Plumas County CA Archives History - Books .....Transportation And Communication 1882
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Book Title: Illustrated History Of Plumas, Lassen & Sierra Counties

TRANSPORTATION AND COMMUNICATION.

   The demand for routes of travel, caused by the sudden opening and rapid
development of the mines in what were then considered remote mountain wilds, was
imperative. Supplies had to be brought to the thousands who flocked into this
unexplored region. Those who came in 1850. knowing they were about to plunge
into the wilderness, generally came supplied with sufficient provisions to last
until winter, and as the storms began to set in, with but few exceptions they
turned their faces to the west, and found their way out of the mountains. Coming
back again the next spring, accompanied by hundreds more, they again came well
supplied with provisions. These were brought on the backs of mules and horses,
which were with great difficulty, and not without frequent disastrous accidents,
conducted into the deepest recesses of the mountains. A few speculative
individuals engaged in the business of packing goods to the mines, which they
sold at trading posts owned by themselves, or disposed of to other merchants who
had opened trade emporiums in shake shanties, brush houses, or canvas tents in
nearly every infant mining camp that had sprung up. This was for several years
the only means for transporting heavy articles into the county.

   There were two routes of travel into this section: one from Marysville,
through Strawberry valley to Onion valley, and the middle fork of Feather river,
and thence on to American valley; and one from Bidwell's bar to Buck's Ranch,
Spanish Ranch, American and Indian valleys, and the mines on the north fork and
east branch. The former was the first one opened, but the latter has been the
most important. Pack-trains varied in size from two or three mules to half a
hundred, a few even greater. Three hundred pounds were considered a good load
for a mule; but occasionally such articles as safes, printing-presses, pianos,
etc., weighing several hundred more, were brought on the back of a lusty mule.
The constant passage of these trains over the mountains made a trail that was
soon after, by a little work, made passable for wagons and stages, especially on
the lower route as far as Onion valley. It was not, however, until toll roads
were built by private enterprise, and the county had spent considerable money on
public highways, that the freight wagon and stage succeeded the old pack-mule
and mounted express. 

EXPRESS LINES AND DOG-EXPRESS.

   The express lines were quite an institution in the pioneer days. It was
several years before any post-offices were established in the county or any mail
service inaugurated, and the people had to depend upon the express for all
postal accommodation. Those who came here in 1850 left all thought of receiving
any letters behind them, and when they were occasionally brought from below by
friends who came later, or an occasional pack-train, they were agreeably
surprised. Early in the spring of 1851, Frank Everts started Everts, Snell, &
Co.'s express from Marysville to Onion valley and Nelson Point. Later that year
he became agent for Adams & Co., as bankers, at Nelson Point. Everts, Snell, &
Co. were succeeded by E. Wilson & Co. In 1854 Wilson's express ran only to
Gibsonville, and from that point Morley & Caulkins ran to American valley and
Elizabeth-town, a route previously opened by Wilson. These expresses ran in
connection with the great express of Adams & Co., who also did a large business
in banking and buying gold-dust. The failure of that firm in 1855 caused a
financial panic in California, and ruined hundreds. Before they closed their
doors they instructed Mr. Everts, their agent in this section, to forward all
money and dust to the central office. Foreseeing that it would all be absorbed,
Mr. Everts notified all his customers of the condition of affairs, and permitted
them to withdraw their deposits. He gained no favor from the failing firm by
this act, but saved scores of hard-working miners from losing the result of
their toil, and his memory still remains green in the hearts of the pioneers of
Plumas county. Frank Everts and his brother, H. C. Everts, then established a
headquarters for express and the purchase of gold-dust at La Porte. Morley &
Caulkins still ran the express on that route till 1857, when Morley and E. E.
Meek took the route and consolidated the same year with Whiting & Co., who were
running on the route from Oroville to Rich bar. The first man to bring letters
to Rich bar was Herman Camp, in the fall of 1850. He came up from Marysville on
a mule. That winter he was succeeded by John R. Buckbee. Two trips were made per
month, bearing letters and papers, for which they charged the modest price of
two dollars and a half for letters, and a dollar less for papers—a price that
was soon modified materially. He soon sold to Captain William E. Singer and
Annan Fargo, who ran under the name of Singer & Fargo until 1852, when they took
in W. S. Dean, and were known as Singer, Dean, & Co. The firm collapsed in 1855,
and Singer & Morrow (Thomas H.) continued the business. Morrow had started a
mule-train for passengers, in 1854, connecting at Bidwell's bar with the stage
for Marysville. Dean now ran the passenger business while Singer & Morrow
operated the express. They ran to American and Indian valleys, Rich bar, Rush
creek, 12-mile bar, north fork of Feather and Humbug valley, until 1857, when a
loss of confidence caused them to sell out. In August of that year Morrow was
taking $8,000 on horseback from Bidwell to Marysville. He reached the latter
place about daylight, on foot, with the story that his horse had fallen with him
at the Honcut, and then run away with the money. The story was generally
discredited; and the, firm sold to Henry C. Everts and Fenton B. Whiting, who
combined with George W. Morley and Emerson E. Meek, proprietors of the line on
the other route, and formed the well-known firm of Whiting & Co. Meek sold out
in 1858, Morley in 1859, and Everts and Whiting continued the business till
succeeded by Wells, Fargo, & Co., in 1868. Mr. Whiting is now, and has been for
more than a decade, county clerk of Plumas county. Frank Everts resides in
Indianapolis, Ind. His brother Henry met his death at the hands of the Apaches
in Arizona a few years ago. Mr. Meek resides in Marysville, where he has held
the position of clerk of Yuba county several terms, in which office he is now
the deputy. Morley is a resident of East Saginaw, Michigan.

   The method of carrying express in the early days was by mounted messengers.
At first they traveled somewhat leisurely, making but two trips per month; but
as competition sprang up between the great rival companies with which these
mountain expressmen connected, speed became a great consideration, and the
messengers made every exertion to accomplish their journey as quickly as
possible. Letters, newspapers, small parcels, and gold-dust were the articles
carried by the expressmen, the postal business being the most important and the
most remunerative. Letters for this region were sent to the Marysville
post-office as a general thing, and the messenger, armed with a long list of
patrons, was permitted to go into the post-office there and overhaul the mail.
For this privilege he paid the postmaster twenty-five cents for every letter he
found belonging to his patrons in the mountains. These he carried home on his
return journey, and charged the recipient one dollar for each letter delivered.
Newspapers were taken up for fifty cents. Letters were taken down to be mailed
for half-price. One instance is related where a-messenger delivered thirteen
letters to a man and collected thirteen dollars. They were all delayed letters
from the man's wife, and the last one was, of course, the only one of much
interest.

   During the winter of 1852-53, the expressmen had a hard time of it on the
route from Bidwell, being compelled to leave their mules at Peavine, and fight
their way on foot through the snow. At that time snow-shoes were unknown here,
and the luckless messenger had to plunge and flounder through the deep snow as
best he could. The Indian or Canadian snow-shoe was soon after introduced, and
with these on his feet, and his bundle of letters on his back, the expressman
made good time over the snow when it was too deep for animals. This was too
slow, and accomplished too little to satisfy the enterprising and energetic
character of Mr. Whiting. Like all American boys of good education and
thoughtful habits, he had read the interesting stories of explorers of the
arctic seas, and treasured them in his mind. It now occurred to him that the
sledge and team of dogs used by the natives of the polar zone could be adopted
in the express business with profit. During the year 1858 he procured three
large, strong, intelligent dogs of the Newfoundland and St. Bernard breeds, and
broke them in to work in harness that he had made especially for the purpose.
When winter came, with its mass of snow, he harnessed them to a sled which had
been constructed at a cost of seventy-five dollars, and made a trial trip. It
was a magnificent success. On the sled was a small chest in which were carried
the U. S. mail (a post-office having been established two years before at
Quincy), letters, and express packages. This, with himself and an occasional
passenger, sometimes made a load of 600 pounds, with which the dogs would race
across the frozen crust of the snow at the top of their speed, apparently
enjoying the sport as much as the human freight they drew. Mr. Whiting drove and
managed the dog-express in person, the route being from Buckeye to Meadow
valley, a distance of twenty-two miles. Snow-shoes were used by the driver in
going up steep grades, or through the deep snow, to lighten the load for the
patient animals. The dogs were driven tandem, sometimes four being used in a
team. Stages had been put on the route in 1858, and express and mail were
carried in them as long as the roads remained open, but as soon as the blockade
of snow was laid, the dog-express was brought into requisition; and for weeks
the only connecting link between Plumas and the outside world was Mr. Whiting
and his gallant canine friends. Mail and express were brought over from La Porte
to Quincy by a messenger on snow-shoes, the Norwegian shoe having finally been
introduced; and this method is still in use on that route when the road is
blocked with snow. The dog-team was dispensed with in 1865, when the horse
snow-shoe was introduced, enabling the stage to pass over the snow. Whiting &
Co. soon after abandoned the business to Wells, Fargo, & Co., who now continue
it on the regular stage line.

STAGE LINES.

   The first staging dates back to 1851, when a joint-stock company was
organized in Onion valley, by McElhany, Thomas, & Co., to run a stage from that
point to Marysville twice a week. There was a great deal of travel on this route
at that time, and the enterprise was a remunerative one until winter set in. The
line was then discontinued, and in the spring was not resumed. The next
passenger enterprise was inaugurated in 1854, by Thomas H. Morrow, who ran a
saddle train of mules for the transportation of passengers between Bid well and
American valley. The next year he was succeeded by W. S. Dean, who ran the mules
for a year, and then put on stages He continued the line till the summer of
1858, when he sold out to the celebrated California Stage Co., which conducted
the business two years, making tri-weekly trips from Oroville to Quincy, going
through in a day, but connecting with the dog-express in winter. In 1860 Dr. S.
T. Brewster, who had been running a saddle-train, bought the line, and operated
it until 1866. He was succeeded by William Smith, then Richard Garland who is
now driving the Quincy and Greenville stage. Charles Sherman then took the route
for a while. The present proprietor, E. A. Halstead, has been running it a few
seasons. Three trips are made each week in summer, going through in one day; and
in winter, two days. In 1871 a stage from Quincy to Indian valley was put on, in
connection with the Oroville line, and about the same time a line from Indian
valley to Reno and from Quincy to Reno was commenced. A line from Oroville, by
the way of Dogtown, to Prattville, Greenville, Taylorville, and Susanville, is
also run in connection with the stage from Chico to Susanville.

   There is one feature of staging in the Sierra that calls for special mention,
and that is the use of snow-shoes by horses. The writer has often been met with
an incredulous smile when he has alluded to the fact that horses can and do use
snow-shoes, and he feels compelled to treat the doubters graciously, remembering
the fact that he, too, coaxed up a complaisant, you-can't-fool-me smile when the
story was first told to him. It is, however, an undeniable fact, that any one
can verify by ocular evidence who will take the trouble to ride from Oroville to
Quincy, or from Marysville to Downieville, during any of the months of January,
February, or March. These snow-shoes were introduced in 1865, and by their aid
the stage was enabled to make through trips all the winter. It was then that the
dog-express passed out of existence. At first square wooden plates were used,
but as the damp snow clung to the wood so as to make them of but little use,
iron was substituted. Thinner plates of steel are now used, with rubber lining
on the bottom, for which the snow has no affinity whatever. These plates are
nine inches square, and are fitted to the horses' hoofs by setting the corks of
the shoe through holes in the plate, and fastening them firmly with screws and
straps. The shoes have to be fitted to each horse, as their feet vary in size,
and it takes a man about two hours to put the shoes on a four-horse team. When
first put on, some horses cut themselves about the feet with the plates, but
soon learn to spread their feet so as not to interfere. A few become good
snow-horses at once, while others seem incapable of learning to use the shoes.
Horses which have become used to the snow seem to use as much intelligence and
judgment in battling with this fleecy drapery of the mountains as a man would be
expected to have. The many instances related by the drivers, of the sufferings
and hardships endured by them and their faithful animals, impress one fully of
the danger of traveling in the Sierra during the severe winter storms.

QUINCY AND SPANISH-RANCH WAGON ROAD.

   The era of the substitution of roads for pack-trails, and stages for
saddle-trains, began in 1855. On the twenty-third of July certain citizens met
in Quincy for the purpose of forming a company to construct a road from that
place to Spanish Ranch. The company was organized with I. J. Harvey, president,
H. J. Bradley, vice president, and P. O. Hundley, secretary. J. C. Church and I.
J. Harvey were appointed commissioners to locate the route, and filed their
report on the fifteenth of August, estimating the cost at $6,000. The road was
constructed immediately, and on the fifth of November the supervisors
established rates of toll thereon. Subsequently the road passed into the hands
of I. J. Harvey, then William N. DeHaven, then Mrs. Jacks, and finally Mrs.
Buckston. Several attempts were made to sell the road to the county, and
finally, having become much out of repair, it was abandoned as a toll road. In
1874-75 the county thoroughly repaired the road, at an expense of some $10,000,
and it is now a public thoroughfare.

PIONEER WAGON ROAD.

   This road, running from Meadow valley to Buckeye, was commenced in the fall
of 1856, and finished the following year, by a company composed of Noah
Greenwood, Edwin Rice, W. S. Dean, Richard Jacks, J. K. Lovejoy, J. D. Meeker,
John Harbison, William Buckholder, I. J. Harvey, and others. The first stage was
driven over the road in the fall of 1857, by W. S. Dean. The same fall the firm
of Whiting & Co. caused sign-boards to be placed on the trees to direct their
expressmen and travelers on the road during the winter snow-storms. Many of
these relics are still to be seen, weather-beaten and ancient, nailed to the
trees twenty feet from the ground. In 1861 the road fell into the hands of
Andrew Robinson, the present owner, at a mortgage sale, and is still used as a
toll road.

PLUMAS TURNPIKE COMPANY.

   This company was formed March 28, 1860, for the purpose of constructing a
road from the Plumas mills to Indian Valley. The projectors were A. C. Light, W.
H. Hartwell, John R. Brett, Thomas E. Hayden, John Harbison, C. Miller, R. I.
Barnett, J. H. Whitlock, E. H. Pierce, and John M. Bass. The road was surveyed
by Mr. Whitlock, completed, and used as a toll road until 1870, when the new
road by way of Spanish creek was built. Since then it has been but little used,
save by horsemen and footmen.

CHICO AND HUMBOLDT WAGON-ROAD CO.

   By the Act of April 14, 1863, the legislature granted a franchise to John
Bidwell, J. C. Mandeville, R. M. Cochran, E. B. Pond, and John Guill to
construct a toll road from Chico to Honey lake, on the eastern boundary of the
state. They incorporated the following year, with the above title, and completed
the road, which was designed as a route to Idaho and the Humboldt mines. It is
still used as the stage road from Chico to Susanville.

OROVILLE & BECKWOURTH-PASS WAGON ROAD.

   The certificate of incorporation of this company was filed June 18, 1866. The
declaration of intention states that the object of the organization was the
construction of a wagon road from the town of Oroville, by the way of the north
or the middle fork of Feather river to Beckwourth pass. The subscribers to the
articles of incorporation were N. C. Cunningham, R. C. Chambers, Richard Irwin,
Samuel Goodwin, James H. Houck, R. E. Garland, J. E. Edwards, David Every, John
Hardgrave, and Jobe T. Taylor. The project failed, no work having even been
commenced.

QUINCY AND INDIAN-VALLEY WAGON ROAD.

By the Act of March 31, 1866, a special election was called on the question of
voting $10,000 in aid of the construction of the road from Quincy to Indian
valley, by the way of Spanish creek. The company was organized with W. A.
Bolinger, president, A. F. Blood, secretary, and S. J. Clark, treasurer. Work
was commenced under the management of William H. Blood; but as the county failed
to vote a subsidy, and Mr. Blood died after a few miles had been constructed,
the project was abandoned. In March, 1870, the legislature authorized the county
to issue bonds to the amount of $20,000 for the completion of this road. A. W.
Keddie, county surveyor, was directed to make a survey of the route, and then
the contract for construction was let to John D. Goodwin, who represented the
interests of William G. Young and M. B. Bransford, for the $20,000 bonds. The
terms were that they were to build the road from Dixie canon to the crossing of
Little Black Hawk, and to have the tolls of the road for ten years; $1,500 more
were paid to complete the road to Quincy. The road was constructed at an expense
that left but little if any margin to the contractors, and is one of the most
im]3ortant of the arteries of communication in the county.

LA PORTE AND QUINCY WAGON ROAD.

   Plumas has never enjoyed an undue share of special legislation. Among the few
such Acts passed in her behalf, none has ever redounded more to the credit of
her representatives in the legislative halls, nor resulted in greater benefits
to her citizens, than the one of March 31, 1866, authorizing certain parties to
construct a wagon road, above named, and the one of the same date ordering the
special election to be held throughout the county on the first day of May of
said year, for the purpose of submitting to the electors of the county the
proposition to issue bonds of said county in the sum of $20,000 to aid the
construction of said road. The people of Goodwin and Plumas townships, more
particularly, were deeply interested in the success of this measure. On the one
hand, the farmers of American valley and its vicinity sorely felt the need of a
market in which to find a certain demand for their hay, grain, butter, etc.
Their condition at this time was anything but a prosperous one. The home or
local demand was trifling, compared with the supply of such products; but on the
other side of the ridge, the residents of Sawpit, Gibsonville, La Porte, and
other mining towns were annually consuming large amounts of farm and dairy
products and depending for their supply upon the farmers of the lower valleys or
foot-hills. Realizing the mutual benefits to be derived from the construction of
the road, both by the farmers of American valley and the miners and merchants of
the localities named, they readily and heartily indorsed the proposition. Yet
strange to say, strong opposition sprang up in many localities—even in American
valley. The board of supervisors, pursuant to law, ordered a special election to
be held May 1, 1866, at which the proposition contained in the statute should be
submitted. At said election there was returned a total vote of 1,529. Of these,
there were -644 votes against the proposition, leaving a handsome majority in
favor of it. Immediately thereafter an organization was formed for the purpose
of constructing the road. Capital stock, $10,000. Ten per cent. was paid in, and
the work, under the superintendence of E. H. Pierce, commenced. Upon the
disbursement of a considerable sum, the county became discouraged; when Conly &
Co., bankers of La Porte, came forward, assumed the undertaking, and in the
summer of 1867 completed the road, at a cost of some $30,000—or $10,000 more
than they received from the county. The bonds, drawing 10 per cent, per annum,
were duly issued to that firm. A celebration was had at La Porte shortly after
the completion of the road, which was largely attended by residents from
different sections of the county, particularly American valley. The opposition
to the road manifested at the election alluded to, which to many persons
appeared factious and foolish, had by this time been forgotten; and a drive over
what is considered one of the finest mountain roads in the state attests the
wisdom of the measure, and the action of the people.. The speculation proved an
unprofitable one for Conly & Co. In February, 1877, they surrendered the road to
the county, since which time it has been managed by the county as a county toll
road. During the present season, a line arch-truss bridge has been erected on
the line of this road, across the middle fork of Feather river, under contract
by the San Francisco Bridge Company, at a cost of $5,787. Since the spring of
1877 the care and keeping in repair and collection of the tolls on this road has
been annually awarded to the lowest bidder.   The road is 34 1/2 miles long.

   As was remarked above, the building of this road was a pet measure of the
people of La Porte, who had just succeeded in freeing themselves from Sierra
county, and becoming attached to Plumas, and now desired this road to make
themselves in fact what they were in name —a part of Plumas county. The vote
cast at that place was, to say the least, a lusty one. While Quincy cast but 116
votes, thirty-two of them against the road, La Porte came forward with a solid
vote of 467 in favor of the proposition. When Dr. Brewster came to Quincy with
the La Porte returns, the astonishment at the magnitude of the ballot was
unbounded. To all inquiries, however, the messenger simply replied that there
were a good many miners there that year. One of the officers of election, who
said he could no longer see any reason for maintaining silence on the subject,
gave the writer full particulars of the affair, which, being summed up, and
omitting names of the participants, show that those highly virtuous officers
started business briskly on the morning of the election by putting 250 ballots
in the box and 250 names on the poll-book. As the majority for the measure in
the county was but 241, it can be readily seen that the election was won before
a legal ballot had been cast. The vote of La Porte was 467, while at the next
election but 175 were cast at that precinct, raising the presumption that the
"good many miners" had gone in search of other diggings.

THE $10,000 FOLLY.

   Under the same law that authorized the county to construct the road from
Quincy to Indian valley, the county was permitted to issue $7,000 in bonds to
repair the road from Quincy to Beckwourth valley. Ned Smith, then a member of
the board of supervisors, was appointed to receive the bonds and carry out the
provisions of the statute. In addition to the bonds, an appropriation of $3,000
was made to complete the work. Mr. Smith received $929, at ten dollars per day,
for his services in overseeing the contractors, which was thought by many to be
a charge for overseeing himself.

RED-CLOVER WAGON ROAD.

   On the nineteenth of May, 1870, the certificate of incorporation of the
Clover Valley Turnpike Co. was filed in the clerk's office at Quincy. The object
of the organization was the construction of a road from a point near Coppertown,
in Genesee valley, to the state line at the Summit, for the purpose of getting a
route to Reno. The chief projector was Thomas E. Hayden. A proposition to give a
subsidy to the road was defeated at the general election in 1872, by a vote of
379 to 118. Hayden raised a subscription in Indian valley, but failed to
complete the road, and transferred it to John Hardgrave. This gentleman gave it
to the county, and it was then completed at considerable expense. It is now kept
by the county as a toll road, and is the route taken by the stage from
Greenville, via Taylorville and Beckwourth pass, to Reno.

OROVILLE AND HONEY-LAKE ROAD.

April 28, 1857, the legislature passed an Act "To provide for the construction
of a wagon road from Oroville, Butte county, to and intersecting at the most
practicable point the line of the proposed National Wagon Road that has its
terminus at or near Honey lake, Plumas county." William L. Upton, of Butte, and
William Buckholder and R. C. Chambers, of Plumas, were named as commissioners to
construct the road. The Act also provided for the issuing of $20,000 bonds each
by the two counties, provided such measure received the indorsement of the
people at the fall election. The underlying object was to secure the passage
through this county of the overland railroad, which every one felt certain would
be constructed before many years. The United States military road which had been
surveyed to Noble's pass, and the exploration of a route for a railroad by
Lieutenant Beckwith on the same line, led many to think that this would be the
route chosen for any transcontinental railroad—as it was for a certain distance.
It was thought that a good road from Oroville to Honey lake would be the means
of deflecting any railroad from Beckwith's route to Ft. Reading, thus securing a
shorter line to San Francisco. This opinion is still held by many, who assert
that if this road had been built as projected the Central Pacific would now be
running through Noble's pass and through Plumas county. However, it was
impossible to convince the voters of Butte and Plumas of the fact, and the
measure was defeated in both counties, and the project abandoned.

OROVILLE AND VIRGINIA-CITY RAILROAD.

   The articles of incorporation of the above company were filed in the office
of the secretary of state, at Sacramento, April 2, 1867. The object stated was
to construct a railroad from Oroville up the north fork of Feather river to
Junction bar; thence up the east branch to the mouth of Spanish creek; thence up
that stream and through American valley; thence across the ridge by Spring
Garden ranch, to the middle fork of Feather; thence up that stream and through
Beckwourth pass to the state line. A. W. Keddie was employed to make a survey,
and after doing so prepared a fine map of the route. This is the route that the
people of this section had in vain sought to induce the managers of the Central
Pacific road to adopt for their line. It is the general opinion in Plumas county
that this route is the least troubled with snow, the easiest grade, and in all
ways the most desirable; and that the heavy expense of maintaining the Truckee
line in working condition will yet compel the Central Pacific to change to the
Beckwourth pass and Feather river route. As to the above project, however, there
was but little discussion among the citizens generally, it being considered a
speculative scheme, which it proved to be, affecting but little the interests of
the county, which latter proved decidedly not to be the case.

   On the eighteenth of March. 1868, twelve days before the session of the
legislature terminated, John E. Buckbee, member of the assembly representing
Plumas and Lassen counties, introduced a bill entitled, " An Act Authorizing the
Board of Supervisors of Plumas County to Take and Subscribe to the Capital Stock
of the Oroville" and Virginia City Railroad Company, and to Provide for the
Payment Thereof." The bill was "railroaded" through in the following manner: On
the eighteenth it was read the first and second times, and placed on the file;
on the twenty-third it was taken up, engrossed, read a third time, and passed
under a suspension of the rules; on the twenty-seventh it was read the first and
second times in the senate, and referred to the Plumas delegation; the same day
John Conly, senator from Plumas, reported back the bill, moved and obtained a
suspension of the rules, when the bill was again read and passed. The governor
signed it on the thirtieth. The people of Plumas county now discovered that this
railroad scheme began to affect their interests materially. The full text of the
bill can be found in the statutes of 1867-68, page 630. The substance was that
the supervisors of Plumas county should meet in special session, and issue bonds
to the amount of $230,000, for which they were to receive in return the same
amount of stock of the company. County officers refusing to carry out the
provisions of the Act were subjected to a fine of $500, removal from office, and
liability for all .damages. No measures had been taken by the legislature to
ascertain the will of the people on the question; no opportunity was given them
to express their desires at the polls or in any way whatever; but arbitrarily,
and without equity or show of right, this debt was to be fastened upon the
county, from which there was no appeal, and apparently no escape.

   As soon as the fact became known that such a law had been passed, indignation
unbounded took possession of the breasts of the people. Petitions were
circulated throughout the county, and universally signed, protesting strongly
against the legislative outrage. These were presented to the board of
supervisors at their first meeting. The text of the protest was as follows: "We,
the undersigned, residents and tax payers of Plumas county, do hereby express
our disapprobation and indignation at the terms and provisions of the Act of the
legislature, approved March 30, 1868, by which it is attempted to force upon the
people of this county, without submission to their voice, an overwhelming burden
of taxation for the purpose of issuing, without a shadow of guaranty or
security, to the Oroville and Virginia City Railroad Company, bonds in the sum
of two hundred and thirty thousand dollars, and which, when paid, will amount,
for principal and interest, to the enormous sum of six hundred and ninety
thousand dollars ; and we do emphatically protest against the same, and denounce
it as the most outrageous and barefaced swindle ever attempted to be forced upon
a free people; and believing that the provisions of said bill are not only
wholly impolitic but grossly inequitable and unjust, we do earnestly petition
the honorable board of supervisors of said county, as our representatives, and
the guardians of our interests, either to resign, or to adopt some other
adequate means by which to prevent the issuance of said bonds."

   The board did not meet in special session, as provided in the statute, but
came together at their regular May term. The board at that time was composed of
T. J. True, chairman, Charles E. Smith, and M. D. Smith. On the fifth of May
they entered the following on their record: "Ordered, that the district attorney
be instructed on behalf of the board to investigate the books and records of the
Oroville and Virginia City Railroad Company, and report to this board as soon as
possible as to whether said company are entitled to demand, and what persons if
any, as officers of said company, are entitled to receive, the subscription of
stock authorized to be made to said company by this board. Ordered, that the
petitions of the citizens of Plumas county, requesting this board to endeavor to
avoid issuing the bonds to the Oroville and Virginia City Railroad Company, be
received and placed on file. Ordered, that the agreement of the tax payers of
Plumas county to indemnify this board for any damage they may sustain by refusal
to issue the bonds of this county to the Oroville and Virginia City Railroad
Company, be received and placed on file." The next day H. L. Gear, district
attorney, reported upon the question, advising the board to have quo warranto
proceedings commenced by the attorney-general of the state. The report was
adopted, and the district attorney was given full power to represent the board
and employ associate counsel, the latter part of which he attended to by
engaging his father-in-law, Hon. Peter Van Clief, the bill of the two attorneys
amounting to only §6,344. On the seventh the board adjourned till the
twenty-second.

   In order to avoid issuing the bonds on the twenty-second, the three members
of the board resigned, thus leaving the county without any representatives
empowered to issue the bonds as provided by the statute. Thus the danger was
averted for a time. A board of supervisors, however, is an indispensable portion
of the county government, and consequently John B. Overton, county clerk, issued
a proclamation July 11, 1868, calling a special election for supervisors to be
held August 25, 1868, as he was by law empowered to do. This election resulted
in the choice of the members of the old board by large majorities.

   In the mean time, on the twentieth of June, Van Clief and Gear had commenced
proceedings against the company in the district court, before Judge Warren T.
Sexton, the company being represented by Creed Haymond and Joseph E. N. Lewis.
Judgment was rendered for the defendant October 31, 1868, and the case was
appealed by the county to the supreme court. On the twenty-first of the
following December the company applied to the supreme court for a writ of
mandamus, directing the board to make the subscription and issue the bonds. The
effort was unsuccessful. Subsequently the supreme court decided the case, that
had been taken up on appeal, in favor of the county. This was followed at the
next session of the legislature by the Act of February 26, 1870, repealing the
obnoxious statute; and thus, after a hard and expensive contest, this incubus of
fraud was shaken off, and the county relieved from an overwhelming load of debt,
for which they would have received no benefit whatever, as it was well
understood that the railroad was but a speculative venture—a two-edged sword to
force money from the county on the one hand and the opposing railroad interests
on the other. The leading items of expense to the county in the contest were:
Fees of county officers, $486.50; legal expenses, $6,544; commissioners to
Sacramento, 8750. The total expense was $8,621.50.

SIERRA IRON AND QUINCY R. R. CO.

   By the Act of March 11, 1874, the Sierra Iron 'Co., proprietors of the
valuable iron mines in Gold valley, Sierra county, were granted the right of
eminent domain to construct a wooden railroad from their mines, by the way of
Mohawk and Sierra valleys and Beckwourth pass, to the Nevada line. They never
utilized the privilege granted to them, but on the seventeenth of September,
1881, organized the Sierra Iron and Quincy R. R. Co., under the general laws of
the state. The directors named in the articles of incorporation are Philip N.
Lillienthal, Charles Kohler, F. A. Benjamin, Frederick Weisenborn, and Caleb T.
Fay; and the capital stock is placed at §3,200,000. Their object is to construct
a three-foot gauge railroad upon the route mentioned, and a line from Quincy to
Mohawk valley to connect with the other. This is designed to make a through
route from Quincy to Reno by connecting near Beckwourth pass with the Nevada and
Oregan road now being constructed from Reno to Oregon. Mr. A. T. Nation,
attorney for the company at Quincy, assures us that the road will be constructed
as far as Mohawk valley this year, and will be at once extended to Quincy; also
that in case the N. & O. company fail to build their road to connect with them,
they will carry their line clear to Reno. They need and must have an outlet from
their extensive iron mines, and expect to be their own best customer in the
freight business. The advantage of this road to Plumas county is incalculable,
especially as it may in the future lead to the passage of a trunk line by this
route to the valley and San Francisco.

TELEGRAPH AND TELEPHONE.

   In the summer of 1874 an agent of the Western Union Telegraph Company visited
Plumas with a view of ascertaining what the people would do towards constructing
a telegraph line from Sierra City, via Jamison City and Quincy, to Taylorville
and Greenville. A subscription paper was started for the purpose of raising
money to aid in the work, each subscriber having the amount contributed placed
to his credit, and he was permitted the free use of the line to the extent of
his subscription. The subscribers in the American valley and vicinity who paid
and used their credits were: G. W. Meylert, $200; J. D. Goodwin, $150; W. E.
Ward, $75; William Schlatter, $2.5; A Cohn & Bro.,$50; A. Hall, $50; Thompson &
Kellogg, $100; Thomas Hughes, $50; Richard Jacks, $25; John W. Thompson, $50; A.
W. Keddie, $25; J. H. Haun, $20; D. M. Bull, $20; J. E. Edwards, $100; J. R.
Wyatt, $100; F. B. Whiting, $100; I. C. Boring, $75; J. C. Chapman, $25; E. T.
Hogan, $50; N. K. Wright, 50; T. L. Haggard, $25; Plumas Water Co., $100; Sam
Lee, $25; C. Lee, $50; E. A. Heath, $50; J. F. Hartwell, $25; making, with a
number of small amounts, $1,800. In Taylorville: W. G. Young, $100; John
Hardgrave, $100; Rosenberg Bro. & Co., $50; Bransford & Smith, $100; total,
$350. In Greenville: J. H. Whitlock, $250; C. H. Lawrence, $250: J. S. Hall,
$100; J. H. Maxwell, $100; W. B. Lathrop, $50; A. D. McIntyre, $25; Oliver
Drake. $50; Portable Saw Mill Co., $20; G. H. McPherson, $33.33; N. B.
Forgay,$25; H. C. Bidwell, $150; J. A. Hickerson, $2.50; total, $1,055.83. Mr.
Lamb, the superintendent of construction, at once commenced the work of putting
up the line. It was completed to Quincy, November 16, 1874, and to Greenville
the fourth of the following month. The line has been a great benefit to the
business men and community generally, and has paid fairly to the company as a
business venture. Some inconvenience sometimes arises in winter from the
difficulty experienced in keeping the line up and in working order through the
mountains. At Sierra City the line connects with the general system of the company.

   In the spring of 1877, J. H. Maxwell of Susanville, W. G. Young of
Taylorville, and F. B. Whiting of Quincy, inaugurated a movement to connect
Susanville with this line by constructing an independent line from that place to
Taylorville, a distance of thirty-three miles. A subscription paper was started,
and in a short time enough money was secured to build the line, which cost about
$2,100. The first message was sent on the twenty-fourth of June, 1877.

   During the winter of 1877-78, the telephone fever prostrated the embryo
scientists of Quincy. Led by Judge Cheney, they began and completed the work of
constructing a line, consisting of a tow string, from the court-house to Clough
& Kellogg's office. Messages were bawled over this string with an energy that
bid fair to put an end to all lung troubles in the county; and after mixing
people all up, and convincing the man at either end of the string that some
confirmed idiot or Choctaw Indian must be at the other end, the line was
abandoned. After that, when any one had anything to say, he walked over and said
it, and was sure he was understood.

   The managers of the Monte Christo mine are talking of running a telephone
line from Quincy to their office at Spanish peak.



Additional Comments:
Extracted from:

Illustrated History of Plumas, Lassen & Sierra Counties

San Francisco: Fariss & Smith
(1882)


File at: http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/usgenweb/ca/plumas/history/1882/illustra/transpor273ms.txt

This file has been created by a form at http://www.poppet.org/cafiles/

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