Reminiscences of California and the Civil War

Preface

For quite a number of years I have been requested by my friends, especially by my niece, to write an account of my experiences in California and the War. I have not done so until quite lately, however, since I have not been accustomed to writing.

Most of the following pages have been written during the last few winters, when I have been compelled by the severity of the weather to remain in the house. The more I have written, the more I have become interested in the subject, and I have found the work a great deal of company, especially during the cold winter season, when I have had much leisure.

My sufferings and sacrifices for my country must be my apology for intruding upon the kindness of my friends. Then, too, I have hoped that my travels and adventures, which are perhaps out of the ordinary run, might prove of interest to many.

The idea of writing a book was partly suggested by a pamphlet I saw a few years ago, written in memory of a friend of mine, who lost an arm at Gettysburg, and died shortly after the War from the effects of the wound. At first my purpose was simply to commit to writing a few facts of my life, somewhat after the manner of this pamphlet ; but one thought suggested another, until finally the following pages were written.

DANIEL C. FLETCHER.

Chapter I. Journey To California

Description of different routes to California. Start for California. First night on board ship. On the wide ocean. Sea sickness. Near the Bahama Banks. First stopping place, Kingston, Jamaica. Description of Jamaica. Arrival at Chagres. Journey up the Chagres River. Arrival at Gargano. From Gargano to Panama. Description of Panama. On the Pacific Ocean. Ocean very calm. Whale ship spoken. Steamer stopped for what was supposed to be a wreck. Arrival at Acapulco. On shore for dinner. A person found destitute and provided for. Leave Acapulco. Arrival at San Francisco. Take a steamer for Sacramento. Take another for Marysville. Letter sent home. Start for Nevada City. Arrival at Grass Valley.

Chapter II. First Experiences In Mining

Description of Grass Valley First work done in California. Trees blown down in Grass Valley. Stop mining and go to work by the month, at one hundred dollars

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and board. Wages reduced. At work for eighty dollars. Mining very uncertain business. At work for the Day Company. At work splitting shingles. At work sinking shafts by the foot. Famine in Grass Valley. Men arrive in Grass Valley destitute. Grizzly bear killed between Grass Valley and Rough and Ready. Provisions arrive. End of the famine. Mills at work. Business good again. Indians of Grass Valley. Indian fandango.

Chapter III. Description Of The Mixes

Grass Valley slide. Eureka slide. Grass Valley ravine. Boston ravine. Woodpecker ravine. Surface and deep mines. Pike Flat. Description of a sluice box. Panning out. Cleaning up the gold. Day Mining Company. Gold specimen found by the Day Company worth five hundred dollars Situation of the quartz mines. Grass Valley the richest quartz mining place in the country. The Allison ledge the richest ledge that was ever discovered. Lafayette ledge. Gold hill. Massachusetts hill. Ophir hill. Church hill. Osborn hill. Quartz mining uncertain. Lead lost and found in Gold hill richer than ever. Description of an incline shaft. Prospecting a quartz ledge. Ledge run out. Union hill quartz ledge a failure.

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Chapter IV Mining In Grass Valley

Bought into the Point Mining Company. Description of the Point Mining Company. Miners' life. Discouraged miners at work for the company. Second year in California. Living in a cabin twelve feet square. Have letters from home once a month. Buy a steamer edition of the Boston Journal. Gold and silver the money of California. The minister gave us a call. Orthodox fair in aid of the church. Episcopal fair. Sudden departure of the minister. Diabolical actions of the Episcopal minister. Receive letter from my brother Sherman at Downieville. Arrival of my brothers Sherman and Edward across the plains. Profits of driving cattle and horses across the plains to California. Sherman meets an old college mate. Sherman goes to Nevada City to study law with William M. Stewart.

Chapter V Departure For Home

Fall of 1853. Sold out the Point claims. Bid good bye to our brothers, partners and acquaintances. Departure for home. Arrival in San Francisco. Buy second cabin tickets. Three steamers start from San Francisco, all in opposition. On the Pacific Ocean. Steamer had a hot box. Arrival at Nicaragua. Across the country to Greytown. Departure for home. Betting on the steamer as

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to which would arrive in New York first. Steamship race. Arrival in New York first. At home in 1854. Tree speculation. Second trip to California. Arrival in Grass Valley Sherman District Attorney of Nevada County. Shady Creek mines. First picnic in California. Large attendance at picnic.

Chapter VI

NEVADA FIRE. EXPERIENCES IN MIXING.

Water gives out at Grass Valley. Prospecting on Deer Creek. Nevada fire, July 19, 1856. Death of Sherman in a fire proof building. Description of the building. Funeral of Sherman. Journey to San Francisco to procure a monument for brother's grave. Letter from Senator Stewart. Engaged in putting in a cut at Shady Creek. Blasting accident. Partner badly injured. A year getting well. Shady Creek cut finished. Return to Grass Valley. Sickness. Mr. Tweed invited me to go up to his house. Soon recover under the care of Mrs. Tweed. At work on my claims at Grass Valley. $269 quartz specimen found. Trip to Shady Creek with the big specimen. Upper claims at Grass Valley jumped. Succeed in getting the intruders off the ground. Let the dispute out to three men to settle. Partner not satisfied with the arrangement.

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Chapter VII. Last Days In California

Trip to Dutch Flat. Object of going to California. Dispose of my mining claims. Prospect a quartz ledge at Omega. Live in a deserted cabin. Run a tunnel into the hill. Dispute about slavery. Rock out of the tunnel destroying a flume below us. Water carried from the head waters of the South Yuba to Nevada and Grass Valley. Grizzly bear caught in a trap. Stop work on the tunnel. Second trip to Dutch Flat to see friends. Start for home. Brother Edward decides to stop longer. Meet an old schoolmate in San Francisco. Bought through ticket by way of Panama. Voyage to Panama. One of the passengers was on the ship Independence when it was burned. Narrow escape from shipwreck. Arrival at Panama. Across the Isthmus. Arrival home. Account of Edward's enlistment. His death.

Chapter VIII. Enlistment 1 86 1

Patriotism of the North. The Selectmen urge the young men to enlist. They did their duty. Joined the

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nth Massachusetts Regiment at Boston. Leave the nth Regiment. Join a company in West Cambridge (now Arlington.) The company went to church Sunday in the Unitarian, Orthodox and Baptist churches, on invitation. No vacancy for a company in a Massachusetts regiment. Start to join a regiment in Brooklyn, New York. Brooklyn regiment not ready. Ordered to return to Massachusetts. Start to join a regiment in Yonkers, New York. Join the 40th Regiment, New York, recruiting at Yonkers. In camp for the first time. Sworn into the United States service 27th June, 1861. Appointed corporal June 28, 1861. Visit from Mayor Wood of New York at midnight. The ladies of Yonkers treat the regiment to strawberries and cream. The regiment starts for Washington, July 4, 1861. Arrival at Washington. First battle of Bull Run. The regiment guard the City of Alexandria.

CHAPTER IX. CAMP LIFE AROUND WASHINGTON IN l86l

In camp Sacket at Alexandria. On picket for the first time. Disloyal persons found. Ignorance of the poor whites. On reserve picket at a large plantation house. Review of the army by the President, General McClellan and others. Pickets doubled. Visit from my brother. Addison Gage called to see the company. Captain Ingalls had a visit from his wife and child. Our regiment went out with a large scouting party. Return at two in the

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morning. Our colonel put under arrest for disobeying orders. Colonel in command of his regiment again. Captain Ingalls put under arrest for a week. In command of his company again. Hard work for volunteers. Officers and men to obey orders. Scouting cavalry fired on. Winter quarters. Winter house. Soldier found asleep on his post. Punishment death. Sham fight. One man wounded. Target practice.

Chapter X. The Peninsular Campaign

Ordered to have three days' rations and be ready to march at a moment's notice. On the voyage to Fort Monroe. Arrival at Fort Monroe. See the Monitor for the first time. Description of the Monitor. Land in a rain storm. Wet all night. In camp at Fort Monroe. Advance on Yorktown. Siege of Yorktown. Many narrow escapes from death during the siege. Rebels left the fortifications. Men killed and wounded by rebel torpedoes. In the rebel works. Rebel purse found, containing rebel postage stamps, money, pens, and a lock of hair. Advance from Yorktown. Battle of Williamsburg. Defeat of the rebels. Rain storm. Spent the night standing up behind a tree in the storm. Without supper or breakfast. Union troops enter the city Caring for the wounded at Williamsburg. On the march again. Battle of Fair Oaks. General McClellan arrives. Caring for the wounded. Death of Thompson and Ellis.

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Chapter XI. The Seven Days' Fight

Saw Major Ingalls for the last time. On picket duty all night. No sleep. Private property destroyed by order of the Commanding General. Fight in the woods. Battle of Savage Station. Batteries in retreat. Cavalry ordered to advance. Battle of Charles City Cross Roads. Out of drinking water. Very thirsty. Randolph's Battery lose one gun. Major Ingalls wounded, and taken to Annapolis, Maryland. Fight of Malvern Mill. Supporting Randolph's Battery at Malvern Hill. Before we came to the Hill we marched all night without any water. Three men wounded near me at Malvern Hill. Rebel gun dismounted. Many of our regiment killed and wounded. After the battle. Retreat to Harrison's Landing. No sleep. Rain storm. Scott Hammond gave out. Arrival at Harrison's Landing. On picket.

Chapter XII. Second Bull Run And Chantilly

Ordered to be ready to march at a moment's notice. Departure from Harrison's Landing. Arrival and departure from Yorktown. Arrival at Alexandria in a steamboat. Embark in the cars for Centerville. Go in the cars south from Centerville. With General Pope. Return to Centerville. Cavalry repulsed. Going into the Bull Run fight. Birney's attack. Narrow escape. After the bat-

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tie. Return to Centerville. Two days at Centerville. Ordered into line for the last time. Rebels between us and Washington. Nice carriage destroyed by the enemy. Battle of Chantilly. Thunderstorm. Wounded. Getting to the rear. Saw many wounded. Lieutenant Gould and Orderly Sergeant wounded. All the officers wounded down to the corporals. Taken prisoner. Sanitary Commission found us first. Return to Washington.

Chapter XIII. Hospital Life

Arrival in Washington. Ward surgeon said leg would have to be amputated. Head surgeon said he would try to save it. Write to friends at home, asking my brother to come to Washington as soon as possible. Wound does not improve. Many wounded in hospital. Limb amputated. Arrival of my brother. Wound does not heal readily. One soldier dies from eating fruit. Surgeon forbids any more fruit to be brought into the hospital. No appetite. Somewhat better. Sanitary Commission Agents very kind. Sisters of Charity. Moved from Cliffborn to Lincoln Hospital. Discharged from the army. Departure for home on a bed. Arrival home.

Chapter I. Journey To California

In the early days of the gold discovery in California there were three established routes. One was by way of Cape Horn by sailing vessels, a long and tedious journey, occupying from four to five months and sometimes longer, on account of rough and tempestuous weather. A stop was made at Rio Janeiro in Brazil on the Atlantic coast, and another at Valparaiso in Chili for stores, water, and to leave the mail and passengers.

Another route was by way of the Isthmus of Panama. The steamers usually stopped at Kingston, Jamaica, for coal and to leave the mail and passengers. The landing on the Isthmus was at Chagres, at the mouth of the Chagres River. When the Panama railroad was built, the landing place, or port of entry, was changed to Aspinwall, a town situated a number of miles south of Chagres. This route was considered dangerous on account of the Panama fever and the bad living the steerage passengers were provided with, a large part of the passengers buying steerage tickets. Sometimes steerage passengers bought first cabin tickets after starting on the voyage, as the living was so poor; but I did not. It is my opinion that steerage passengers were purposely given poor fare so that they would buy first cabin tickets, and pay the difference. First cabin tickets cost two and three hundred dollars.

After crossing the Isthmus, the steamer on the other side stopped at Acapulco, in Mexico, and at San Diego in Southern California.

The third route was across the plains, from Missouri to California. This journey took the entire summer. The travellers had to live on bear, buffalo and deer meat, and what provisions they took with them, as there were no towns or stopping places on the route at that time.

In 1853 another route was established, which was called the Nicaragua route. The passengers were landed at Greytown, Nicaragua. They went up the San Juan River to Lake Nicaragua, across the lake in a steamboat, and then travelled about twelve miles to San Juan del Sur on the Pacific. This route was five hundred miles shorter on the Pacific Ocean than the Panama route, and about the same distance on the Atlantic. It took one day longer to cross the Isthmus at Nicaragua than at Panama before the railroad was built, but the travelling was much more pleasant than by either of the other routes.

I came home by way of Nicaragua in 1853, making the journey in twenty-three days and some hours, the shortest trip ever made between New York and San Francisco up

JOURNEY TO CALIFORNIA. I J

to that time. We came home on the steamer Star of the West from Greytown to New York, that same steamer that tried to get provisions to Fort Sumter in 1861.

When gold was discovered in California in 1849, mv brother Theodore was very desirous of going. My father objected for several reasons, and especially on account of the dangers of the Panama fever, for he had seen in the papers accounts of many deaths from this disease.

About the first of January, 1852, my brother's business arrangements were such that he bought a ticket for California. Imagine my father's consternation when Theodore came home from Boston with this ticket. The steamer was to start from New York only a few days later. Father asked him if he had bought a ticket for me, also, and receiving an answer in the negative, told him to procure one for me, since he knew I wanted to go. I was not at home at the time. My ticket cost one hundred and eighty dollars, Theodore's one hundred and fifty dollars. As a matter of fact, Theodore had had his ticket in his pocket for a month. Father thought that no one ought to go to California alone, and he was about right. Our tickets were through tickets from New York to San Francisco, by way of the Isthmus of Panama. We had to pay our own way across the Isthmus. We each took a valise of clothing, blankets, and such other things as we thought we should need on the voyage, and started for New York.

Neither of us had had much experience in travelling, and as for me, I had never been out of the state except to New Hampshire to visit my sister. Theodore had been to New York once before.

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Arriving in New York we went on board the steamer at once. Every thing looked nice and clean ; white sheets were on the beds, and other things to correspond. The government inspectors came on board to see that everything was all right. But after we got out to sea every thing was changed; the white sheets were removed from the beds, and things did not look as lovely as when we first saw the steamer.

We had to take steerage tickets, as we did not have money enough to buy first cabin tickets, and have something left when we arrived in California. The place where we stopped on board the steamer was composed of bunks, one above another, numbered, so that each passenger knew where he was to sleep. The first night at sea I went below about nine o'clock, and found another man in my berth. I told him he was in my berth, and showed him my number, but could not make him leave. I told some of the crew about it, and they told me to go to the captain, he told me to go to the steward, and the steward told me to wait till morning, as he had gone to bed and could not tend to it. I took my blanket and went on deck, and lay down beside the smokestack, but did not sleep much. Thus passed the first night on board the steamer at sea.

The next morning the steward found me a berth much better than the one I had paid for.

As soon as it was warm enough, about four days after leaving New York, I slept on deck, and most of the steerage passengers did the same, as it was very disagreeable

JOURXEY TO CALIFORNIA. 19

down in the steamer where the steerage passengers slept. Nearly every one was seasick, many not recovering until we reached Jamaica. We performed our ablutions on the guard next to the wheelhouse, on the deck. We were furnished with a bucket and rope to draw the water from the ocean ; we were furnished with a basin to wash in. We had to furnish our own towels.

We could tell when we were in the Gulf stream ; the water was milk warm. One night while sleeping on deck, I was looking up in the sky, and told my brother the ship was going round and round in a circle and not ahead. I found this out by looking at the stars. We were near the Bahama Banks, and the captain did not think it safe to go ahead until daylight.

The steerage passengers were allowed to go on deck and walk about forward of the wheelhouse. The first cabin passengers were allowed to walk the whole length of the steamer, but on account of the large number of steerage passengers, who were in the way, they seldom found it pleasant to go beyond the wheelhouse. The vessel was crowded with passengers.

Our first stopping place was at Kingston, on the Island of Jamaica, where we stopped for coal, supplies, and to leave the mails. When we first came in sight of the Island, it looked like dark clouds close down to the horizon. Before we came into the harbor of Kingston, a negro pilot came on board to take the steamer up to the wharf.

Many of the passengers went on shore and ate the delicious fruits, such as oranges, pineapples, cocoanuts, bananas, limes, lemons and other fruit, in which the Island abounded. And what oranges ! I ate ten before I could stop. They were much better than any I had ever seen in Massachusetts, because they were taken fresh from the trees, I suppdse. The fruit was peddled about the streets by boys, girls and old women, who lived on the Island.

The coal was put on board the steamer by negro men and women, in baskets holding about a bushel, which they carried on their heads. I should think there were forty or fifty in all. They were in charge of an overseer, who kept them busy night and day until the steamer was loaded.

We did not go far into the country, as we did not know when the steamer would leave. We saw orange, cocoanut and other trees, which bore the nice fruit, and also some cactus, fifteen or twenty feet in height. I thought the ladies at home would like some to put in their gardens.

Most of the inhabitants of the island of Jamaica were Englishmen and negroes. The negroes did not appear very prosperous, and from what I saw of them I should say they had not improved much since they were liberated from slavery.

The steamer having been supplied with coal, we were ready to go, but the wind blew the steamer back upon the wharf, and the sailors were unable to get the head around, so as to allow the wheels to work. A rope was fastened to a buoy some distance from the ship. A large number of passengers took hold of the rope and pulled her around clear of the wharf. As we were sailing out of the harbor, the steamer struck a schooner, which was anchored near the channel. The shock was great, and many of the passengers, being badly shaken up, were much frightened, thinking the ship was going to sink. No great damage was done, as only the schooner's bowsprit was broken. The steamer got out to sea before dark without any other mishap. Most of the passengers put in a supply of fruit to eat on the voyage. Many were seasick again. We passed our time in playing cards, checkers, and in reading books, most of which had been procured previously in New York. Seasickness is so disagreeable that one does not feel much like doing anything. Nothing worthy of note occurred during the rest of the voyage. The sea was very rough most of the way, making travelling very unpleasant.

In due time our steamer cast anchor about two miles from land, off the town of Chagres. We were landed in row boats by the natives, who came from the town to the ship for us. We paid them a dollar each. The sea was rough, and we found it difficult to get into the boats. Sometimes the boat was ten feet below us ; then a big wave would float it up to where we were, and in we jumped. Thinking it very dangerous, I hesitated to go at first, but there was no other way to land. Finally when a big wave brought up the boat, I jumped in, and landed all right, but I was wet through before we reached the shore. We expected the boat would be overturned, so rough was the sea. In the scramble I was separated from my brother. When I arrived near the wharf I was greeted with such cries as, ''Where have you been?" "What have you been doing?" etc., from Theodore.

We found there were two ways of crossing the Isthmus. One was to sail up the Chagres River on a small steamer to Gargano, and walk or ride on a mule the rest of the way The other way was to walk or ride all the way To Gargano was more than half way We concluded to take the boat. The boat was crowded. It was about fifty miles across the Isthmus. On our left, as we entered Chagres, there was a big bluff between the town and the ocean, on which was situated a fort, which defended the town. Chagres had a population of about three thousand. It was situated close to the ocean, the wharf being on the right. The inhabitants were mostly Spaniards, or descendants of Spaniards, Indians and negroes. Fruits were peddled about the streets. There were several large stores in the place, kept mostly by Spaniards. Trained parrots and monkeys were plenty outside the buildings and on the piazzas of the hotels. Fruit trees were growing around and in front of the town.

After stopping a few hours in Chagres, we proceded up the river to Gargano. Most of the distance along the river the forest trees grew close to the water, and we could see paths in the openings where the wild beasts came down to drink. At night the steamer was run up to the bank and made fast to a tree. In the night we heard all sorts of noises, different from anything we had ever heard before, made by wild beasts and reptiles. We were about half way to Gargano, when the steamer was disabled. Word was sent to the town, and new boats were procured. While waiting for the boats, we amused ourselves by shooting at the doctor's hat with our pistols ; by the way, nearly everybody carried a pistol. The doctor was a dentist, bound for Chili, and accompanied by his wife. His hat was pretty well riddled with pistol balls. He extracted a tooth for my brother, charging the modest sum of five dollars for the operation, which was quite enough to procure him a new hat. We bought oranges of the natives, there being a grove near the bank. After a delay of about twelve hours, the boats arrived and we proceeded to within a few miles of Gargano. and walked the rest of the way.

At one place in the middle of the river there was a schooner fast in the mud; the masts had been removed and it had been transformed into a hotel; we took breakfast there.

Arriving at Gargano late in the afternoon, we staid here over night. We paid a dollar for sleeping in a shed on the ground. Every building in the place was occupied. Next morning we started on foot for the City of Panama, a distance of twenty miles, arriving there in due season, completely tired out. We passed the first night in a hotel outside the city. A high wall surrounds the town, and at night the gates are closed and no one is allowed to enter.

In the morning we entered the city, and registered at a large hotel. All the public houses were crowded; not only were the beds full, but the floors were covered with men bound for California. We were sleeping on the floor one night when my brother was taken very sick. He asked me to get him some brandy and water as soon as possible. I made my way to the stairs over the sleeping men, and in my hurry I fear I stepped on some of them, for I thought my brother was dying. I was greeted with such exclamations as " Get off my toes," or " Get out of here or I'll put you out." I procured the brandy without any other mishap, and after giving it to my brother, I was greatly relieved to see him improve rapidly. He had been taken with a sudden attack of the Panama fever. The fever troubled him while he was in California, and for a number of years after he returned home. I ought to state that the City of Panama is situated on the Pacific coast. We were four days on the Isthmus. The railroad was not built at this time, but the work of construction was being pushed. There was nothing but rough roads and mule paths across the Isthmus, except a fair road several miles out of Panama, paved with cobble stones. Everything was carried across the Isthmus on pack mules or horses. We saw a pack train of thirty or forty mules and horses loaded with silver bars, which were three or four feet in length, and about three inches in thickness. The train was guarded by twenty or thirty native soldiers, armed with muskets. The silver came from some of the South American countries, Chili, Peru or Bolivia, and was beingtransported across the Isthmus to Chagres, to be shipped to New York or some foreign country.

The roads were very poor most of the way. It was the rainy season and everything was covered with mud. Sometimes the mules sank to their bellies in the mud. Very likely the travelling was much better in the dry season.

The Isthmus was once in the possession of brigands, whose seaports were the City of Panama and Chagres. They had armed vessels that roamed the sea on both sides of the Isthmus, and captured everything they came in contact with, making slaves of the officers, sailors and passengers. We saw quite a number of miles of road out from Panama paved with small stones by their prisoners. At last their vessels and seaports were captured by civilized nations, and the pirate kingdom was swept from the face of the earth.

There were some well dressed Spaniards and others who rode about in carriages with their families.

The country was very uneven and hilly in the interior, so much so that I have always been of the opinion that a canal could never be constructed across the Isthmus.

We spent one Sunday in the City of Panama. In the forenoon the military paraded the streets. There were also religious services in the cathedrals. In the afternoon cockfights in the streets appeared to be the principal occupation. The priests looked on to see the sport with the rest of the inhabitants. Sunday seemed to be a regular holiday. I went into one of the cathedrals where mass was being celebrated in Spanish or some other foreign tongue. There were many gold and silver images and candlesticks about the altar.

The principal streets of Panama were paved with cobble stones. Most of the buildings were two stories in height, with tiled roof. Parrots and vultures were quite plenty in and about the city. The former were numerous about the buildings and hotels. They were quite tame. They were wild in the country, which is their native place. It was against the law to kill a vulture. They are black and look like a crow, but much larger. They act as scavengers in the city. They were very numerous in the cities of Mexico where we stopped.