-eared the dangers were annihilat rs stalled and who endured tin ir r.nen t V ess, is. which added lores! ..f m.-sls thu innle in San Fran, 1 ri-SMlile Ihousands d of the la S-H1H" ei. by Indians. scor thirsted, but those w no nuurtu , tf monf. tl) dev,.iop a mlne should leached their Real. Man were u- dotermin(l the existence of rich i l l.olnted. for foolishly tney naa per il, iitnl themselves to believe that forks of the eanvon." A year j It arouse jealousy among Use miners. Vllen tlrosh writes: "Our first , A: the meeting a mining code was . i-a. was one-half ounce of rock; framed and adopted, although tt was t no re.-ult was :j."on' of silver to the . so conflicting ami ambiguous that it t n. which was altogether too much cottld not possibly be administered; i f a t'led thins:. We assayed a small ' but it soon apiieared that the- miners ...laiility of roe'K by rupell.ition from had no Intention of observing the another vein. The result was $J00 a ! covenants of their convention. They ton. We have several other veins , apiniinted the blacksmith of the v Inch are as yet untouched." jcamp to be the recorder, stipulating The brothers, who were proficient ' that he should keep Ih records In a in metallurity, made their living by ' svcurely bound book, but none paid washing placer sold, but their hopes! the slightest attention to this rule, were lush, for George Frown, a cattle' much less the recorder himself, who t.iider of Carson valley, had promised , t ept the book on a shelf behind the ureal lumps of sold could be picked p almost anywhere, and these pass 'd on. Others, thwarted by provi dence in the pursuit of gold, became farmers, shopkeepers, artisans cre ators and doers of things Sailors de ferred their ships on arriving at San Francisco scarcely before anchors struck solid bottom; indeed, some captains, desirous of making return trips to Panama, put their men in irons and released them only when thev nromised to accept 1112 a month wanes and remain with the vessel. The garrison at Monterey was sorely hig broth(.r was a cause pf Breat grief 1, plcted for officers and men aiihe -vere either given Ions furloughs or ore-bearing ledges. "The black rock (which assayed $3500 ton) presented so many difficulties," wrote Allen Grosh, September II. 1S5T. "that we lost our patience and, relying on Frown, we dropped everything, de termined to master it. The very day we had determined it. ve heard the first news of his murder." Their disappointment was relieved somewhat by Mrs. U M. Dettenried ei. who promised to aid them with money she had saved. Three days later, however, Ilosea Grosh stuck a l ick into his left foot, and he died within a fortnight. The pass'ng of took French leave to go to the dig gings. Indians were instructed to wash the placer gold, but more stress was laid upon the delivery of it to the persons who employed them for few beads or some article of ap J arent finery ihat might strike their lancy; and the early storekeepers rig rd up scales unike those fashioned ty blind justice and weighed the dust and nuggets in payment for goods at fabulous prices. At the commencement of the rush there was no need of safeguarding cne'g possessions. Gold was exposed openly In sacks piled up in tents, bat comparatively few thefts were re corded. Everyone seemed happy, ex cept old Sutter, pining over the invas ion of his empire, the failure of his prist mill enterprise, and Marshall, who had failed to win fortune and who became morose and claimed close communication with the spirit world. 3n 1847 the population of California was fixed at 16.000. In 1?50 it was 100,000, and increasing by leaps and tounds. There was no stemming the u st less tide. Peoples of all colors, creeds and conditions came from every quarter of the globe. Good, lad and indifferent they were, and V. a man had a steady eye it be hooved him to possess a steadier l".rd. The old safety and eae of the l opulace vanished. Strict guard was l ept over provisions and all else. Men scattered all along the Yuba, vhere they earned $60 and 1100 a c'ay. From Coloma to Spanish Ear, Try Diggings (later Hanftown and subsequently given the more pleas ing name of Placervillei. up and down the Tulumne. far and wide, the i , army of seekers spread, and finally traced the placer gold to its source, a 1 . . . , I .. . 1. I 1 j . v. . . , zi:r: rod. n . . " . . V ' 6 him that wherever he m iiiveiueu. ,. aiuuriiia nau oe oome a state. The day of plenty was a i hand. . Fremont had located and named Oie Truckee, after the famous Indi an chief; Walker had passed on, with i a river explored and named in his j honor; Pedediah S. Smith, as early as' JUS. had crossed near what had b- j th. vniie tne (-migrant trail; thousands ' had reached their gnal. California. I !"ut few of these had paused in cross- ! tng the barren desert to learn what I treasurers were stored there, since! r.ature had so neglected it in all I tilings of a beauteous character. It i van uninviting and uninspiring to tliiise who made up the caravans of , "'vi!!at!in that crowded the trail to. the land of gold. A Vnrmon party! loaded by John 'rr hid r-ached a creek In the Carso-i valley May 15,' ""fl. and William Prouse found Pold , ir. the sands. Th Mormons called t bar of a saloon and a person who wished to alter the course of his boundary lines or make insertions in his original location did so without objection or Interference. James A. Corey, a friend of Comstock, was In formed of the discovery" and he pro ceeded to claim a section four hun dred and fifty feet long on the ledge, which was one hundred and fifty feet more than the regulations allowed. While he was at work John Bishop and Horatio B. Camp hove In sight and declared that the located ground was theirs by prior right. Corey, himself a non-observer of the code. ui'J when lie revvered from his ln- i..rv ho wus sent to a sanitarium in i. v.1 1 foi ni i, here he diet I: Piitriot Melaiut:iiu strugftlml aloni; a; all m muer of work until ha serve,; : jc- cook f ir a party of mineri in Sim ernanliha. California, when he waa siken su;k in ls;. unit die t: In ttte! sounty hospital without leu ting en-1 uugh tei pay for a pauper's biiriul j Aim now tne west was to nter p or a imw era tire era uf sister and gambling was to- he a food to the peoplti. and the taw mjwle a plaything in the. tutnds of the mighiyv Repro duced: frm lhe .Sunset Mugnxlne. WATTIKM ASTFITS mTlFS OK tSKKAT IMIWtT.WE (Continued from page seventeen.) of fact it had; noaw- or els a poor on, and setters ami agents took ad vantage of the conditions and mads many deals assuring buyers that cer tain land had a water right. A piece of lani may have a water right guaranteed by the state as such but that doe's not tell of what value the right may b. It might be a right for winter water only, fall or spring water, r even stock and donwetlc use only. Many prospective buyers are beginning to realize this and this office receives Inquiries right along asking for information as regards the worth of a certain water right on a given piece of land. Each year's work of the watermaster on any stream adds to the value of the In formation which he can lve these j people and we are aiming at building up a system of records to aid us In this work, for Its value to the coun ty Is unquestionable. Enter Working Force, In handling the distribution of Ir rigation waters the element of time enters largely Into the work, for the flow of a stream Is seldom steadv. The Finest Equipped Amusement Parlors in Eastern Oregon i no CIiorloG Company CHARLES J. GREULICH, Prop. CIGARS, TOBACCO AND SMOKERS' SUPPLIES CONFECTIONS, SOFT DRINKS BILLIARD PARLORS 715 Main Street, Pendleton, Oregon -H!T Y y ; ; , Sodas, Ice Cream and all the latest popular drinks served at our modern sanitary fountain. D HOTOS niraiiiwiiiii Mii..iiai!.4,liiil,,illiHuil iilllElEli A Specialty Made of Portraits and Family Groups Highwt Clans Work and Moderate Prices. lUH'INIM'p POWTAI,g AND PANORAMAS. Finishing and tiuppll Amateurs. for 17. S. 0QYJ1.1AH Main Street, Near frldaa Pendleton. . to Alien Grosh. who determined to go to California, away from the scene oi his sorrow, and, accompanied by I!iehard M. l!ucke, began a Journey across the Sierra on November 2Hh. storm- obliterated the trail at Lake Tahoe. ml they could not turn back with any degree of certainty nor could they press forward in security. They killed the donkey which they had with them and took as much of its flesh as they could carry, and Pioved on. Their sufferings were ter- j rible, for they literally waded waist high in snow until they reached the summit Then a second storm broke c ver them, and they lost their way completely. Eucke suggested that they lie down and die, but Grosh would not hear of such surrender.' That night the men burrowed into the snow and made their beds. The following morning they crawled on hands and knees, covering less than a mile between daybreak and noon, and their eyes were Just closing from overmastering faintness when they heard the bark of a dog. But they were rescued too late, for Grosh died or. the twelfth day after reaching the mining camp the Last Chance, Eucke survived, although he suffered the loss of one foot and part of an other. It has been fairly well established that the silver ledges uncovered by the Grosh brothers were those that ir. later years were to yield the v orld's richest bonanza. If fate had foiled two men of intelligence and ability in the development of a sil ver deposit, she was to play a dif ferent prank in giving her treasure to the world. Ever since 1851 there had been at work in the Gold Creek district James Finney, known to his companions as "Old Vlrginny," who had something of a reputation as a was said of cast his eye treasure was to be found, but his fel low miners of the day had great dif ficulty In Inducing him to look any w here with seeing eyes, for he wajs (siber only when he had no money with which to purchase liquor. But ore day he looked across the canyon and caught the sun shimmering on peak. He walked to the highest Point of the mountain, which he n;.iiied Sun Peak, and placed a notice of '..-.cation in a crevice in a rock That incident took place on Febru ary ;2. 1551, but it was not until the winter of that year that Finney mus tred sufficient ambition to attempt an exploration of his location. Then I with three others. John Bishop, Al j' lander Henderson and John Pount I he set out to prospect the ledge, which I had been named facetiously "Virgin ia I-ad." in honor of the discoverer. ; And here Is where Henry Com- stock leaps into fame, if It be fame i to steal a precious metal ledge and ! I ose for the glory that may attach to a discovery. In May. H50, Patrick i McLaughlin and Peter O' Riley, work ing on the steep slope of Sun Peak, discovered sands rich in gold. As they were preparing to leave their j claim for the night, Comstock rode j t- p. He had already appropriated the : Cabin of the Grosh brothers and was I living there In comfort while two In 'tf'ans washed placer gold for him, He ' uprarg from hia horse, walked up to the rocker, and picked up a handful oi dirt Immediately that he saw it pi eckled with gold he announced 'hat McLaughlin and O'Helly were . trespassing on his land. A self-respecting goat would not attempt to I biowe upon that mountain side, yet j blandly he Informed the prospectors , that he had taken up one hundred ' ar.d six acres as a ranch, and he also leld claim to the thin stream of wa ter that trickled down the mountain- side. Comstock w as willing to com iromlse his claim and the two pros- 1 1 ectors were permitted to work their s ctlon after agreeing to . concede Comstock and hia friend, Emanuel Pi nrod, an Interest. Up to this point there had been no j attempt to organise the Gold Hill dls- t'lct and there was absolutely no semblance of order. The Utah legis lature had refused to accept respon sibility for the miners In the Carson. There was no law, less order, and men ruled by might without regard to right It was at this time that Comstock. wost brasen of cheats, decided that there should be law and order in Gold willlnglv compromised with them.'"'"7 "i mountain snows, rain- .-nd thereby laid the foundation for j torm9 "nd cIoud bur8t9 "1 raise a one of the greatest legal fights in the f re"am by ltaP8' Rn1 h" Quick work h storv of the Comstock. which en-! f "eary to take care of the wa ti.iled an expense approximating a i 'f ' . 8ame tru wnn the flow million dollars. And then came a.a m'nlshes and In order to protect veritable flood of locations, overlap- 1,1(T righ,s di,ehe8 must gradually ting the Corey ground, and it was i be fhut down" With the entire coun discovered that, while there were onlyty for a "ory it Is Impossible for seven hundred and ten feet between one man t0 S""1 over th ground fast the rorev ri.im nd nnnther well. ! enough, and generally there Is a dc- vecognized location, prospectors had ad from a" alream" at the actually filed claims upon 1550 feet, and were willing to swear that their stages had been set properly after correct measurement! The easiest v.ay out was to compromise the claims, which was done, and all of the claims, save one, were recorded. Joseph Webb neglected to record his claim, and this failure resulted years after in another costly law suit, Meanwhile, McLaughlin and O'RIley working Industriously, encountered ri ck which could not be worked In their rockers, so they purchased an arrastra and two mules, paying a two sixth undivided interest in their claim for them. During their work they dis carded some black rock which was picked up by a curious visitor, and. through B. A. Harrison, It reached Melville Atwood, an assayer, who found it contained 13000 In silver and JS76 in gold to the ton. Then came the real founders of the Comstock James Walsh and Joseph Woodworth of Grass Valley, California, who reached Gold Hill July 1, 1859. Comstock, the herald of the dlst rict, boastful of his discovery, deed- ec'. his interest to Herman camp without any consideration, and when the transaction was heard of by the other miners they ridiculed him o unmercifully that he resolved to get back his deed. His method was a simple one. Camp was induced to al low a Jury of miners to sit in Judg ment upon the validity of his deed from Comstock. This Jury was com posed of Comstock'a friends and com panions, who had a clearly defined dislike of the newcomers from Cali fornia, who were fast assuming con trol of the district. After a short de liberation they decided to tear up the deed, which was done in all gravity. Comstock soon sold his interest to Walsh, who paid $10 In cash and fit reed to pay 110,990 at a subsequent (late. By the following spring Walsh had acquired the holdings of all the original locators, paying a total of $70,601, or about $60 a foot. The time, and hence the need of assist ants. During the irrigation season Jus' completed, two assistant watermast- ers were employed In the county to aid In the work, W. W. Roeder was employed upon the Walla Walla river and W. P. Ward was located at Stan field upon the Umatilla river. As more land Is put under Irrigation, as the rights of waterusers on other streams are determined, and as the ir rigators themselves become more ex acting as to their rights, the need of additional help becomes apparent and the work more Important to the community. The watermaster Is appointed by the state water board and Is a state officer, but his pay comes from the county in, which the work Is done. Until this year the cost to Umatilla county for the watermaster's work has never exceeded J00Q per year. This season the cost will be slightly iess than $2500 as the Umatilla river system has been added to the work. The value of this department to the Irrigated communities, the distribution of water with Its many Important i branches, is hard to estimate but It Is certainly worth many times the In vestment made In It by the county each year and promises more as time goes on. Headquarters of tht Watermaster are at the court house In Pendleton and information that can be furnish ed to anyone Interested In our work or in Irrigated lands will be gladly furnished. A letter or card address ed "Watermaster, Pendleton, Ore gon," will also reach him. Known For Its Strength The rirst National Bank Pendleton, Oregon Oldest and largest National Bank in the state outside of Portland. Deposits Over 2,QQQ,00Q.QO Resources Over J3.0C0.0C0.C0 SECURITY Pendleton will have seven big ga rages within a short time. There have been four In operation for sev eral years, another two story con crete structure has Just been com pleted and Is occupied by Hemmel- garn and Webb, agents for the Mit chell, and two more are projected. J. L McLean, agent for the Overland, just recently purchased a $5000 bus- and purchaser organized the ODhir com-i Panv. The Drosnectors reioiced In ! 'ness lot on Cottonwood street their good luck, having gained what announced he would erect a concrete to them were large fortunes, and one ; parage at once and a separate garags of them went shouting down the can yon, "I've fooled the Californlans!" And now let us see what became of those prospectors whose Initial ef forts made the desert yield up the richest treasure the world has ever known. Mlnney, the "human diving rod," had a precarious existence, for the price of "feet" on various claims was insufficient to appease his Inordi nate appetite for liuuor. He fell from his horse June 20, 1861, and died of.j a fractured skull. Comstock distln-S gulshed himself by luring away the ' wife of a Mormon, paying for her a j E horse, a revolver and $60 In gold, r but could not keep her from running away at the first opportunity. He ! offered a reward for the capture and S return of the woman, regained her, ' E t ut she got away forever a short UmV later. Then he opened stores at Car- son City and Silver City, but failed. I Eventually his mind gave way and he j S wandered about again as a prospec- r tcr, though believing that he owned E the great cities that grew up along E the line of the lode and that he per mitted the people to live there free of charge, "because the winters are cold and the people poor, and their reed Is greater than mine." And asjr bonanza followed bonanza, Comstock babbled on to everyone who would listen until, September 17, 1870, he blew out his brains and was buried In a grave without a headstone at Iioze nian, Montana. Peter O'RIley spent his little fortune and left the Washoe district, but re turned In 1867, poor but hopeful. He believed that spirits were directing his efforts, and he began work In a desolate place among the foothills, driving a tunnel which was to reveal this wondrous wealth promised by the spirits. He tolled alone for two or three years, friends suppylng his scant wants. Finally, there was a be built to house the Ford dls trlbutlng agency. Ben F. Tromblcy, proprietor of the Oregon Garage, will still be Interested In the Ford agency with Robert Simpson, but will han dle Buicks exclusively In his present garage. Let Electricity do your won &--V AMI Her Secants UMake your home bright and cheerful evenings. Remove drudgery from your household and keep your wife young, well aad charming like she used to seem to you. YOU can do it, see us. Pacific Power (Si Light Company "Always at your service." . 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 m 1 1 1 1 ) i n 1 1 1 it t ri m t n t 1 1 1 1 n n 1 1 n n 1 1 1 n 1 1 n 1 1 m m r 1 1 1 1 1 n n ii mi m n m ? i i m t m 1 1 1 1 m t m i 1 1 1 1 n : 1 1 m 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 i m 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 m i n 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 m 1 1 1 1 1 m i i 1 1 m 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 u m THE AMERICAN NATIONAL BANK OF PENDLETON- CAPITAL (300,000 SURPLUS 1100,000 TOTAL RESOURCES $2,000,000 Strongest Bank in Eastern Oregon INTEREST PAIS OH THE CEPOSITS W. L. THOMPSON, Pres. F.E.JUDD, Vice-Pres. REtf ACC0U1TS IHITEO J. B. McCOOK, Cashier W. S. BADLEY, Asst. Cashier cave-In and O'RIley was badly hurt, -Til 1 1 II 1 111 si 1 1 1 1 i 1 1 1 1 tl 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 II 1 1 1 i 1 1 M II 11 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 II 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 UU til 1 11 ii 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 M si 1 1 1 1 U 1 1 i 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 II I 1 1 II 1 1 11 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 11 1 II 1 1 1 1 M U M 1 1 1 1 II 1 1 It 1 1 II 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 II i. ; I-