TS1018 Traditional Cache

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Hidden : 10/3/2012
Difficulty:
1.5 out of 5
Terrain:
1.5 out of 5

Size: Size: other (other)

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Geocache Description:


RECOLLECTIONS OF THE EARLY HISTORY OF SMITH VALLEY
_____
By TIMOTHY B. SMITH, One of the Original Settlers
            In August, 1859, a party of herdsmen consisting of R. B. Smith, Cyrus Smith, the writer (T. B. Smith), Chandler Stratton, and Simon Baldwin, with John A. Rogers, Bill Patterson and others as assistants, settled on West Walker River with their horses and cattle. The first camp was made near the river on the west side a short distance below the location of the present lower wagon bridge in Smith Valley. This was the first white settlement in the valley and possibly the first on the Walker River. The name of the place was selected on account of the predominance of "Smith" in the party.
            While this was the first white settlement, we were, however, not the first white men to view the valley. Leading across the south end we found the wagon tracks made by some miners who had a few months previously passed through on their way to the Dog Town Diggings between Mono Lake and the Bridgeport Valley. Also we found what had been a fairly well-beaten emigrant road crossing the valley from what is now known as the Wellington Spring Pass from Mason Valley to the Jack Wright Pass on the southwest. The line of the road passed under one corner of the present Petersen milk house, and twenty years ago traces of it were still visible on the sagebrush flats. A grave, no doubt of a member of an emigrant party, was found by us above the present Hoye bridge in Antelope.
            Another conspicuous memento left by the emigrants in this section was a number of wagons which they had abandoned by the wayside. One was left in the lower end of Smith Valley and several more at the head of Lost Canyon above Antelope Valley. An interesting fact connected with the wagon found in our valley was that the axle had been broken and to repair it the emigrants had bored both ways from the break and inserted an octagonal gun-barrel. Old chains and other iron taken from these wagons may still be found on the ranches of Smith and Antelope Valleys. Fremont in 1844 viewed the valley from the old Indian trail leading from Mason Valley, but was deterred from bringing his party up that way by a severe snowstorm which he saw raging in the mountains on the southwest.[1] Fremont reported having learned, from the Indians, of another party who had passed over the mountain that way before his time.[2] Both Smith in 1826 and Walker in 1833 are supposed to have crossed this way and may have passed through Smith Valley. Another traveler, whose name I do not remember, took an outing trip from Columbia, Cal., in the 50's and described the West Walker country in an article which appeared in one of the early California magazines.
            We had driven our herds from the west side of the San Joaquin River in California. The motive which had led to our making this change in herding grounds, taking us to a place as it seemed so far removed from the market, was the necessity of procuring feed for our stock. The previous winter had been an unusually dry one on the ranges of the west side, and the feed became so scarce that something had to be done.
NEVADA HISTORICAL SOCIETY  225
            We had learned of the Walker River country from some emigrants who had three or four years before crossed through to California by this route, and who gave glowing accounts of the abundance of meadow grass they had seen on the river bottom as also the quantities of bunch grass on the flats and hills back from the river. Accordingly Cyrus Smith and Simon Baldwin took a trip over the mountains to investigate. On their return the move was decided upon. The route followed was by the Big Trees, Hope Valley, Carson Canyon, Carson Valley and Antelope Valley. Carson Valley by this time had been pretty well taken up along the river bottom. Antelope Valley was not settled as yet, but that fall Hod Raymond came in with his stock from Carson Valley.
            The grass on Walker River when we reached our destination was a fine sight. In the meadows it was standing practically undisturbed except where the Indians had made trails through it on their way to the river. The spot chosen for the camp was on the edge of a fine large meadow which has since been so cut up with sloughs and by the changing channels of the river that today it has very little suggestion of its former appearance. Corrals for the stock were constructed and a house for ourselves erected. As there was no sawmill within forty miles of the valley, the only building material for the house was tules. This house served very well for the first winter, and, there being very little we could do with the cattle, we spent most of our time within its walls. One morning it caught fire and considerable damage was done before the flames were extinguished. We patched it up as well as we could and made the best of it until the next summer.
            The fall after we arrived we gathered up the fattest of the beef cattle and sent them back over the mountains. John Rogers was one of the party that drove these cattle and "Salty Sam," the Indian, led the pack horse. The route was by the Lost Canyon and Stanislaus River way, now known as the "Sonora Road." The winter proved to be an unusually severe one, both in amount of snow and as to extremely cold weather, resulting in the death of many of our cattle. We often found them frozen in piles of three or four together.
            The Indians at first kept away from us. But one morning we were greatly surprised when nearly two hundred of them came in from all directions whooping and yelling and driving our cattle on the run ahead of them. Thirty or forty came up to where we were and in no uncertain manner ordered us off their range. We parleyed with them for some time and finally succeeded in making a compromise by killing three beeves for them. These they soon cleared up and went off satisfied. However, we afterwards found that they were constantly killing our cattle in spite of our vigilance. They seemed to keep watch over our movements and would kill an animal while we were riding on another part of the range. No one, however, could accuse them of being wasteful, for we could find very little of an animal left when they were through with it. The Piute Indians of the Walker River, as we saw them, were of a good type as Indians go. Their lot was no doubt a hard one before the white man came, but they seemed to be equal to the conditions. The men were energetic and ingenious hunters and the squaws hoarded up such supplies of roots, seeds and nuts as could be found. In hunting, the old Indians used the bow and arrow, while many of the younger ones used rifles which they had obtained from the trading posts and emigrants.

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