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  

HISTORY OF NORTHERN CALIFORNIA. 605 learn of new diggings that would give him the fortune he coveted, Mr. Greiner, as near as his sharp eyes could calculate, saw huge buckskin purses and belts drawn from the clothing and bodies of the English sailors, and large nuggets of gold displayed, only their shape being observable through the cloth partition. It did not take young Greiner long to make up his mind that these English sailors, with the luck of their class, had struck rich diggings, and he soon ascertained by casual inquiry that they had come into the valley to obtain supplies, and would return to their California camp on the morrow. He determined to follow them to their secret diggings. That they might not be followed, they left the little valley in a contrary direction and made quite a detour before starting for their camp. Young Greiner followed their trail, however,—sumetimes so obscure as to test the woodcraft of an Indian. After a hard day’s travel of twenty or more miles he beheld their camp from a little eminence not far distant from their claim. He camped for the night in a hollow tree that afforded shelter trom cold mountain blasts and storm, and returned to his friends late on the following day. Arousing his partner, a son of Commodore Armstrong (then of the navy) he informed him that he had run the “Sidney ducks” to their camp, andlocated a claim, supposed to be rich enough for themselves and friends. They repaired to the locality and named the camp Forest City, a name by which it has ever since been known, although an attempt was made to call it Marietta, after the name of the first white woman whio came to the place. It was not without a struggle that young Greiner and his friends obtained a fvothold in the still famous mining locality that nestles in the pine forest of one of the branches of that huge line of ‘slickens once known as the Yuba River. The English sailors did not like the idea of neighbors in their rich diggings, and undertook to drive them out; but English bull-dog tenacity was promptly met by the pluck, coolness and courage of those who hailed from the city of Brotherly Love, and they stood their ground behind revolvers and rifles until their right and title was fully established and without bloodshed. : . Young Greiner returned below and piloted a pack train through to Forest City with miners’ supplies, and the first store was opened at that place amid the snows of winter. He was thus the first to lead a team of mules to that point. Then commenced the work of developing their claim. The famous blue lead of that locality was a hard one to work. A shaft was sunk that exhausted the capital and credit of Mr. Greiner and his partner, and they were indebted to the store-keeper he had piloted to the locality in the sum of $1,300; and was told that it was impossible to extend further credit to the shaft they were sinking in the ground. They were without supplies for their evening meal, but still they worked hopefully on. The gravel and dirt from the shaft were drawn up by windlass and dumped into sluice-boxes, that no gold dust be lost. Toward evening on the day when they expected they would be obliged to go supperless to bed, young Greiner was at the windlass, and as he dumped a bucket of earth into the slnice-box the water immediately disclosed a nugget as large as his fist, which caused him to dance and halloo with delight. He called the boys up from below and they had as rich a “spread” that evening as the local “ market would afford.” After following mining until 1855, in Yuba and Sierra counties, Mr. Greiner went to Central America, with General William Walker, and returned in 1857 to this State; and he is now the the only surving member of “ Walker’s lost rangers.” From 1857 to 1859 he carried on mining in Butte County. Having been employed by large Eastern firms in mining, he has shown great skill in this particular line of work. Mr. Greiner settled in Butte County, in January, 1885, where he owns two and a half acres of land, and has a wine hall and garden; the place is set to fruit trees, and is called