Tehama-El Dorado-Shasta County CA Archives Biographies.....Griggs, Sidney Allen 1826 - ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/ca/cafiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com February 18, 2007, 12:37 am Author: Lewis Publishing Co. (1891) SIDNEY ALLEN GRIGGS landed in San Francisco August 14, 1849. He was born in Littleton, Grafton County, New Hampshire, September 4, 1826. His father, Gideon Griggs, was a native of Connecticut, and passed his life on a farm. He married Miss Susan Burnham, and to them were born nine children, the subject of this sketch being the fifth child and one of the three who are now living. His grandfather, John Griggs, was born in England, came to America before the Revolution, was a soldier in that war, and died in Littleton, New Hampshire, about the year 1833. Mr. Griggs received his early education in New Hampshire, and later attended school in Vermont. When a young man he was in the employ of the Knickerbocker Ice Company, working in New York in the winter, and in Havana in the summer. He remained with that company for five or six years, and then came to California. Like the majority of Forty-niners, Mr. Griggs went direct to the mines, and spent three years at Coloma, on the American River; and, like other miners, he had his ups and downs. They built flumes and wing dams, at a great expense, and the high waters, in a single night, would demolish what had cost them large sums of money. Mr. Griggs went on a prospecting tour to Shasta, and on the way overtook R. J. Walsh, in Fremont. Together they continued their journey, and passed through Red Bluff. At that time there was no road, and Red Bluff had only one little adobe house. When he returned to Sacramento, his party has located on the Cosumnes River, and they mined there that winter. In the summer of 1850 he mined all through that section of the country. In the spring of 1851 Captain Maxwell started out on a surveying expedition, to locate the rivers and make the first map of the State. This party, of which Mr. Griggs was one, consisted of forty-one men. They struck the line between California and Nevada and followed it to the Oregon line, where they found the corner monument and, by piling stones on it, raised it to the height of eight or nine feet. On their way back they visited Mount Shasta. They climbed its sides until they got so high that Mr. Griggs was taken with bleeding at the nose. Others went higher, but none reached the top. They made a snow ball and started it down the mountain. It soon became large enough to wind trees up in it, and it went down at a fearful rate. July 4, 1851, the party was on Lassen Peak. They put their names on a stick, tied a red silk handkerchief to it, to represent the American flag, and left it there. It was afterward brought down. While on this journey they had a narrow escape from being overpowered and annihilated by the Indians. Captain Maxwell thought he saw signs of au attack, and advised the men to be on their guard. As time to encamp came on, he gave orders for them to halt, cook supper and eat it, and make all their camp arrangements. When night set in, they broke camp and followed him to a point, four or five miles distant, which he and some others had selected as being better suited to protect their animals where the Indians would have to make the attack from one side. Here they made a pile of logs, and secreted the mules in a ravine near by. At about one o'clock in the morning, the logs were fired, and the men stationed in the tall grass about 100 yards in front of the log pile. They were ordered to keep down in the grass, and shoot every Indian that showed himself. The captain said, "Be sure you kill them; for if you don't kill them they will kill you." The first shot was fired by the captain. An Indian staggered forward and fell on the blanket on which Captain Maxwell and Mr. Griggs were stationed. They kicked him off. Then the arrows flew over their heads in showers. The fighting was kept up till morning, and thirty-five Indians were left dead on the field. One, a chief, who rode up on his pony, had seven balls in a buckskin jacket he had on. They afterward learned that they had killed about seventy Indians. The next morning the party struck out into the open country, and the Indians did not follow. Some one remarked to the captain that it was quite a surprise to them. "Yes," replied the captain, "we will call this Surprise Valley," and that gave it its name. None of the company were hurt. The Captain received an arrow through his hat, and he left it in that position when they marched into Sacramento. In 1852 Mr. Griggs was engaged in mining at Texas Springs, in Shasta County, and was very successful there. His best day's work brought him $1,100. In one pan that day he took out $470. In 1853 he was at Rich Bar, on the Feather River, and from there went to Soda Bar. Mr. Griggs says that while he was at the latter place he had a "God-send." He was one of a party of four who were working together. They were snowed in, and two of the party had gone to Oroville to get provisions. The snow became so deep that while two of the party were snowed in the other two were snowed out. Mr. Griggs and his companion were reduced to half rations. While working the rocker, our subject looked up the mountain, and about 600 feet above him saw a black spot which seemed to move. He called his partner's attention to it. His partner took aim, fired at the moving spot, and the ball took effect in the shoulder of a grizzly bear, but it did not penetrate to the bone. Frantic with pain, the bear tore around, fell about 100 feet, and tumbled on down the mountain until it struck the river near where they were at work, the life being knocked out of him by the fall. They fished him out and he furnished them with a fine supply of meat. Mr. Griggs says it was the sweetest morsel that he ever tasted. The miners at Rich Bar were equally in want. They had killed the butcher's dog, as a last resort. The remains of the bear were shared with them. When Mr. Griggs left that place, he crossed the mountains on horseback with Dr. Smith, of Chico. They were both well armed, and each of them had about $10,000 in gold with him. They were surprised by a gang of Mexican desperadoes, the first notice of them being a low whistling sound; then a lasso fell over Dr. Smith and over the pommel of his saddle at the same time, thus holding him fast to the saddle instead of pulling him off. The Doctor drew his knife and cut it, while Mr. Griggs shot the Mexican so that he fell from his horse. After several shots had been exchanged the Mexicans retired. Dr. Smith and Mr. Griggs went to a Spaniard's ranch, got help and followed them for several miles. They found where the Mexicans had torn a shirt in strips for bandages, and gave up the chase without going any further. For years after that whenever the Doctor and Mr. Griggs met, they always rejoiced over their escape, which, indeed, was remarkable. From 1853 until 1857 Mr. Griggs farmed in Colusa County. The land had not been surveyed, and he had no rent to pay: so farmed all he liked. He raised barley, which he tramped out with horses, and sold it for horse feed for ten cents per pound. In 1857 he went to the Willow ranch and became interested in cattle until 1864. In that year he came to Tehama County and leased 12,000 acres of the Dye Grant, and raised stock on it for five years. He drove 2,200 head of cattle to Nevada and sold them. Six hundred head of horses he took to Salt Lake, traded them for cattle and brought the cattle to San Francisco and sold them to the butchers, Hux & Miller. Mr. Griggs then retired from business for two years. For seven years he was connected with H. C. Wilson, in the sheep business, and was subsequently interested with R. H. Blossom in sheep-raising. At the present writing he has about 8,000 sheep in Nevada. All this time Mr. Griggs lived from place to place without a home and without a wife, bent on making money, and not wanting a bird until he had a cage. In 1885 he married Mrs. M. R. Montgomery, widow of one of the well-known pioneers of the county. She had been acquainted with Mr. Griggs ever since she came to this county, and was a widow nine years before her marriage to him. Mrs. Griggs has two sons, William and John Montgemery. Mr. and Mrs. Griggs reside in a fine mansion, at the south end of Washington Street. So after patient waiting he has at last got both the cage and the bird. Mr. Griggs is a Knight Templar. In politics he is a Republican. Notwithstanding that he has passed through so many years of pioneer life, he still looks hale. Long may he live to enjoy his happy home and the delightful climate of California! Additional Comments: Extracted from Memorial and Biographical History of Northern California. Illustrated, Containing a History of this Important Section of the Pacific Coast from the Earliest Period of its Occupancy to the Present Time, together with Glimpses of its Prospective Future; Full-Page Steel Portraits of its most Eminent Men, and Biographical Mention of many of its Pioneers and also of Prominent Citizens of To-day. "A people that takes no pride in the noble achievements of remote ancestors will never achieve anything worthy to be remembered with pride by remote descendents." – Macauley. CHICAGO THE LEWIS PUBLISHING COMPANY 1891. File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ca/tehama/bios/griggs718gbs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/cafiles/ File size: 9.7 Kb