Newspaper Notes - 1850s (NN-18.5)(1850s) (336 pages)

7 thing he could—he admitted his own inexperience in matters of marriage and divorcee and agreed to take the position on the condi-) tion that the jury accept the opinion of its eighty-odd year old member. ; ‘To this the jury agreed, and the old fellow was asked for his opinion. ‘Il believes,” he said, “if they can’t agree to go together; let them go apart.’ So as each case came up, Stewart lrose and read the verdict of the jury, “We, the jury, find the! defendant guilty of extreme cruelty.” Did Their Best That afternoon and evening, there were ten weddings in Nevada City. Writing in later years of the incident, Stewart said: “I then thought, and still think, that we did the best thing that could have been done. These women were separated from their husbands and if they had not been allowed to marry the men who had parted them they would perhaps have done worse. Some of them made good citizens} and raised families, and when) they grew rich became very aristocratic.” i At the time of the divorce} cases, Stewart had come to cowed from the Eureka (Graniteville)! region where he was engaged} with two other men in building! the Grizzly Ditch. He had lett) his claim on Buckeye Hill the; year before to prospect in . country: to the northeast. There} in the Jate fall of 1850, -he had) discovered ‘and named the rich. RPureka Diggings: . 0 +: . Now a year later he was build-; ing the Grizzly Ditch, which) would carry water from . Grizzly; Canon and Bloody: Run near Eureka to newly-discovered diggings on Shady .Creek’ near did most of the surveying’ himself with crude equipment that he made, as he had studied the principles of surveying during his short experience as a college student at Yale. Ambushed by Indians It was while surveying the course of the Grizzly Ditch that Stewart was ambushed by Indjans. He had turned off thef main trail near Bloody Run to get a view of a water cascade he turned around and let. his mule go as fast as she could through the brush, as the Indians sent arrows whizzing around his head, One arrow knocked off his hat, ee Se In making his escape over ter-. ! rain with which he was not}, familiar, Stewart stumbled right into the middle of an Indian camp, where several hundred braves -and squawswere gathered. But his mule was moving so fast that he made it through the camp before the Indians knew what was happening. ; Stewart then rode down the ridge to where Tom Burns, on Irishman, had set up a whiskey stop. There he borrowed a rifle and a hat and rode back to deal with the Indians. He had gone but a few miles when he came across the body of a Frenchman who had been massacred by the Indians. He decided then that he should go back to Nevada] City and organize a war party jto take care of the killers. Chief Taken , Prisoner The next day, Stewart rode up the ridge with 20 heavily-armed men, At.dawn of the following}. morning, when Stewart gave the signal, the men began firing,. San A Cherokee (now Tyler). Stewart, when a band of Indians on foot appeared at the top of the ridge in front of him. He began to flee; in the opposite direction, when. ’ another party loomed up in front of him in the brush, Cut off from escape on both sides, he! and the disorganized Indians 'quickly surrendered. Chief Big}' Jim was taken prisoner, andj] with him, Stewart concluded aj] treaty under which the Indians]; agreed to leave that part of the country. But after the treaty{I ‘was signed, Big Jim and _his}i jfollowers were seen taking cover'. t . behind rocks and brush. Stewart, . 1 jalarmed by their treachery, led! his men against them, cen the group, and hanged Big Jim. , Impressed by the action, the In-) dians left the vicinity and never) ireturned. . Luter while he was surveying]) the ditch, he came across eight skeletons hidden in the brush — people who had been massacred }) along the trail. Through his various ventures, ‘Stewart accumulated about eight thousand dollars and decided to enter law. First he read various Jaw books, and then early in 1852 he entered the law office of J. R. McConnell, In the® fall of — that year he was admitted to the torney. ‘the moment Stewart took office he inherited the antagonisms that people held tor his predecessor, His most impressive Tr val was James Churchman, forbar and appointed district at} merly of Illinois, who had prac: tieed with Abraham Lincoln, General Baker, and other noted lawyers in the early days of that state. Churchman, as it worked oul, was to serve as defense attorney in the first cases that Stewart had to prosecute. As a precautionary measure, Stewart tried the least important cases first. But from the outset, Churchman took advantage of his inexperience, backing him into a corner on every possible occasion. . ; _ Answered Harshily . In such instances, Stewart knew ‘of only one way to extricate himself. Stewart wrote ‘later, “J retorted to his sarcasrn in very harsh Iunguage. In fact, I was as insulting as 1 could possibly be in a court of justice, as I desired — and called me a liar, which gave me the opportunity to have a personal encounter with him. “The court, in dealing with. ! ithe “matter,ordered my im\prisonment and imposed a small fine, which I paid. I went to prison, a retreat I desired under the circumstances.” The sheriff was one of Stewjart's friends and instead of put-} iting him away in a cell, he set him up in his own bedroom and fetched his law books so that Stewart could study up on the legal technicalities on which he had been caught, After three such incidents, Stewart was able to stand before the court and present his cases with confidence. Gradually, his . {opposition became more cautious), ‘and reserved. Never again in a jcourt of law or before a political body was’ any mon to out argue or outwit William Morris Stew-. ; cart. sik) ne = oO , whereupon he became enraged —}.

7 thing he could—he admitted his own inexperience in matters of marriage and divorcee and agreed to take the position on the condi-) tion that the jury accept the opinion of its eighty-odd year old member. ; ‘To this the jury agreed, and the old fellow was asked for his opinion. ‘Il believes,” he said, “if they can’t agree to go together; let them go apart.’ So as each case came up, Stewart lrose and read the verdict of the jury, “We, the jury, find the! defendant guilty of extreme cruelty.” Did Their Best That afternoon and evening, there were ten weddings in Nevada City. Writing in later years of the incident, Stewart said: “I then thought, and still think, that we did the best thing that could have been done. These women were separated from their husbands and if they had not been allowed to marry the men who had parted them they would perhaps have done worse. Some of them made good citizens} and raised families, and when) they grew rich became very aristocratic.” i At the time of the divorce} cases, Stewart had come to cowed from the Eureka (Graniteville)! region where he was engaged} with two other men in building! the Grizzly Ditch. He had lett) his claim on Buckeye Hill the; year before to prospect in . country: to the northeast. There} in the Jate fall of 1850, -he had) discovered ‘and named the rich. RPureka Diggings: .. 0 +: . Now a year later he was build-; ing the Grizzly Ditch, which) would carry water from . Grizzly; Canon and Bloody: Run near Eureka to newly-discovered diggings on Shady .Creek’ near did most of the surveying’ himself with crude equipment that he made, as he had studied the principles of surveying during his short experience as a college student at Yale. Ambushed by Indians It was while surveying the course of the Grizzly Ditch that Stewart was ambushed by Indjans. He had turned off thef main trail near Bloody Run to get a view of a water cascade he turned around and let. his mule go as fast as she could through the brush, as the Indians sent arrows whizzing around his head, One arrow knocked off his hat, ee Se In making his escape over ter-. ! rain with which he was not}, familiar, Stewart stumbled right into the middle of an Indian camp, where several hundred braves -and squawswere gathered. But his mule was moving so fast that he made it through the camp before the Indians knew what was happening. ; Stewart then rode down the ridge to where Tom Burns, on Irishman, had set up a whiskey stop. There he borrowed a rifle and a hat and rode back to deal with the Indians. He had gone but a few miles when he came across the body of a Frenchman who had been massacred by the Indians. He decided then that he should go back to Nevada] City and organize a war party jto take care of the killers. Chief Taken , Prisoner The next day, Stewart rode up the ridge with 20 heavily-armed men, At.dawn of the following}. morning, when Stewart gave the signal, the men began firing,. San A

Cherokee (now Tyler). Stewart, when a band of Indians on foot appeared at the top of the ridge in front of him. He began to flee; in the opposite direction, when. ’ another party loomed up in front of him in the brush, Cut off from escape on both sides, he! and the disorganized Indians 'quickly surrendered. Chief Big}' Jim was taken prisoner, andj] with him, Stewart concluded aj] treaty under which the Indians]; agreed to leave that part of the country. But after the treaty{I ‘was signed, Big Jim and _his}i jfollowers were seen taking cover'. t . behind rocks and brush. Stewart, . 1 jalarmed by their treachery, led! his men against them, cen the group, and hanged Big Jim. , Impressed by the action, the In-) dians left the vicinity and never) ireturned. . Luter while he was surveying]) the ditch, he came across eight skeletons hidden in the brush — people who had been massacred }) along the trail. Through his various ventures, ‘Stewart accumulated about eight thousand dollars and decided to enter law. First he read various Jaw books, and then early in 1852 he entered the law office of J. R. McConnell, In the® fall of — that year he was admitted to the torney. ‘the moment Stewart took office he inherited the antagonisms that people held tor his predecessor, His most impressive Tr val was James Churchman, forbar and appointed district at} merly of Illinois, who had prac: tieed with Abraham Lincoln, General Baker, and other noted lawyers in the early days of that state. Churchman, as it worked oul, was to serve as defense attorney in the first cases that Stewart had to prosecute. As a precautionary measure, Stewart tried the least important cases first. But from the outset, Churchman took advantage of his inexperience, backing him into a corner on every possible occasion. . ; _ Answered Harshily . In such instances, Stewart knew ‘of only one way to extricate himself. Stewart wrote ‘later, “J retorted to his sarcasrn in very harsh Iunguage. In fact, I was as insulting as 1 could possibly be in a court of justice, as I desired — and called me a liar, which gave me the opportunity to have a personal encounter with him. “The court, in dealing with. ! ithe “matter,ordered my im\prisonment and imposed a small fine, which I paid. I went to prison, a retreat I desired under the circumstances.” The sheriff was one of Stewjart's friends and instead of put-} iting him away in a cell, he set him up in his own bedroom and fetched his law books so that Stewart could study up on the legal technicalities on which he had been caught, After three such incidents, Stewart was able to stand before the court and present his cases with confidence. Gradually, his . {opposition became more cautious), ‘and reserved. Never again in a jcourt of law or before a political body was’ any mon to out argue or outwit William Morris Stew-. ; cart. sik) ne = oO , whereupon he became enraged —}.