Death Valley Fault Zone

Again, at the Southern California Earthquake Data Center, can be found information about this region’s shakey areas. Click HERE to learn about the Death Valley Fault Zone.

Towne Pass Fault

Southern California is loaded with earthquake faults. An earthquake fault exists in the vicinity of Towne Pass, for example. This is the main road that tourists travel to arrive in Death Valley from the west. There is a website called Southern California Earthquake Data Center, which provides scientific information about the Towne Pass fault and others in the region as well. Access it by clicking HERE.

Antique Map

At the Barry Lawrence Ruderman Antique Maps company is a humorous old map of Death Valley National Monument that you are sure to enjoy. It is hand-drawn, with prime locations listed, along with funny little bits of text here and there. On the rare maps website, they say: “A Hysterical Map Of Death Valley National Monument — And It’s Looking Mighty Low“, which gives you an idea of what you’re about to behold. You can click on that map for a much larger version, one that more than fills most computer screens, necessitating scrolling. The detail is excellent, and you may just want your own copy!

To give you an idea, on the road that goes from Ubehebe Crater to The Racetrack are the words: “This is a lousy road“

For the Mesquite Sand Dunes near Stovepipe Wells, are the words: “Sandy as hell, if hell is“

Just south of Badwater is a man on his stomach, clutching his throat, saying: “Coca-Cola, Coca-Cola“

An old cow’s skull is saying: “Anybody got a piece of water! “

For the Devil’s Golf Course, it says: “Come in and warm up“

Click HERE to go to the website. Click HERE to see the enlarged version (if you have high speed internet).

DVNM Case Study

The United States government is always doing a study of some sort. They did one in 1979 on Death Valley National Monument, which can be accessed HERE. The entire document is downloadable for personal computers, so you can have your own 1 MB copy. The larger document, in which the Death Valley document is contained, is also downloadable.

This is part of the text on the webpage:

With passage of the Mining in the Parks Act (P.L. 94-429) in 1976, the National Park Service, Department of the Interior, was given the responsibility of preparing a report to Congress outlining the environmental consequences of mining on claims within Death Valley National Monument. In addition, the Secretary of the Interior is required to formulate a recommendation to Congress on the acquisition or continued mining of claims within the monument, and on any boundary adjustment that could be undertaken to exclude mining claims and thereby reduce acquisition costs. As scenic qualities are specifically identified in the proclamation creating the monument as one of the monument’s prime resources, an analysis of the visibility of mining activities by monument visitors was undertaken. The results of this analysis were incorporated in the discussion of environmental consequences and were used in the formulation of the Secretary’s recommendation to Congress.

Ansel Adams Photographs

A government website called The National Archives can be accessed by clicking HERE. On that page are National Park Service records of Ansel Adams photographs. There are many different national locales listed, one of which is Death Valley National Monument in California. Ansel passed away in 1984, ten years prior to national park status, at age 82. To read about his life, and see a few more photographs, please click HERE.

Mesquite Sand Dunes

The new photograph appearing at the top of the DVJ pages was captured by roving Death Valley photographer Jack Freer of Gardnerville, Nevada, during his fall 2009 explorations. Jack was documenting the progress of the Death Valley Tricycle Expedition at the time, and returned with 1,176 photographs of both the expedition and the Death Valley territory in general. He has prepared a Microsoft Power Point presentation of his visit, showcasing nearly 200 of his images, along with explanatory text.

If you have a Windows-based computer, and high-speed internet, you may download Jack’s presentation for viewing on your computer by clicking HERE. You will also need Microsoft’s Power Point Viewer application (if you don’t already have it installed), which may be acquired by clicking HERE. It is not advisable to attempt downloading Jack’s presentation if you have a slow dial-up service for your internet, as it will require hours to download, at 118 MB. If anyone knows whether or not Macintosh computers can play Microsoft Power Point presentations, please leave a comment to this post for Macintosh computer owners to read.

The view in the new DVJ photograph is looking northeast, across the valley towards the Amargosa Range. It was taken shortly after sunrise, not far from Stovepipe Wells Village.

1948 Ansel Adams Photo

Famous photographer Ansel Adams is remembered for his stunning outdoor images. By clicking HERE, you can view a website that discusses his 1948 photo called “Sand Dunes Sunrise, Death Valley National Monument”. Once there, by clicking on the photograph itself, it will open in Adobe Acrobat reader for a larger view.

Death Valley National Monument

This territory became a national monument in 1933, and then morphed into a national park in 1994. An interesting website about the national monument, by the United States Government Printing Office can be found HERE. At the site are articles about history, scenery, geology, fossils, animal and plant life, accommodations, campgrounds, travel, attractions, and regulations.

Also to be found here are links to a number of old photographs, which are interesting to view. The photo quality is not top notch, yet you’ll get a good feeling for the topic.

Death Valley by Trike (p8)

And, last but not least, a few profound brain waves from the head of Dana, a head that has finally traveled through and around Death Valley:

Final Thoughts

Well, I was wrong about the desert…at least Death Valley and it’s surrounding areas. The variety of geological specimens and constant change in color, topography and flora made for a beautiful, exciting ride that kept me wondering “what’s next?” I would do this ride again in a heartbeat, and look forward to exploring more of Death Valley in the future.

I have toured in the past on upright bikes, as well as recumbents. This was my first experience touring on a trike. I don’t think I could go back to 2-wheelers. It was so pleasant being able to enjoy my surroundings, take pictures, grab a snack or change clothes without having to stop. However, trikes do have their disadvantages. They are heavier. Also, since they have three tracks instead of one, you tend to feel the road more than you would on a 2-wheeler. For about 15 miles, I was wishing I had larger, high volume tires. But once we hit the good pavement, I didn’t give it another thought. Finally, they attract a lot of attention. Don’t ride a trike unless you like meeting people!

Yes…we are already planning our next trip…

Dana Lieberman

Bent Up Cycles

7828 Balboa Blvd., Van Nuys, CA 91406

Phone: 818-994-4171

http://bentupcycles.com/

Tues-Sat 10-6

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Editor’s Note: Thanks for sharing Dana! Hope to see you out there again sometime. Please click HERE to see all the photographs that document Dana’s lowland trek through our favorite stompin’ grounds!

Death Valley by Trike (p7)

Coming down the home stretch with Dana Lieberman’s trike adventure:

Equipment List and Review

I wasn’t too keen on writing this list…I often find these lists uninteresting to read, but a few people have asked. So here goes! I will also include some thoughts about some of the gear I used:

Trice XXL with the seat almost completely reclined Avid BB7 Mechanical Disk Brakes XTR Rear Derailleur Dura Ace Front Derailleur 155mm 26/39/52 Rotor Cranks Bar End Shifters Schwalbe Marathon Slicks Fenders all around Rear Rack Headrest

A set of Arkel RT60 Panniers and a TailRider contained: Sierra Designs down sleeping bag Thermarest pad CampingGaz stove and two cannisters of fuel 2.5Q Pot with lid/plate Fork/Knife/Spoon set Matches First Aid Kit Toilet Paper Baby Wipes Chamois towel 2 pairs of cycling shorts 2 Mt Borah Recumbent Jerseys 2 pairs cycling tights 3 pair wool socks 1 pair light gloves 1 pair waterproof gloves 1 balaclava 1 Mt. Borah windbreaker 1 Burley Rain jacket 1 pair waterproof RockSoks 2 Patagonia long sleeve undershirts 1 pair of Keen sandal-type shoes (should have been Lake cycling sandals) 1 pair sunglasses with interchangeable lenses 1 set of Patagonia silk long underwear (for camp) 1 pair fleece pants and sweater(for camp) 4 waterbottles 1 Fastback Designs Carbon system to carry 3L of water under the seat Toolkit with basic tools and spare tubes Flashlight Extra batteries Cell phone Charger Garmin 305 Edge GPS unit The Postman by David Brin (no, I never saw the movie and read the book years before the movie was made)

Overall, I packed light for this trip. I am notorious for overpacking. I probably could have left a few things at home…didn’t need 2 pairs of tights, 2 jerseys, and 3 pairs of socks. Also, the Burley rain jacket saw no use, but since we didn’t know what the weather would be like, it was required.

I fell in love with the DeFeet Woolie Boolie and Blaze wool socks! I couldn’t tell the difference between the two, but they both made the RockSoks obsolete for the cold.

The Garmin GPS is fun, but I am frustrated with the 12 hour battery life. Note, to get 12 hours, I had to turn down the contrast enough so that I could barely read the screen.

Neal suggested the balaclava, and it was wonderful! It is so versatile – I could turn it into a hat, or cover my entire face, and everything in between.

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Part Eight tomorrow (Final thoughts)

Death Valley by Trike (p6)

More high (or should I say low, considering the locale) adventure with Dana and his crew:

Day Four: Death Valley Junction to Shoshone

Monday February 20, 2006, 28 miles (45 km) – Total so far: 133 miles (214 km)

Our last day arrived bright and sunny, but chilly. Scott and Jodi left about an hour ahead of us to meet up with a friend in Shoshone. We took it easy, as we knew it would be a quick day of riding. Once on the road, we cruised along at a nice pace with a slight descent along the entire 28 miles, and brisk tailwinds.

We easily completed the 28 miles in 2 hours, and still managed to soak in the scenery and enjoy the quiet, well-paved roads.

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Part Seven tomorrow (Equipment List and Review)

Death Valley by Trike (p5)

Dana Lieberman and the Death Valley Five forge on …

Day Three: Furnace Creek to Death Valley Junction

Sunday February 19, 2006, 29 miles (47 km) – Total so far: 105 miles (169 km)

We awoke on Sunday morning to cloud cover and scattered sprinkles. Up in the mountains we could see that there were showers right where we were heading…a 19 mile climb up past Zabriskie Point and Dante’s View, over the top and down into Death Valley Junction. After a nice breakfast, we suited up and headed up the mountain.

The climbing was not difficult…Scott told us later that the average grade was only 3%. I might have been able to provide additional information with the GPS unit, but the only fully charged electronic device in my possession was the cell phone (and of course, no cell phone reception!).

During a brief stop at Zabriskie Point, it started to rain.

(Brief note: It was determined that the rain was, in fact, my fault. See…despite my previous lectures about bringing rain gear, I decided to leave my rain pants at home, thus ensuring that we would get rain!)

We all doned our rain gear and headed out. By the time we left the parking lot, it had stopped. That pretty much summarizes the climb…clothes on, clothes off, clothes on, clothes off…etc., etc., etc. I finally realized that it was much easier taking the jacket on and off if I just wore it backwards!

We summited the pass at 3040 feet. However, since the summit was not actually marked, we had to guess! The star of the day was Django, who walked the entire 19 miles!

The 10-mile ride down the other side was rather uninspiring as far as speed was concerned, but the views were stunning. The landscape had changed dramatically from Death Valley – we were now descending onto a seemingly empty plain, gently rising on all sides to form a low bowl of green scrub brush. Our destination, Death Valley Junction, was in the dead-center.

We arrived at the Junction, and unanimously decided to stay at the Amargosa Hotel instead of camping. This hotel is a Historical Monument, and features the Amargosa Opera House which is owned/run by Marta who puts on one-person plays (unfortunately, she was injured and not providing a show during our stay).

Rene and Elizabeth were our hosts, and went over and above by allowing us to park the trikes inside and letting Django in, despite the sign saying “no pets.” Elizabeth also gave me and Neal a ride to a nearby casino to pick up pizza(being driven down a rain-soaked road by an ADD woman with a cigarette in one hand and flipping her hair with the other was one of the scarier experiences of my life, and the pizza was one of the worst!). But we all got showers, met some interesting people, and had a good night sleep.

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Part Six tomorrow (Day Four: Death Valley Junction to Shoshone)

Death Valley by Trike (p4)

The human-powered drama of Dana and his crew continues:

Day Two: Middle of Nowhere to Furnace Creek

Saturday February 18, 2006, 43 miles (69 km) – Total so far: 76 miles (122 km)

The prior night brought a few drops of rain, and the moon peered out among the clouds every so often. But with the start of the second day, the skies were clear, and there was a nice wind out of the West. We broke camp and started with a hike out of the camping spot. While I may not follow Dimitri’s fashion sense, he was smart enough to figure out that towing a trike is easier than pushing one! He easily beat us to the top, and waited patiently for us slow-pokes to arrive!

The route was a rolling 43 mile stretch of quiet road up to Furnace Creek. The amazing tailwinds allowed us to make good time. We separated pretty quickly, with the plan to meet up in Badwater for a break. Neal and I cruised through some breathtaking scenery…smooth, gentle hillsides off to our left, rough-hewn, colorful crags to our right, and intermittent fields of pretty yellow flowers blooming in the sun.

We met up in Badwater and answered the usual questions from tourists. I tried really hard not to fall into “bike shop owner” mode, but still managed to hand out a few business cards. We found a guy wearing a “Got Glogg” t-shirt to take our picture.

It was obvious that the Park administrators had ideas about where the tourists should go. From Badwater to Furnace Creek, the roads improved tremendously, as did the number of vehicles. However, all of the drivers were courteous and gave us plenty of room. One couple even pulled over to take our pictures and seemed a bit taken aback by this guy cruising down the road in lycra bellowing “Piano Man” at the top of his lungs. Sing like no one’s listening, right? You should see me dance…

We arrived in Furnace Creek in short order, and had lunch at the General Store in the Furnace Creek Resort. I was thrilled to finally plug in my new Garmin Edge 305 to get enough juice to get me through the next two days. I opened my bag and realized I had grabbed the cell phone charger! I am 0 for 2 on this trip!!!

Jodi was smart enough to grab the weather report…70% chance of rain and heavy wind predicted for that night and tomorrow! Oh well…that’s why we brought rain gear right? After all, I told everyone during preparations, if you bring rain gear, it won’t rain. It’s only if you don’t bring the gear that you are guaranteed a shower!

Tent campground was full, so we ended up camping in an RV park. The wind was so strong, we anchored the Kiva to an RV, and Dimitri didn’t even bother trying to pitch his tent. After a wonderful $3, luke-warm shower at the Resort, dinner in one of their fine dining establishments, it was back to our humble home amidst the generators. Fortunately, they were all off by 8 (the last person to turn his off got an applause from 5 tired cyclists), and it was actually very quiet the rest of the night. The wind was non-existent and the expected rain never materialized.

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Part Five tomorrow (Day Three: Furnace Creek to Death Valley Junction)

Death Valley by Trike (p3)

Adventure cyclist Dana Lieberman continues his Death Valley saga:

Day One: Shoshone to a Dirt Road in the Middle of Nowhere

Friday February 17, 2006, 33 miles (53 km) – Total so far: 33 miles (53 km)

Our first day didn’t start as hoped…we woke up in the morning in Baker with intentions of getting dressed, driving to Pahrump for groceries, and then meeting Scott and Jodi at 9ish in Shoshone. While getting dressed, I realized that I had left my cycling shoes at home! All I had were a pair of Keen sandals and some Eggbeater pedals…not the greatest combination for anything other than running down the street to pick up lunch!

We decided to check out Pahrump for a bike shop, and worst case, buy some platform pedals at Walmart. We searched and searched, but could not find a “real” bike shop. So Walmart pedals it was…all $5.74 worth! As we were all on trikes, two riders were using toe-straps for parking brakes, and graciously donated them to me to avoid my foot falling off at speed. Overall, the system worked fine.

We ended up meeting Scott and Jodi at 11am, and we were off shortly thereafter. The day’s ride ascended up Hwy 178 to the top of Salsbury Pass, a 12 mile, 1500 foot climb that was low grade, but seemed to go on forever. However, the sun was shining, everyone was excited and talkative, so we just enjoyed the ride up the pass.

Descending off the top of Salsbury Pass was one of the most amazing experiences – I felt like I was hang gliding down the pass. Some clouds had come out, so the sun appeared and disappeared throughout the 12 mile descent, lighting the canyons and mountains in a variety of colors and shapes. Truly breathtaking!

A quick climb up Jubilee Pass and another, steeper descent to the Valley Floor. We continued along for about another 5 miles to a dirt road that led us down to a flat, out-of-the-way spot for camping. The dirt was so loose on the road, we had to pedal to go downhill!

Setting up camp was fun as it was the first night. Dimitri’s tent ripped, and I managed to burn a small hole in Neal’s tarp. Neal and I used a Kiva (by Mountain Hardware), which is a teepee style tent with no floor. It is large, and gave plenty of room for cooking out of the wind. To be honest, we were both pretty amazed it didn’t blow away given the wind!

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Part Four tomorrow (Day Two: Middle of Nowhere to Furnace Creek)

Death Valley by Trike (p2)

Dana Lieberman’s three day trike adventure continues from yesterday:

Day Zero: Getting ready to hit the road

Thursday was hard…I was planning on closing the shop early to meet Dimitri and Neal at Adventure 16 with the rental truck, and off we would go to Baker. Needless to say, my mind was pretty preoccupied, and I was fortunate that it was slow.

We met up on time, and avoided most of the traffic on the way out to the desert. We stopped for dinner in Victorville, and decided to do some grocery shopping in Baker since the first night would be a dry camp. Of course, once we arrived in Baker, we found out that the closest markets were in Las Vegas and Pahrump! Fortunately, Pahrump was only 25 miles beyond the meeting point in Shoshone, so we agreed to get up a little earlier, drive to Pahrump to go shopping, and meet Scott and Jodi at 9ish.

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Part Three tomorrow (Day One: Shoshone to a Dirt Road in the Middle of Nowhere)

Death Valley by Trike (p1)

The following story, which will appear in its entirety over the course of the next eight days, was written by Dana Lieberman, the owner of Bent Up Cycles in Van Nuys, California. This trip to Death Valley occurred in 2006, and documents the adventures of 14 wheels, 5 riders, and a dog. At the conclusion of the posts, a link will be provided for photographs of their Death Valley excursion on three-wheeled vehicles.

DEATH VALLEY BY TRIKE

by Dana Lieberman

Introductions

I needed a vacation…by mid-November of 05, I REALLY needed a vacation! Last year, I attempted the Big Sur coastline in February, but had to cut the trip short due to knee problems. So, it seemed obvious that I should try again, but this time with some company.

I wish I could say that I had some plan or criteria for inviting people, but mostly it was a matter of who happened to be in the shop when I was thinking or talking about my trip. The group changed in size throughout the planning process, and finalized at 5 just a couple days before the trip.

Scott and Jodi have been long-distance customers for awhile. Scott was one of the first to test ride the HP Velotechnik StreetMachine when I was still working out of the house. The two of them have toured extensively, and have published numerous journals on this site. They are a mellow, easy-going couple who seemed like perfect companions…and they usually bring their dog Django! They were riding a Greenspeed GTT tandem trike with a Burley trailer for Django.

Neal is the manager of Adventure 16 in Tarzana. He started as another customer buying a Greenspeed trike for touring, but over the months we became friends. He was the first person to actually commit to this adventure, long before we even knew what it would be! Needless to say, he rode his Greenspeed GTO.

Dimitri came into the shop last summer, and after some conversation we realized that we went to the same summer camp together some 20 years ago! Dimitri also set me up with my first job…selling flowers on freeway offramps (back when it was safe), the year after we went to camp together. He is pretty new to bike touring, and was looking forward to trying it out. He defintely kept everyone entertained throughout the trip! He rode his ICE S trike.

There were a number of other riders who wanted to go, but for various reasons, couldn’t make it in the end.

The original plan was to ride the Big Sur Coast. Various iterations of the ride went around the group, and we finally decided that a 4-day trip from Monterrey to San Luis Obispo would be perfect. We all crossed our fingers and hoped for good weather (we all agreed that we would ride if there was a slight chance of rain, but didn’t want to spend four days riding in the rain).

The week before the ride, we all began checking the weather. As the days progressed, it looked more and more like we would hit some rain. So, three days before the trip, we switched to Plan B – Scott recommended a route through Death Valley. The weather seemed to be in our favor, and the mileage was about right. So Death Valley it was!

Now, I will say that I wasn’t exceptionally excited about Death Valley. I don’t consider myself a desert person, and wasn’t looking forward to four days looking at dirt. Scott and Jodi were convinced that Death Valley would change my perceptions, so I agreed to give it a try….

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Part Two tomorrow (Day Zero: Getting ready to hit the road)

Horse Thief Spring Murder?

WHERE DID CARSON AND GODEY MURDER THE INDIANS?

AT HORSE THIEF SPRING?

by LeRoy C. Johnson

Shoshone Museum

March 3, 2009

Time does not allow a complete recapitulation of the murder of two innocent Indians. I refer readers to Frémont’s journal (Frémont 1887:370-376 and Frémont in Jackson, Donald & Mary Lee Spence 1970:677-684) and Charles Preuss’ brief description of the murders (Preuss in Gudde & Gudde, eds. 1958:126-129).

In 1844 the famous scouts Kit Carson and Alexander (Alex) Godey—who were traveling with Frémont during his second expedition—tracked down some Indians who (I feel) had chanced upon the herd of horses Fuentes and Hernandez abandoned at Bitter Spring after fleeing from the Indians at Resting Spring. The Indians drove the horses to their village in a remote canyon. Here Carson and Godey found the Indians had butchered several horses and were cooking them. The scouts then shot and scalped two of the male Indians and an old lady escaped. One of the Indians was still alive when Godey began scalping him. He jumped up “with blood streaming from his skinned head, and uttered a hideous howl…. then they did what humanity required, and quickly terminated the agony of the gory savage” (Frémont 1887:373). An apparently deranged boy was captured and later set free. He then picked up a horse head and began eating it. Frémont (ibid.) said the boy showed “strong evidence of the stoicism, or something else.”

Frémont gives scant details as to the location where the murders occurred, but he gives sufficient information to identify the mountain range where the Indian village was. Lingenfelter (1986:29) tells us:

From Frémont’s description of the pursuit, it appears…the tracks of the horses led away from the Spanish Trail, through the low hills to the east, and up Beck Spring Canyon in the Kingston Range to the Paiute village of Moqua, at what is now known—perhaps not coincidentally—as Horse Thief Spring.

Frémont and his entourage left Bitter Spring late in the afternoon of April 27, 1844, so they could do most of their traveling by moonlight,[1] thus avoiding the oppressive heat of the day (in Jackson & Spence 1970:682-683). Here is how Frémont described their nighttime passage to Salt Spring:

[We traveled down] the bed of a creek running northwardly into a small lake beyond, and both of them being dry.[2] We had a warm, moonshiny night; and, traveling directly toward the north star, we journeyed now across an open plain between mountain ridges; that on the left [west] being broken, rocky, and bald, according to information of Carson and Godey, who had entered here in pursuit of the horses. [p. 682, italics Frémont’s, highlight mine]

From the above, we know Frémont’s company was riding northward from Silurian Lake playa toward Salt Spring and we can deduce the mountain range where Carson and Godey murdered the Indians was to the left (west) of their line of travel. Frémont’s comment that they were “traveling directly toward the north star” is hyperbole. Had they traveled directly north from Silurian Lake, they would have missed Salt Spring (passing it five or six miles to the east).[3] The mountain range to the right (east) of their line of travel was the Kingston Range. The mountain range to the left (west) of their line of travel was Avawatz Mountains.

Old Mormon Spring or Sheep Creek Spring—both in the Avawatz Mountains—are possible springs where Carson and Godey killed the two Indians and retrieved the Mexicans’ horses. Assuredly, Horse Thief Spring is not a contender because it does not fit Frémont’s description of being “on their left” as he traveled north.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Frémont, John Charles. 1845. Report Of The Exploring Expedition To The Rocky Mountains In The Year  1842, And To Oregon And North California In The Years  1843-44. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office. [Congress printed 10,000 copies of the report and it was immediately reprinted by private presses; by 1849 about 82,000 private press copies were in circulation.)

—————. 1887. Memoirs of My Life by John Charles Frémont, Explorer of the American West, Including Three Journeys of Western Exploration during the Years 1844, 1843-1844, 1845-1847. New York: Cooper Square Press. [Facsimile edition available from Cooper Square Press, 2001. Page numbers in this edition correspond to the pages in the 1887 edition.]

Hafen, LeRoy R. and Ann W. Hafen. 1954. Old Spanish Trail: Santa Fé to Los Angeles, With Extracts from Contemporary Records and Including Diaries of Antonio Armijo and Orvill Pratt. Vol. 1. The Far West and the Rockies Historical Series, 1820-1875. Glendale, Calif.: Arthur  H. Clark Co.

Jackson, Donald and Mary Lee Spence. 1970. The Expeditions of John Charles Frémont. Vol. 1. Travels from 1838 to 1844. Urbana, Chicago, and London: University of Illinois Press.

Lingenfelter, Richard E. 1986. Death Valley & the Amargosa: A Land of Illusion. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.

LeRoy C. Johnson

4916 Westridge Road

Bishop, CA 93514

Ljohnson@sierragen.com

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[1] On this day, the 71 percent gibbous, waxing moon rose about 1:30 p.m., reaching its transit (highpoint) around 8:00 p.m., and set around 2:10 a.m. the morning of April 28 (data gleaned from U.S. Naval Observatory, Astronomical Applications Department Web site). The sunset on the 27th occurred about 6:30 p.m.

[2] The dry creek bed is Salt Creek, which (when water is flowing) drains northward and joins the Amargosa River, which terminates in Death Valley. The small, dry lake is Silurian Lake (playa). When water fills this playa to overflowing, the water runs down Salt Creek.

[3] The “north star” passage might have been added by Jessie Benton Frémont, John’s wife, who helped write Frémont’s field notes and diaries for publication.

Old Spanish Trail (bibliography)

Following is LeRoy Johnson’s bibliography for the Old Spanish Trail research:

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Bancroft, Hubert H. 1986. History of California. Vol. 4. The Works of Hubert Howe Bancroft Vol. 21. San Francisco: A. L. Bancroft & Company, Publishers.

Bauer, M.D. 1998. Amargosa Canyon & the Old Spanish Trail. Amargosa Valley, NV: Desert Hermit Enterprises. [He used the nom de plume The Desert Hermit; privately printed.]

—————. 2003. The Old Spanish Trail and the Southern Paiute. Amargosa Valley, NV: Desert Hermit Enterprises.[The copy he sent me is spiral bound, possibly the only copy in existence; privately printed.]

Betros, Col. Lance. 2006. [Leslie Gordnier, West Point, quoted Col. Betos in the e-mail to me.]

Bigler, David L. and Will Bagley. 2000. Army of Israel: Mormon Battalion Narratives. Vol. 4. Kingdom in the West, The Mormons and the American Frontier. Spokane, Wash.: Arthur H. Clark. Co.

Bray, Edmund C. and Martha Coleman Bray, eds. and trans. 1976. Joseph N. Nicollet on the Plains and Prairies. St. Paul, MN: Minnesota Historical Society Press.

Brown, James S. 1900. Life of a Pioneer, Being the Autobiography of James S. Brown. Salt Lake City, UT: Geo. Q. Cannon & Sons Co., Printers.

Bureau of Land Management, USDI. 1980. Glossaries of BLM Surveying and Mapping Terms. Prepared by the Cadastral Survey Training Staff. Denver, CO: Government Printing Office.

Casebier, Dennis G. 1975. The Mojave Road. Narco, CA: Tales of the Mojave Road Publishing Co.

Crampton, C. Gregory and Steven K, Madsen. 1994, In Search of the Spanish Trail: Santa Fé to Los Angels, 1829-1848. Salt Lake City, UT: Gibbs-Smith Publisher.

Desert Hermit, The. See Bauer 1998.

Flint, Thomas. 1923. “Diary of Dr. Thomas Flint: California to Maine and Return, 1851–1855.” Ed. by Waldemar Westergaard. Annual Publications of the Historical Society of Southern California. Los Angeles: The Historical Society of Southern California.

Frémont, John Charles. 1845. Report Of The Exploring Expedition To The Rocky Mountains In The Year  1842, And To Oregon And North California In The Years  1843-44. Serial xxxxxx. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office. [Congress printed 10,000 copies of the report and it was immediately reprinted by private presses; by 1849 about 82,000 private press copies were in circulation.)

—————. 1887. Memoirs of My Life by John Charles Frémont, Explorer of the American West, Including Three Journeys of Western Exploration during the Years 1844, 1843-1844, 1845-1847. New York: Cooper Square Press. [Facsimile edition available from Cooper Square Press, 2001. Page numbers in this edition correspond to the pages in the 1887 edition.]

Gilon, Paul. 2002. “Tracking the ’49ers from the Old Spanish Trail through Southeastern Nevada.” Spanish Traces: Old Spanish Trail Association. 8(3):25-30.

Gordnier, Leslie (Public Affairs Office, U.S. Military Academy, West Point). 2006, December 5. “Dean’s Contact Us form: Journals & Surveying.” E-mail to LeRoy & Jean Johnson. [Responding to a query as to how a West Point educated engineer or surveyor would make reference to spots along a river or a canyon.]

Gudde, Erwin G. and Elisabeth K. Gudde, trans. & edited. 1958. Charles Preuss, Exploring with Frémont. Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press.

Hafen, LeRoy R. 1947. “Armijo’s Journal.” The Huntington Library Quarterly. 11(1):87-101.

—————. 1950. “Armijo’s Journal of 1829-30; the Beginning of Trade Between New Mexico and California.” Colorado Magazine. 27(1):120-131.

Hafen, LeRoy R. and Ann W. Hafen. 1954. Old Spanish Trail: Santa Fé to Los Angeles, With Extracts from Contemporary Records and Including Diaries of Antonio Armijo and Orvill Pratt. Vol. 1. The Far West and the Rockies Historical Series, 1820-1875. Glendale, Calif.: Arthur  H. Clark Co.

—————, eds. 1954. Journals of Forty-Niners: With Diaries and Contemporary Records of Sheldon Young, James S. Brown, Jacob Y. Stover, Charles C. Rich, Henry W. Bigler, and Others. Vol. 2. The Far West and the Rockies Historical Series, 1820-1875. Glendale, Calif.: Arthur  H. Clark Co. [This book is available as a 1998 facsimile edition from Bison Books, University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, Neb.]

Heiskell, Hugh Brown. 1998. A Forty-niner from Tennessee. Edited by Edward M. Steel. Knoxville, TN: University of Tennessee Press.

Hermit, The Desert. 1998. See: Bauer, Melven D.

Hill, Joseph J. 1921. “The Old Spanish Trail: A study of Spanish and Mexican Trade and Exploration Northwest from New Mexico to the Great Basin and California.” The Hispanic American Historical Review. 4(3):444-473.

Hitchcock, A.S. 1950. Manual of the Grasses of the United States. USDA Misc. Pub. No. 200. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office.

Hoover, Vincent A. 1849. Diary housed in The Huntington Library. [I am now editing this diary, along with Will Bagley and Todd Berens, for The Arthur H. Clark Co.]

Jackson, Donald and Mary Lee Spence. 1970. The Expeditions of John Charles Frémont. Vol. 1. Travels from 1838 to 1844. Urbana, Chicago, and London: University of Illinois Press.

Johnson, LeRoy and Jean Johnson. 1992. “Where is Van Dorn’s ‘Hitchins’ Spring.” In: Proceedings Third Death Valley Conference on History and Pre History, January 30-February 2, 1992.” pp. 45-56. Death Valley, CA: Death Valley Natural History Association.

Kelly, Isabel T. 1934. “Southern Paiute Bands.” American Anthropologist, n.s. 36(4):548-560,

Lawrence, Eleanor. 1931. “Mexican Trade Between Santa Fé and Los Angeles, 1830-1848. California Historical Quarterly. 10(1):27-39.

Lengner, Ken and George Ross. 2006. Tecopa Mines: Operating During the 82 Years of the Death Valley Region Mining Boom. Privately printed.

Leroux, Antoine. 1853, March 1. “The Pacific Railroad—Statement of Mr. Leroux.” New York Daily Times. May 24, 1853. p. 6. [Senator Thomas Hart Benton asked Leroux to describe Coochatope Pass. His letter was subsequently published in the newspaper.]

Lingenfelter, Richard E. 1986. Death Valley & the Amargosa: A Land of Illusion. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.

—————. 2007, August 28. “Old Spanish Trail.” E-mail to LeRoy & Jean Johnson.

Lorton, William B. 1849. Diary housed in The Bancroft Library. [I am now editing this diary, along with Will Bagley and Todd Berens, for The Arthur H. Clark Co.]

Lyman, Edward Leo. 2004. The Overland Journey from Utah to California: Wagon Travel from the City of Saints to the City of Angels. Reno, NV: University of Nevada Press.

Lyman, Leo and Larry Reese. 2001. The Arduous Road: Salt Lake to Los Angeles, the Most Difficult Wagon Road in American History. Victorville, Calif.: Lyman Historical Research and Publishing Co.

Marius, Richard. 1999. 3rd ed. A Short Guide to Writing about History. New York: Addison Wesley Longman, Inc.

Mendenhall, W.C. 1909. Some Desert Watering Places in Southern California and Southwestern Nevada. U.S.G.S. Water Supply Paper 224. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office. [Facsimile issued by Nevada Publications, 1983, renamed: 320 Desert Watering Places in Southeastern California and Southwestern Nevada.]

Mowry, Sylvester. 1855. Handwritten report written July 23, 1855, and addressed to “Colonel.” Original report in the National Archives, Records of the War Department. Office of the Adjutant General, 15 pages with 3 pages: List of Camps and Distances from Great Salt Lake City, Utah Territory, to Fort Tejon, California.”

—————. 1856. “Map Showing the Different Routes traveled by the Detachments of the Overland Command in the Spring of 1855 from Salt Lake City, Utah to the Bay of San Francisco.” Message from the President of the United States to the Two Houses of Congress. Vol. 4, Pt. 4. Serial 813. [This map shows Mowry’s route but it is not detailed enough to be of any value in the Sperry Hills area.]

—————. 1965. “Lt. Sylvester Mowry’s Report on His March in 1855 from Salt Lake City to Fort Tejon.” Edited by Lynn R. Bailey. Arizona and the West, A Quarterly Journal of History. 7(4):329-346. [This edited version of the report does not have Mowry’s the “List of Camps” table.]

Nevins, Allan. 1955. Frémont, Pathmaker of the West. New York: Longmans, Green & Co.

Powell, J.W. and G.W. Ingalls. 1874. “Report of J.W. Powell and G.W. Ingalls.” pp. 41-74, In: Annual Report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs of the Secretary of the Interior for the Year 1873. Washington, D.C.: Gov. Printing Office.

—————. 1874. “Report on the Condition of the Ute Indians of Utah; the Pai-Utes of Utah, Northern Arizona, Southern Nevada, and Southern California….” In: Annual Report of Commissioner of Indian Affairs…1873. pp. 41-74. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office.

Pratt, Parley Parker. 1935. “A Mormon Mission to California: From the Diary of Parley Parker Pratt.” Edited by Reva Holdaway and Charles L. Camp. California Historical Society Quarterly. 14(1):59-177. [Pratt’s diary is also in his Autobiography of Parley P. Pratt. It is markedly different that this version, which was transcribed from his original diary.]

Pratt, Sarah. 1852. “The Daily Notes of Sarah Pratt.” In: Covered Wagon Women: Diaries & Letters from the Western Trails 1840-1890. Vol. 4. 1852, The California Trail. pp. 169-207. Edited & compiled by Kenneth L. Holmes. Glendale, CA: The Arthur H. Clark Co.

Preuss, Charles. See Gudde & Gudde. 1958.

Robinson, John W. 1977. “Traders, Travelers, and Horsethieves on the Old Spanish Trail.” Overland Journal. 15(2):27-41.

—————. Gateways to Southern California. City of Industry, CA: Big Santa Anita Historical Society.

Sánchez, Joseph P. 1997. Explorers, Traders, and Slavers: Forging the Old Spanish Trail, 1678-1850. Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press.

Schindler, Harold. 1983. Orrin Porter Rockwell: Man of God, Son of Thunder. Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press.

Scott, Douglas D., Richard A. Fox, Jr., Melissa A. Connor, and Dick Harmon. 1989. Archeological Perspectives on the Battle of Little Bighorn. Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press.

Steiner, Harold Austin. 1999. The Old Spanish Trail Across the Mojave Desert: A History and Guide. Las Vegas, NV: The Haldor Co.

Stoltenberg, Carl H., Kenneth D. Ware, Robert J. Marty, Robert D. Wray, and J.D. Wellons. 1970. Planning Research for Resource Decisions. Ames, IA: Iowa State University Press.

Sully, John M., Miriam A Romero, and Robert D. Smith. 1972. Amargosa Canyon-Dumont Dunes Proposed Natural Area. A Report Published and Submitted to the Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Department of Interior by the Pupfish Habitat Preservation Committee.

Thompson, David G[rosh]. 1929. The Mohave Desert Region, California: A Geographic, Geologic, and Hydrologic Reconnaissance. U.S. Department of Interior, Geological Survey. Water-Supply Paper 578. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office.

[van Dorn, Aaron]. 1861. Sacramento Daily Union JULY 11, 1861 Eastern Boundary Sketches by One of the Exploring Party of the Late U. S. Boundary Commission. Number IV.

Warren, Claude N., Martha Knack, and Elizabeth von Till Warren. 1980. A Cultural Resource Overview for the Amargosa-Mojave ıasin Planning Unit. Contract No. YA-512-CT7-225. Bureau of Land Management. Riverside, CA: Bureau of Land Management.

White, Albert C. 1983. A History of the Rectangular Survey System. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office.

Williams, Jack E., Gail C. Kobetich, and Carl T. Benz. 1984. “Management Aspects of Relict Populations Inhabiting the Amargosa Canyon Ecosystem.” In: California Riparian Systems: Ecology, Conservation, and Productive Management. pp. 706-715. Edited by Richard E. Warner and Kathleen M. Hendrix. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.

LeRoy C. Johnson

4916 Westridge Road

Bishop, CA 93514

Ljohnson@sierragen.com

(Cartoon from the April 16, 2007, The New Yorker, caption title mine.)

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[1] Herein, a “trace” is defined as a beaten path or small road; a track.

[2] An excellent example of where the wagon road could not follow the packer trail is found in southwestern Utah east of today’s Enterprise. The Jefferson Hunt monument stands at the point where Hunt turned southward and followed the wagon tracks of the wagon train that was ahead of his now reduced train after most of the emigrants had turned west on a proposed “short-cut” to California. The Old Spanish (packer) Trail went up Holt Canyon and the road and trail merged above the narrows. The wagon route went over rising terrain of rolling hills until it passed the narrows in Holt Canyon. The wagon road then descended to Holt Creek and continued southward to Mountain Meadows (cf. Gilon 2002:25-30).

[3] I have counted twenty-two springs and seeps that emanate from the left (east) bank of the river from about a half mile south of Tecopa to the so-called Frémont Spring just north of where Cowboy Canyon enters the Amargosa River Canyon. Only about three of these yield sufficient water that flows into the river. The number of springs and seeps varies according to the amount of annual precipitation.

[4] This is an assumption the Hafens make. Lieutenant Mowry’s “Pure Water Spring” could be the sweet water flowing out of Willow Creek.

[5] Frémont consistently used the descriptor Spanish Trail—without the “Old.” An early use of the now commonly accepted name is found in Hugh Brown Heiskell’s diary on September 24, 1849: “[A group of packers] started from Fort Smith the forth of April, with ox teams, and from Santa Fe they packed across to Salt Lake [Little Salt Lake ?] by the old Spanish trail” (Heiskell 1998:45).

[6] While camped on the Mojave River, two Mexicans rode into Frémont’s camp. They were the sole survivors of an Indian massacre that occurred at Resting Spring. They said a hundred Indians raided their camp (assuredly a gross exaggeration). The two vaqueros managed to escape because they were mounted on horses. Fuentes and Hernandez were part of a six-person party that were driving horses they had secured in Southern California back to their home in New Mexico. As they escaped, they managed to drive about twenty horses southward down the Old Spanish Trail. Morbid fear kept them from returning to aid the Hernandez’s mother and father and a man named Giacome. Frémont took the two survivors into his mess.

I cannot herein cover the oft repeated story of how two of Frémont’s guides—Kit Carson and Alex Godey—tracked down a band of Indians and murdered two of them. The two guides retrieved most of the horses Fuentes and Hernandez abandoned at or near Bitter Spring. The Indians probably assumed the two vaqueros had left the horses on the desert to die.

[7] Scientists, engineers, and surveyors are not the only ones who adhere to these standards. For example, Douglas D. Scott, et al. used this convention in their Archeological Perspectives on the Battle of the Little Bighorn (1989:227). They described a trench a backhoe dug along Deep Ravine as being “placed against the right bank (looking downstream).” As a clarification to the lay reader, they added the “(looking downstream).”

[8] Similar instructions are found on pages 240, 258, 265, 316, 332, 326, 368, 391, 405, 441, 464, 523, 621, and 718 encompassing U.S. surveyor guidelines from 1811 to 1902. The main emphasis of these instructions dealt with navigable rivers, but these guidelines evolved through common usage to include any travel so long as you were ascending or descending a dry canyon bottom or a water course.

[9] An excellent example of how a surveyor-astronomer (a scientist) and a medical doctor (a lay person) differed in their description of the location of today’s Emigrant Spring in the Panamint Range has been published by LeRoy and Jean Johnson (1992). In 1861, the United States Congress ordered a reconnaissance of California’s eastern boundary in preparation for a survey of that boundary. After aborting the reconnaissance in Amargosa Valley because of poor water, poor forage, and decrepit mules, the reconnaissance party crossed Death Valley and ascended the Panamint Range toward Townes Pass.

The reconnaissance was lead by Dr. J.R.N. Owen, a physician and miner who had mining claims in the southern Coso Mountains. With Dr. Owen was Aaron Van Dorn, assistant surveyor for the boundary commission and topographer on the reconnaissance.

Van Dorn, the surveyor, said, “[We] entered the mountains to the southeast, up a large, wide arroyo [Emigrant Canyon] coming from that direction, following up which for three miles, we camped at a very small hole of water in the left bank.” Dr. Owen described the spring’s location this way, “We turned up a side ravine [Emigrant Canyon] to our left; and…came to a spring of good water, on the right hand side” (in Johnson & Johnson 1992:46-47; emphasis mine). Both men were riding up-canyon; Emigrant Spring is on the west side of the canyon—on the right hand side from the perspective of facing up-canyon.  But Van Dorn described the spring as being on “the left bank” of the canyon. He was a surveyor trained to describe reference points in canyons as always looking down canyon.

[10] Brian Brown called my attention to this extremely rare booklet. Bauer spent several years exploring the terrain south of Tecopa looking for a feasible entry point for wagons to enter the Amargosa River Canyon. He is apparently the first person who published the possibility that wagons entered the canyon via Cowboy Canyon (although he does not use that name).

[11] When Melven D. Bauer conducted and published his research, he lived in Amargosa Valley, Nevada. He moved to Omaha, NE, and in 2003 he revised and enlarged his 1998 booklet and sent me a copy, which he titled: The Old Spanish Trail & The Southern Paiute. Therein he still has Frémont passing Willow Creek and camping in Modine Meadows. From there,  Bauer has Frémont ascending an unnamed canyon (Cowboy Canyon) and proceeding to Resting Spring.

[12] Tule Spring, California, is 4.75 crow miles south of the Emigrant Pass or 2.0 miles northeast of (West) Tecopa Pass.

[13] In 1853, Dr. Thomas Flint drove a thousand head of sheep down the Old Spanish Trail. He described the spring thusly when he arrived there on December 30th: “Arrived at Resting Springs. Anything but a resting place. Grass and water of the poorest quality. Hot at midday and cold at night.” The sheep were undoubtedly desperate for water as they approached the spring; thus, they would have rushed to the water source and fouled it.

[14] The l933 USGS 60 minute Avawatz Mountains quadrangle map labels this water source as Tule Holes.

[15] There are two passes named Tecopa; one in California and the other in Nevada. They are only 12 crow-miles apart. For clarity, I’ve designated the pass at the southern tip of the Nopah Range (West) Tecopa Pass. The eastern pass is in the Kingston Range near Horse Thief Springs.

[16] Dennis Casebier, a preeminent trail researcher who specialized in desert trails across the Mojave Desert, commented in The Mojave Road that Antonio Armijo’s journal was “sketchy…[and] there is some uncertainty about the exact route taken by his party…. It is likely they did not follow the…[Southern Route] along the Amargosa River exactly. Probably Armijo’s general course was somewhat south of that route and may have been closer to the Kingston Springs cutoff” (1975:31).

[17] There is a cluster of three or four weak springs in Cowboy Canyon. I have never seen water flowing here, but by digging a few inches at a couple moist spots I was able to find water. The springs are on the right bank of the canyon and one of them has a palm tree—the seed probably deposited there many years ago in the dung of a coyote or raven.

[18] Frémont undoubtedly learned the spring’s name from the two Mexicans traveling with him. Orville C. Pratt recorded in his diary on October 15, 1848, that he camped at “Archaletta Sp.” (today’s Resting Spring), Frémont rendered this as a French name: Archilette. LeRoy & Ann Hafen (1954:139 & 145) point out there was a Mexican named Jose Archulate in the Wolfskill-Yount party that came down the Old Spanish Trail in winter 1830-1831. Conceivably, the spring was named for this Mexican from Taos, New Mexico.

[19] He said he would send me a copy of the photograph, but he never did.

[20] The meadow, which once supported a large field of saltgrass, is now completely covered with mesquite and salt cedar.

[21] NB: I added this footnote May 6, 2009. I had “lost” this reference and found it after I printed the handout for the Shoshone Museum talk. In 1980, Elizabeth von Till Warren (In: Warren 1980:227) made this comment on China Ranch: “This site was apparently heavily used by prehistoric people, and was visited by Fremont in 1844 (c.f. McKinney 1971:14; Waring 1915:343; Mendenhall 1909:41.”

[22] Fanglomerate is derived from alluvium that undergoes a natural process of lithifacation; the gravel is naturally cemented together and resembles large-aggregate cement.

[23] I deliberately did not include a map delineating the Old Spanish Trail and Southern Route traces. The lower part of Cowboy Canyon is within the Amargosa River Area of Critical Environmental Concern. The BLM has not barricaded or posted the boundary of the ACEC in the canyon.

[24] This is the route clearly documented by Frémont.

Old Spanish Trail (conclusion)

Here is LeRoy Johnson’s conclusion based on his research:

CONCLUSION—THE OLD SPANISH (PACKER) TRAIL

I concur with W.C. Mendenhall who, in 1909, said Frémont went to and camped at today’s China Ranch. Apparently he was the first to render this conclusion. Then in 1915 Gerald A. Waring repeated it. These two scientists have been overlooked or ignored for almost one-hundred years.[1] Credit should go to them for being the first to correctly read and interpret Frémont’s report, a report that clearly and precisely described his route up Willow Creek to today’s China Ranch and then over the ridge to Resting Spring. The Old Spanish (packer) Trail went to today’s China Ranch and then to Resting Spring.

THE OLD SPANISH (WAGON) TRAIL

The above leaves unanswered this question: What route did wagons take through the Sperry Hills? Before I can answer this question, I must first answer this one: Why didn’t the Southern Route (the wagon road) follow the Old Spanish (packer) Trail and also go to today’s China Ranch? Going this way would be a couple miles shorter and the emigrants and their livestock could have had a respite before braving the jornada del muerto.

Wagons could not traverse the narrow slot-canyon down which the modern gravel road now goes to China Ranch. Near the head of this narrow canyon there is now a ten to twelve foot high dry fall. There may have been a similar fall there in the 1800s. This fall is composed of fanglomerate, a formation similar to concrete.[2] In the 1800s, it would not have been possible to reduce the grade by excavating the fall with picks and shovels in a reasonable amount of time (drilling and blasting would be needed). Nor would it have been feasible to move hundreds of cubic yards of earth to cover the dry fall and create a ramp. It is also conceivable this canyon was too narrow 160 years ago to allow passage of wagons.

Then how did the wagons get into the Amargosa River Canyon if they did not enter and exit the canyon near Tecopa? Their route of least resistance was down or up Cowboy Canyon.[3]

Here are three accounts from extant diaries written in 1849 that support my contention the Southern Route (the Old Spanish {wagon} Trail) went down Cowboy Canyon into the Amargosa River canyon.

Hoover, Vincent A.  Diary, 1849: On Thursday September 27, 1849, Hoover left Utah (from near today’s Springville, 45 miles south of Salt Lake City) and began his trek down the Southern Route as a member of the Independent Pioneer Company. This train preceded the San Joaquin Company by several days. Jefferson Hunt guided the latter until it disbanded in southwestern Utah. When Hoover left Resting Spring he recorded this in his diary:

November 27, 1849. We are again on our journey. This morning was pleasant although the night was cool. The road for the first three miles is good, and then broken & hilly. You will descend down a very steep hill to Amargosa Creek or bitter water of the desert is the meaning of it. Here you will find a good place to Camp & for some distance down the creek. Three miles farther down you will find a Small stream [Willow Creek] running into this creek [i.e., the Amargosa River] a good place to Camp. Distance 7 ½ [miles].

I feel I have located the “very steep hill” down which the wagons rolled. The eastern entry to Cowboy Canyon is near the pass where the county gravel road crests the Sperry Hills and drops into China Ranch and the canyon is about two miles long. From the point where the Cowboy Canyon enters the Amargosa River Canyon, it is three miles down to the confluence with Willow Creek.

Lorton, William B. Diary. 1849: Lorton was a member of the San Joaquin Company. Through a serious of unfortunate events, he arrived at Resting Spring almost a month after Hoover left the spring. In Lorton’s diary he records:

December 20th, 1849. The road assends a table[land] at 3 miles & then thro’ rough rugged bluffs, along a narrow ridge & steep pitches, & [an] awful pitch into the valley of the spring [into Cowboy Canyon]. See pritty table land on the west before we desend. Here is a strong alkali creek [Amargosa River] with numerous cascades, & bad places for cattle to get in.… This stream [the Amargosa River] is said to be a continuation of Hernandez spring creek. There are many bones scattered around of animals, & I see the horns of a mountain sheep. Some cut hay here for the desert.

Had Lorton continued down the drainage southwestward from Resting Spring to today’s Tecopa, he would have known the water from the spring disappeared into the sand before reaching the river. Those who cut hay did so either at the springs in Cowboy Canyon or from Modine Meadows (or at both places).

Pratt, Addison. Diary. 1848: Pratt was also a member of the San Joaquin Company piloted by Jefferson Hunt, but by the time Pratt reached Resting Spring the train was fragmented. He recorded this in his diary:

November 30, 1849. Traveled 7 miles and come to Salaratus Creek [Amargosa River] or Vegas [Modine Meadows], before descending into the bed of it we could see off to the right a large flat, part of it was covered with grass and a part of it was white as snow with Salaratus, that was the head of the creek [Grimsham Lake, northwest of Tecopa]…we had to descend into it on a short and crooked ridge which was a divide between two rivers that discharged water into it in wet weather. The lower end [of the ridge] was steep and it was with much difficulty we descended without upsetting our wagons. (in Hafen & Hafen 1954:94-95)

The “crooked ridge which was a divide between two rivers that discharged water into it in wet weather” is a narrow ridge near the top of Cowboy Canyon. His “steep” descent equates with Hoover’s “very steep hill” and Lorton’s “awful pitch.”

I scouted on foot and I drove every reasonable combination and permutation of potential routes into and out of the Amargosa River Canyon between Tecopa and Cowboy Canyon before I rendered this conclusion. Just after coming to this conclusion, Brian Brown loaned me his copy of M.D. Bauer’s 1998 booklet Amargosa Canyon & the Old Spanish Trail. He concluded Frémont went up this canyon in 1844; thus, he concludes the Old Spanish (packer) Trail was in Cowboy Canyon. Bauer also concludes the Old Spanish Trail wagon trace (the Southern Route) was in Cowboy Canyon. He, like so many others, incorrectly interpreted Frémont’s journal.

I conclude the Old Spanish (wagon) Trail and the Southern Route went to the confluence of the Amargosa River and Willow Creek and continued up the Amargosa River about three miles and then ascended Cowboy Canyon, which it heads eastward. After exiting this canyon, the wagon trace went northeastward to Resting Spring. The Old Spanish (packer) Trail went up the Amargosa River to the confluence with Willow Creek, thence up the creek to today’s China Ranch, and continued northward to Resting Spring.[4]

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[1] NB: I added this footnote May 6, 2009. I had “lost” this reference and found it after I printed the handout for the Shoshone Museum talk. In 1980, Elizabeth von Till Warren (In: Warren 1980:227) made this comment on China Ranch: “This site was apparently heavily used by prehistoric people, and was visited by Fremont in 1844 (c.f. McKinney 1971:14; Waring 1915:343; Mendenhall 1909:41.”

[2] Fanglomerate is derived from alluvium that undergoes a natural process of lithifacation; the gravel is naturally cemented together and resembles large-aggregate cement.

[3] I deliberately did not include a map delineating the Old Spanish Trail and Southern Route traces. The lower part of Cowboy Canyon is within the Amargosa River Area of Critical Environmental Concern. The BLM has not barricaded or posted the boundary of the ACEC in the canyon.

[4] This is the route clearly documented by Frémont.

———————————————-

Complete Bibliography tomorrow

Old Spanish Trail (p5)

LeRoy’s article continues from yesterday:

DISCUSSION & ANALYSIS of the OLD SPANISH TRAIL

Hafen contended Armijo’s “Little Salty Springs” might “have been Resting Spring” (1948:100, n62); whereas, Warren concluded it was Resting Spring  (1974:72-73). She says Armijo camped at the “life-saving salty springs which finally came to be known as Resting Springs.” She cites page 575 of David G. Thompson’s monograph The Mohave Desert Region, California as her authority for designating the spring as being salty (Warren 1974:73, n43).

However, Thompson (1929:575) made no such claim. Here is what he said: “Resting Springs, on a road leading from Tecopa to Pahrump Valley, yields a good supply of water.” Thompson makes no mention of the spring being salty. The adjective “good”—within the context he used it—refers to the quality of the water as being potable. Had the water been salty, he would have said so.

I can not visualize Armijo (or anyone who has visited the spring) describing Resting Spring as a “Little Salty Springs.” Nor do these descriptors fit Stump Spring or Tule Spring.[1]

Bigler and Rich correctly described Resting Spring—the spring and the vegetation around it—as being “saleratus” (Bigler in Hafen & Hafen 1954:167 & Rich in Hafen & Hafen 1954:214). Saleratus can have both sodium bicarbonate (a leavening agent like baking soda) and potassium bicarbonate (a leavening agent, and a neutralizing agent for stomach acid). Saleratus is a white crystalline and powdery chemical with an alkaline taste.

Almost all diarists who kept an account of their trek down the Southern Route, commented on the water at Resting Spring. They praised either its good quality or its quantity; none characterized it as small and salty.[2]

This spring and the surrounding land has a long history of domestic and agricultural use—hallmarks of potable water. Philander Lee owned the Resting Spring Ranch from 1882 to 1906; he and his family farmed the land using the spring water to irrigate vegetable gardens, fruit trees and alfalfa. Gerald A. Waring, in his Springs of California tells us:

Mr. Philander Lee, who has lived there since 1882, has made a real oasis of the place. About 25 acres of alfalfa, corn, and garden vegetables are irrigated by the main spring, which is said to yield 29 miner’s inches (260 gallons a minute). The springs are situated in a small marshy area at the base of a terrace-like bank, 25 yards south of the steep slope of Resting Springs Mountain. The water rises in this marshy area mainly at four points around the edge of a natural basin about 8 yards in diameter, which is sunk several feet below the normal surface. The temperature of the water (80°) and its constant flow indicate that it is essentially of deep-seated or artesian character. (Waring 1915:319)

A flow of 260 gallons per minute is almost enough to fill five 55-gallon drums every minute. This voluminous discharge can not be construed as a little spring.

There was even a short-lived town at Resting Spring in the late 1800s (Lengner & Ross 2006:26). Mendenhall says the spring is “clear and wholesome” (1909:40)—assuredly a requisite for a town. David G. Thompson said in The Mohave Desert Region, California: “Resting Spring…yields a good supply of water” (1929:575). He does not say the water was salty.

Stump Spring, which has never had water present the several times I have visited the site over the past twenty years is an unlikely candidate for Armijo’s “Little Salty Springs.” Stump Spring has variously been described as a hole or a spring but it has not been described as a salty water source. Several diarist mention willows grew here. The soil and vegetation around the spring site is not characteristic of a salty environment.

Tule Spring, California, is not a salty spring—presently its water has a slight taste of decaying vegetation, and it has no hint of being salty today or in the past.[3] The soil surrounding the hole is not impregnated with salts or alkaline residues. Mesquite and Frémont cottonwood grow here, and neither of these trees thrive in salty environs. This “spring” does not flow; it is more appropriately described as a shallow hole filled with fresh water. Down-slope from the hole I found small tufa concretions (calcium carbonate deposits) indicating water once flowed here.

Considering the above evidence, I reject Resting Springs as being the camping place that Armijo described as a “Little Salty Spring.”

I conclude Armijo camped the night of January 14, 1830, on Willow Creek; his “river of the Payuches [Paiute Indians].” To reach this spot, he likely came down China Ranch Wash, which has its headwater at (West) Tecopa Pass.[4] This route to the Indian rancheria on Willow Creek bypasses Resting Spring.[5] This places Armijo’s camp at China Ranch and not somewhere along the Amargosa River south of Tecopa. I do not know where Armijo’s “Little Salty Spring” was, but assuredly it was not Resting Spring.

The Amargosa River has its headwater about 90 miles north of Tecopa in Oasis Valley, just north of Beatty, Nevada. The only portion of the Amargosa River that has water flowing year-round is from a point about a mile north of Tecopa through the Amargosa River Canyon. Part of this flow originates from the Tecopa Hot Springs (Williams, Kobetich & Benz 1984:708-709).

Willow Spring is the water source for Willow Creek. (Some references and maps use the plural name Willow Springs.) A few small springs near the main spring once fed water to the creek.

Fremont described his 1844 passage through the Sperry Hills as he traveled up-river through the lower Amargosa River Canyon (south to north). He came to a fork in the river (the confluence of Willow Creek and the Amargosa River) and recorded this in his journal:

[We] reached a large creek of salt and bitter water…called by the Spaniards Amargosa…we continued in a northerly course up the ravine of its valley, passing on the way a fork from the right…. (Frémont 1887:375 & in Jackson & Spence 1970:683, emphasis mine)

Most historians and trail buffs—from the perspective of looking up-river, the direction Frémont was traveling—have incorrectly assumed the “fork from the right” referred to Willow Creek, which leads to today’s China Ranch. This is an incorrect reading of Frémont’s report. Note: Frémont says he passed the “fork from the right.” He did not say he went up that fork. By inference, I conclude— as did Mendenhall and Waring—Frémont went up Willow Creek and camped at today’s China Ranch.

Frémont correctly expressed the confluence of Willow Creek with the Amargosa River by describing the relationship by looking down-stream. Thus, the right hand fork is the Amargosa River. Frémont continues his description:

Gradually ascending, the ravine opened into a green valley, where, at the foot of the mountain, were springs of excellent water. We encamped among groves of the new acacia [mesquite], and there was an abundance of good grass for the animals. This was the best camping ground we had seen since we struck the Spanish trail. (Frémont 1887:375 and in Jackson & Spence 1970:683)

From the confluence of the Amargosa River and Willow Creek, Frémont continued north, up Willow Creek. The preceding quote is an accurate description of China Ranch. It is not an accurate description of any place along the Amargosa River above its confluence with Willow Creek, and it is not descriptive of any spot in Cowboy Canyon.[6] The springs in Cowboy Canyon are not in a “green valley,” and there are no known springs in Modine Meadows.

The unnamed springs that emanate high on left-bank cliffs of the Amargosa River Canyon (between Tecopa and Cowboy Canyon) are not “at the foot of the mountain.” Frémont’s words accurately describe Willow Spring.

Frémont’s description of his route from his camp at today’s China Ranch to the next camp at Resting Spring accurately describes his route:

April 29, 1844.—To-day we had to reach the Archilette[7] [Resting Spring], distant seven miles…. Our course was generally north; and, after crossing an intervening ridge, we descended into a sandy plain, or basin, in the middle of which was the grassy spot, with its springs and willow bushes…. We called the place Agua de Hernandez. (Frémont 1887:375 & in Jackson & Spence 1970:684)

Frémont described his trek up Willow Creek thusly: “Gradually ascending, the ravine opened into a green valley, where, at the foot of the mountain, were springs of excellent water.” In a discussion with a BLM officer, he told me this description was applicable to a spot along the Amargosa River commonly referred to as Modine Meadows where cattle were grazed in the past. He said the BLM has photographic evidence showing cattle grazing at the meadow, along the Amargosa River.[8]

This picture, which I have not seen, records a meadow that was enhanced by irrigation. Mark Modine leased his private land to cattle ranchers who diverted river water to the flat land. This water is brackish, but when there is minimal flow of river water passing Tecopa, this brackish water is diluted by fresh-water springs that are along the left (east) bank of the river (upstream from the so-called meadow). The Amargosa River water has, in the past, been used to irrigate pasture. “Junior” Huffman, a resident of Tecopa, told me he grazed cattle on Modine Meadows, and to stimulate the growth of the native grass (alkali saltgrass Distichlis spicata var. stricta), he diverted the alkaline and salty river water and flood-irrigated the meadow.[9] Members of the saltgrass Distichlis genus “in general have little value for forage, but in the interior basins…[saltgrass] is grazed when better grasses are not available” (Hitchcock 1950:175 & 177). This perennial grass is genetically adapted to both alkaline and salty soils.

Modine Meadows is not in a “green valley, where, at the foot of the mountain…[are] springs of excellent water.” And, the fresh water springs that emanate from the cliffs on the left bank of the Amargosa River are not at the foot of a mountain and they are all north (up river) from the meadow.

On April 29,1844, Frémont said his command traveled seven miles to “Archilette,” He then said, “we traversed a part of the desert, the most sterile and repulsive that we had yet seen…. Our course was generally north; and, after crossing an intervening ridge, we descended into a sandy plain” to Resting Spring.

It is at least seven miles from the freshwater springs in the Amargosa Canyon to Resting Spring, but the course is northeasterly (from Tecopa). There is no “intervening ridge” to cross when traveling the Amargosa River route to Tecopa and thence to Resting Spring. If Frémont had traveled this way, he would ascend rather than descend to Resting Spring.

From a logistical point of view, the Willow Creek route makes sense. Frémont had 21 men (plus Fuentez and young Hernandez) and 124 head of stock (plus Fuentez’s 15 horses). For several days the men and livestock had been forced to drink sub-marginal water at Bitter Spring, Salt Spring, and the lower reaches of the Amargosa River. Finally, after crossing the jornada del muerto, they reached Willow Creek, a freshwater stream. The Amargosa River, above its confluence with Willow Creek, is more brackish because the river water is not diluted by the inflow of fresh, sweet water from Willow Creek. Assuredly Frémont would not have taken his men and livestock up a non-potable river when he had a fresh-water choice.

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[1] Tule Spring, California, is 4.75 crow miles south of the Emigrant Pass or 2.0 miles northeast of (West) Tecopa Pass.

[2] In 1853, Dr. Thomas Flint drove a thousand head of sheep down the Old Spanish Trail. He described the spring thusly when he arrived there on December 30th: “Arrived at Resting Springs. Anything but a resting place. Grass and water of the poorest quality. Hot at midday and cold at night.” The sheep were undoubtedly desperate for water as they approached the spring; thus, they would have rushed to the water source and fouled it.

[3] The l933 USGS 60 minute Avawatz Mountains quadrangle map labels this water source as Tule Holes.

[4] There are two passes named Tecopa; one in California and the other in Nevada. They are only 12 crow-miles apart. For clarity, I’ve designated the pass at the southern tip of the Nopah Range (West) Tecopa Pass. The eastern pass is in the Kingston Range near Horse Thief Springs.

[5] Dennis Casebier, a preeminent trail researcher who specialized in desert trails across the Mojave Desert, commented in The Mojave Road that Antonio Armijo’s journal was “sketchy…[and] there is some uncertainty about the exact route taken by his party…. It is likely they did not follow the…[Southern Route] along the Amargosa River exactly. Probably Armijo’s general course was somewhat south of that route and may have been closer to the Kingston Springs cutoff” (1975:31).

[6] There is a cluster of three or four weak springs in Cowboy Canyon. I have never seen water flowing here, but by digging a few inches at a couple moist spots I was able to find water. The springs are on the right bank of the canyon and one of them has a palm tree—the seed probably deposited there many years ago in the dung of a coyote or raven.

[7] Frémont undoubtedly learned the spring’s name from the two Mexicans traveling with him. Orville C. Pratt recorded in his diary on October 15, 1848, that he camped at “Archaletta Sp.” (today’s Resting Spring), Frémont rendered this as a French name: Archilette. LeRoy & Ann Hafen (1954:139 & 145) point out there was a Mexican named Jose Archulate in the Wolfskill-Yount party that came down the Old Spanish Trail in winter 1830-1831. Conceivably, the spring was named for this Mexican from Taos, New Mexico.

[8] He said he would send me a copy of the photograph, but he never did.

[9] The meadow, which once supported a large field of saltgrass, is now completely covered with mesquite and salt cedar.

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Part Six (Conclusion) tomorrow

Old Spanish Trail (p4)

LeRoy’s article continues:

Jargon: Historians’ Nemesis

Concerning Frémont’s traverse through the Sperry Hills, historians and trail buffs have consistently misinterpreted Frémont’s journal because they do not know how to read topographers’ jargon. In order to correctly interpret Frémont’s report you need to understand the jargon (the terms) used since at least the early 1800s by scientists, topographers, and surveyors to describe points along a river as either being on the left-hand or right-hand side.

Probably the world’s most noted example of one of these descriptors is the Left Bank of the Seine River that flows through Paris. The Left Bank of Paris is that land to your left when you are facing down river.^[1]

C. Albert White, in his authoritative and highly acclaimed book A History of the Rectangular Survey System, documents some of the early history of the terms “left bank” and “right bank” as topographers used them in the 1800s. He found in the National Archives numerous early directives given to U.S. surveyors and White reprinted them en toto.

In an 1832 directive, surveyors were instructed that when “noting the banks of streams, instead of North or South, East or West, always use the terms right, and left bank, applying the terms as if you were descending the stream, and not ascending it” (in White 1983:269).

Then in 1833 another directive was issued: “To establish a uniform and simple mode of designating and distinguishing the two sides of navigable streams, the terms “Right bank,” or “Left bank,” will be used, in all cases, thus: —suppose yourself standing at the head of the river, looking down stream; then that bank of the stream on your right hand is to be called and refereed to in your Field Notes, as the “Right bank,” and that on your left hand as the “Left bank” (in White 1983:298).

In 1846 yet another directive was issued: “Standing with your face towards the mouth of a stream, the bank on your left hand, is termed to left bank, and that upon your right hand, the right bank. These terms are to be universally used to distinguish the two banks of a river, both in running lines and in meandering” (in White 1983:343; italics in original).[2]

Even today these same guidelines are used. The Bureau of Land Management’s, Glossaries of BLM Surveying and Mapping Terms (1980), has the following: “RIGHT BANK (River)—The bank on the right-hand side of a stream or river as one faces downstream” (p 48), and “BANK OF STREAM—… The right bank of a stream is the bank on the right-hand side, and the left bank, the one on the left-hand side, as one proceeds downstream” (p. 69).[3]

To further clarify this important point, I wrote West Point and briefly described the conundrum that rotates around Frémont’s description of the fork in the Amargosa River. Leslie Gordnier, Public Affairs Office, U.S. Military Academy, West Point, sent the following:

I received your inquiry regarding directions and mapping. I consulted with Col. Lance Betros from our history department and he offered the following:

“Directions concerning streams, canyons, valleys, etc., are always from the reference of the origin of the water flowing through it. For example, the famous “left bank” of the Seine River in Paris is really the south bank because the river starts in eastern France and moves generally westward. So if a person were on a raft floating down the river, the bank in question would be on the viewer’s left.” (in Gordnier 2007)

John Frémont was not a West Point graduate. He was appointed to the rank of second lieutenant in the Topographical Bureau’s Corps of Engineers, U.S. Army. Although a college graduate, he received most of his topographical and astronomical training under the tutelage of the renowned French astronomer and cartographer Joseph Nicolas Nicollet. Allen Nevins, Frémont’s noted biographer, points out that “for Frémont to become associated with such a scientist was a triple piece of luck. He soon learned from him ten times as much about scientific exploration, mapping, and description as he could have obtained at any American school” (Nevins 1955:31).

Frémont worked with Nicollet as a field assistant in 1838 and 1839. Edmund and Martha Bray translated and edited Nicollet’s field journals and concluded he “consistently referred to what would be the left and right river banks as one travels from the source to the mouth” of a river (Bray & Bray 1976:44, n6). This convention was assuredly instilled in Frémont.

With this firm foundation on how a scientist would describe the location of points of interest along rivers, streams, or in canyons, you can now correctly interpret Frémont’s short phrase that has befuddled historians and trail buffs for decades.

Below are excerpts from Frémont’s report—beginning at Salt Spring and continuing northward to Resting Spring.

April 28, 1844: …we had a very poor camping ground…[the water was] entirely too salt to drink [Salt Spring]….

…we entered another sandy basin [Dumont Dunes area], through which the dry stream bed continued its northwesterly course [Salt Creek], in which direction appeared a high snowy mountain [Telescope Peak].

[We soon] reached a large creek of salt and bitter water [Amargosa River], running in a westerly direction [toward Death Valley], to receive the [Salt Creek] stream bed we had left. It is called by the Spaniards Amargosa—the bitter water of the desert. Where we struck it, the stream bends; and we continued in a northerly course up the ravine of its valley [Amargosa River Canyon], passing on the way a fork from the right [Amargosa River]….

Gradually ascending, the ravine opened into a green valley [China Ranch], where, at the foot of the mountain, were springs of excellent water [Willow Spring]. We encamped among groves of the new acacia [mesquite], and there was an abundance of good grass for the animals.

This was the best camping ground we had seen since we struck the Spanish trail. The day’s journey was about 12 miles.

April 29: To‑day we had to reach the Archilette [Resting Spring], distant seven miles, where the Mexican party had been attacked; and, leaving our encampment early, we traversed a part of the desert, the most sterile and repulsive that we had yet seen…. Our course was generally north; and, after crossing an intervening ridge, we descended into a sandy plain, or basin, in the middle of which was the grassy spot, with its springs and willow bushes, which constitutes a camping place in the desert, and is called the Archilette [Resting Spring] (Frémont in Jackson & Spence 1970:682-683, emphasis mine).

Before leaving Resting Spring, Frémont renamed it “Agua de Hernandes—Hernandez’s Spring” to memorialize the Mexican families who had been murdered there a few days earlier (Frémont 1887:376 & in Jackson & Spence 1970:684), but the name did not survive.

Hunt, Jefferson, 1847: I left this account out of my presentation because this is not the proper venue for discussing this recently discovered description of the Southern Route.

Mendenhall, Walter C.  1909: Mendenhall’s Some Desert Watering Places in Southern California and Southwestern Nevada is a compilation of data on California springs collected by the noted geologist Gilbert E. Bailey. However, Mendenhall wrote the introductory chapter to the book (pp. 5-31).

In Mendenhall’s  “Main Routes of Travel” section he briefly describes Frémont’s trail: “[From the Mojave River, Frémont] followed the old Spanish trail…to Salt Spring and the canyon of the Amargosa, which he followed up to China Ranch Spring [today’s Willow Spring] on Willow Creek. From China Ranch Springs he journeyed to Resting Springs” (pp. 25-26, emphasis mine).

Then in his “Old Spanish Trail” section Mendenhall says: “From Salt Spring the trail led northward through the canyon of the Amargosa to Resting Springs” (p. 26).

Willow Spring—Mendenhall’s spring 52—is called China Ranch Spring in his report (p. 40). From Saratoga Springs, in southern Death Valley, he instructs us to enter the

mouth of Amargosa Canyon, which can be seen from a distance. When the mouth of the canyon is reached water can be had from the river. Stock will drink it, but it is strongly alkaline. The road then runs up the canyon for about 9 miles…. The road thence keeps a straight course northward up Willow Creek from which the [China] ranch derives its water supply.…

Resting Springs are about 6 miles northeast of this ranch… [and] The old emigrant road from Salt Lake passed here [i.e. Resting Spring] on its way south by way of…Salt Spring.

J.C. Frémont passed this spot [China Ranch] April 29, 1844 on his way…to Resting Spring. (p. 41, emphasis mine)

Mendenhall says Resting Spring is where “Philander Lee has made his home here for thirty years, and his ranch of 200 acres, with shade trees, fruits, garden, and alfalfa fields, is a veritable oasis…. The waters well up from sandstone and are clear and wholesome” (pp. 39-40); he does not say the water is salty.

Waring, Gerald A. 1915: Waring was a prominent U.S. Geological Survey scientist. In his definitive and highly acclaimed California Springs treatise, he describes the route taken by Frémont and his entourage as they traversed the Sperry Hills—from south to north—in late April 1844:

The China ranch is situated in the canyon of Willow Creek, half a mile or more above its junction with Amargosa River and 5 miles north of Sperry station on the Tonopah & Tidewater Railroad. Willow Creek is supplied by springs of considerable flow and of good quality, which issue from sandstones and clays of Tertiary age that form the canyon walls. The water is used to irrigate several acres of alfalfa and garden vegetables, and the ranch forms one of the few oases in the desert eastern part of the State. It is a stopping place and supply point on one of the main desert routes between the mining camps of eastern California and western Nevada. The springs were visited by Fremont in 1844, when returning eastward from his exploring expedition. (p. 343 emphasis mine)

An early detailed description of Resting Spring is also found in Waring book:

[At Resting Spring]…Mr. Philander Lee, who has lived there since 1882, has made a real oasis of the place. About 25 acres of alfalfa, corn, and garden vegetables are irrigated by the main spring, which is said to yield about 29 miner’s inches (260 gallons a minute)…. [The water’s] constant flow indicate that it is essentially of deep-seated or artesian character. (pp. 319-320)

Thompson, David G. 1929: In the preface to Thompson’s The Mohave Desert Region, California, O.E. Meinzer said: “The present report on the Mohave Desert region…[is a] more comprehensive and accurate description of its region and contains a more critical and reliable discussion of its water resources that has hitherto been published (in Thompson 1929: x-xi). This tome (759 pages) is still an invaluable reference for scholars and trail buffs who do historical research in the Mohave desert region.

In describing Resting Spring, Thompson (p. 575) tells us the spring “yields a good supply of water”—he does not say it is salty.

Lingenfelter, Richard 1986: Lingenfelter gives his interpretation of Armijo’s route in his popular and widely quoted book, Death Valley and the Amargosa:

The main settlement of the Southern Paiute on the Amargosa was at Yaga, now Tecopa Hot Springs. With about seventy inhabitants, this was the largest Indian village in the Death Valley-Amargosa country. It was also the first village there to be visited by white men [Antonio Armijo’s caravan], when New Mexican horse traders opened a trail to California in 1830…. Resting Spring, just 4 miles east of Yaga, was a favorite stopping place on the trail (p. 21).

Antonio Armijo, an enterprising trader in his late thirties, headed the first caravan from New Mexico to California in the fall and winter of 1829-30. [Armijo crossed]…the south end of the Spring Mountains, and reached the Amargosa River near the Paiute village of Yaga on January 14, 1830. From there the caravan followed the Amargosa, which Armijo named Rio de los Payuches, south…[and] reached Rio Salitroso, now Salt Creek. (p. 25)

By deduction, Lingenfelter has Armijo traversing the Sperry Hills via the Amargosa River from Tecopa Hot Springs.

Crampton, C. Gregory and Steven K, Madsen, 1994: They delimited their analysis to the years 1829-1848; these being the years when the trail was used almost exclusively as a pack trail. These authors in their In Search of the Spanish Trail: Santa Fé to Los Angeles, 1829-1848, do not present an analysis supporting their conclusion that the Old Spanish Trail traversed through the Sperry Hills via the Amargosa Canyon.

Gregory and Madsen’s map 10 (p. 96) shows the packer trail leaving Resting Spring and going southwestward to Tecopa, and thence down (southward) the Amargosa River and to Salt Spring.

Bauer, M[elven] D. used the pen name “The Desert Hermit,” 1998: Bauer wrote and privately published a booklet titled Amargosa Canyon & the Old Spanish Trail.[4] He has Antonio Armijo going to Las Vegas, Nevada, and thence westward to Cottonwood Spring, Mountain Spring, Stump Spring, Resting Spring, and then to Salt Spring (p. 9).

He then analyzes Frémont’s route through the Sperry Hills (pp. 12-15) and comments that the Frémont party

passed a fork on their right which had heavy vegetation. (The only fork on their right with vegetation would be Willow Creek, or China Wash, which had profuse growth due to the presence of good water from Willow Springs.) They continued up the canyon past a broad expanse of green vegetation (Modine Meadows) and camped at a spring of excellent water. (p. 12, highlight mine)

Bauer was ensnared by Frémont’s remark: “a fork from the right.” Bauer has the Old Spanish Trail (and by inference the Southern Route) leaving the Amargosa River via an unnamed canyon that local people call Cowboy Canyon. He correctly points out the grade in this canyon is slight: “just over three percent” (pp. 13-14).

Bauer (p.13) equates Frémont’s “green valley” with Modine Meadows. He contends this is where Frémont found a “springs of excellent water” at the foot of a mountain. These conclusions are predicated on his erroneous conclusion that the “fork from the right” that Frémont passed was Willow Creek.[5]

Steiner, Harold Austin, 1999: Steiner’s analysis in his The Old Spanish Trail Across the Mojave Desert dealing with the trail’s crossing of the Sperry Hills is predicated on both Frémont’s 1844 and on Lieutenant Mowry’s 1855 reports. Steiner does not differentiate between the packer trail and the wagon road.

He correctly has Frémont and his company entering the hills via the south portal of the Amargosa River Canyon. However, he has Frémont following the Amargosa River to today’s Tecopa. Steiner concludes that:

Frémont’s 1844 journal leaves little doubt that he traveled through the canyon of the Amargosa River and that he knew this was the trace of the Old Spanish Trail. However, the journal entry concerning the spring and grassy site where Frémont camped about seven miles from Resting Spring raises a question. (pp. 169-170, emphasis mine)

I highlighted the above sentence because there is considerable doubt Frémont traversed through the Sperry Hills via the Amargosa River all the way to Tecopa.

Lyman, Leo and Larry Reese, 2001: Lyman and Reese, in their The Arduous Road, trace the Old Spanish Trail from southern Utah to Los Angeles. Their emphasis was tracing the Southern Route and not the Old Spanish Trail. On their maps, the Old Spanish Trail is delineated with a series of dots and the Southern Route is shown as a series of dashes.

They show the trail and the wagon road going to Resting Spring, thence to Tecopa, and then down the Amargosa Canyon (map, p. 67).

Lyman, Edward Leo, 2004: In his The Overland Journey from Utah to California, Lyman extensively reviewed the literature concerning the Southern Route, which covers that portion of the Old Spanish Trail from Utah to California. As with his above earlier work, he shows the trail going from Resting Spring, to Tecopa (but not labeled on the map), and down the Amargosa River Canyon (p. 7).

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[1] Scientists, engineers, and surveyors are not the only ones who adhere to these standards. For example, Douglas D. Scott, et al. used this convention in their Archeological Perspectives on the Battle of the Little Bighorn (1989:227). They described a trench a backhoe dug along Deep Ravine as being “placed against the right bank (looking downstream).” As a clarification to the lay reader, they added the “(looking downstream).”

[2] Similar instructions are found on pages 240, 258, 265, 316, 332, 326, 368, 391, 405, 441, 464, 523, 621, and 718 encompassing U.S. surveyor guidelines from 1811 to 1902. The main emphasis of these instructions dealt with navigable rivers, but these guidelines evolved through common usage to include any travel so long as you were ascending or descending a dry canyon bottom or a water course.

[3] An excellent example of how a surveyor-astronomer (a scientist) and a medical doctor (a lay person) differed in their description of the location of today’s Emigrant Spring in the Panamint Range has been published by LeRoy and Jean Johnson (1992). In 1861, the United States Congress ordered a reconnaissance of California’s eastern boundary in preparation for a survey of that boundary. After aborting the reconnaissance in Amargosa Valley because of poor water, poor forage, and decrepit mules, the reconnaissance party crossed Death Valley and ascended the Panamint Range toward Townes Pass.

The reconnaissance was lead by Dr. J.R.N. Owen, a physician and miner who had mining claims in the southern Coso Mountains. With Dr. Owen was Aaron Van Dorn, assistant surveyor for the boundary commission and topographer on the reconnaissance.

Van Dorn, the surveyor, said, “[We] entered the mountains to the southeast, up a large, wide arroyo [Emigrant Canyon] coming from that direction, following up which for three miles, we camped at a very small hole of water in the left bank.” Dr. Owen described the spring’s location this way, “We turned up a side ravine [Emigrant Canyon] to our left; and…came to a spring of good water, on the right hand side” (in Johnson & Johnson 1992:46-47; emphasis mine). Both men were riding up-canyon; Emigrant Spring is on the west side of the canyon—on the right hand side from the perspective of facing up-canyon.  But Van Dorn described the spring as being on “the left bank” of the canyon. He was a surveyor trained to describe reference points in canyons as always looking down canyon.

[4] Brian Brown called my attention to this extremely rare booklet. Bauer spent several years exploring the terrain south of Tecopa looking for a feasible entry point for wagons to enter the Amargosa River Canyon. He is apparently the first person who published the possibility that wagons entered the canyon via Cowboy Canyon (although he does not use that name).

[5] When Melven D. Bauer conducted and published his research, he lived in Amargosa Valley, Nevada. He moved to Omaha, NE, and in 2003 he revised and enlarged his 1998 booklet and sent me a copy, which he titled: The Old Spanish Trail & The Southern Paiute. Therein he still has Frémont passing Willow Creek and camping in Modine Meadows. From there,  Bauer has Frémont ascending an unnamed canyon (Cowboy Canyon) and proceeding to Resting Spring.

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Part Five (Discussion & Analysis) tomorrow

Old Spanish Trail (p3)

LeRoy Johnson’s research continues:

LITERATURE REVIEW — OLD SPANISH TRAIL

This review is presented with minimal comments, most of which I have reserved for the discussion section. Occasionally I inserted place names and connective words for clarity. In doing so, these insertions telegraph my conclusions. My insertions in quoted passages are in single brackets, and I put the insertions found in the cited material in double brackets.

Armijo’s Journal, 1830 (LeRoy Hafen’s 1947 Interpretation): In 1947, LeRoy R. Hafen annotated and published a translation of Armijo’s journal that briefly documents the first commercial pack trip over a route from Abiquiu, New Mexico, to San Gabriel Mission in Alta California. There were about sixty men in his party and they brought woolen blankets and other trade goods to barter for horses and mules, which they drove back to New Mexico. The general route he pioneered eventually evolved into the Old Spanish Trail.

Hafen points out Armijo’s journal “is aggravatingly brief. It gives no distances and little more than a list of stopping places with dates” (p. 89). Even so, it gives some information that helps identify Armijo’s trail. Here are excerpts from Armijo’s journal followed by Hafen’s comments for the days Armijo’s party traversed through the Sperry Hills (from north to south):

January 13, 1830: “At the Little Salty Springs.”

Hafen: “This was probably Stump Spring…. [But] it may have been Resting Spring” (p. 100, n62).

January 14: “At the River of the Payuches [Paiute Indians], where a village was found: nothing happened for it was gentle.”

Hafen: “Identified as the Amargosa River” (p. 100, n63).

January 15: “Down the same river.”

Hafen: He made no comment on this day’s entry.

January 16: “At the Salitroso [[Alkali]] River: where the reconnaissance party rendezvoused without mishap.

Hafen: “This streambed…was a branch of the Amargosa [i.e., Salt Creek].”

Armijo’s Journal, 1830 & Frémont’s 1844 Report (LeRoy and Ann Hafen’s 1954 Interpretation): In their definitive book, Old Spanish Trail, Santa Fé to Los Angeles, the Hafens again summarize Armijo’s commercial venture to California in winter 1829-1830 (pp. 155-170). They have Armijo going to Las Vegas Springs, then to Cottonwood Spring, and over Mountain Spring Pass, Nevada. They do not annotate Armijo’s daily entries, but they do comment that Armijo’s “Little Salty Springs” (January 13, 1830) was “probably Stump Spring of today” (p. 167).

The Hafens have Armijo descending the Amargosa River (from north to south), but they are silent as to the route taken to the river from Resting Spring. It is not clear whether they have Armijo entering the upper reach of the Amargosa Canyon at or near today’s Tecopa—thus missing Willow Spring—or whether the pack train went south from Resting Spring to Willow Spring (today’s China Ranch).

The Hafens are equally unclear concerning Frémont’s route. Frémont was homeward bound in 1844; thus, he traversed through the Sperry Hills from south to north. The Hafens discuss but do not resolve the conundrum as to whether Frémont traveled through the hills via the Amargosa River to or near today’s Tecopa or whether he went via the Amargosa River to the junction with Willow Creek and thence up Willow Creek to today’s China Ranch. In their footnote 7 (pp. 291-292) they say:

Frémont’s distances and descriptions at this point are a bit confused, so it is difficult to identify these springs positively.

If he traveled the entire length of the Amargosa Canyon, the spring where he encamped was the one that comes out of the mountain side about one and a one-half miles south of present Tecopa,[1] and which was later known as the “Pure Water Spring on the Amargosa” (Mowry Account).[2] If he [Frémont] turned up the Willow Creek Fork of the Amargosa he camped at the spring and oasis later known as China Ranch—named for Ah Fou, who developed a ranch there several decades later.

The Hafens thus leave open the possibility that Frémont traversed the Sperry Hills via the Amargosa River to today’s Tecopa or via the lower reach of the river and Willow Creek.

I do not concur with the Hafens’ assessment. When read and interpreted correctly “Frémont’s distances and descriptions” accurately describe his route.

Armijo’s Journal, 1830 (Elizabeth von Till Warren’s Interpretation, 1974): Warren commissioned a new translation of Armijo’s diary, but her translation is similar to Hafen’s; thus, it does not interject confusion into the analysis because the differences are minor.

Warren’s analysis of Armijo’s route is at variance with some of Hafen’s conclusions, particularly in the high desert segment of the trail in southwestern Nevada. Warren concluded Armijo did not go to the Las Vegas Springs. She also contends he did not go to Cottonwood Spring and over Mountain Spring Pass (the route of the latter Old Spanish Trail and the Southern Route). Warren presents a convincing alternative route wherein Armijo went to Goodsprings, Nevada, then crossed the Spring Mountains via Wilson Pass or via Columbia Pass (about 10 miles, or 14 miles respectively, south of Mountain Spring Pass). The following translation of Armijo’s journal is from her thesis (1974:32-33); these daily entries are followed by Warren’s comments:

January 13: “To the little salty springs.”

Warren: “This march [on the 13th] would bring him to the life-saving salty springs which finally came to be known as Resting Springs” (pp. 72-73).

January 14: “To the River of the Payuches [Paiute Indians], where we found a settlement and there was no incident because they were docile.

Warren: “Finally, traveling either west or southwest [from Resting Spring] Armijo would have shortly reached the Amargosa River, his ‘River of the Payuches,’ a water course dotted with settlements of Piutes and Shoshones in both historic and prehistoric times. Here, probably in the vicinity of China Ranch with its nearby sweet springs [Willow Spring], Armijo found the first village of Indians since leaving today’s Nevada” (p. 73).

January 15: “Downriver.”

Warren: No comment.

January 16: “To the Saltpeter River. The detachment returned without incident.”

Warren: “Two days later, Armijo’s caravan arrived at the ‘Saltpeter river,’ today’s Salt Creek” (pp. 73-74).

Frémont, John Charles, 1844: Frémont was sent by the U.S. Military on an exploring and scientific expedition to Oregon and California in 1843. He wrote the most important and detailed early journal—pre-1848—delineating a segment of the Old Spanish Trail.[3] His extensive field notes describing his western exploration (commonly called Frémont’s second expedition) was first published by the Federal government in 1845: Report Of The Exploring Expedition To The Rocky Mountains In The Year 1842, And To Oregon And North California In The Years 1843-44. He and his entourage traversed part of the Old Spanish Trail in 1844 when they were homeward bound from Alta California, and this was when he traversed the Sperry Hills.[4] Frémont’s report and accompanying maps were widely used by the emigrants and argonauts.

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[1] I have counted twenty-two springs and seeps that emanate from the left (east) bank of the river from about a half mile south of Tecopa to the so-called Frémont Spring just north of where Cowboy Canyon enters the Amargosa River Canyon. Only about three of these yield sufficient water that flows into the river. The number of springs and seeps varies according to the amount of annual precipitation.

[2] This is an assumption the Hafens make. Lieutenant Mowry’s “Pure Water Spring” could be the sweet water flowing out of Willow Creek.

[3] Frémont consistently used the descriptor Spanish Trail—without the “Old.” An early use of the now commonly accepted name is found in Hugh Brown Heiskell’s diary on September 24, 1849: “[A group of packers] started from Fort Smith the forth of April, with ox teams, and from Santa Fe they packed across to Salt Lake [Little Salt Lake ?] by the old Spanish trail” (Heiskell 1998:45).

[4] While camped on the Mojave River, two Mexicans rode into Frémont’s camp. They were the sole survivors of an Indian massacre that occurred at Resting Spring. They said a hundred Indians raided their camp (assuredly a gross exaggeration). The two vaqueros managed to escape because they were mounted on horses. Fuentes and Hernandez were part of a six-person party that were driving horses they had secured in Southern California back to their home in New Mexico. As they escaped, they managed to drive about twenty horses southward down the Old Spanish Trail. Morbid fear kept them from returning to aid the Hernandez’s mother and father and a man named Giacome. Frémont took the two survivors into his mess.

I cannot herein cover the oft repeated story of how two of Frémont’s guides—Kit Carson and Alex Godey—tracked down a band of Indians and murdered two of them. The two guides retrieved most of the horses Fuentes and Hernandez abandoned at or near Bitter Spring. The Indians probably assumed the two vaqueros had left the horses on the desert to die.

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Part Four (Jargon: Historians’ Nemisis) tomorrow

Old Spanish Trail (p2)

LeRoy’s article continues from yesterday:

THE OLD SPANISH TRAIL

In winter 1829-1830, Antonio Armijo and his accompanying packers took a string of mules from New Mexico to Alta California. His pack animals were laden with woolen trade goods destined for unknown markets. This sojourn through terra incognita was not a foolish undertaking; he had conferred with people who had been over parts of the route, and one of the members of his party had traversed part of the trail. Armijo also engaged local Indians to help guide him during the early portion of his venture. He also sent scouts ahead to find feasible routes. Assuredly these scouts followed Indian trails knowing they would lead from water to water.

The Old Spanish Trail is primarily thought of as a packers’ trail. However, a small number of wagons traversed it to bring settlers from New Mexico to Alta California. Apparently the first wagons over the trail were those of the 1837 Slover-Pope party. Mountain man and guide, Antoine Leroux, sent a letter to Missouri Senator Thomas Hart Benton in 1853, in which he  described part of the Old Spanish Trail saying: “Wagons can now travel this route to California, and have done it. In the year 1837, two families named Sloover [Slover] and Pope, with their wagons and two Mexicans, went from Taos that way.”

Bancroft tells us William Pope traveled the trail sometime “before ’40, perhaps in ’36…with 8 members of his family and a company of 12 men” (Bancroft 1886:782). Isaac Slover and his family were also members of the train (Hafen & Hafen 1954:181 & 198-199; Robinson 1997:36 and Robinson 2005:177). Sadly, there is no known diary documenting their passage or the route they took, and I do not know if the wagon train traversed the Sperry Hills.

History records only one wagon rolled from west to east prior to 1849, and it went from the Pueblo de Los Angeles to Salt Lake City (Thompson 1929:13). This wagon left Southern California on March 21, 1848, (Hafen & Hafen 1954:26; Bigler & Bagley 2000:396-399). There is no known diary documenting this journey (Bigler & Bagley 2000:397), but it is reasonable to assume the party followed the Old Spanish Trail as closely as possible from California to today’s Parowan, near Little Salt Lake, Utah. From here, they continued northward to Salt Lake City.

The guide for this party was Orrin Porter Rockwell (Schindler 1983:173) who, with Jefferson Hunt, had traversed the Southern Route from Salt Lake City to the Pueblo de Los Angles in November 1847. The wagon tracks laid down by Rockwell’s party in April 1848 evolved into the Southern Route.

Harold Steiner points out in his The Old Spanish Trail Across the Mojave Desert that “minor deviations from the mule trail had to be made to accommodate the wagons” (1999:87). He describes an excellent example where the Old Spanish (packer) Trail and the Southern (wagon) Route took different routes as they approached and crossed Emigrant Pass (from east to west), five and a half miles east of Resting Spring (Steiner 1999:165-166).

Although the wagon road had to occasionally diverge from the packer trail, the traces soon merged.[1] Most of these departures were minor, but, as I will show, the difference between the packer trail and the wagon road through the Sperry Hills is separated by about two crow-miles. The trail and the road traversed different canyons through the northern part of the hills.

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[1] An excellent example of where the wagon road could not follow the packer trail is found in southwestern Utah east of today’s Enterprise. The Jefferson Hunt monument stands at the point where Hunt turned southward and followed the wagon tracks of the wagon train that was ahead of his now reduced train after most of the emigrants had turned west on a proposed “short-cut” to California. The Old Spanish (packer) Trail went up Holt Canyon and the road and trail merged above the narrows. The wagon route went over rising terrain of rolling hills until it passed the narrows in Holt Canyon. The wagon road then descended to Holt Creek and continued southward to Mountain Meadows (cf. Gilon 2002:25-30).

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Part Three (Literature Overview) tomorrow

Old Spanish Trail (p1)

The next seven posts are from a research article by noted regional historian LeRoy Johnson. In the text, you will discover some revealing information concerning Fremont’s 1844 route up the Amargosa River.  There are six parts to this article: Introduction, The Old Spanish Trail, Literature Overview, Jargon: Historian’s Nemisis, Discussion & Analysis, and the Conclusion. Each part will post to a new day. The complete bibliographical listing will post to a separate page after the conclusion of the research article.

The Old Spanish Trail & The Southern Route

by LeRoy C. Johnson

Shoshone Museum

March 3, 2009

Before discussing the Old Spanish Trail within the context of its route between Salt Spring and Resting Spring, I need to define some terms.

1. The Old Spanish (packer) Trail is that trace[1] that was used by pack trains. It was approximately 1200 miles long and extended from Santa Fé to Pueblo de Los Angeles.
2. The Old Spanish (wagon) Trail is the trace that was used primarily by wagon trains after 1848 from Parowan, Utah, to Pueblo de Los Angeles. After the wagon route was pioneered, pack trains also followed this trace.
3. The Southern Route is the wagon trace that extended from Salt Lake City to Pueblo de Los Angeles. In 1847 Mormon packers pioneered this route, and in 1849 Jefferson Hunt guided a wagon train down this route. It became a major freighting route between Salt Lake City and Southern California (rarely called the “Mormon Road.”

It is misleading to describe the Old Spanish Trail with the singular noun: “trail” (see map. p. 2). There are several alternative traces, but they have the same starting and ending points—Santa Fé and Pueblo de Los Angeles. The Southern Route merged with the Old Spanish Trail near Parowan, Utah. From there to the Pueblo the packer trail and wagon road would occasionally split, but before long they would merge again. Going north from Salt Spring to Resting Spring, the “old” packer trail (pre-1848) and the “new” wagon road (post-1848) bifurcated in the Amargosa Canyon at the confluence of Willow Creek and the Amargosa River.

I’ll present data supporting my contention that:

1. There is strong—virtually irrefutable—evidence that in 1844 John Charles Frémont and his entourage traveled through the Sperry Hills (from south to north) via the Amargosa River and Willow Creek, and they camped at, or near, Willow Spring before continuing north to Resting Spring. They were following the Old Spanish (packer) Trail.
2. The Southern Route (the wagon road) went south from Resting Spring to the crest of the pass leading to today’s China Ranch. Thence the road went westward down “Cowboy Canyon” to the Amargosa River and continued southward past the confluence with Willow Creek and down the river to the juncture of Salt Creek. From there, the road went up the creek (southward) to Salt Spring.

The Old Spanish Trail is about 1,200 miles long, and I’m only discussing about twenty miles of it. However, the traces of the packer trail and that of the wagon road through the Sperry Hills are an important segment of the Old Spanish Trail because the Bureau of Land Management is now in the final stage of preparing a management plan for the Amargosa River Canyon.

* * * * * * *

I know of only three pre-1849 accounts that describe passage through the Sperry Hills: (1) Antonio Armijo wrote the first in 1830 after he traveled the hills from north to south; (2) Lieutenant John Charles Frémont, in April 1844, traveled through the hills from south to north; and (3) Jefferson Hunt gave a summary of a trip to Alta California that he took from Salt Lake City to Pueblo de Los Angeles in November 1847 over what became known as the Southern Route.

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Part Two tomorrow

Burning Buffalo Chips (conclusion)

Here is the conclusion of LeRoy and Jean regarding their research article:

Conclusion

In Olesen’s opening paragraph he asks this question:

“What was the name of the site in 1850 when the ’49ers found civilization that saved their lives?”

We have shown Olesen unsuccessfully answered this question. In his convo­luted quest to convince the reader that ex-neophytes operated a mythical rancho called San Francisquito, Olesen often leads readers astray by quoting passages out of context from books in his bibliography.

Out of necessity, in our point–counterpoint analysis, we have provided a lot of data, and we went to great length to track down, read, and carefully analyze all of the literature we cite.

We are not attempting to say the name Rancho San Francisquito was never used as a synonym for Rancho San Francisco. We think we have tracked down the origin of the Rancho San Francisquito name-myth: Eugene Duflot de Mofras was probably the first person who used this name in print, and Lewis Manly spread the myth with his popular book Death Valley in ’49. We do contend, however, that using the San Francisquito diminutive is demeaning to a rancho that encompasses such an important linear exposure to California history. The rancho has an honorable name, and use of that name is not only correct, but grants the respect the rancho deserves.

We hope we have provided sufficient data to make clear that the rancho where the Death Valley ’49ers found succor was correctly, commonly, and legally called San Francisco, and that the ownership of the rancho has a well documented provenance.

As an outgrowth of this discussion, we are resurrecting a project we started thirty years ago and are writing yet another book on the fascinating history of the Rancho San Francisco and its relationship to the daring Death Valley 49ers. Toward this end, we hope you will take the time to write and alert us of literature you think will be helpful.

We extend our sincere appreciation to The Huntington and The Bancroft Libraries for their able assistance and extensive collections, and to Genne Nelson, who is carefully transcribing the Jayhawker Collection from The Huntington Library so it will be available to researchers in the future.

Bibliography

Some of this literature is available as facsimile editions. Occasionally editors of these editions add a preface, an introduction, an errata, or an addendum. When we used an original edition, we use its date; otherwise, we used the date of the facsimile edition.

Bancroft, Hubert Howe. 1884. The Works of Hubert Howe Bancroft. Vol. 18. History of California. Vol. 1. 1542-1800. San Francisco: A.L. Bancroft & Company, Publishers.

———. 1885. The Works of Hubert Howe Bancroft. Vol. 20. History of California. Vol. 3. 1825-1840. San Francisco: A.L. Bancroft & Company, Publishers.

———. 1886. The Works of Hubert Howe Bancroft. Vol. 21. History of California. Vol. 4. 1840-1845. San Francisco: The History Company, Publishers.

Bancroft Library, The. N.d. Diseno del Rancho de Sⁿ FRAN^CO. [This map has a paste-on label that says: “NO. 303 S. D., Page 101. Jacoba Feliz, Clmt. ‘San Francisco’ Santa Barbara & Los Angeles Counties.” The label was added to the map by the U.S. District Court; it is not part of the original map. The Bancroft Library call number: B-1349. Also available on the Internet at: http://ark.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/hb9j49p232/.

Barrows, H.D. 1901. “Mexican Governors of California.” pp. 25-30. Annual Publication of the Historical Society of Southern California and Pioneer Register, Los Angeles, 1900. [Reprint of a paper read before the Historical Society, October 1, 1900.]

Bartholomew, E.F. Jan. 10, 1888. Letter to: Hon. Alonzo C. Clay. Jayhawker Collection, JA23. The Huntington Library. San Marino, California.

Beck, Warren A. and Ynez D. Hasse. 1974. Historical Atlas of California. Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press.

Belden, L. Burr. 1956. Goodbye Death Valley!: The 1849 Jayhawker Escape. Palm Desert, CA: Death Valley ’49ers Inc.

———. 1967, rev. ed. Goodbye Death Valley!: The Tragic 1849 Jayhawker Trek. San Bernardino, CA: Death Valley ’49ers Inc.

Blake, William P. 1857. “Geological Report, by William P. Blake, Geologist and Mineralogist of the Expedition.” In: Reports of Exploration and Surveys to Ascertain the Most Practicable and Economical Route for a Railroad from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Coast Made Under the Direction of the Secretary of War, 1853-4. Vol. 5. 1856. Serial 795. Washington, D.C.: A.O.P. Nicholson, Printers.

Board of Land Commissioners. See: Commissioners, Board of Land

Bolton, Herbert Eugene 1959. Original Narratives of Early American History: Spanish Exploration in the Southwest, 1542–1706. New York: Barnes & Noble, Inc.

Bowman, J.N. 1949. “The First Authentic Placer Mine in California.” The Historical Society of Southern California, Quarterly. 31(Sept.)3:225-230. [Prior to this article, there had been several articles trying to clarify the year of discovery. Bowman clarified the question in this article—the year was 1842.]

———. 1958. “Index of the Spanish-Mexican Private Land Grant Records and Cases of California.” California State Archives, Sacramento, Calif. Microfilm: MF 2:9 (31), Index of Land Grant Cases. [ca. 600 pages, microfilm of a typescript from The Bancroft Library, U.C. Berkeley]

Brier, J.W. December 21, 1886. “Death Valley: Its Ghastly Story as Told by an Aged Survivor: Rev. J.W. Brier, Who Preached the First Protestant Sermon in Los Angeles, Tells of that Awful Journey.” Los Angeles Times.

Brier, Juliet. December 25, 1898. “Our Christmas Amid the Terrors of Death Valley.” San Francisco Call.

Bunje, Emil T.H. and James C. Kean. 1983. Pre-Marshall Gold in California. Vol. 2. Discoveries and Near-Discoveries, 1840-1848. Sacramento, CA: Historic California Press. [This is a printing of a 1938 volume two (of two) of a Works Progress Administration project that was sponsored by the University of California, Berkeley. The typescripts are in The Bancroft Library.]

California State Archives. Various documents pertaining to the granting of Rancho San Francisco to Antonio del Valle. “San Francisco, Unclassified Expediente 194.” pp. 57-60 and pp. 194-195. Sacramento, California. [These are transcriptions of the original documents that are housed in the National Archives, Washington, D.C. We worked with both the Spanish and transulated documents.]

Carter, Harvey L. 1969. “William H. Ashley.” In: The Mountain Men and Fur Trade of the Far West. Vol. 7:23-34. Edited by LeRoy R. Hafen. Glendale, CA: The Arthur H. Clark Co.

Colton, John B. March 21, 1894. Letter to: T.S. Palmer. Palmer Collection. The Huntington Library. San Marino, California.

Costansó, Miguel. 1992. The Discovery of San Francisco Bay: The Portolá Expedition of 1769-1770. Edited by Peter Browning. Lafayette, CA: Great West Books.

Commissioners, Board of Land. N.d. “[Part] E. San Francisco. Opinion of the Board of Land Commissioners.” Jacoba Felis [sic] et al. v.s. The United States. “For the place called San Francisco in Los Angeles County, containing about four square leagues of Land.” [Microfilm in National Archives and Records Administration–Pacific Region, San Francisco. T–910, California Private Land Claim Cases, Roll 23:  Dockets 310–322 [See: Docket 316]. This microfilm is also in The Bancroft Library, which has a clearer film.]

Cowan, Robert G. 1977. Ranchos of California: A List of Spanish Concessions, 1775-1822 and Mexican Grants, 1822-1846. Los Angeles: Historical Society of Southern California.

Coy, Owen C. 1973. California County Boundaries: A Study of the Division of the State into Counties and the Subsequent Changes in the Boundaries. Rev. ed. Berkeley, CA: California Historical Survey Commission.

Crespí, Juan. 2001. A Description of Distant Roads: Original Journals of the First Expedition into California, 1769-1770. Edited and Translated by Alan K. Brown. San Diego, CA: San Diego State University Press.

Day, Clinton, publisher. 1869. “Map of Private Grants and Public Lands Adjacent to Los Angeles and San Diego, in the Southern Part of California.” [The San Francisco rancho is clearly delineated and on the list of private land grants San Francisco is listed as being confirmed to Jacoba Feliz et al.]

Donley, Michael W., Stuart Allan, Patricia Caro, and Clyde P. Patton. 1979. Atlas of California. Culver City, CA: Pacific Book Center.

Duflot de Mofras, Eugene 1844a. Exploration Du Territoire de l’Orégon, des Californies et de la mer Vermeille, Executée Pendant les Années 1840, 1841 Et 1842. Par M. Duflot De Mofras, Attache a la Légation de France a Mexico. Ouvrage Publie Par Ordre Du Roi, Sous les Auspices de M. Le Marechal Soult, Duc De Dalmatie, President du Conseil, et de M. Le Ministre Des Affaires Étrangeres. Tome Premier [and] Tome Second. Paris, Arthus Bertrand, Éditeur, Libraire De La Société De Géographie, Rue Hautefeuille, No. 23. [The Huntington Library’s copy of these two tomes are bound in four booklets.]

———. 1844b. Exploration Du Territoire de l’Orégon, des Californies et de la mer Vermeille, Executée Pendant les Années 1840, 1841 Et 1842. Par M. Duflot De Mofras, Attache a la Légation de France a Mexico. Ouvrage Publie Par Ordre Du Roi, Sous les Auspices de M. Le Marechal Soult, Duc De Dalmatie, President du Conseil, et de M. Le Ministre Des Affaires Étrangeres. Atlas. Paris, Arthus Bertrand, Éditeur, Libraire De La Société De Géographie, Rue Hautefeuille, No. 23. [This separate atlas has twenty-six maps and illustrations. The first map (Carte générale du Voyage.) is the map with San Francisquito shown on it and is shown in Wheat 1958: facing p. 180 and is described on pages 185-186 & 261.)

———. 2004. Travels on the Pacific Coast: A Report from California, Oregon, and Alaska in 1841. Edited by Marguerite Eyer Wilbur. Santa Barbara, CA. The Narrative Press. [This is a reproduction of the rare 1937 edition.]

Durrenburger, Robert W. 1968. Patterns of the Land: Geological, Historical and Political Maps of California. Palo Alto, CA: National Press Books.

Eldredge, Zoeth S. 1909. The March of Portolá and the Discovery of the Bay of San Francisco. San Francisco: The California Promotion Committee.

———, ed. [1915]. History of California. Vol. 3 (of 5). New York: The Century History Co.

Ellenbecker, John G. 1938. The Jayhawkers of Death Valley. Marysville, KA: Privately printed.

———. [1942]. Supplement to The Jayhawkers of Death Valley. N.p.: Privately printed.

Engelhardt, Fr. Zephyrin. 1915. The Missions and Missionaries of California. Vol. 4 (Part 3, General History). Upper California. San Francisco, CA: The James H. Barry Co.

———. 1927. San Gabriel Mission and the Beginning of Los Angeles. Chicago, IL: Franciscan Herald Press.

———. 1930. 2nd rev. ed. The Missions and Missionaries of California. Vol. 2. Santa Barbara, CA. Mission Santa Barbara.

———. 1973. San Fernando Rey: The Mission of the Valley. Ramona, CA: Ballena Press. [Facsimile edition of the original 1927 edition.]

Fages, Pedro. 1937. A Historical, Political, and Natural Description of California by Pedro Fages, Soldier of Spain. Translated by Herbert Ingram Priestley. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.

Free Press, Ventura, Calif. May 2, 1890. “The Place They Came To.”

Goddard, George Henry. See: Shumate, 1969.

Gudde, Edwin G. 1974. California Place Names: The Origin and Etymology of Current Geographical Names. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.

Guinn, J.M. 1906. “The Old Highways of Los Angeles.” pp. 253-257. Annual Publication of the Historical Society of Southern California: Published by the Society 1905. [The date of printing was 1906.]

Hancock, Henry. 1858. “Plat of the Rancho San Francisco finally confirmed to Jacoba Feliz et al. Surveyed under instruction from U.S. Surveyor General by Henry Hancock, Dep. Sur., December 1858. Containing 48,813 58/100 Acres, Scale 80 Cha[ins] to 1 inch.” [Bureau of Land Management, Folsom, California. Docket 316, Roll 23. Copy in author’s files.]

Hanna, Phil Townsend. 1927. “When Death Valley Took Its First Toll.” Touring Topics. 19 (Dec.):14-17, 40-42.

———, comp. 1946. The Dictionary of California Land Names. Los Angeles, CA: The Automobile Club of Southern California.

———, comp. 1951. The Dictionary of California Land Names, rev. & enl. Los Angeles, CA: The Automobile Club of Southern California.

Hartnell, William I. P. 2004. The Diary and Copybook of William E.P. Hartnell, Vistador General of the Missions of Alta California in 1839 and 1840. Translated by Starr Pait Gurcke, Edited by Glenn J. Farris. Santa Clara, CA: California Mission Studies Assoc.: Arthur H. Clark Co.

Hittell, Theodore H. 1897. History of California. Vol. 2 (of 4). San Francisco: N.J. Stone & Co.

Hoffman, Ogden. 1862. Reports of Land Cases Determined in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. June Term, 1853 to June Term, 1858, Inclusive. Vo 1. San Francisco: Numa Hubert, Publisher. [Facsimile reprinted by Yosemite Collections. 1975.]

Hoover, Vincent A. 1849-1850. Diary. [Hoover’s original diaries are housed in The Huntington Library, San Marino, Calif. The Bancroft Library has a typescript of the diary prepared by Dale Morgan. See Mattes 1988:171 for details.]

Huntington Library Map. See: Plan del paraje conocido bajo el nombre de [Rancho] Sⁿ Francisco.

Huntington Library, The. The Jayhawker Collection is an assemblage of letters written among sundry members of the pioneers who blundered into Death Valley in winter 1849-1850. John B. Colton organized these pioneers into an organization called the Jayhawkers. Also in the collection are letters to Colton from people like ‘Buffalo Bill.’ and he kept newspaper clippings in two scrapbooks of articles that covered the Jayhawker’s reunion meetings that were held on February 4, the date the main body of the Jayhawkers arrived at the Rancho San Francisco.

JA Numbers. See Huntington Library, The

Jackson, Sheldon G. 1987. A British Ranchero in Old California: The Life and Times of Henry Dalton and the Rancho Azusa. Glendale, CA: Arthur H. Clark Co.

Johnson, LeRoy and Jean Johnson, eds. 1987. Escape from Death Valley: As Told By William Lewis Manly and Other ’49ers. Reno, NV: Univ. of Nevada Press.

Jones, William Carey. 1850. “Report on the Subject of Land Titles in California.” In: “Report of the Secretary of the Interior (Made in Pursuance of Instructions from the Secretary of State and the Secretary of the Interior).” 31st Congress, 1st Session. Senate Executive Document No. 18, pp. 1-136.

Latta, Frank. 1979. Death Valley ’49ers. Santa Cruz, CA: Bear State Books. [Facsimile reissued 2003 by Bear State Books, Exeter, CA.]

López, Pedro. April 12, 1854. “Before me. G. Tompson Burril[l], Commissioner duly qualified for the taking of Testimony to be used before the Board of Commissioners, to ascertain and settle the Private Land claims in the State of California, Personally appeared. Pedro Lopez – a witness in behalf of Jacoba Felis – and others, claimants, for the Land named San Francisco, numbered on the Docket of the said Board with No. 318, who upon oath declareth and saith as follows.” [Microfilm in National Archives and Records Administration–Pacific Region, San Francisco. T–910, California Private Land Claim Cases, Roll 23:  Dockets 310–322 [See: Docket 316]. This microfilm is also in The Bancroft Library, which has a clearer film.]

Lugo, Antonio Maria. April 17, 1854. “Before me. G. Tompson Burril[l], Commissioner duly qualified for the taking of Testimony to be used before the Board of Commissioners, to ascertain and settle the Private Land claims in the State of California, Personally appeared. Pedro Lopez – a witness in behalf of Jacoba Felis – and others, claimants, for the Land named San Francisco, numbered on the Docket of the said Board with No. 318, who upon oath declareth and saith as follows.” [Microfilm in National Archives and Records Administration–Pacific Region, San Francisco. T–910, California Private Land Claim Cases, Roll 23:  Dockets 310–322 [See: Docket 316]. This microfilm is also in The Bancroft Library, which has a clearer film.]

Lummis, Charles F. 1897. “Death Valley in ’49.” Land of Sunshine, A Southwest Magazine. 6(Feb.):116. [This is a review of Manly’s book.]

Manly, William Lewis. 1877. See: Pioneer, The.

Manly, William Lewis. 1894. Death Valley in ’49. San Jose, CA: Pacific Tree and Vine Co. [Original editions of this book are rare but it is available in several facsimile editions.]

———. 1987. Escape from Death Valley: As Told By William Lewis Manly and Other ’49ers. Edited by LeRoy Johnson and Jean Johnson. Reno, NV: Univ. of Nevada Press.

———. 2001. Death Valley in ’49. Edited by LeRoy & Jean Johnson. Berkeley, CA: Heyday Books.

Mattes, Merrill J. 1988. Platte River Road Narratives: A Descriptive Bibliography of Travel Over the Great Central Overland Route to Oregon, California, Utah, Colorado, Montana, and Other Western States and Territories, 1812-1866. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press.

Melendy, Brett H. and Benjamin F. Gilbert. 1965. The Governors of California. Georgetown, CA: The Talisman Press.

Mofras. See: Duflot de Mofras.

Morgan, Dale L., ed. 1964. The West of William H. Ashley. Denver, CO: The old West Publishing Co.

Newhall, Ruth Waldo. 1958. The Newhall Ranch: The Story of the Newhall Land and Farming Company. San Marino, CA: The Huntington Library.

———. 1992, A California Legend: The Newhall Land and Farming Company. Valencia, CA: Newhall Land and Farming Company.

Newmark, Maurice H. and Marco R. Newmark. 1929. Census of the City and County of Los Angeles, California for the Year 1850. Los Angeles, CA: Times-Mirror Press. [The enumerations for this census were made in spring 1851.]

Northrop, Marie E. 1984. Spanish-Mexican Families of Early California: 1769-1850. Vol. 2, 2nd ed. Burbank, CA: Southern California Genealogical Society.

———. 1987. Spanish-Mexican Families of Early California: 1769-1850. Vol. 1. 2nd ed. Burbank, CA: Southern California Genealogical Society.

———. 2004. Spanish-Mexican Families of Early California. Vol. 3: Los Pobladores de la Reina de Los Angeles. Burbank, CA: Southern California Genealogical Society, Inc.

Olesen, B.G. 2005. Rancho San Francisquito and the Death Valley ’49ers. Santa Ana, CA: Phytophysics. [Privately Published]

Parke-Custer Map. See: Wheat 1960.

Patent. United States of America. February 12, 1875. “Patent.” Patent for Rancho San Francisco issued to Jacoba Felis [sic], Ygnacio del Valle, Maria del Valle, Magdelina del Valle, José Antonio del Valle, José Ygnacio del Valle, and Concepcion del Valle. [Filed March 18, 1875, in Book 1 of Patents, Page 514, in the office of the County Recorder of Los Angeles County, California. Typescript copy in authors’ file.]

Pauley, Kenneth E. and Carol M. Pauley. 2005. San Fernando Rey de España: An Illustrated History. Spokane, WA: The Arthur H. Clark Company.

Perkins, Arthur B. 1957. “Rancho San Francisco: A Study of a California Land Grant.” The Historical Society of Southern California, Quarterly. 39(June):99-126.

Pioneer, The, San Jose, California. 1877, March 21 & 28. “Biographical Sketches: W.L. MANLY—How He Crossed the Plains—Description of an Adventurous Journey—Death Valley Experience.”

Plan del paraje conocido bajo el nombre de [Rancho] Sⁿ Francisco. [ca. 1840]. In The Huntington Library, San Marino, CA. Call No. HM 43973. 17” x 10 ½”. [Translation of the title: “Plan of the place well known by the name San Francisco.]

Prudhomme, Charles J. 1922. “Gold Discovery in California: Who Was the First Real Discoverer of Gold in this State?” Annual Publications, Historical Society of Southern California. Part 2, 12:19-25.

Robinson, John W. 2005. Gateways to Southern California: Indian Footpaths, Horse Trails, Wagon Roads, Railroads, and Highways. City of Industry, CA: Big Santa Anita Historical Society.

Robinson, W.W. 1939. Ranchos Become Cities. Pasadena, CA: San Pasqual Press. [He lists Rancho San Francisco as belonging to Jacoba Feliz and her children and the Rancho San Francisquito as belonging to Henry Dalton (p. 224).]

Rolle, Andrew. 1991. Henry Mao Newhall and His Times: A California Legacy. San Marino, CA: Huntington Library Press.

Rowan, V.J. 1888. “Official Map of Los Angeles County, California. Compiled under instructions [of] and by order of Los Angeles County.” [The name “Rancho San Francisco is prominently displayed with the name “Newhall Land and Farming Co.” below it. The property boundary is delineated. Rowan was the county surveyor.]

Shumate, Albert. 1969. The Life of George Henry Goddard: Artist, Architect, Surveyor, and Map Maker. Keepsake 17. Berkeley, CA: The Friends of The Bancroft Library, University of California. [The Friends reproduced Goddard’s 1855 and it is in an end pocket.]

Shumway, Burgess McK. 1988. California Ranchos; Patented Private Land Grants Listed by County. San Bernardino, CA: The Borgo Press. [Shumway lists the rancho Governor Alvarado granted to Antonio del Valle as San Francisco.]

Smith, Wallace E. 1977. This Land Was Ours: The del Valles and Camulos. Ventura, CA: Ventura County Historical Society.

Southworth, John. 1978. Death Valley in 1849: The Luck of the Gold Rush Emigrants. Burbank, CA: Pegleg Books.

Star, Los Angeles. October 6, 1860. “Arrivals at the Bella Union Hotel, for the Week ending October 6, 1860. [W.L. Manley [sic] is listed as a guest at the hotel.]

———. November 24 1860. “Arrivals at the Bella Union Hotel, for the Week ending November 23, 1860. [W.L. Manly is listed as a guest at the hotel.]

Stephens, Lorenzo D. March 16, 1884. Letter to: Sir [J.B. Colton]. Jayhawker Collection, JA898. The Huntington Library. San Marino, California.

———. 1916. Life Sketches of a Jayhawker of ‘49. San José, CA: Nolta Bros.

Stevenson, H.J. 1880. “Map of the County of Los Angeles California by H.J. Stevenson. U.S. Dept. Surveyor.” C.L. Smith & Co. Lith. Oakland, Cal. [A copy of this map is on the Internet <http://ark.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/hb1t1nb1km/>, accessed June 10, 2006, and in The Bancroft Library.]

Stratton, James T. U.S. Surveyor General for California. See Patent.

Stuart, James F. 1872. Frauds in Surveys of Mexican Grants, Lying in California, Defeated. The Means Resorted To, To Carry Them Out. Washington [D.C.] City: M’gill & Witherow, Printers and Stenotypers.

Sugranes, Rev. Eugene. N.d. “Reminiscences—The First Discovery of Gold in California.” In: Spalding, William A., comp. 1931. History and Reminiscences: Los Angeles City and County, California. Vol. 1 (of 3). Los Angeles, CA: J.R. Finnell & Sons Publishing Company.

Supreme Court, United States.

U.S. Supreme Court U.S. v. Moreno. 68 U.S. 400 (1863). 68 U.S. 400 (Wall.). December Term, 1863.

U.S. Supreme Court Rodrigues v. U.S. 68 U.S. 582 (1863). 68 U.S. 582 (Wall.). December Term, 1863.

Thompson, G.H. 1865. “Plat of the Rancho San Francisco finally confirmed to Jacoba Feliz, Surveyed under instructions from the U.S. Surveyor General.” [Copy from National Archives microfilm. A casual glance at this survey plat shows it is a fraudulent survey. Thompson gerrymandered the property boundary to include potentially rich oil land. His total acreage was 102,025.95 acres. Cf. Hancock, above (48,813.58 acres).]

———. 1874. “Plat of the Rancho San Francisco finally confirmed to Jacoba Feliz et al. Surveyed under instructions from the U.S. Surveyor General. By G.H. Thompson, dep. sur. June 1874.” [Bureau of Land Management, Folsom, California. Docket 399, F1 & F2, map in two parts. He came up with 48,611.88 acres. Copy in authors’ files. Cf. Hancock, above (48,813.58 acres).]

Tyler, Daniel. 2000. A Concise History of the Mormon Battalion in the Mexican War: 1846-1847. Heber City, UT: Archive Publishers. [This is a facsimile of the original 1881 book.]

Ventura, Calif., Free Press. See: Free Press.

War Department. 1860. “Territory and Military Department of Utah, compiled in the Bureau of Topograph[ical] Eng[ineers] of the War Depart[ment].” [Available online at “Nevada History in Maps.”

Wheat, Carl I. 1995. The Maps of the California Gold Region, 1848-1857. San Francisco, CA: The Grabhorn Press. [Facsimile of the 1942 original edition with an introduction and addenda added by Maurizio Martino Publisher, Storrs-Mansfield, CT.]

———. 1958. Mapping the Transmississippi West. Vol. 2. From the Pacific Surveys to the Onset of the Civil War, 1804-1845. San Francisco, CA: The Institute of Historical Cartography.

———. 1959. Mapping the Transmississippi West. Vol. 3. From the Mexican War to the Boundary Surveys, 1846-1854. San Francisco, CA: The Institute of Historical Cartography.

———. 1960. Mapping the Transmississippi West. Vol. 4. From the Pacific Railroad Surveys to the Onset of the Civil War, 1855-1860. San Francisco, CA: The Institute of Historical Cartography. [Wheat refers to Olesen’s “Parke-Custer” map as: 1855 Parke, 2 map (852). The text describing the map is on pages 80 & 81 and the map is facing page 82. Details concerning the publication of the map are found on pages 205 & 206.]

Wheeler, George M. 1889. Report Upon United States Geographical Surveys West of the One Hundredth Meridian. Vol. 1. Geographical Report. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office.

Whitney, J.D. 1865. Geology. Vol. 1. Report of Progress and Synopsis of the Field Work, From 1860 to 1864. Philadelphia, PA: Caxton Press of Sherman & Co.

Wildy, J.H. and A.J. Stahlberg. 1877. “Map of the County of Los Angeles, California. Compiled from U.S. Land Surveys Records of Private Surveys and from other Reliable Sources.” Adopted by the Board of Supervisors Aug. 7, 1877. [This map delineates the “Rancho San Francisco/48611.88 Acres” boundary and shows Camulos as “Ranch House” and within the rancho’s boundary.]

Williamson, R.S. 1856. Explorations and Surveys for a Railroad Route from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean. War Department. Report of Explorations in California for Railroad Routes, to Connect with the Routes Near the 35th and 32d Parallels of North Latitude, 1853. In: Reports of Explorations and Surveys, to Ascertain the Most Practicable and Economical Route for a Railroad from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean Made under the Direction of the Secretary of War, in 1853-4, According to Acts of Congress of March 3, 1853, May 31, 1854, and August 5, 1854. Volume 5. Serial 795. Washington, D.C.: A.O.P. Nicholson, Printers.

Wyld, James. 1849. “Map of the Gold Regions of California.” London: James Wyld. [This map is pictured in Wheat 1995: facing p. 70. It is also on the Library of Congress’ web site at <http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query>, accessed May 12, 2006. The URL for this map is too long to use here; use the site’s Find option to locate the map. This site allows you to enlarge the appropriate section of the map so the “Rancho de S. Francisquito” is distinct.]

Young, Sheldon. 1849. “Sheldon Youngs Log, 1849, Joliet Illinois to Rancho San Francisquito, California.” Typescript in Jayhawker Collection, JA555. The Huntington Library. San Marino, California. [Part of this typescript is available in both editions of Margaret Long’s The Shadow of the Arrow (1941 & 1950).]