An edition of Death Valley in '49
(1894)
Death valley in '49
Important chapter of California pioneer history. The autobiography of a pioneer, detailing his life from a humble home in the Green mountains to the gold mines of California; and particularly reciting the sufferings of the band of men, women and children, who gave "Death valley" its name.
by William Lewis Manly
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William Lewis Manly (1820-1903) and his family left Vermont in 1828, and he grew to manhood in Michigan and Wisconsin. On hearing the news of gold in California, Manly set off on horseback, joining an emigrant party in Missouri. Death Valley in '49 (1894) contains Manly's account of that overland journey. Setting out too late in the year to risk a northern passage thorugh the Sierras, the group takes the southern route to California, unluckily choosing an untried short cut through the mountains. This fateful decision brings the party through Death Valley, and Manly describes their trek through the desert, as well as the experiences of the Illinois "Jayhawkers" and others who took the Death Valley route. Manly's memoirs continue with his trip north to prospecting near the Mariposa mines, a brief trip back east via the Isthmus, and his return to California and another try at prospecting on the North Fork of the Yuba at Downieville in 1851. He provides lively ancedotes of life in mining camps and of his visits to Stockton, Sacramento, and San Francisco.
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Table of Contents
CHAPTER I.
Birth, Parentage. - Early Life in Vermont. - Sucking Cider through a Straw.
Page 10
CHAPTER II.
The Western Fever. - On the Road to Ohio. - The Outfit - The Erie Canal. - In the Maumee Swamp.
Page 16
CHAPTER III.
At Detroit and Westward. - Government Land. - Killing Deer. - "Fever 'N Agur. "
Page 21
CHAPTER IV.
The Lost Filley Boy. - Never Was Found.
Page 26
CHAPTER V.
Sickness. - Rather Catch Chipmonks in the Rocky Mountains than Live in Michigan. - Building the Michigan Central R. R. - Building a Boat. - Floating down Grand River. - Black Bear. - Indians Catching Mullet. - Across the Lake to Southport. - Lead Mining at Mineral Point. - Decides to go Farther West. - Return to Michigan.
Page 30
CHAPTER VI.
Wisconsin. - Indian Physic. - Dressed for a Winter Hunting Campaign. -Hunting and Trapping in the Woods. - Catching Otter and Marten.
Page 47
CHAPTER VII.
Lead Mining. - Hears about Gold in California. - Gets the Gold Fever. - Nothing will cure it but California. - Mr. Bennett and the Author Prepare to Start. - The Winnebago Pony. - Agrees to Meet Bennett at Missouri River. - Delayed and Fails to Find Him. - Left with only a Gun and Pony. - Goes as a Driver for Charles Dallas.- Stopped by a Herd of Buffaloes.- Buffalo Meat- Indians.- U. S. Troops.- The Captain and the Lieutenant. - Arrive at South Pass. - The Waters Run toward the Pacific. - They Find a Boat and Seven of them Decide to Float down the Green River.
Page 58
CHAPTER VIII.
Floating down the River. - It begins to roar. - Thirty Miles a Day.- Brown's Hole.- Lose the Boat and make two Canoes. - Elk. - The Canons get Deeper. - Floundering in the Water. - The Indian Camp. - Chief Walker proves a Friend. - Describes the Terrible Canon below Them.- Advises Them to go no farther down. - Decide to go Overland. - Dangerous Route to Salt Lake. - Meets Bennett near there. - Organize the Sand Walking Company.
Page 76
CHAPTER IX.
The Southern Route.- Off in Fine Style.- A Cut-off Proposed.- Most of Them Try it and Fail- The Jayhawkers. - A New Organization. - Men with Families not Admitted. - Capture an Indian Who Gives Them the Slip. - An Indian Woman and Her Children, - Grass Begins to Fail. - A High Peak to the West. - No Water. - An Indian Hut. - Reach the Warm Spring. - Desert Everywhere. - Some One Steals Food. - The Water Acts Like a Dose of Salts. - Christmas Day. - Rev. J. W. Brier Delivers a Lecture to His Sons. - Nearly Starving and Choking. - An Indian in a Mound. - Indians Shoot the Oxen. - Camp at Furnace Creek.
Page 109
CHAPTER X.
A Long, Narrow Valley. - Beds and Blocks of Salt. - An Ox Killed. - Blood, Hide and Intestines Eaten. - Crossing Death Valley. - The Wagons can go no farther. - Manley and Rogers Volunteer to go for Assistance. - They Set out on Foot. - Find the Dead Body of Mr. Fish. - Mr. Isham Dies. - Bones along the Road. - Cabbage Trees. - Eating Crow and Hawk. - After Sore Trials They Reach a Fertile Laud. - Kindly Treated. - Returning with Food and Animals. - The Little Mule Climbs a Precipice, the Horses are Left Behind. - Finding the Body of Captain Culverwell. - They Reach Their Friends just as all Hope has Left Them. - Leaving the Wagons. - Packs on the Oxen. - Sacks for the Children. - Old Crump. - Old Brigham and Mrs. Arcane. - A Stampede [Illustrated.] - Once more Moving Westward. - "Good-bye, Death Valley."
Page 144
CHAPTER XI.
Struggling Along. - Pulling the Oxen Down the Precipice[Illustrated.] - Making Raw-hide Moccasins. - Old Brigham Lost and Found. - Dry Camps. - Nearly Starving. - Melancholy and Blue. - The Feet of the Women Bare and Blistered. - "One Cannot form an Idea How Poor an Ox Will Get." - Young Charlie Arcane very Sick. - Skulls of Cattle. - Crossing the Snow Belt. - Old Dog Cuff. - Water Dancing over the Rocks. - Drink, Ye Thirsty Ones. - Killing a Yearling. - See the Fat. - Eating Makes Them Sick. - Going down Soledad Cailon. - A Beautiful Meadow. - Hospitable Spanish People. - They Furnish Shelter and Food. - The San Fernando Mission. - Reaching Los Angeles. - They Meet Moody and Skinner. - Soap and Water for the First Time in Months. - Clean Dresses for the Women. - Real Bread to Eat, - A Picture of Los Angeles. - Black-eyed Women. - The Author Works in a Boarding-house. - Bennett and Others go up the Coast. - Life in Los Angeles. - The Author Prepares to go North
Page 218
CHAPTER XII.
Dr. McMahon's Story. - McMahon and Field, Left behind with Chief Walker, Determine to go down the River. - Change Their Minds and go with the Indians. - Change again and go by themselves. - Eating Wolf Meat. - After much Suffering they reach Salt Lake. - John Taylor's Pretty Wife. - Field falls in Love with her. - They Separate. - Incidents of Wonderful Escapes from Death.
Page 279
CHAPTER XIII.
Story of the Jay hawkers. - Ceremonies of Initiation - Rev. J. W. Brier. - His Wife the best Man of the Two. - Story of the Road across Death Valley. - Burning the Wagons - Narrow Escape of Tom Shannon - Capt. Ed Doty was Brave and True- They reach the Sea by way of Santa Clara River - Capt, Haynes before the Alcalde - List of Jayhawkers
Page 320
CHAPTER XIV.
Alexander Erkson's Statement - Works for Brigham Young at Salt Lake - Mormon Gold Coin - Mt. Misery- The Virgin River and Yucca Trees - A Child Born to Mr. and Mrs. Rynierson - Arrive at Cucamonga - Find some good Wine which is good for Scurvy - San F'rancisco and the Mines - Settles in San Jose- Experience of Edward Coker - Death of Culverwell, Fish and Isham- Goes through Walker's Pass and down Kern River- Living in Fresno in 1892
Page 367
CHAPTER XV.
The Author again takes up the History - Working in a Boarding House, but makes Arrangements to go North - Mission San Bueno Ventura - First Sight of the Pacific Ocean- Santa Barbara in 1850 - Paradise and Desolation- San Miguel, Santa Ynez and San Luis Obispo- California Carriages and how they were used - Arrives in San Jose and Camps in the edge of Town- Description of the place- Meets John Rogers, Bennett, Moody and Skinner - On the road to the Mines - They find some of the Yellow Stuff and go Prospecting for more - Experience with Piojos - Life and Times in the Mines - Sights and Scenes along the Road, at Sea, on the Isthmus, Cuba, New Orleans, and up the Mississippi - A few Months Amid Old Scenes, then away to the Golden State again
Page 377
CHAPTER XVI.
St. Louis to New Orleans, New Orleans to San Francisco- Off to the Mines Again - Life in the Mines and Incidents of Mining Times and Men - Vigilance Committee - Death of Mrs. Bennett
Page 440
CHAPTER XVII.
Mines and Mining - Adventures and Incidents of the Early Days- -The Pioneers, their Character and Influence-Conclusion
Page 478
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"ST. ALBANS, Vermont, is near the eastern shore of Lake Champlain, and only a short distance south of "Five-and-forty north degrees" which separates the United States from Canada, and some sixty or seventy miles from the great St. Lawrence River and the city of Montreal."
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| December 28, 2022 | Edited by MARC Bot | import existing book |
| December 8, 2022 | Edited by MARC Bot | import existing book |
| August 14, 2022 | Edited by MARC Bot | normalize LCCNs |
| October 12, 2011 | Edited by mikemccabe | add toc from similar editon |
| September 3, 2008 | Created by ImportBot | Imported from Internet Archive item record. |