Volume 035-4 - October 1981 (8 pages)

Sandra L. Myres (ed.): Ho for California; Women’s Diaries from the Huntington Library. San Marino; The Huntington Library; 1980. This book contains five diaries or parts thereof, written by women, ranging in time from 1849 to 1870 and describing three routes. The route around Cape Horn is not represented. The first diary is by Mrs. Jane McDougal. She came to California with her husband John and her little daughter Sue, arriving in San Francisco February 28, 1849. She did not like California and decided to return with Sue and her brother-in-law George, who was already in California since 1845. John stayed behind and did well; he was elected lieutenant governor in 1850 and governor from 1851 until 1852. Mrs. McDougal left San Francisco for Panama on May 1, 1849 aboard the Steamer California, the same one which had brought her. From Chagres, Mrs. McDougal sailed on an English steamer, the Tay, to Kingston, Jamaica, and from there home in a sailing vessel, the brig Ida. The total trip seems to have been fairly comfortable. The great adventure was that the California ran out of coal; it was necessary “cutting the ship to pieces for fuel. Burned all the second deck, chicken coops, settees and everything that could be turned into wood”. I always thought that a similar episode in Around the World in Eighty Days was a little far-fetched, but such things apparently happened. The “normal’’ emigrant trail is represented by two diaries. One of them is by Mary Stuart Bailey, the wife of Fred Bailey, a physician. She was married almost six years. They started near St. Joseph on May 19, 1852 and arrived in Volcano on October 6. Mary had an interesting note for Saturday, June 5. She inspected the guest book at Fort Kearney and noted that 20,000 men and 6,000 women had passed there. The other diary is by Helen Carpenter, a young bride, who traveled with her husband and her own, large family. They started in Kansas, May 26, 1857 and arrived in Grass Valley via the Hennessy Pass route on October 8. The third group of diaries concerns the South Western Trail, which led to Southern California. Again, two diaries represent this trail. The first of these, is by Harriet Bunyard, an unmarried girl of nineteen, who traveled with her family. They left Collin County (in East Texas), on May 3, 1868, and arrived near El Monte, California, their destination, on October 24. The second diary is by Mary Shrode, 44 years old and mother of eight children, who traveled with her family and friends from home. The train started from Sulphur Bluffs on May 10, 1870 and arrived at the farm of (John ?) Bottom, probably in south San Bernardino County on Christmas day. Space does not permit to say more about these five diaries; a few general remarks must suffice. The diaries are presented in chronological order, 1849, 1852, 1857, 1869 and 1870. Published diaries, or those discussed in books, usually date from the forties or early fifties and thus one might forget that the overland routes were used by emigrants until the seventies, when the railroads were completed. These diaries remind us of that fact. Comparing the diaries, written by women with the majority of diaries which were written by men, one does not find great differences. The “female” diaries occasionally mention more feminine activities. For example, Mrs. McDougal did a lot of sewing while en route; in other diaries interest in babies on the trail is shown. One difference perhaps is that the men show more interest in topographical features while the women show more interest in people and mention more names of those they met on the trail. Ho for California is a significant addition to the literature of the overland emigration and is hearthily recommended to those who are interested in this phase of American history. SS SS John Phillip Reid: Law for the Elephant; Property and Social Behavior on the Ourland Trail. San Marino, The Huntington Library, 1980. Someone who sees the title of the book on the dust jacket Law for the Elephant, might think that this book discusses international regulations for wild life protection in Africa, or a similar subject. The sub-title on the title page however defines the contents of the book. Anyone who has done some reading on the Western Emigration Movement and the early years of the Gold Rush must have come across the expression: “Seeing the Elephant”, usually referring to the hardships on the trail or in the mines. This expression has not only inspired the title of the book, but the titles of each of the 14 chapters as well. The thesis of the author appears to be that by far the largest portion of the emigrants had a strong feeling for property rights and generally speaking, for what was the right action in a given situation and that even extreme hardships could not bring the emigrant to ignore property rights or act unjustly. This attitude of the early argonauts would explain the fact that the first years of the Gold Rush Era were remarkably free of crime; the majority of the miners having brought with them the standards of behavior, prevalent in the East. The author, a professor of law, cites hundreds of instances and events which happened on the trail during the almost twenty years of its existance, and explains how concepts or actions of the emigrants can be explained and described Tate maxims of formal property law. . Although the thesis of the author is important and interesting, I personally enjoyed the book more as an overview in time of life on the Emigrant Trail. Several overland diaries and travel accounts have been published and are readily available, but none of these presents such a vivid picture of life on the plains as the collection of events, gathered here in one book. It is mainly for this reason that I recommend this book to the members of our Boclety. vdP. GRASS VALLEY OF YORE Grass Valley boasts an old horse that goes around alone with a milkwagon, stopping before the doors of his customers, and nowhere else, and delivering his daily allowances to each with unvarying fiedlity. But the really wonderful thing about this story is that Grass Valley should have a population that can be trusted to hely=w”* themselves to milk, and not take, any of them, more than their alloted share. (From S. Bowles, Across the Continent, Springfield and New York, 1965). ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The pictures of Mary Hallock Foote as a young girl and as an elderly lady, and the picture of the Superintendent’s house at the North Star Mine, were provided by Mrs. Marion Conway. The picture of the “spur wheel” was made by Brooks Beesley. The advertisment was taken from Bean’s Directory (1867). Mrs. Conway graciously gave permission to reprint the story of the pump mishap. —v.d.P. THE BULLETIN OF THE NEVADA COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY Editor: Peter W. van der Pas, 212 Hill Street, Grass Valley, Calif. 95945. Contributions to the Bulletin ar, cordially invited and will help towa: the continuation of our publication. 32

Sandra L. Myres (ed.): Ho for California; Women’s Diaries from the Huntington Library. San Marino; The Huntington Library; 1980. This book contains five diaries or parts thereof, written by women, ranging in time from 1849 to 1870 and describing three routes. The route around Cape Horn is not represented. The first diary is by Mrs. Jane McDougal. She came to California with her husband John and her little daughter Sue, arriving in San Francisco February 28, 1849. She did not like California and decided to return with Sue and her brother-in-law George, who was already in California since 1845. John stayed behind and did well; he was elected lieutenant governor in 1850 and governor from 1851 until 1852. Mrs. McDougal left San Francisco for Panama on May 1, 1849 aboard the Steamer California, the same one which had brought her. From Chagres, Mrs. McDougal sailed on an English steamer, the Tay, to Kingston, Jamaica, and from there home in a sailing vessel, the brig Ida. The total trip seems to have been fairly comfortable. The great adventure was that the California ran out of coal; it was necessary “cutting the ship to pieces for fuel. Burned all the second deck, chicken coops, settees and everything that could be turned into wood”. I always thought that a similar episode in Around the World in Eighty Days was a little far-fetched, but such things apparently happened. The “normal’’ emigrant trail is represented by two diaries. One of them is by Mary Stuart Bailey, the wife of Fred Bailey, a physician. She was married almost six years. They started near St. Joseph on May 19, 1852 and arrived in Volcano on October 6. Mary had an interesting note for Saturday, June 5. She inspected the guest book at Fort Kearney and noted that 20,000 men and 6,000 women had passed there. The other diary is by Helen Carpenter, a young bride, who traveled with her husband and her own, large family. They started in Kansas, May 26, 1857 and arrived in Grass Valley via the Hennessy Pass route on October 8. The third group of diaries concerns the South Western Trail, which led to Southern California. Again, two diaries represent this trail. The first of these, is by Harriet Bunyard, an unmarried girl of nineteen, who traveled with her family. They left Collin County (in East Texas), on May 3, 1868, and arrived near El Monte, California, their destination, on October 24. The second diary is by Mary Shrode, 44 years old and mother of eight children, who traveled with her family and friends from home. The train started from Sulphur Bluffs on May 10, 1870 and arrived at the farm of (John ?) Bottom, probably in south San Bernardino County on Christmas day. Space does not permit to say more about these five diaries; a few general remarks must suffice. The diaries are presented in chronological order, 1849, 1852, 1857, 1869 and 1870. Published diaries, or those discussed in books, usually date from the forties or early fifties and thus one might forget that the overland routes were used by emigrants until the seventies, when the railroads were completed. These diaries remind us of that fact. Comparing the diaries, written by women with the majority of diaries which were written by men, one does not find great differences. The “female” diaries occasionally mention more feminine activities. For example, Mrs. McDougal did a lot of sewing while en route; in other diaries interest in babies on the trail is shown. One difference perhaps is that the men show more interest in topographical features while the women show more interest in people and mention more names of those they met on the trail. Ho for California is a significant addition to the literature of the

overland emigration and is hearthily recommended to those who are interested in this phase of American history. SS SS John Phillip Reid: Law for the Elephant; Property and Social Behavior on the Ourland Trail. San Marino, The Huntington Library, 1980. Someone who sees the title of the book on the dust jacket Law for the Elephant, might think that this book discusses international regulations for wild life protection in Africa, or a similar subject. The sub-title on the title page however defines the contents of the book. Anyone who has done some reading on the Western Emigration Movement and the early years of the Gold Rush must have come across the expression: “Seeing the Elephant”, usually referring to the hardships on the trail or in the mines. This expression has not only inspired the title of the book, but the titles of each of the 14 chapters as well. The thesis of the author appears to be that by far the largest portion of the emigrants had a strong feeling for property rights and generally speaking, for what was the right action in a given situation and that even extreme hardships could not bring the emigrant to ignore property rights or act unjustly. This attitude of the early argonauts would explain the fact that the first years of the Gold Rush Era were remarkably free of crime; the majority of the miners having brought with them the standards of behavior, prevalent in the East. The author, a professor of law, cites hundreds of instances and events which happened on the trail during the almost twenty years of its existance, and explains how concepts or actions of the emigrants can be explained and described Tate maxims of formal property law. . Although the thesis of the author is important and interesting, I personally enjoyed the book more as an overview in time of life on the Emigrant Trail. Several overland diaries and travel accounts have been published and are readily available, but none of these presents such a vivid picture of life on the plains as the collection of events, gathered here in one book. It is mainly for this reason that I recommend this book to the members of our Boclety. vdP. GRASS VALLEY OF YORE Grass Valley boasts an old horse that goes around alone with a milkwagon, stopping before the doors of his customers, and nowhere else, and delivering his daily allowances to each with unvarying fiedlity. But the really wonderful thing about this story is that Grass Valley should have a population that can be trusted to hely=w”* themselves to milk, and not take, any of them, more than their alloted share. (From S. Bowles, Across the Continent, Springfield and New York, 1965). ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The pictures of Mary Hallock Foote as a young girl and as an elderly lady, and the picture of the Superintendent’s house at the North Star Mine, were provided by Mrs. Marion Conway. The picture of the “spur wheel” was made by Brooks Beesley. The advertisment was taken from Bean’s Directory (1867). Mrs. Conway graciously gave permission to reprint the story of the pump mishap. —v.d.P. THE BULLETIN OF THE NEVADA COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY Editor: Peter W. van der Pas, 212 Hill Street, Grass Valley, Calif. 95945. Contributions to the Bulletin ar, cordially invited and will help towa: the continuation of our publication. 32