the river. Scarcely had they passed the point, before work alltogether on shares: Stephen Tyler and Lefsome sixty or seventy Indians appeared upon the ingwell, of Murderer's Bar, took the contract to build bench or higher bar, above them, yelling and gesticu- the flume of twelve feet wide by three feet high, and lating in a frightful manner, but as they were only over a mile in length, and a very busy time began in armed with bows and arrows, dared not attack. the canyon of the Middle Fork of the American river. Now that the enemy were in sight all fear of ambush There were not less than six hundred men engaged passed away, and with 'Rachel,' as Merritt called in different kinds of work on those five river bars, inhis old-fashioned rifle, poised for business, the white cluding the construction, etc., of the big flume, and men watched the yelping savages until the latter ap about one half of them accounted for Murderer's parently became convinced that they could do no Bar. A ferry had been built the same year and the harm to the former, and in the course of a few hours, roads to make the ferry useful led up through Cave retreated upon the mountain and disappeared from valley towards Pilot Hill, and on the Placer county view. side towards Yankee Jim's, becoming quite a traveled road from Sacramento to all the mining camps in this part of Placer county.

"Upon the river bar that the whites thus were left the masters of were fine groves of willows, some ash trees, and many smooth-barked, thrifty alders, and while there it occurred to Buckner, that, as the bars along the South Fork and other streams to the southward, were all designated with names, he would also name the one they were then occupying. He accordingly took his pocket knife and cut upon the smooth and easily slipped bark of an alder tree,

(6 MURDERER'S BAR;"

By which the spot has ever since been known. But Merritt and Buckner did not deem it prudent to remain there. They preferred to camp in some more open spot less liable to be approached by the Indians under cover, and crossing the river in a dug-out canoe, they established themselves with animals and paraphernalia upon the Placer county side of the Middle Fork at Buckner's Bar, with the river between themselves and their dangerous foe. Who the men killed were, has never been satisfactorily determined. They probably met their fate late in the fall of 1848; and Mr. Buckner is of the opinion that there were three of them, two of them Wood and Graham, who came into the country with him in Capt. Martin's party of Oregonians."

There were some companies of miners working on this bar in the summer of 1849, but most of them left on account of the commencing raining season, only five men built cabins on the bank, as they thought sufficiently high up to be out of the reach of the high water; but were surprised by the rising of the water on January 9th, 1850, which drove them as fast as

The miners cabins built up quite a little village in 1850; only five men had decided to remain on the bar the fall before. The first stores in the village were kept by E. C. Cromwell, from Michigan, and Moss, from St. Joseph, Missouri. Some difficulties about a mining claim between one Beck and one Walker, in 1850, led to an earnest hostility and ended in the murder of Beck, who was shot by Walker w th a shotgun across the river, Walker was on the El Dorado county side, while Beck stood on Placer county side. The first white woman in the village was Mrs. A. Harris, now of Greenwood Township, El Dorado county

constantly; in 1855 the town had over five hundred
The population of Murderer's Bar was growing.
inhabitants, and always represented one of the live-
liest mining camps up to the year of 1858 or 1860. Lee
and Marshall's National circus made an excursion down
into the canyon once, and gave exhibitions here and
at Rattlesnake Bar. The gold found at this and the
neighboring bars was all fine scale gold of very rich
quality; never was any large pieces found. Of first
settlers at Murderer's Bar may be mentioned; E. C.

Cromwell; Jim Stewart; Geo. Melville; Col. Potter;
Wm. Harris who discovered the back part of it; Phil.
Herbert; Judge Hammond; Kerup Anderson; Bur-

ton Bros.

and

Walker Bros. Jim Beckwoulth Shabanau; Geo. Schofield; Col. Kipp; Hugh J. Glenn, late of Colusa county. Jno. Percival, known as "Cranky Jack;" Dave Helmes; Clerk Helmes and two others died violent death's here. C. Cooledge,

they were able higher up on the hill, without giving kept store and hotel at this Bar up to 1854 or 1855.

them time to save anything out of the cabins, the waters of the river, rising sixty feet in one day, took away all their property.

SPANISH DRY DIGGINGS,

Is situated in the northern part of El Dorado county, In 1850, the miners of Murderer's Bar, for the pur- on the summit of the hill above the Middle Fork of pose of working on a large fluming process, consoli- the American river, five miles from Georgetown, four dated with the miners of New York Bar, Vermont, miles from Greenwood, Spanish Bar, El Dorado Buckner's Bar and Sailors Claim, to join flumes and Slide, Dutch Bar, Rocky Chucky Canyon Creek and

other noted localities of early mining days are within on the same lode is the claim of Messrs. Hines & a short distance. Co., worked continuously and profitably.

In 1848, Don Andreas Pico, brother of ex-Governor Among the earliest and best known citizens are Pio Pico, organized a company of Mexican miners, Messrs. W. R. Davis, John Hines and T. M. Buckner chiefly Sonorians, for the purpose of a prospecting tour '49 ers. Messrs. G. W. Hunter, G. W. Simpers, A. through the Sierras, to test the extent of Marshall's Rooke, James K. Easterbrook, Trueworthy Durgan discovery of gold. The company thus organized and Andrew Deller still reside here. The present under the leadership of Don Andreas, proceeded population approximates about a hundred souls, livnorth to the Yuba river, and from thence south to ing in comfortable residences with beautiful surroundthe Stanislaus, traversing and superficially prospecting ings which will stand comparison with any one of the all the since celebrated mineral belt known to sister mining towns in the county. The town comthe world as California's richest placer diggings. prises now only one store; the first store in town In the course of his trip Don Andreas passed was kept by Folger, now of San Francisco, about a through what is known as Spanish Dry Diggings. quarter of a mile below where the present store stands, Resting a short time here, the most experienced of and also a good school house. his men, detailed for prospecting, were at work in the ravines, obtained rich prospects in coarse gold of a quartz nature.

GREENWOOD, OR GREENWOOD VALLEY
Was originally called "Long Valley," and a trading

In 1849, the report of Don Andreas having be-post opened there sometime either in 1848 or the come generally known among the Mexicans, others of Spring of 1849, by John Greenwood; the first general that nationality became in many instances the pio-store there was opened by Lewis B. Myers, Nathan neers in mining settlements. Thus it was here, the first settlers were of Spanish-American origin. Soon after came Americans, Germans and others. The name of the first trading-post, or permanent settlement was Dutchtown, after which the name of the village was changed to correspond with that by which the mines in the vicinity were known, and thus came the name of Spanish Dry Diggings.

Fairbanks and Louis Lane. Lane died soon and the business was continued by Fairbanks and Myers, but when, sometime after, they added a butcher shop to their business, Wm. P. Crone was taken as a partner. was born to On the 25th of March, 1850, a son Lewis B. Myers, and the town was called Lewisville after the first-born child in the township, if not in the county also. The name, however, was changed when In 1854, the first quartz-seam diggings were dis-a Post office was established, on account of there becovered here, which has since resulted in the developing another Louisville in the county, and Greenwood Valley substituted therefore. It is located in one of ment and working of many valuable mines, the most the loveliest little valleys of the foothills of the Sierra celebrated of which are the Grit, Barr, Short Handle, Nevada; about five miles south of Georgetown, on the highway from Cave Valley to Georgetown. Here in early days a nice and lively village developed in a considerable short time, with a good society, in number as well as in kind, and as a proof for this assertion may be stated that the young men of the place once erected a theater with all conveniences and

note.

Cherry Hill, Summit, Davis, Taylor, and others of less The amount of gold taken from these claims has been very large, the best authority of the place estimating the Grit and Barr claims alone to have yielded $500.000 and $300,000 respectively.*

Aside from these seam diggings there is the celebrated Sliger quartz claim, a true and well-defined quartz lode, owned and worked by Messrs. Hunter, Wade, Roush, Simpers, Hines and Grinnell; a claim,

undoubtedly among the best in the county if not in

the State. The owners are content to themselves, quietly working their claim without the aid of outside capital, which fact of itself is the best recommendation. About one mile north of the Sliger mine, and

* In these diggings the proceeds were almost all profits. O. B. Powell, of Quincy, Illinois, in one day in October, 1854, together with his partner M. Orr, took out 26 pounds of gold. In November 1854, in eleven days, 110 pounds of gold were taken out of what was known as the Kelsey claim by W. D. Vincent, A. Barth, M, Orr, O Powell, S. Searles, D. Ellis, S. P. Nye and John E Stover. Mr. Crawford says he has seen it to be

carried out by water pailsfull. Also, large nuggets have been found occasionally, the largest one was of 16 pounds weight.

comforts, which was well supported by the people of town and the surrounding mining camps. The people of this town had even higher aspirations. In 1854, when the fight for the change of the county seat of El Dorado first commenced, Greenwood Valley concurred in the agitation and made quite a good race. There existed quite a number of large mercantile houses kept by: John Allen, from Ohio; Harrison Hilton & Cohea, John and Robert Sharp, Leeds & Bartlett, H. Lower, Ridgeway, George and Jacob Dunn. The first hotel was kept by a man by the name of Rosteen, called the "Buckeye House." Bloom & Partner kept the Illinois Exchange, afterwards the Nation. Mr. Bloom was the first Post

a committee was appointed to draft resolutions expressive of the feeling entertained towards the deceased, on account of his untimely death, recognized his zealous, worthy and enterprising character, his moral character being above reproach, and his absence from society hardly to be filled as he had but few his equals as a citizen and friend. Finally, expressing their sympathy with the relatives in the Atlantic States; which resolutions were unanimously adopted. Dr. Nelson got and preserved the head of a Swede, who had been hung here, which had been separated afterwards from the body with a spade.

Master, and being himself quite illiterate, he used to the same oak tree limb where Graham had ended his look at one or a couple of letters and after that would treacherous life. In consequence of the assassination ask the caller to look for himself; this, however, was of Mr. Harrison Hilton by Henry Miller, on Sepno hindrance to his endeavor for a seat in the State tember 1st, 1857, a meeting of the citizens was called Legislature which he was running for. Dr. Nelson at the Buckeye Hotel; the meeting was called to orwas first physician. The first white woman in town der by L. B. Curtis, Esq., Justice A. A. Stoddard was Mrs. Gates, Mrs. Powell and Mrs. Rosteen was elected Chairman, and S. S. Buckeley Secretary; next. The first marriage in town was that of Mr. Rosteen, and the first-born child, as mentioned already, Lewis L. Myers, son of Lewis B. Myers. Wm. Leed of Lawrenceburg, Indiana, died here in 1851, he had been a veteran of the Mexican war, and was the first to be burried in the regular burying-ground. Wm. Crone was the pioneer agriculturist of this township; he broke ground and sowed barley, on what is now Mr. Terry's ranch, in 1851. A saw-mill was erected near Greenwood Valley in 1851, by Wm. Harris in co-partnership with Stephen Tyler, C. Foster and John Gleason. The Penobscott House, one of the oldest public houses and stopping places in Greenwood Valley was by far more fortunate than the township, owned by L. Myers, from 1851 to 1854, its sister mining town, as far as the destruction by fire sold to Page & Lovejoy, who also bought Doctor is concerned; the first fire of any magnitude origiThomas' line of stages from Georgetown to Sacra-nated in Charles Nagler's house, where it was caused mento by way of Pilot Hill and Salmon Falls. Mr. by an ash barrel standing at the corner of the house, Lovejoy is still interested in the stage business. Mr. and laid the entire business part of the town in ashes, in Page's aspirations were running faster than the stage 1858. On February 3d, 1876, at an early hour, a box trot and higher than the highest stage seat, and did filled with combustibles etc., was discovered on fire not let him rest until he succeeded with a seat in the placed to the front of Felice Ricci's store, and had it Hall of Legislature. He of late was the representa- not been for Chas. Nagler's watchdog, whose restless tive of the second California congressional district at noise alarmed the clerk sleeping in the store, there Washington. Page's Hotel belongs to those things would have been a big blaze, but under the circumthat "have been." stances it only could be called a close call, as the flames were subdued in time with the assistance of some neighbors. Nothing could be found out about the originator, and whether it was done with the intent to burn the town and get a chance for robbing or to gratify a personal grudge against Ricci. There speaks a great probability for the latter argument, however, if we consider the circumstances under which the premises of Messrs. Nagler and Ricci were set on fire June 3d, 1878; about two years afterwards, and residences, stores etc., with all contents were totally destroyed; hardly anything could be saved. The fire evidently was the work of an incendiary. Loss $16,000.

Judge Lynch on several occasions made his appearance in the community of Greenwood Valley: the first was in 1851, when James Graham, a Baltimorean, had shot an old well respected gentleman by the name of Lesly, on a prospecting trip, and after the deed was done he fled. Lesly, however, crawled to Tom Burche's cabin where he gave the alarm; the assassin was caught at Uniontown, brought back, tried before a jury of twelve men, found guilty and hung to an oak tree on a lot in the town of Greenwood Valley, now owned by Mr. Ricci. The next occasion this very same oak tree had to play an active part in the life of a person, was on July 23d, 1854. William Shay an inoffensive gentleman was murdered in the most brutal manner by one Samuel Allen, who knocked him down, stamped on him until he was quite dead and then pounded his head with stones crushing it to a jelly. Allen was arrested, taken before Justice Stoddard for examination and ordered to jail, but forcibly taken away from the officer by a large and excited crowd, who had decided about the prisoner's guiltiness, and an hour afterwards the dead body of Allen swung from

Greenwood Valley is one of those mining towns that have understood to preserve quite a lively appearance, though not many of the old timers are left here. There is Orlando Shepherd, a native of Chilicoth e county, Ohio, who came to California in 1850, and to Greenwood on March 31st, 1851; Jno. Daniels, better known as "Scotty," a native of Scotland, who came to California on board of a vessel in 1839, Lewis B. Myers, of the Chimney Rock ranch; and Wm.

were mining in what has since been known as "Oregon canyon" and "Hudson's gulch" in July 1849, but, though they took out a large amount of gold at both these places they did not stay, and left the vicinity. They were followed by a party of sailors, among whom was one George Phipps, who first pitched his tent near the head of what since has been called "Empire canyon," and from him derived the original name of George's town, just as John's town lower down in the same canyon, at its junction with Manhattan creek, was named after another man of the same party. The afterwards famous "Sailor Claim" in Oregon canyon, however, did not obtain its name from the Phipps party.

Harris. The present population numbers about two hundred, supports three stores, two hotels; one blacksmith shop, butcher shop and one brewery; the first brewery was started by Jacob Winkleman. The farming done in the township is not considerable and consists to the greater part in hay making. The principal support consists in mining, and there are the richest mining claims close onto town. The Nagler or French claim, first discovered by Mr. Sheperd, is a seam mine, worked after the hydraulic process, developing richer in greater depth. Mr. Desmarchais is the superintendent of the mine, with which a stamp mill is connected to crush the larger rock, and work the vaste pile of tailings over. North of the French claim there is the Bower mine, run by eastern capital The first log house in the young George's town and pushed with great vigor. A Chinese agent some was erected about September 20th, 1849, by Graham years ago came up here from San Francisco, offering and Hull, and the first store opened therein; other the sum of $100,000, for this property as it stood at buildings followed, and by January 1st, 1850, their the time, while about a year before that, it could have number had increased to a dozen, occupied chiefly as been bought for perhaps $15 or $20. The Chinese stores, among whom were Graham and Hull; John however were not the only ones who had found out T. Little's branch of the Coloma store; old Tom the value of the mine, tests had been made to deter-Clegg; Cushing and Grammer. Mr. Grammer also mine its extent and value, which had proven satisfac- started the first letter express, and during the summer tory to the owners, who decided not to sell for the of 1850, Mr. Graham had a stage line running besum offered. The Argonaut mine, upon which as long tween Georgetown and Coloma; this however, finally as 1852 prospecting was done to a limited extent in emerged into a through line of stages to Sacramento search of the quartz ledges, as from surface workings City. The "Georgetown Cut-off" road opened in coarse gold had been obtained in very paying quanti- 1850, furnished a great opportunity to a portion of ties for years past, was lately sold to San Francisco the overland emigration to reach the valley below by parties, who have undertaken to make a thorough prac-passing this way, and the location of the place proved tical test of extent and value of the ledges of this to be a very favorable one, if not a necessity, as the mine, which, though most gratifying indications are given, as yet did not expose no well defined lode upon which to settle for working.

GEORGETOWN.

highway junction for all those rich river bars on the Middle Fork of the American river; as Ford's, Volcano, Big, Sandy, Junction, Gray Eagle and other bars, and the distributing point for supplies, etc., to those who were working on those bars and all those flats and other mining camps beyond Coloma.

Georgetown in early days was the prettiest town in the mountains, and up to this day, notwithstanding it Meantime the town, imbeded in the native wilds of can not be compared to what it once has been, is a surrounding material wealth, made up of log cabins, very pleasant mountain town on account of its loca- shake houses and canvass tents, was growing until a tion at the summit of a high elevation, (contrary to traveling photographer, in his attempt to take a phomost other mining towns, which all occupy the bottom tograph of a deceased miner, a native of the State of of canyons or gulches) overlooking a wide expanse of Maine, by accident set the frail building or tent on country in every direction except towards the east, fire, July 14th, 1852. The fire originated in the where the gradual rise of the mountains starts too close "Round Tent," a gambling saloon kept by Pete to town, thus hiding the sight. The altitude of George- Valery, where N. Lothian, formerly leader of the fatown is 2700 feet above sea level. Georgetown is and mous Lothian Band, of New York, furnished the always will be a mining town in the full sense of the music. The flames spread with such rapidity that it word, the high elevation as well as the character of was only under difficulties, that the corpse could be the country don't recommend it for an agricultural saved from cremation, and in one half hour the busicentre, though there always has been raised a superior ness portion of the town was almost entirely laid in kind of fruit, particularly of the harder varieties. The ashes. Only Frances Graham's store at the west end first mining work on this divide was done by a party and J. W. Slette's store at the extreme east end of of Oregonians under the leadership of Hudson; they town remained. Before the ashes had cooled, the

The first marriage celebrated in Georgetown was that of Mr. Wm. T. Gibbs, now of Oakland, on November 10th, 1851, to Mrs. Cynthia A. Turner, in the presence of nearly five hundred persons drawn to gether by the novelty of the occasion from the surA military company was organized at Georgetown in rounding mining camps. Gibbs had located in town. in 1850, keeping a blacksmith shop, and his eight August, 1859, called the Georgetown Blues. The folchildren were all born here. Mr. Gibbs is and allowing were elected first officers: R. E. Phelps, Capways has been an enterprising man, and a public

cigar store, three livery stabies, three billiard and two bowling alley a big blaze. It originated in the rear of what was