Volume 035-2 - April 1981 (8 pages)

THE LIFE OF WILLIAM LEWIS MANLY William L. Manly told the history of his life in his book: Death Valley in '49; from which these notes on his life are taken. It will be necessary to condense his story very much, but we will quote him verbatim (printed in italics) where he speaks about Nevada County. Manly was born in St. Albans, Vermont, on the sixth of April, 1820. His parents were hard working farmers who succeeded to support themselves on their farm but who never had any luxuries. In 1830, the family moved to Ypsilanti, Michigan, where they had been granted 200 acres of government land. When Manly was 20 years old, he went to Wisconsin, together with a friend, Henry Orrin. Here he found work, splitting wood. He roamed around for several years, sometimes working in the lead mines, or working for lumbermen, but most of his time was spent hunting and trapping. His last hunting trip yielded $100, with which he bought some government land. He never worked his land, for in 1849 he heard of the discovery of gold in California and decided to go there. There probably never was an emigrant who was less equipped for the overland trip than Manly; it was his extensive experience as a backwoodsman which saw him through. The largest part of Manly’s book is devoted to his trip to California. It is one of the sagas of the overland emigration, but it can only be told here in condensed form. He bought an Indian pony, laid in a few supplies, and started for California. After many difficulties, Manly and a companion named Bennett met and joined a wagon train near Salt Lake, headed for Southern California. This group, organized as the “Sand Walking Company”, consisted of one hundred and seven wagons, a big drove of horses and cattle, perhaps five hundred in all. The train was divided into seven divisions and each division was to elect his own captain. After hiring a Mormon guide who agreed to lead them to San Bernardino, California, where the Mormons had a fort, they set out over the southern route. En route, they were overtaken by another wagon train led by a certain Captain Smith, who had a map showing a short cut to California which the majority decided to follow, though their Mormon guide tried to dissuade them. The train finally divided, some following the Mormon and others, including Manly’s party, taking the route, indicated on Smith’s map. This led them into the dry basin which came to be called Death Valley as a result of aw. their dreadful experiences in trying to find a way across it. Once lost in the valley, the wagon train disintegrated. William Lewis Manly Some went one way, some another. Their oxen perished, and some of the group died of hunger, thirst, or exhaustion. In their extremity, Manly’s party decided that he and a young companion named John Rogers would push ahead in search of help on the other side of the mountains. Killing one of their remaining oxen, they packed a portion of the meat in haversacks and set out. Eventually they reached the Rancho San Francisquito, north of Mission San Fernando, where friendly Spanish Americans provided them with supplies, three horses and a mule. The horses had to be abandoned on the return journey, but the little mule got through with a pack of food. Only the Bennett and Arcane families were left in the camp when Manly and Rogers returned, the others having gone in an effort to find their way out. Some perished in the attempt; others made their way to settlements on the other side of the mountains. Manly and Rogers led their group back to Mission San Fernando, and on to Los Angeles. When Manly arrived in Los Angeles, completely broke, he found two persons he had met on the plains. They had opened a boarding house and Manly worked for them for two weeks, earning 25 dollars. Thereafter, he joined a group of horse dealers, driving horses to San Francisco, to be sold there. Although Manly helped them in the management of the horses and had provided his own food, the dealers demanded one ounce of gold for travel expenses when they neared San Jose, thus leaving Manly nearly broke again. However, he had a nice trip along the missions on the Camino Real. Manly led his mule into San Jose and there he met an acquaintance from the plains who was camping with a group under Bennett near the town. Manly joined them and stayed with them for some time. During the day he wandered in the countryside and decided that, in the future he would settle there. The party split and together with Bennett, Manly moved eastward, towards Merced and from there, along the road to Mariposa. At some spot, probably on the Merced River, they encountered the first gold miners who showed them the art of gold panning. The miners chased a “Spaniard” from his claim and presented it to Manly and Bennett who worked it for some weeks. They found that their gains hardly matched the high prices, charged for commodities, and hence decided to move on. They wandered from place to place until they heard of a very rich region, called Gold Lake. Luckily, they never reached this place. They located a claim near Georgetown which yielded quite well; Manly collected more than $2000 worth of gold. 13

THE LIFE OF WILLIAM LEWIS MANLY William L. Manly told the history of his life in his book: Death Valley in '49; from which these notes on his life are taken. It will be necessary to condense his story very much, but we will quote him verbatim (printed in italics) where he speaks about Nevada County. Manly was born in St. Albans, Vermont, on the sixth of April, 1820. His parents were hard working farmers who succeeded to support themselves on their farm but who never had any luxuries. In 1830, the family moved to Ypsilanti, Michigan, where they had been granted 200 acres of government land. When Manly was 20 years old, he went to Wisconsin, together with a friend, Henry Orrin. Here he found work, splitting wood. He roamed around for several years, sometimes working in the lead mines, or working for lumbermen, but most of his time was spent hunting and trapping. His last hunting trip yielded $100, with which he bought some government land. He never worked his land, for in 1849 he heard of the discovery of gold in California and decided to go there. There probably never was an emigrant who was less equipped for the overland trip than Manly; it was his extensive experience as a backwoodsman which saw him through. The largest part of Manly’s book is devoted to his trip to California. It is one of the sagas of the overland emigration, but it can only be told here in condensed form. He bought an Indian pony, laid in a few supplies, and started for California. After many difficulties, Manly and a companion named Bennett met and joined a wagon train near Salt Lake, headed for Southern California. This group, organized as the “Sand Walking Company”, consisted of one hundred and seven wagons, a big drove of horses and cattle, perhaps five hundred in all. The train was divided into seven divisions and each division was to elect his own captain. After hiring a Mormon guide who agreed to lead them to San Bernardino, California, where the Mormons had a fort, they set out over the southern route. En route, they were overtaken by another wagon train led by a certain Captain Smith, who had a map showing a short cut to California which the majority decided to follow, though their Mormon guide tried to dissuade them. The train finally divided, some following the Mormon and others, including Manly’s party, taking the route, indicated on Smith’s map. This led them into the dry basin which came to be called Death Valley as a result of aw. their dreadful experiences in trying to find a way across it. Once lost in the valley, the wagon train disintegrated. William Lewis Manly

Some went one way, some another. Their oxen perished, and some of the group died of hunger, thirst, or exhaustion. In their extremity, Manly’s party decided that he and a young companion named John Rogers would push ahead in search of help on the other side of the mountains. Killing one of their remaining oxen, they packed a portion of the meat in haversacks and set out. Eventually they reached the Rancho San Francisquito, north of Mission San Fernando, where friendly Spanish Americans provided them with supplies, three horses and a mule. The horses had to be abandoned on the return journey, but the little mule got through with a pack of food. Only the Bennett and Arcane families were left in the camp when Manly and Rogers returned, the others having gone in an effort to find their way out. Some perished in the attempt; others made their way to settlements on the other side of the mountains. Manly and Rogers led their group back to Mission San Fernando, and on to Los Angeles. When Manly arrived in Los Angeles, completely broke, he found two persons he had met on the plains. They had opened a boarding house and Manly worked for them for two weeks, earning 25 dollars. Thereafter, he joined a group of horse dealers, driving horses to San Francisco, to be sold there. Although Manly helped them in the management of the horses and had provided his own food, the dealers demanded one ounce of gold for travel expenses when they neared San Jose, thus leaving Manly nearly broke again. However, he had a nice trip along the missions on the Camino Real. Manly led his mule into San Jose and there he met an acquaintance from the plains who was camping with a group under Bennett near the town. Manly joined them and stayed with them for some time. During the day he wandered in the countryside and decided that, in the future he would settle there. The party split and together with Bennett, Manly moved eastward, towards Merced and from there, along the road to Mariposa. At some spot, probably on the Merced River, they encountered the first gold miners who showed them the art of gold panning. The miners chased a “Spaniard” from his claim and presented it to Manly and Bennett who worked it for some weeks. They found that their gains hardly matched the high prices, charged for commodities, and hence decided to move on. They wandered from place to place until they heard of a very rich region, called Gold Lake. Luckily, they never reached this place. They located a claim near Georgetown which yielded quite well; Manly collected more than $2000 worth of gold. 13