Collection: Books and Periodicals

About This Item:

Title: A Memorial and Biographical History of Northern California (1891) Collection Type: Books and Periodicals Publisher: Lewis Publishing Company Published: 1891 Copyright: In the public domain or published before 1925 Source(s): Google Books # of Pages: 713 Download PDF: User Login Required Download OCR Text: User Login Required

Date Scanned: 2024-07-22 00:25:09 Item Sourced From: PDF First Created: 2025-03-17 03:11:29 Last Updated: 2025-03-17 06:30:36

Original Held At: Searls Historical Library Location: 161 Nevada City Hwy, Nevada City, CA 95959

Page: of 713  

lespie, a few days later, in search of the Pathfinder, and overtook him one memorable night on the banks of Klamath Lake. “ Lassen’s Cut-off” is a route through the deserts and mountains discovered by Lassen and Paul Richeson in 1848. Early in the spring of 1851 a prospecting party of eighty men, headed by a man named Noble and now known as Noble’s party, after crossing the Indian Valley, passed through the mountains to Honey Lake Valley. They soon returned and disbanded, but Noble, who was impressed with the value of the pass, went on to Shasta. then the chief town in the extreme northern portion of the State, and made known his discovery to the enterprising business menthere. The pass was subsequently known as Noble’s Pass. The business men there hired Noble to go to the Humboldt Valley in order to persuade immigrants to come by way of the new route and so on to Shasta. Noble went but found much opposition and even a menace of violence if he persisted in persuading immigrants to leave the old and well known trail. But a few consented to try the new route, and, following the Lassen or Oregon trail as far as Black Rock, struck across the desert twentyfive miles to Granite Creek, thence sixteen miles to Buffalu Springs, thence nine miles to Mud Springs, then seventeen miles to Honey Lake Valley, which they crossed at the present site of Susanville, and crossed the summit of the Sierra by Noble’s Pass, following the course of Deer Creek to its mouth. As soon as it became demonstrated that this route possessed superior advantages in the matter of food and water, as well as having a shorter distance than any other, agents were kept stationed at the intersection with the overland trail for the purpose of turning the immigration over this route to the northern mines. That year and for a number of years thereafter this route was traveled a great deal. In 1853 it was shortened and still further improved. After cutting twenty tons of wild hay for his stock, for fear the snows might be too deep HISTORY OF NORTHERN CALIFORNIA. 151 for forage, Lassen built a long, low log cabin, fifty feet long, sixteen feet wide and only six logs high, and covered it with a shake roof. At each end was a room 16 x 20, one of which was used as a store-room. The openings to the outside world were a door and a window threefeet square, over which barley sacks were nailed to keep out the cold. A small room in the center was his sleeping department, and here he was said also to have kept an extra bed for a traveler or a friend. In this rude hut the pioneers of Lassen County found their temporary dwelling place for a quarter of a century. In 1853 Isaac Roop took up a mile square at the head of Honey Lake Valley; in 1855 Moses Mason took 400 acres adjoining him, but did not remain long. NATAQUA. This word, Indian for woman, was the name of the “ Territory of Honey Lake Valley.” It lay east of the summit of the Sierra and with. . in the great Nevada Basin. The people of this region in 1855~-’56 began to feel the need of a systematic civil government. They seemed to be beyond the limits of California. Accordingly, April 26, 1856, they met at the Roop House (the “ Old Fort’), elected Lassen to the chair and Ieaac Roop secretary. They proceeded in regular order to organize an independent territory, by drawing up such regulations as they felt the most need of. They were substantially the laws which the miners generally adopted. The territory supposed to be covered by this government was about 50,000 square miles,—almost as large as the State of Illinois. It reached eastward half way across the State of Nevada and comprised several counties within the State of California. It is amusing now to think of these twenty men meeting together and forming a territory of such vast dimensions, especially when we call to mind the fact that in Washoe, Eagle and Carson valleys and Gold Cafion there were people enough to outnumber them ten to one, who were not consulted in this disposition of themselves; and further, not one of this corps of