California Gold Rush of 1849

Members of the Arkansas Emigrating Company were making ready for departure from Fayetteville on April 17, 1849. In the pre-dawn light, clouds hanging low and the air heavy laden with moisture left little doubt that Spring rains would soon arrive in Arkansas. Finally the call rang out "California Ho!" Oxen and horses strained in their harness and the wagons loaded with men, supplies and equipment rolled west. Some who had no wagons had bartered for space on the wagons of others who had a little space to spare. Livestock and horse riders fell in behind the wagons. Excitement was evident in their eyes although few words were spoken amongst the men. They had dreams of the gold they hoped to bring back to Arkansas.

Rains soon came and the 85 mile trip to their rendezvous with the Cherokee Company at Grand Saline was accomplished under muddy conditions. The men didn't complain.

The Company left Grand Saline and headed for California on April 24, 1849. The Arkansas Emigrating Company after joining with the Cherokees, consisted of 130 people, 40 wagons, 304 oxen, 41 mules, 65 horses and 31 cows, making in all 441 head of livestock. They recorded the miles traveled daily which averaged 5-20 miles. Mileage was calculated using a device designed by John Rankin Pyeatte which measured distance by counting the revolutions of the wagon wheel.

Other companies were plagued by sickness and disease but Captain Evans Company didn't seem to suffer much sickness. Cholera was rampant among other emigrating companies. That scourge didn't infiltrate our Arkansas Emigrating Company. They actually had few casualties. An August 16, 1849 letter from James Crawford to his wife, Harriett, reported that Mr. Tharpe died with what the doctors called diabetes. Mr. Garvin, one of the pack company, was drowned while attempting to cross Green River on a raft or skin boat. Aaron Tyner, Hiram Shores and others narrowly escaped drowning. They did lose their baggage and their money.

About ten days behind the Evans party, was another emigrating company led by Dr. Jeter L. Thompson, composed almost entirely of Cherokees. Cholera overtook that company at the Platte River crossing below North Platte, Nebraska and devastated it. John Lynch Adair and his brother, two adventurous young Cherokees, were with that party. Adair wrote in his diary: "Both sides of the river was a solid mass of wagons, men digging graves on each side of the river, men dying in their wagons, hallowing and crying and cramping with cholera, women screaming and praying. Oh, my God, if there were ever two boys that wanted to get back to their mothers, we did."

One letter to home offered the following explanation for the good health of the Arkansans: "Nothing else could be expected from men who cook their food with buffalo chips, snuff the pure bland breezes of the boundless plains and braced up with a 'lively hope' that all the wildest dreams e'er wove in fancy's loom of 'ingots of gold and bags of dollars,' will be realized beyond the Cordilietas"

They did, however, suffer many inconveniences if nothing else. Their diaries tell of horses stolen by Indians and oxen lost. It seems some of the oxen rebelled and turned back home without the consent of their owners. Letters exchanged between James Crawford with other relations back home continued to mention "Old Tuck," who must have been a favored ox. So far as is recorded Old Tuck never made it back home to Cane Hill, although another team of oxen still yoked together, did come home. So often was he mentioned that one must wonder about the fate of "Old Tuck."

Many references were made to Indians stealing horses. One particular incident referred to a mule. As a group of men set out to recover the stolen horses, they met a group of Indians returning the mule they had inadvertently taken along with the horses. Having a bit of experience with mules myself, I wonder if the Indians found the personality of the mule frightening and perhaps they felt it was filled with evil spirits.

While most of the Indian tribes encountered appeared quite friendly, anxious to trade and hopeful of receiving gifts, the most problematic were the Diggers. They were a nomadic tribe of Indians who lived in the desert. Their bows were not strong enough to kill an ox, but could wound one to the extent that it had to be left behind. Very little historically is known about them. They lived in burrows and obtained a miserable existence by digging roots and insects for food. They harassed almost every wagon train which crossed the desert such that subsequent emigrating parties shot them on sight. Whatever became of these miserable people has not been recorded. Hubert Howe Bancroft, the noted historian, said in his massive treatise on Native American people, "Anything that crawled, flew, or walked was food to them. They are naturally pusillanimous, weak in development, sunk below the common baser passions of the savage, more improvident than birds, more beastly than beasts. It may be possible to conceive of a lower phase of humanity, but I confess my inability to do so."

They met with many challenges along the way. The Arkansans weren't particularly happy with their travel across the desert lands. They described it as "the most miserable, poor, sandy, dusty, and hateful country (with a few exceptions) that any white man ever saw, or ever will see till he comes and sees this sand and dust." They reported an astronomical number of dead animals every few hundred yards along with graves of prior unfortunate emigrants. The stench of rotting flesh was never far from their nostrils. The mountainous regions presented an equal challenge. Many of the Arkansas emigrants elected to abandon their wagons and pack what they could across the mountains. At one point there was such a strong wind they were forced to crawl to keep from being blown away.

Apparently one reason Captain L. Evans trail is so often mentioned in subsequent diaries is that when he led his company from Washington County and the Cherokee Nation west in 1849 he took the time to carve on stones the fact that he passed a certain point. For example, at the fork with the Santa Fe Trail Captain Evans set up a stone marked "To Fayettville, Ark, 300 miles--Capt. Evans' Com'y, May 12, 1849."

The Company reached the Sacramento Valley, the village of Webbersville, October 20, 1849. Part of the group immediately left for Sacramento City to replenish supplies. Others proceeded to erect winter shelter as best they could. At this point it seems that disappointment and discouragement took over. Yet they accepted the fact that they would have to winter in California so as is common with Arkansans, they made the best of it.

Judging by letters written to his sons, nephews and friends, W. D. Crawford wasn't too keen on the expedition in the first place and took every opportunity to remind them of the morals which they took with them from Arkansas. His first letter included the following statement: "Oh! the infatuation, boys, take care you do not get your fingers burned and your morals corrupted. No doubt if you have the good fortune to reach your place of destination, you will be in the foulest crowd ever assembled on this earth at any one time or place." Subsequent letters gave even more stern admonitions. His dire warnings proved to be prophetic as stealing, lying, swearing, drinking, gambling and murders were rampant around the gold fields. It seems that every outlaw from every corner of the earth had converged upon the hapless miners and perpetrated every crime and illegal activity that could be imagined.

The discovery of gold drove up prices for everything. While the average worker might make $6 to $10 per day, food and supplies could cost much more than they earned. Many people had spent 6 months earnings, or more, getting to California.

John H. Miller, writing to the "St. Joseph Valley Register," October 6, 1849, gives the following prices at Webberville, 60 miles from Sacramento:

Wagons ........................................ $40 to $80.00
Oxen, per yoke ............................... 50 to 150.00
Mules, each ................................... 90 to 150.00
Board, per meal, $1.50, or per week ... 21.00
Beef, per pound .............................. 40 cents to .75
Salt Pork, per pound ........................ 40 cents to .75
Flour, per pound ............................. 25 cents to .30
Sugar, per pound ............................ 30 cents to .50
Molasses, per gallon ........................ $2 to 4.00
Mining Cradles ................................ $20 to 60.00
Mining Pans ................................... $4 to 8.00

Obvious from letters written to home, the gold in California was pretty much a disappointment as there were thousands of gold seekers and while some did acquire a fortune, most did not. According to diaries and letters the Divins, Edmistons, Eperson and J. Wham found a somewhat more lucrative mine but nothing is written about what, if anything, they brought back to Arkansas. As the family story goes, The Divins and Edmistons, from whom I descend, were an impatient lot and when they were ready to return to Arkansas they saddled their horses and struck off cross-country alone. (Perhaps I inherit my impatience from them). It is said that they would not even make fires lest they attract the unwanted attention of Indians.

A sad finale to this story is that of James Sawyer Crawford. He elected to return to Arkansas via ship. He reached the Port of Arkansas on October 31, 1850, about 12 miles below Pine Bluff. From this point James Sawyer Crawford made his way across country to Fayetteville. He died somewhere in the few miles between Fayetteville and his home at Cane Hill. He is buried in the Crawford Cemetery north of Lincoln.