Volume 030-4 - October 1976 (8 pages)

troublesome grade by completely bypassing it. Even todays diesels have trouble there. Originally the Toll House at the foot of the grade charged a fee for its use. They kept the road up and made every effort to aid the freighters. Sawmills and se Sawmills had begun to spring up in 1849. Timber was plentiful. The towns needed lumber for homes and businesses. The Mining Industry used tremendous amounts of) timber for miles of sluice boxes and timbering mines. The first anywhere nearly complete list of sawmills was made in the mid 1850’s. It listed 42 mills. 26 ere run by steam and 16 by water. aat year they sawed 30,810,000 board feet of lumber. The first two millsin the county were on Squirrel Creek between Boston Ravine and Rough and Ready. They were owned by James Walsh and Zenas Wheeler and the Holt Brothers. Walsh and Wheeler commenced operations in November of 1849. Samuel and George Holt began in March 1850. Indians were not normally a factor in our history. Old Chief Wiemah was certainly not warlike and was quite friendly with settlers. But in the Spring of 1850 there were numerous depredations. Usually resulting in some loss of blood. On May 3, 1850 the Holt Mill just east of Rough and Ready was attacked. They were only 8 or 10 attackers but Samuel Holt was killed in the first rush. George Holt tho’ badly wounded managed to escape and reach the neighboring Walsh-Wheeler Mill. They held the Indians off but the Holt Mill was burned. It was rebuilt in 1851 by a man named Ellsworth who operated it for a number of years. On the morning after the attack Chief Wiemah helped carry George Holt to Nevada City. He soon recovered. Wiemah was said to have not participated in the depredations. It was recognized by Major General Thos. J. Green of the California Militia at Camp Far West that many miners had taken advantage of the Indians. As he said; “the Indians can be very useful to the miners if they have even a small portion of justice extended to them”’. He followed the Indians for several days and there were some light skirmishes but Green was able to arrange talks with the Chiefs. There was very little bloodshed and after all issues were discussed an agreement was reached.A Treaty was signed with Chief Wiemah, Chief Buckler, and Sub-Chief Poollei. The Chiefs kept their part of the yombargain. There was only one other incident. A 14 year old white boy was murdered. He was lagging way behind his fathers wagon, loaded with fresh beef, as they crossed Penn Valley. Some indications were that the attack was brought on by the white boys possession of a knife that the Indian lad wanted. As agreed in the Treaty Wiemah hunted down the Indian culprit, a lad named Chollo, and surrendered him to the White mans Court at Rough and Ready. He was tried and hanged. Wiemah and a large number of the tribe watched. There were no further incidents recorded in the area. Gold Mining The Sawmill industry was vital to Rough and Ready. Not only because the town was built of wood, which unfortunately burned readily, but also because miles of Sluice boxes were used in Rough and Ready mining. Water was brought down the hills from every source that could be reached. Sluice boxes had very quickly followed the Gold Pan. Only through use of long sluices could enough dirt be washed to make mining profitable. Into these boxes was shoveled the aurefirous soil and behind the riffles in the bottom settled the heavy gold. In more stingy soil mercury or the like was also used in the sluices to attract the golden metal. Later when the Hydraulic nozzle came into use entire hills were washed down into shorter sluices or Long Toms where the golden metal was captured. There were many sluices in Rough and Ready but the three owned by the Portuguese Mining Company were the setting for this story. As weall know the Chinese in those days were looked upon as less than men. They were payed practically nothing for their labor and were not allowed to own claims of their own. Needless to say they picked up the yellow metal where they could. There were, of course, many white men who used this method also but it was principally Chinese who mere mercilessly shot at night as they walked the sluices with their bobbing lanterns, picking up whatever gold they could spot. The men who labored all day could not be expected to allow their hard earned gold to be lost in this way. They posted Shot Gun Guards on the sluices with orders to shoot to kill. (It was a hard world). There was one ameloriating aspect of the situation. Those same men who had stood Shot Gun took up a collection to send old Macao home to die as he had wished. He was the last of the 3,000 Chinese reportedly working in Rough and Ready in its heyday. Work on the Central Pacific Railroad had taken most of the Chinese. Macao’s wish was that when he became too old to work he could be sent home to China to die. They took him to San Francisco, bought him a ticket, and put him ona boat bound for Macao. Nothing was heard from him again. The earliest plan to bring water to Rough and Ready was in 1850. A man named Moore started a 15 mile ditch from up Deer Creek. Moore completed one mile. The winter of 1850-51 was very dry and provided the incentive to finish that ditch. It was completed in 1851. The Portuguese Ditch came much later. It was actually a part of the Hydraulicing System for Smartville. The Excelsior Company brought water from the Yuba River miles up in the mountains. It was completed in 1867. Hydraulicing was used to some extent in Rough and Ready, mostly by the Portuguese Mining Company, who were favorably located along Squirrel eS) Early Pioneers of Rough and Ready were the Black homesteaders. This is the Black home with Left to Right; Vashti Black, Herbert Black, Lillian Black, John and Scott Black. The home is now owned by the Bursill’s. 1S O_59 GR_O_259 GR_O_2S9 GS_O_ SD SSR_O_D G_O_SD

troublesome grade by completely bypassing it. Even todays diesels have trouble there. Originally the Toll House at the foot of the grade charged a fee for its use. They kept the road up and made every effort to aid the freighters. Sawmills and se Sawmills had begun to spring up in 1849. Timber was plentiful. The towns needed lumber for homes and businesses. The Mining Industry used tremendous amounts of) timber for miles of sluice boxes and timbering mines. The first anywhere nearly complete list of sawmills was made in the mid 1850’s. It listed 42 mills. 26 ere run by steam and 16 by water. aat year they sawed 30,810,000 board feet of lumber. The first two millsin the county were on Squirrel Creek between Boston Ravine and Rough and Ready. They were owned by James Walsh and Zenas Wheeler and the Holt Brothers. Walsh and Wheeler commenced operations in November of 1849. Samuel and George Holt began in March 1850. Indians were not normally a factor in our history. Old Chief Wiemah was certainly not warlike and was quite friendly with settlers. But in the Spring of 1850 there were numerous depredations. Usually resulting in some loss of blood. On May 3, 1850 the Holt Mill just east of Rough and Ready was attacked. They were only 8 or 10 attackers but Samuel Holt was killed in the first rush. George Holt tho’ badly wounded managed to escape and reach the neighboring Walsh-Wheeler Mill. They held the Indians off but the Holt Mill was burned. It was rebuilt in 1851 by a man named Ellsworth who operated it for a number of years. On the morning after the attack Chief Wiemah helped carry George Holt to Nevada City. He soon recovered. Wiemah was said to have not participated in the depredations. It was recognized by Major General Thos. J. Green of the California Militia at Camp Far West that many miners had taken advantage of the Indians. As he said; “the Indians can be very useful to the miners if they have even a small portion of justice extended to them”’. He followed the Indians for several days and there were some light skirmishes but Green was able to arrange talks with the Chiefs. There was very little bloodshed and after all issues were discussed an agreement was reached.A Treaty was signed with Chief Wiemah, Chief Buckler, and Sub-Chief Poollei. The Chiefs kept their part of the yombargain. There was only one other incident. A 14 year old white boy was murdered. He was lagging way behind his fathers wagon, loaded with fresh beef, as they crossed Penn Valley. Some indications were that the attack was brought on by the white boys possession of a knife that the Indian lad wanted. As agreed in the Treaty Wiemah hunted down the Indian culprit, a lad named Chollo, and surrendered him to the White mans Court at Rough and Ready. He was tried and hanged. Wiemah and a large number of the tribe watched. There were no further incidents recorded in the area. Gold Mining The Sawmill industry was vital to Rough and Ready. Not only because the

town was built of wood, which unfortunately burned readily, but also because miles of Sluice boxes were used in Rough and Ready mining. Water was brought down the hills from every source that could be reached. Sluice boxes had very quickly followed the Gold Pan. Only through use of long sluices could enough dirt be washed to make mining profitable. Into these boxes was shoveled the aurefirous soil and behind the riffles in the bottom settled the heavy gold. In more stingy soil mercury or the like was also used in the sluices to attract the golden metal. Later when the Hydraulic nozzle came into use entire hills were washed down into shorter sluices or Long Toms where the golden metal was captured. There were many sluices in Rough and Ready but the three owned by the Portuguese Mining Company were the setting for this story. As weall know the Chinese in those days were looked upon as less than men. They were payed practically nothing for their labor and were not allowed to own claims of their own. Needless to say they picked up the yellow metal where they could. There were, of course, many white men who used this method also but it was principally Chinese who mere mercilessly shot at night as they walked the sluices with their bobbing lanterns, picking up whatever gold they could spot. The men who labored all day could not be expected to allow their hard earned gold to be lost in this way. They posted Shot Gun Guards on the sluices with orders to shoot to kill. (It was a hard world). There was one ameloriating aspect of the situation. Those same men who had stood Shot Gun took up a collection to send old Macao home to die as he had wished. He was the last of the 3,000 Chinese reportedly working in Rough and Ready in its heyday. Work on the Central Pacific Railroad had taken most of the Chinese. Macao’s wish was that when he became too old to work he could be sent home to China to die. They took him to San Francisco, bought him a ticket, and put him ona boat bound for Macao. Nothing was heard from him again. The earliest plan to bring water to Rough and Ready was in 1850. A man named Moore started a 15 mile ditch from up Deer Creek. Moore completed one mile. The winter of 1850-51 was very dry and provided the incentive to finish that ditch. It was completed in 1851. The Portuguese Ditch came much later. It was actually a part of the Hydraulicing System for Smartville. The Excelsior Company brought water from the Yuba River miles up in the mountains. It was completed in 1867. Hydraulicing was used to some extent in Rough and Ready, mostly by the Portuguese Mining Company, who were favorably located along Squirrel eS) Early Pioneers of Rough and Ready were the Black homesteaders. This is the Black home with Left to Right; Vashti Black, Herbert Black, Lillian Black, John and Scott Black. The home is now owned by the Bursill’s. 1S O_59 GR_O_259 GR_O_2S9 GS_O_ SD SSR_O_D G_O_SD