(No. 9. Vol. XVII.) 
 
 PROCEEDINGS 
 
 OF THE 
 
 iFtg of 3nWqnii'g, 
 
 FOR THE YEAR 
 
 WORCESTER, MASS.: 
 PUBLISHED BY THE SOCIETY. 
 
 U. S. A. CXXV. 
 IQOI. 
 
Attention is called to an error in the numbering of 
 the Proceedings for January and February, 1901. 
 
 Recipients are requested to change the numbering of 
 that issue from n to 8. 
 
 All preceding numbers, beginning with No. i of 
 1900, together with all publications issued during the 
 present year, are designed to be bound in one volume, 
 and title page will be furnished with the last number of 
 this volume. This volume will be No. XVII. 
 
 [OVER.] 
 
 statement relative to the work and expense attend- 
 ing it, the President called for reading of the report 
 of the Executive Committee, to whom the matter 
 had been referred. Report as follows : 
 
 Executive Committee met at the residence of the 
 2d Vice-President, Georgia T. Kent, Tuesday even- 
 ing, January 22, 1901, for the purpose of consider- 
 ing the subject of printing and issuing the Proceed- 
 ings of the Society. After a full and careful discus- 
 sion of the matter it was voted, ist, to recommend 
 to the Society that in the future advertisements be 
 omitted ; 2d, that the issuing of a publication for 
 each meeting of the Society be discontinued ; 3rd, 
 that some person be employed to assist the Libra- 
 rian and act as janitor under direction of the 
 Librarian. 
 
The BULLETIN has been discontinued 
 
Proceedings. 365 
 
 357th Meeting. 
 
 Tuesday evening, March 5, 1901. 
 
 President Crane in the chair. 
 
 Others present: Messrs. Arnold, C. C. Baldwin, 
 Dickinson, Darling, Davidson, Ely, Gould, Had- 
 wen, M. A. Maynard, Geo. Maynard, Geo. M. Rice, 
 Williamson, Mrs. C. C. Baldwin, Mrs. Barrett, Mrs. 
 Darling, Miss Moore, Mrs. A. C. Munroe, Miss 
 H. A. Smith. 
 
 Librarian reported additions for the past month, 
 27 bound volumes, 25 pamphlets, 28 papers, and 3 
 miscellaneous articles. 
 
 The subject of printing and distributing the 
 Society's Proceedings was taken up, and after a 
 statement relative to the work and expense attend- 
 ing it, the President called for reading of the report 
 of the Executive Committee, to whom the matter 
 had been referred. Report as follows : 
 
 Executive Committee met at the residence of the 
 2d Vice-President, Georgia T. Kent, Tuesday even- 
 ing, January 22, 1901, for the purpose of consider- 
 ing the subject of printing and issuing the Proceed- 
 ings of the Society. After a full and careful discus- 
 sion of the matter it was voted, ist, to recommend 
 to the Society that in the future .advertisements be 
 omitted ; 2d, that the issuing of a publication for 
 each meeting of the Society be discontinued ; 3rd, 
 that some person be employed to assist the Libra- 
 rian and act as janitor under direction of the 
 Librarian. 
 
366 Proceedings. 
 
 Following the reading of the report, Vice- Presi- 
 dent Maynard stated that some objections had been 
 made to having advertisements inserted in our pub- 
 lications unless, they were of .same character of the 
 work of the Society, also that a little expense would 
 be. saved anii 'the size of the publication be made 
 more uniform by incorporating the reports of two 
 meetings 'in 'one issue. 
 
 After further discussion of the subject the Society 
 voted to accept and adopt the report of the Execu- 
 tive Committee. It was then voted that the publi- 
 cation ' of the Proceedings be left wholly with the 
 Executive .Committee, with instructions that at least 
 six numbers be issued annually. 
 
 The meeting was then adjourned from the re- 
 ception room to Salisbury hall, where an audience 
 nearly filling the : hall was in waiting to listen to 
 President Crane's lecture entitled, "An Overland 
 Trip to California in the Year 1860." More than 
 fifty stereopticon views were exhibited illustrating 
 the vehicles used on the trip, together with their 
 outfit, and the marvelous landscape scenery to be 
 found on the journey. 
 
An Overland Trip to California. 367; 
 
 AN OVERLAND TRIP TO CALIFORNIA 
 IN THE YEAR 1860. 
 
 Ladies and Gentlemen: 
 
 You no doubt are all familiar with the history of Cali- 
 fornia, and know that territory was once in the possession 
 of Mexico, and that through the fortunes and misfortunes 
 of war the United States became the possessor in February, 
 1848, of this land of* then untold and undeveloped wealth. 
 
 While the American colonies were struggling for their, 
 independence in 1776, some of the Fathers of St. Francis 
 established a Catholic mission, called Mission Dolores. It 
 'was the first white settlement at San Francisco. These 
 Franciscan Fathers established other missions along the 
 Pacific coast south of San Francisco, and during the fifty 
 years they, with the consent of the native Indians, enjoyed 
 a free run of the Pacific slopes, accumulated a vast amount 
 of wealth, estimated at many millions of dollars, including 
 horses, sheep, cattle, hogs, coin and bullion. At tne down- 
 fall of the Spanish rule in Mexico, these missions began to 
 decline, and at last were abandoned by the priests, and the 
 property was confiscated in the year 1845. 
 
 The excellent climate, fertile soil, and glitter of its gold 
 and silver soon attracted the attention of adventurers in 
 various parts of the country, and people began to find their 
 way into this El Dorado. 
 
 Commodore Jones of the United States Navy, in Octo- 
 ber, 1842, believing that hostilities were in progress be- 
 tween Mexico and his home government, sailed into the 
 harbor of Monterey, captured the fort, hoisted the stars 
 and stripes, and declared California a territory of the 
 United States. 
 
 Commodore Jones was nearly four years ahead of time. 
 Undoubtedly his wish was father of his thought. He found 
 the next day that war did not exist between the two 
 countries, hauled down the flag, and apologized to the Mexi- 
 
368 Proceedings. 
 
 can authorities for his conduct. Here was one instance 
 where the United States flag was hauled down after having 
 been hoisted over conquered territory, but it was where the 
 declaration of possession was too hastily made. On July 
 7, 1846, possession was again taken in behalf of the United 
 States, this time by Commodore Sloat, and in less than two 
 years from this date reports of the finding of gold there 
 caused a vast number of fortune-seekers to immigrate to 
 that country. Some went by vessel around Cape Horn, 
 others by way of the Isthmus 1 of Panama (the Nicaragua 
 route being perhaps the chief one). A considerable num- 
 ber, however, found their way across the country, traveling 
 with private teams. The year 1849 * s memorable in the 
 history of California as the advent of the mining popula- 
 tion. In 1850 the population of the state was 92,600. In 
 1860, the year your speaker visited the state, it was 380,000; 
 the increase has been at the rate of 200,000 to 300,000 
 every ten years. 
 
 It is a common saying that the old 49~er is invariably 
 poor. A very small per cent, of those who went expecting 
 to become rich, lived to enjoy that result of their labors. 
 
 Having decided on our journey, we shall proceed to pre- 
 pare for the start. Lightness and durability must ever be 
 in mind while selecting the outfit. Every pound in weight 
 saved is of the greatest importance. With no repair shops 
 at convenient intervals along the route, strength of mate- 
 rials in the construction of the outfit is also a prominent 
 factor to be considered. A well-made, strongly-ironed, 
 one-horse wagon is purchased, the reach lengthened to ap- 
 propriately carry a body of about twelve feet in length. This 
 body is carefully put together, made as nearly water tight 
 as it conveniently can be, so that if occasion requires, it 
 may be used as a boat. The sides of the body are about 
 one foot in depth, and supplied with tool-boxes on either 
 side about midway from each end ; also another box inside 
 and across the iront end, the cover seeing as a seat for 
 
An Overland Trip to California. 369 
 
 the driver when no better one is provided. To the sides 
 (and overarching the body) a set of wooden bows is at- 
 tached, over which is drawn a canvas cover to furnish pro- 
 tection from the hot sun and the rain. With a brake of 
 sulticient strength to hold the hind wheels from turning 
 and a pole with fixtures for attaching four horses, we have 
 our wagon in readiness. Three or four sets of shoes for 
 each horse must be stored in the tool-boxes, with hammer, 
 nails, and the proper tools for shaping their hoofs; a few 
 pairs of bits and extra straps to provide for breakage of 
 harness ; a coil of 25 or 30 feet of % rope with 1 8-inch iron 
 pin attached, for each horse; a few draft-chains, and an 
 extra king-bolt or two, will give a fair equipment for that 
 portion of our outfit. 
 
 As food for our animals can be obtained along the route 
 for the first few hundred miles, it is not necessary to load 
 the wagons with flour, cornmeal and oats until about to 
 take final leave of the settlements. We, however, provide 
 three dozen two-bushel bags and a half dozen twelve-quart 
 tin pails for use when needed. For a trunk we use a two- 
 bushel bag, and place in it as little wearing apparel as our 
 judgment will suggest for the journey. 
 
 With a supply of common remedies to be used in case of 
 sickness of man or beast, we are perhaps ready to make 
 the start. As a body-guard the writer had one rifle, a 
 double-barreled shotgun, a Colt's revolver, with a generous 
 supply of powder and lead, also a sheath-knife. 
 
 You may be interested to know what our menu was on 
 this journey: bread, bacon, beans, molasses and coffee. 
 Bread was baked in a baking-kettle covered with hot coals 
 and ashes, baking-powder being used in place of yeast. 
 Fat from fried bacon was a substitute for butter ; molasses 
 served for both sugar and milk in our coffee. The beans 
 were stewed in a tin pail hung over the fire. By the killing 
 of wild game we occasionally had fresh meat, regaling 
 
'370 
 
 Proceedings. 
 
 ourselves a few times on steaks from the buffalo, antelope 
 and the grizzly bear. 
 
 There are more or less dangers, trials and incidents at- 
 tending such a trip : dangers from sickness of man or beast 
 caused from poisonous food and drink found by the way- 
 side. One of our party, careful for fear he should receive 
 harm from drinking impure water, carrie'd a little black 
 pepper, and sprinkled that in before drinking water taken 
 from the roadside. Although he lived to complete the 
 trip, he died within a few years; whether from the effects 
 of the pepper or water I never knew. Dangers from In- 
 dian depredations, and from stampeding of horses. The 
 latter are perhaps as much to be dreaded as either of the 
 other causes cited. To see your horses galloping out of 
 your sight in the direction of home, the run only to end 
 when the animal's strength has become exhausted, is not a 
 scene pleasant to contemplate. 
 
 Some of the trials to contend with are petty jealousies 
 and quarrels; men get tired, and rough, out-of-door life 
 tends to lower the standard of citizenship. I knew a man 
 who, after the passage of a few hot words over the bring- 
 ing of a basin of water in which to wash his hands, drew his 
 knife and killed his assailant on the spot. This man was 
 courtmarshaled and drummed out of camp, left to seek 
 other company or starve. 
 
 Our first stampede occurred while camped a few miles 
 west of Omaha. We were educating our horses to the 
 picket rope. Each horse was fastened by a twenty-five 
 foot rope, one end about his neck, the other end attached to 
 an iron pin driven in the ground. As our animals were of a 
 very lively disposition, it was amusing to see them go 
 through their various evolutions, running from one side 
 to the other as far as the rope would allow, sometimes 
 coming to a short stop, landing on their heads, at others 
 getting wound up with the rope about their legs, requiring 
 some one to release them. After a few days' watching to 
 
An Overland Trip to California. 371 
 
 help them out of their difficulties, they learned the ropes 
 and kept out of trouble. 
 
 It was in the edge of evening when our attention was 
 called to an unusual activity among the horses, and before 
 we could quiet them ten out of the thirteen succeeded in 
 drawing the iron pins and starting for Omaha at the top 
 of their speed. We had the consolation that it was not 
 many miles to the bank of the Missouri river, and that 
 would probably prove a serious barrier to further progress 
 homeward: The writer was not long in mounting one of 
 the remaining horses, and started in pursuit of the run- 
 aways. On through Omaha (then a place of but a few 
 thousand inhabitants) the horses were traced, and down to 
 the river-bank, where they turned to the right down the 
 stream. It. was getting dark; and the, footprints in the 
 sand could no longer' be seen, but pursuit was continued 
 and after riding a' few miles further came; to a thicket of 
 willows. The frequent neighing of the horse under saddle 
 (his mate being among the runaways) was at last answered, 
 and forcing a passage into the thicket, found -two of our 
 animals completely wound up among the willows by the 
 long ropes they had been dragging throughout -their mad 
 run. A free use of the knife soon liberated them. Dark- 
 ness preventing further search: at this time, -I again mount- 
 ed my horse, and with a runaway 'on each side; started for 
 the return to. camp. . Finding one animal did not care to 
 be led, I applied in gentle' form a willow switch. At the 
 very first stroke, I found, myself dragged from my horse, 
 and going through the brush at a rapid rate, wound up in 
 the coil of rope I had put on my saddle. The thick willows, 
 however, prevented the horse* from dragging the saddle 
 and rider a great distance. When the halt was made, 
 found some severe bruises, and; as a consequence was quite 
 lame for two or three weeks. 
 
 After mending the broken girth to the saddle, to show 
 my friendly feeling for the headstrong animal, placed: the 
 
3/2 Proceedings. 
 
 saddle on her back, and reached camp little before mid- 
 night. Early the following morning the search was con- 
 tinued, with the result that the other eight animals were 
 found about seven miles further down the river than the 
 patch of willows visited the night before. 
 
 Our journey of something more than 2,000 miles in 
 length carries us across (as the map shows to-day) seven 
 states : Wisconsin, Iowa, Nebraska, Wyoming, Utah, 
 Nevada and California. In 1860 it was three states and 
 three territories, Nebraska, Utah and Nevada being then 
 territories. We cross the Mississippi river by ferry at 
 Dubuque and the Missouri river at Omaha. The pictures 
 given to illustrate this journey were not taken at the time it 
 was made. The kodak was not in common use then. 
 They have been selected, however, to properly represent 
 the general scenery of that region of country. 
 
 It is impossible to express in words the beauty and 
 grandeur of the scenery to be found in that western coun- 
 try. It must be seen to be fully appreciated. Through 
 Wisconsin and Iowa the gently-rolling surface, dotted here 
 and there with groves of timber, fertile prairies and clear, 
 running streams, give sufficient variety of landscape to in- 
 terest the traveler. As you traverse the western portion of 
 Iowa and draw near the Missouri river, you find more of 
 prairie and less of timber. After leaving the Missouri 
 river, proceeding up the Platte river, you soon lose sight 
 of trees altogether. The trail we are to follow extends 
 along the bottom lands, bordering this river about 500 miles. 
 To the north and the south as far as the eye can reach 
 are seen gracefully rolling grassy hills where roam the 
 buffalo, antelope, elk and the coyote. Here also may be 
 found the sage-hen, jack-rabbit and prairie-dog. The latter 
 have their villages, living in their underground houses in 
 company with snakes, owls, etc. 
 
 This Platte river valley was at some early period covered 
 with water, forming- a very wide stream or great lake. 
 
An Overland Trip to California. 373 
 
 The water-line was easily traced along the hills on either 
 side as we made our way westward. Sage-brush and 
 grease-wood are about the only shrubs to be seen for hun- 
 dreds of miles. The stalk of the former in looks resembles 
 the grape-vine. It seldom grows more than five feet in 
 length, usually in clusters, forming a tangled mass upon 
 the ground, and standing up not more than four feet high, 
 size of the stalk not more than two inches in diameter. 
 The grease-wood grows more slender and straight, reach- 
 ing two to five feet in height. You will therefore under- 
 stand that fuel was extremely scarce. After reaching the 
 Black Hills, fuel is more plenty, although very little timber 
 came within our view before reaching the Sierra Nevada 
 mountains. 
 
 The 5th day of June we took leave of Omaha, and in the 
 afternoon experienced the severest storm it has been the 
 writer's fortune to witness. One wagon was capsized by 
 the wind while traveling in front of us, and when hailstones 
 the size of marbles and even up to hens' eggs came, our 
 horses wheeled from the road and ran with the storm across 
 the smooth prairie at a rapid rate. Coming to a ravine we 
 were able to quiet them, and by holding our blankets over 
 them they stood quietly while we were drenched in the rain 
 that came like a cloud-burst over us. Not until evening 
 did our fifteen men with their five wagons and thirty-seven 
 horses come together again, so widely were they scattered 
 by the storm. On account of wet clothing the writer bur- 
 rowed for the night in a hay-loft. Four days later we 
 reached Loop Fork, a tributary of the Platte, which we 
 crossed by a ferry. Here we found a village of the Pawnee 
 Indians. They being anxious to sell their wares, our cook, 
 Mr. Frost, on being told they asked two bits for a pair of 
 moccasins, went rummaging in the tool-box for bridle bits 
 with which to purchase a pair, not knowing that their two 
 bits meant two shillings, a joke he remembered for some 
 time after we let him try to make the purchase. 
 
374 Proceeding s. 
 
 On coming to Wood river the recent rains had. so. filled 
 the river-banks we found the bridges carried away.; compell- 
 ing us to ferry over our supplies in one of "our;, wagon- 
 bodies, a long rope being attached to each end of .the .b'octy, 
 and by that means drawing it back and forth across the 
 stream. Saturday, the i6th of June, we arrived . at the 
 fording place on the Platte river opposite Fort Kearney. 
 As many of our party had ordered their mail directed -to 
 that post office, there was a strong desire to visit the place; 
 but the spring freshet was on, and the government stage 
 had not been able to cross for a week. We thought of our 
 friends at home, and felt sure we should find some word 
 from them could we reach the post office. Charles Garrett 
 and the writer volunteered to make the attempt. Saddling 
 two of the tallest horses, we mounted them, and after cross- 
 ing ten channels, the most of them deep enough to cause 
 'our horses to swim, we arrived at the fort, found a gener- 
 ous-supply of mail-matter, which we carried back over the 
 ford- to the eager ones waiting 10 hear from home. 
 . The following day about noon we espied a small herd 
 of buffalo. Three of the fleetest horseo in the party were 
 saddled, and Godfrey, Hart and the writer gave chase. For 
 seme reason 'Godfrey did not follow up when the buffalo 
 began to run, which they proceeded to do as soon as they 
 saw us. Mr. Hart, being on a horse trained for running, 
 soon overhauled the bison he singled out, and poured a 
 broadside from his revolver into the animal, which he car- 
 ried off seemingly unhurt. Mr. Hart reloaded his revol- 
 ver and continued the chase. 
 
 The third party, with rifle in hand, ran his horse up to a 
 fine specimen, and, finding a deep slough obstructing his 
 passage, dismounted and tried to get a shot, but the fright- 
 ened horse demanded so much attention that the buffalo 
 was out of range before the horse could be quieted. Again 
 the rider mounted his horse and followed the herd for sev- 
 eral miles into the hills. But the great, clumsy-gaited 
 
An Overland Trip to California. 375 
 
 buffalo in the long run can outdistance the horse. It is 
 only on a quick dash that the horse is able to cope with 
 them for speed. After we had enjoyed our run, and given 
 our game a little lively exercise, returning to the road, 
 came upon friend Hart at a little stream bathing the neck 
 of his horse. "I have accidentally shot this horse," he 
 said as the writer rode up. A careful examination dis- 
 closed only a flesh wound across the top of the neck, and 
 with the solemn promise that neither of us should refer to 
 it until further developments, we made our way back to 
 the train, which we overtook about sundown. 
 
 During the early part of the chase the writer's hat 
 disappeared, and the blazing sun made severe work with 
 the upper portion of his face, causing no little discomfort 
 for many days. 
 
 Thursday, June 21, in the forenoon we espied objects ap- 
 proaching from the west. They proved to be about 400 
 Sioux Indian braves, all mounted on fleet ponies, and 
 decked in their war-paint and feathers. We breathed more 
 freely when we learned they were not after our fifteen 
 scalps, but were on their way to punish the Pawnees for 
 raids that tribe had been making on their horses and cat- 
 tle. We kept on our way while they passed us, with all the 
 pomp and stateliness of a regiment of United States Regu- 
 lars. In their dress they were not confined to regulation 
 uniforms. They wore nearly every style conceivable. Es- 
 pecially prominent were samples of uniforms once worn by 
 our United States soldiers of almost every rank. 
 
 About sunset we met the rear guard of this army, com- 
 posed of the squaws, the elderly and youngest of the party. 
 Some of them were fine specimens of the Indian type. An 
 elderly woman attracted attention on account of the elabo- 
 rate dress she wore, made of buckskin tanned white,' and 
 beautifully embroidered with various colored beads. She 
 was wife of a chief. Whether the presence of Indians in 
 the vicinity had anything to do with the circumstance or 
 
376 Proceedings. 
 
 not I cannot say, but a short time before meeting this war 
 party we were startled from our slumbers about midnight 
 by the unwelcome sound of our horses rushing by our 
 wagons in a mad stampede. Thirty out of the thirty-seven 
 horses attempted to show us their heels. All hands were 
 out in a moment ; three of the remaining horses were sad- 
 dled, and Danforth, King and the writer followed in pur- 
 suit. The rain was falling in torrents. The only light by 
 which we could follow the trail was from the flash of light- 
 ning that came at intervals. Many times we were obliged 
 to dismount and feel with our hands to find the track our 
 wheels passed over the day before. After a ride of twenty- 
 five miles we overtook the runaways at daylight and re- 
 turned to camp with them. 
 
 Two weeks later, just at evening, seven of our lively 
 horses tried the same feat and accomplished more than 
 they set out for. Six only were recovered ; one, a fine ani- 
 mal, ran into the Platte river and was drowned. That ex- 
 perience seemed to have its effect on the animals, for we 
 had no more stampedes of any significance during the re- 
 mainder of the journey. 
 
 Castle Rocks, a curiosity well worth a passing glance, 
 stood at the right of the road on the north side of the 
 Platte. June 2/th we came in sight of Chimney Rock, a 
 great natural curiosity. Carved from solid rock by action 
 of the elements, it stood there about 50 feet square at the 
 base, 30 feet square at the top and 275 feet high (50 feet 
 higher than Bunker Hill Monument). It was composed of 
 sandstone and stood on the south side of the Platte about 
 three-fourths of a mile back from the river bank. The 
 writer visited it in company with Mr. Frost, and our names 
 were carved at the base of the shaft by the side of hun- 
 dreds of other names. 
 
 On reaching Fort Laramie, we crossed to the south side 
 of the Platte on the ferry. One of our party, who had seen 
 service as cavalryman in the Crimean War, asked the privi- 
 
An Overland Trip to California. 377 
 
 lege of swimming one of the horses across, suggesting 
 that the other horses could be driven in behind him and 
 they would follow across, thus saving several dollars of 
 toll money. The stream at this point was very deep and 
 the current swift. The loose horses were driven up to 
 the landing ready for the start, and our plucky English- 
 man mounted a horse and started in. When a few rods 
 from shore, from holding too tight a rein, the horse 
 careened over backward, causing the Englishman to slide 
 off; and losing his hold on the animal, and not being able 
 to swim, was left in a most precarious condition, and soon 
 called loudly for help. One of the Indians, watching the 
 performance, ran to the bank and threw out the end of his 
 lariat, but it was not long enough to reach the drowning 
 man. There was a sharp turn in the current just below 
 the ferry, and to that point we rushed, and there he was 
 rescued, not, however, until he had given himself up for 
 lost. 
 
 Our course was now through the Black Hills, in the direc- 
 tion of South Pass. Devil's Gate is a fine natural curiosity, 
 standing at the north of the road about five miles distant. 
 On examining Independence Rock, we found among the 
 names cut in the rock that of John C. Fremont, dated 1842, 
 and again in 1845. Sighting some mountain sheep, the 
 writer took down his rifle, and began to climb for them. 
 After plodding for an hour, found that they were watching 
 closely and moving off, keeping the distance good between 
 us. Not being able to bring them within range, returned 
 to the wagons, believing mountain sheep are very cunning 
 and not easily captured. 
 
 For nearly five hundred miles from Fort Laramie to Salt 
 Lake City, we were shut in by mountains, and surrounded 
 by barren rocks and alkali beds, many places showing signs 
 of, at some time, great volcanic action. Here and there 
 were verdant spots to refresh the jaded traveler and his still 
 more tired and jaded horses. 
 
3 7 8 Proceeding s. 
 
 The grand canyons through which we found our way,' 
 cut through lofty ledges of solid rock by action of mighty 
 waters or volcanic upheavals, commanded our wonder and-' 
 admiration, while the grandeur and stateliness of the mighty 
 peaks towering amid the clouds above our heads filled us 
 with bewilderment as we gazed at the marvelous wonders 
 of creation. 
 
 Many if not all of you 'have, at some time, witnessed 
 what would be termed severe, and perhaps terrific thunder- 
 scorms ; but to get the best effect of such a storm, you need 
 to be engulfed in the cloud itself. At a height of over 
 7,700 feet above the sea, while traveling in the midst of the 
 clouds, shut in on either side with'high mountains, we wit- 
 nessed one of those grand displays. To be sure, the roar 
 of the peals of thunder was almost deafening, but to see 
 the electricity all about -you, darting over the ground like 
 so many huge snakes, was indeed an, interesting sight. All 
 felt more at ease after the excitement was over. 
 
 After going through South Pass, we came to Simpson's 
 Hollow, where we found cinders and old irons, all that was 
 left of the seventy government wagons captured and burned 
 by the Mormons two years before. 
 
 For a number of years prior to 1858, the Mormons in 
 Utah had come to believe they were the supreme authority 
 there, and almost openly defied the government authorities. 
 That terrible slaughter known as the Mountain Meadow 
 Massacre, 1857, caused drastic measures to be introduced by 
 the United States government to remind the Mormon lead- 
 ers of their allegiance to the territorial laws. Government 
 troops were sent out to enforce these laws, and the Mor- 
 mons organized their army to oppose them. The capture 
 and burning of this train of seventy wagons were one result 
 of the severe tension of the time. 
 
 The Mormons fortified Echo canyon, where they ex- 
 pected to meet and annihilate the United States troops 
 before they should reach Salt Lake City. 
 
An Overland Trip to California. 379- 
 
 This canyon is one of the finest natural curiosities to be 
 seen on the journey. It is twenty-two miles long, with 
 Echo creek running through its entire length. Perpen- 
 dicular rocks line both sides nearly all the distance, and in 
 places extending hundreds of feet in height. The road 
 down through the canyon runs most of the way in the bed 
 of the creek, crossing it seventeen times in going the 
 twenty-two miles. 
 
 . .The strata of these .perpendicular rocks lining the sides 
 are composed of various colored sandstone, in which the 
 action of frost and rain has carved out beautiful specimens 
 of pinnacles/ domes, and turrets. With the sunlight stream- 
 ing upon them, they at times present a sight of rare beauty. 
 , As we ..descended the mountain leading to the eastern 
 entrance to : the: canyon, .a, short distance from the trail at 
 the right we found -a cache/ a'room ten or twelve feet in 
 diameter, cut out of the rock by Indians, in which to store 
 their supplies. 
 
 Passing on through. the canyon, .we came to the ovens 
 used by the Mormons -in baking bread for their army while 
 the place was "fortified by them. Atone side of this narrow 
 passageway they. thre,w;Up a ,-high -embankment of earth and 
 rock to check 'the progress of the United States army in 
 that narrow defile, and' .at -the. proper signal the Mormons 
 had arranged to roll .down vast quantities of rocks collected 
 on the summit of the -overhanging ledges, and thus crush 
 out the life of our government soldiers. Many cords of 
 those rocks were to be seen piled up ready for use. : 
 
 After fording Green river, we turned through Parley's 
 Park, and on over the summit that separated us from the 
 valley of the Great Salt Lake. 
 
 On reaching the westerly side of this park, finding excel- 
 lent feed for our horses, we remained in camp three days, 
 improving the time by calling on William Kimball, son of a 
 prominent Mormon of that name, who owned a large ranch 
 here. 
 
380 Proceedings. 
 
 Never can I forget the thrill of delight that came over 
 me as we stood upon the last summit that separated us 
 from the valley of the Great Salt Lake. For weeks we had 
 been traveling through deep valleys and canyons, with 
 high peaks all about us, our vision comparatively shut in, 
 except skyward, when early one morning we began to climb 
 this mountain-ridge that stood across our pathway to the 
 great Mormon city. All day we plodded on, walking by 
 our wagons to relieve the tired animals as they labored 
 under their heavy loads. On and up we went, only stop- 
 ping for a brief rest at the noon hour, then pushing forward, 
 thinking as we passed over each rise that there could be 
 but one more to climb ; but one and another came looming 
 up before us, when at last, about 4 o'clock in the afternoon, 
 we reached the summit. For a moment all in the party 
 were speechless at the enchanting scene presented to their 
 view. The next moment hats went whirling in the air ; 
 their voices rang with joy as they locked out upon the 
 beautiful panorama at their feet. Across the valley twenty 
 miles away stood the range of mountains that formed the 
 barrier on the west. To the south, as far as the eye could 
 reach, were the placid waters of Utah lake, with its surface 
 glistening in the sunlight ; away to the north could be seen 
 the Great Salt Lake, and winding down through the valley 
 below like a huge serpent, and connecting these two bodies 
 of water, was the river Jordan, along whose banks could be 
 seen numerous herds of cattle and horses feeding upon the 
 rich carpet of green that was spread out before us. In the 
 right-hand corner of the picture, resting between the waters 
 of Salt Lake and the foot of the snow-capped mountain, 
 stood the city of the Latter-Day Saints, the long-looked-for 
 resting-place for weary men and jaded horses. 
 
 Thus far so little trouble from outside influences had 
 come to our notice that we began to believe that our com- 
 pany of fifteen men could face almost any like undertaking. 
 But the reports that came from officers of the United States 
 
An Overland Trip to California. 381 
 
 army, then conducting a sharp campaign against the war- 
 like Indians west of Salt Lake, led us to remain here about 
 three weeks, for the purpose of recruiting our horses and 
 accumulating the proper number of men for self-protection 
 through the Indian country we must pass. 
 
 At last we decided to go by Simpson's cut-off, a route 
 then recently explored by Lieut. James H. Simpson, U.S.A., 
 and traveled by the Pony Express, and our original com- 
 pany of fifteen again took up the march, and after traveling 
 four days, halted for the others to come up and complete 
 the contemplated organization. 
 
 One evening, while camped at the foot of a mountain, 
 the horses were given their liberty to grope about for feed, 
 and being stationed some little distance from the wagons, 
 the writer was left to watch them while the rest of the men 
 went down to the wagons for supper. Darkness was 
 slowly creeping over the sides of the mountain, yet it was 
 light enough to faintly distinguish several horses moving 
 off in a direction that convinced the writer that they were not 
 feeding, and on investigation found three Indians making 
 off with four horses. Two well-directed shots from a Colt's 
 revolver saved three of the horses, the Indians leaving them, 
 and pushing on up the mountain with the other one, ex- 
 changing shots as they went. The firing had signaled the 
 men at the camp, who quickly came to render their services. 
 But it being too dark to follow the trail of the stolen horse, 
 we concluded to wait until morning, when we would pursue 
 the robbers. Several times during the night, by the light 
 of the moon, Indians were seen skulking about the camp, 
 but at a safe distance away. At early morning light, we 
 found the tracks of our missing horse, and followed over 
 the mountain, down the other side through the bed of a 
 small stream, and on several miles. Coming to an Indian 
 camp we reconnoitred and estimated 75 to 100 Indians 
 there. Believing discretion the better part of valor, the 
 four pursuers returned tu their camp for recruits, intending 
 
382 Proceedings. 
 
 to return and storm the Indian camp unless our stolen 
 horse was given up. About the middle of the afternoon, 
 greatly to our astonishment, an Indian came riding into 
 our camp leading the stolen horse, which he, the chief, 
 came to return. We rewarded him for his kindness, as we 
 were glad to end the matter so easily. 
 
 Our company soon assembled, giving us thirty-eight 
 men, fourteen wagons and about sixty horses. We elected 
 Mr. Woodside captain. He was a delegate from Oregon to 
 the National Convention that nominated Abraham Lincoln 
 for the Presidency that year, and on his way home. He 
 was an experienced frontiers-man, and we were glad to 
 secure his services. We were also joined here by "Billy" 
 Rogers, United States Indian agent for the Shawshonee 
 tribe, who had been escorted through the hostile Indian 
 country on his way to Salt Lake by United States soldiers, 
 and was now returning to his tribe in Ruby valley and 
 wished to travel with us. 
 
 Six days out from Salt Lake City, during our noon hour 
 in Tooele valley, three armed men came riding through 
 our drove of horses and mules as they were feeding. Com- 
 ing up to the wagons the spokesman of the party claimed 
 a certain pair of mules, to which he pointed. The owner 
 stepped forward to learn from the visitor, who stated he 
 was a sheriff, and there to take possession of those mules ; 
 that they had been stolen from one of the three visitors. 
 The mules were examined, and sure enough the private 
 mark he described was on them. The man, who had just 
 joined our company, said he purchased those mules at 
 Omaha of a man claiming to be a nephew of Brig- 
 ham Young, and had traveled thus far from the 
 Missouri river with them, and felt that he was the 
 rightful owner. The sheriff replied he would have to take 
 possession of the mules, and our friend could go before the 
 court and let that tribunal decide the case. Our men held 
 consultation, and concluded if we resisted the sheriff some 
 
An Overland Trip to California. 383 
 
 one of the party would be likely to get severely hurt, per- 
 haps killed. As the traveler was a stranger to us, it would 
 be best for him to go to the courts with his case, although 
 many of us were convinced in our own minds that the un- 
 fortunate man would never have possession of his mules 
 again, and our heartfelt sympathy followed him as he 
 passed out of our sight on his way to Tooele (the county 
 seat) in company with the sheriff and his deputies. We 
 never heard from our friend afterward, although we were 
 told that such cases came up quite often; that horses, 
 mules and cattle were taken down to the Missouri river, 
 sold to or exchanged with people going to California, and 
 when arriving at Salt Lake the animals were claimed as 
 stolen property. Of course the courts must hold the prop- 
 erty on the evidence. 
 
 Sept. 4 we came to the Great American Desert, forty- 
 five miles without feed or water. Started to cross it at six 
 o'clock in the afternoon, carrying what water and fresL grass 
 we could for the horses ; when half way over gave each ani- 
 mal his allowance of water, with a pint of flour stirred 
 into it, accompanying it with a few mouthfuls of grass. 
 The stop was very short indeed. Pushing on, reached the 
 opposite side about four o'clock the following afternoon. 
 
 We now found ourselves in the centre of Indian hostili- 
 ties. Obliged to travel through the daytime with a guard 
 posted each side of our train ready for an attack any 
 moment. United States soldiers were patrolling the coun- 
 try, driving the Indians back from the track of the Pony 
 Express. Collisions with them were frequent. Indian 
 signal-fires could be seen every night, and as at that time 
 a double guard was required, each man in the company 
 was obliged to serve every other night, and remember well 
 what a difficult task at times it was to keep awake. 
 
 Antelope and Egan canyons were given us as extreme- 
 ly dangerous places to pass through ; but the United States 
 soldiers kept the Indians so thoroughly occupied that we 
 
384 Proceedings. 
 
 escaped unmolested, reaching William Rogers' ranch in 
 Ruby valley September I4th, and out of the way of the 
 hostiles. 
 
 Mr. Rogers was in charge of a large tribe known as 
 Shawshonee Indians, with headquarters in this valley. He 
 gave us an exhibition of Indians shooting and capturing 
 wild steers, giving the whole Indian camp a treat to an 
 extra ration of fresh beef in honor of our visit. From 
 here we pushed on, coming to another desert, about thirty- 
 five miles in width. This we crossed during the night of 
 Sept. 29th. Reaching the Carson river, we followed that 
 some distance, when we came to Fort Churchill, a new 
 outpost in Nevada, then being erected for protection of the 
 mining settlements that were then fast developing. Vir- 
 ginia City at this time was only a cluster of cloth tents. 
 Carson City could boast of several wooden structures one 
 story in height. We went sight-seeing one evening in Car- 
 son City. Passing along the street, hearing strains of 
 music, we went into a large room. At one side of the en- 
 trance was a well-stocked bar; across the rear end of the 
 room was a platform on which the musicians were sta- 
 tioned; the remaining portion of the room was taken up 
 with small tables, at which gamblers were seated trying 
 their luck at cards. Knives and pistols were in evidence 
 everywhere. While we were enjoying the music, some 
 gambler drew his weapon to settle a dispute, when the order 
 was instantly given : "All lights out ; every one remain still ; 
 and don't shoot !" The proprietor soon quieted the parties, 
 and lights were turned on. Thinking our services were not 
 needed there any longer, we withdrew, that the gamblers 
 might have the room to themselves. There was a dead 
 man lying in front of that place in the morning. 
 
 Five days' travel from Carson City carried us over the 
 Sierra Nevada mountains to Placerville, or Hangtown as 
 it was sometimes called. 
 
 After toiling over a very dusty road two more days, we 
 
An Overland Trip to California. 385 
 
 came in sight of the city of Sacramento, the end of our 
 carriage drive of the year 1860. 
 
 If you will bear with me a little longer, will close the 
 entertainment by relating my experience in quicksand. 
 
 In November, 1861, California suffered severely from 
 disastrous floods. There had been a heavy fall of snow in 
 the mountains; in places it reached nearly as high as the 
 top of the telegraph poles, and when the rainy season began 
 floods of water went sweeping over the lowlands. The 
 north fork of the American river rose fifty-five feet. 
 
 The city of Sacramento stands at the junction of the 
 American and Sacramento rivers. Both these streams 
 overflowed their banks. The country for miles around was 
 covered like a great lake. The up-river steamboats made 
 trips across the country, rescuing people from their houses, 
 carrying them to high land for safety. One of these steam- 
 boats was caught when the water suddenly subsided, in a 
 garden on the easterly side of Sacramento, and remained 
 there for more than two -months. In portions of the city 
 houses were lifted from their foundations, and some of the 
 smaller ones capsized by the weight of their chimneys. 
 Had this flood reached Sacramento in the night-time, there 
 would have been great loss of life, but it appeared about 
 seven o'clock in the morning, and warning was given as the 
 water came rolling over the country, carrying fences and 
 small outbuildings in its folds as it crept along. The writer 
 was boarding at a hotel on K street, rooming on the first 
 floor. The warning soon came to move up onto the second 
 floor. Hastily hanging my traveling bag with its contents 
 on a big nail driven in the wall near the ceiling, I made my 
 way up stairs, and taking a seat at the window watched the 
 mad rushing waters as they swept down the street, carrying 
 wagons, carts, henhouses, and almost every conceivable 
 thing that would float. Small boats were at a premium. 
 At first all attention was given to saving men, women and 
 children ; then the cattle and horses were looked after. 
 
386 Proceedings. 
 
 Having two horses in a stable near the hotel, I finally suc- 
 ceeded in hiring a boat to go to their rescue. Found them 
 three feet deep in water. With a man to row, I, from the 
 stern of the boat, led them out one at a time, swimming 
 them around three blocks onto I street, where they could 
 stand out of water. There I took care of them several days 
 and nights, when they were removed out of the city and 
 given better accommodations. It was not possible to go 
 outside the house without a boat, so sent to San Francisco 
 by steamer for lumber to make one twenty feet long, with 
 three sets of row-locks, and soon had it ready for use, doing 
 a vast amount of work with it transporting passengers and 
 freight. The railroad trains could not come within two 
 and a half or three miles of the city, and we occasionally 
 ran our boat out to bring in passengers. On one of these 
 trips we attempted to get further up the channel and save 
 a portion of the walk for the passengers. The water was 
 disappearing, three months having passed since the flood 
 came, bringing with it the wash of innumerable mining 
 camps, leaving the water thick with a sediment that appeared 
 as a quicksand after the water had drained off. In the sub- 
 merged houses this sediment left a deposit from one to five 
 feet in depth on the first floors, ana out in the open fields 
 it filled up all the low spots, leaving to appearance a level or 
 even surface. 
 
 The writer, in attempting to cross one of these level 
 fields to reach the train of cars, chanced to pass over a low 
 spot that had been filled with this quicksand. It was a per- 
 fect trap, for its surface looked dry and hard. Being sup- 
 plied with long rubber boots, I tripped along, hurrying over 
 a few soft places, thinking soon it would come harder, or I 
 should reach solid ground. Finally exhausted in the strug- 
 gle to extricate my feet from the mud, I stopped to rest, 
 while the downward motion continued more rapidly after 
 breaking through the crust. Finding, after going down 
 two feet, that I was still settling, I began to struggle to lift 
 
An Overland Trip to California. 387 
 
 myself out, but the more I tried that, the faster I went 
 down. At a house near by a woman appeared at the win- 
 dow. Seeing me, she spoke to her husband, who came to 
 the door and asked how I came there. I told him, and 
 asked how deep it was. He said nine feet ; I suggested 
 that he pull off boards from a fence near by and lay them 
 out to me, that I might place my hand on them and lift 
 myself out. After a feeble attempt, as the boards sank in 
 with him, he abandoned the job, and went back into the 
 house. By this time I was down to my waist, with the 
 foundations still settling. My presence at the train had 
 been missed, and my friend, who came in the boat with me, 
 began to look for me, and came around the corner of this 
 house just at the desirable moment. I at once called his 
 attention to those boards on the fence, and in less time 
 than it takes to tell it, he laid them out on the quicksand to 
 me, and with one on each side to lift upon, I pulled myself 
 out, not, however, without severe effort, from which 
 strain it took many weeks to recover. In this experience 
 I learned a lesson. Whenever you get into deep quicksand, 
 straighten out upon your back and roll off. You may soil 
 your clothes, but save your life. 
 
388 Proceedings. 
 
 358th Meeting. 
 
 Tuesday evening, April 2, 1901. 
 
 President Crane in the chair. 
 
 Others present: Messrs. Arnold, Bancroft, Dick- 
 inson, Davidson, Darling, Ely, C. B. Eaton, W. G. 
 Forbes, Gould, Geer, C. G. Harrington, George 
 Maynard, M. A. Maynard, H. G. Otis, Paine, Geo. 
 M. Rice, Salisbury, C. E. Staples, Stiles, Saxe, L. A. 
 Taylor, Williamson, Mrs. Barrett, Mrs. Chenoweth, 
 Mrs. Darling, Miss May, Miss Agnes Waite, Miss 
 A. M. White, and a long list of visitors. 
 
 Librarian reported following additions during 
 the past month: 16 bound volumes, 31 pamphlets, 
 38 papers, and 1 1 miscellaneous articles. 
 
 Owen W. Mills, a teacher of Millbury, Mass., 
 proposed by Charles A. Geer, was elected to active 
 membership on recommendation of the Standing 
 Committee on Nominations. 
 
 M. A. Maynard called attention to the proposed 
 change in the By-Laws of the Society, recommend- 
 ed by the Executive Committee, stating that it 
 meant a return to the more simple rules under 
 which the Society had been governed during the 
 greater portion of its existence. On motion of 
 George Maynard it was voted to leave the matter in 
 the hands of the Executive Committee with instruc- 
 tions to report at some future meeting. Ex-Repre- 
 sentative George M. Rice was then introduced and 
 read the following paper, entitled : 
 
Gold: Its Distribution, Identification, Etc. 389 
 
 GOLD: ITS DISTRIBUTION, IDENTIFICATION, 
 AND METALLURGY. 
 
 From the earliest times in the history of the world, gold 
 above all other metals known to man has been the one 
 most prized and sought for, and as a consequence, it has 
 become so interwoven in the monetary systems of nations 
 as a standard or measure of values that it is as necessary 
 for our happiness and well-being as any other article that 
 enters into our daily life. 
 
 It is presumable that, before civilization began, gold, 
 although known, was not especially prized; for barbarous 
 nations down to quite recent times having quantities of it 
 in their possession were willing to part with it in exchange 
 for almost any trifle ; iron, in their estimation for instance, 
 having a far greater value; as that metal could be put to 
 practical uses in their domestic affairs, and was conse- 
 quently greatly prized by such people, while gold was of no 
 special use to them, except possibly for personal adorn- 
 ment. 
 
 We smile at what we call the innocence of the savages 
 in preferring iron to gold; but they were right from their 
 standpoint at least, their flint or shell knives and arrow 
 heads being of little value as compared to the keen cutting 
 qualities of properly made steel implements ; and although 
 iron ore was plentiful enough about them, they knew of no 
 way to extract the metal, while gold could be had for the 
 gathering. 
 
 We of to-day would find gold to be a very sorry substi- 
 tute, indeed, for iron, as it is lacking in nearly all the quali- 
 ties which have made that metal such a factor in civilization 
 and the arts, as well as conserving to our daily wants in 
 such a multiplicity of ways as it does. 
 
 Gold is one of the few metals that occur native, which 
 fact, together with its bright yellow color and great weight, 
 
390 Proceedings. 
 
 were the peculiar characteristics which probably first at- 
 tracted the attention of man. 
 
 It is common with us as a comparison, when we wish to 
 express the idea of weight, to say that it is as heavy as lead, 
 and a comparison of the weight of that metal with gold 
 may not be uninteresting. 
 
 A cubic foot of lead weighs 709 pounds, while a similar 
 cube of gold weighs 1,203 pounds, a difference of 494 
 pounds, so that if it required four men to carry the cube of 
 lead up a flight of stairs, it would take seven men to per- 
 form the same service for the gold cube. 
 
 A cubic foot of gold, as before stated, weighs 1,203 
 pounds, or 17,543 75-100 ounces, Troy, which at the mint 
 value of $20.67 P er ounce, amounts to $361,613.81. A 
 cubic foot of wrought iron weighs 480 pounds ; its value at 
 $30.00 per ton would be $7.20, showing the relative money 
 value of equal bulks of the two metals. 
 
 Gold, contrary to the generally accepted idea, is one of 
 the most widely distributed metals ; it being found in all 
 sections of the earth where the crystalline rocks prevail, 
 although generally in minute quantities. In certain strata 
 of rock, it is present in larger quantities than it is in others. 
 Magnesian rocks seem to hold it in greater degree than 
 other kinds, particularly that variety known as talcose slate, 
 although it may be, and is found, in the upper and more re- 
 cent series of rocks; instances being known where gold is 
 mined successfully in limestone, King's Mountain mine 
 in North Carolina being an example. 
 
 Quartz, in greater or less quantity, is invariably present 
 in ores carrying gold. This quartz may be pure and crys- 
 talline, enclosing the gold, or mineralized in such way that 
 quartz goes to make up one of the component parts of the 
 ore, which is generally the case; quartz alone seldom car- 
 rying gold in paying quantities. 
 
 While something like 67 per cent, of the gold mined in 
 
Gold: Its Distribution, Identification, Etc. 391 
 
 the world to-day is gained from ores proper, requiring a 
 milling or smelting process to extract the metal, the major 
 portion of the gold now in possession cf the people of the 
 world has been won from the sands and gravels, which are 
 but the broken down and comminuted fragments of what 
 were once solid rocks. That stanza in the old Missionary 
 Hymn that says, "Where Afric's sunny fountains roll down 
 their golden sands," is no figure of speech or poetic fancy, 
 but a literal matter of fact. Gold is almost invariably 
 present in river sands in some part of its course, although 
 it may not occur in quantity sufficient to pay for working. 
 
 The speaker saw, in Denver, Col., in 1892, an amusing 
 instance of mining river sands; under the guise of placer 
 mining, claims had been located on Cherry creek, a branch 
 of the South Platte river, which flows through a section of 
 that city, and a regular system of dredging and gold saving 
 apparatus installed; the object of the dredging, however, 
 was not for the gold recovered, but the sand which was 
 used for building purposes, and in this particular location 
 was valuable. Enough gold was sometimes secured to 
 pay part of the cost of the coal consumed under the boil- 
 ers, and as the claims could be held under the United 
 States Laws, and sufficient gold actually gained to meet 
 the requirements of the Statutes, no one could molest 
 them, although sand was the real value sought for, and not 
 the gold, its value being insignificant in comparison. 
 
 The sands on our seacoasts contain gold, and in some 
 places sea sands are worked for it ; notably on the beaches 
 of northern California, Oregon, Washington, and more 
 recently Alaska. In New Zealand the workers in this va- 
 riety of gold digging are called "beach combers," and are 
 looked upon as an inferior class by other miners. 
 
 I will say in passing that tests made on sands collected 
 from certain parts of Nantasket beach gave a value of 5 to 
 15 cents per ton in gold, which is not enough to make 
 
392 Proceedings. 
 
 them of economic importance, but interesting fiom a scien- 
 tific standpoint. 
 
 It may be stated that all clays belonging to the older 
 geological regions of the earth, contain gold, but seldom in 
 sufficient quantities to pay for its extraction. 
 
 Tests have been made of the clays that are common in 
 this vicinity. The clay thrown out in excavating for the 
 cellar and foundations of the State Mutual Life Insurance 
 Company's building in this city gave in one pound of dried 
 clay free from gravel and sand i-io milligram of gold 
 equal to 12.6 cents per ton, or, in other words, about 25 
 cents' worth of gold went out in each two-horse load of 
 "hardpan" or clay excavated. 
 
 Sea water also contains gold, as well as other metals, in 
 appreciable amount ; it being determined by a long series 
 of researches and experiments that each ton of sea water 
 contains 5 milligrams of gold (about 1-13 part of a grain) 
 and 20 milligrams of silver, having together a money value 
 of a little more than 37-100 of a cent, an amount quite in- 
 significant in itself, but stupendous when the total cubic 
 miles of sea water are taken into consideration. For 
 illustration, a cubic mile of sea water contains 147,197,- 
 952,000 cubic feet, which, at 64.3 pounds per foot, equals 
 9,464,828,313,600 pounds, or 4,732,414,156.8 tons, having in 
 solution 760,752 77-100 ounces of gold, which at a valua- 
 tion of $20.67 P er ounce, would amount to $15,724,754.86, 
 and of silver 3,043,011 13-100 ounces, which valued at 65 
 cents per ounce, would be $1,977,957.22, or a total value 
 for both metals of $17,702,717.08, and given in round num- 
 bers more than 26 tons of gold, and 104. tons of silver are 
 in each cubic mile of sea water. 
 
 It has been stated by scientists that if the floor of the 
 ocean was a dead level, its waters would cover the entire 
 surface of the earth to a depth of two miles. What a gold 
 and what a silver mine, then, we have in the sea, if it were 
 
Gold: Its Distribution, Identification, Etc. 393 
 
 possible to gather its glittering wealth into one solid mass. 
 Insignificant, indeed, would be the accumulated wealth of 
 gold and silver in the world in comparison. No practical 
 way, however, has as yet been devised for its extraction, 
 although frequently attempted. 
 
 Oftentimes people find what they believe to be gold, 
 and great expectations are sometimes indulged in as a con- 
 sequence thereof. A few simple tests that can be per- 
 formed by any novice may be of service in such cases. 
 
 Two substances occur that are commonly mistaken for 
 gold, namely, scales of yellow mica, and sulphuret of iron, 
 sometimes called "fool's gold." 
 
 In testing the first substance the great weight of gold 
 affords a ready and conclusive test. Place a quantity of 
 the suspected matter in the bottom of a clear glass tumbler 
 and fill with water; stir it vigorously and watch the order 
 of the settling of its contents ; if gold is present it will drop 
 at once to the bottom of the glass and remain there; the 
 gravel, sand or other heavy matters then fall, and lastly 
 the scales of mica, which being lighter than any of the 
 other minerals, are the last to sink to the bottom of the 
 glass ; their very light weight thus proving that they are 
 not gold. 
 
 Several instances have occurred in our own immediate 
 vicinity where yellow mica has occasioned short-lived 
 "gold" excitements; notably in Spencer, Brookfield, and 
 more recently in Dudley; this variety of mica occurring 
 abundantly in the rocks common in the localities named. 
 
 If sulphuret of iron, or so-called "fool's gold," is the sub- 
 stance to be tested, then the extreme malleability of gold 
 constitutes the test. Gold will flatten out by being pound- 
 ed upon an anvil with a hammer, while sulphuret of iron 
 commonly called pyrites by the same treatment will crum- 
 ble to dust. Therefore, we place the suspected mineral on 
 an anvil, or a flat stone, if nothing better is at hand, and 
 
394 Proceedings. 
 
 beat it with a hammer, or with another stone. If it flat- 
 tens out and does not crumble, it is quite likely that you 
 have gold, although copper sometimes occurs native and 
 might, under some circumstances, be mistaken for gold in 
 this test. 
 
 If the substance tested in this manner pulverizes easily 
 you may be sure that it is not gold, although it may contain 
 gold that is disguised or mineralized; in which case it 
 could only be detected by an assay. If not satisfied fully 
 by the crushing test, throw a portion of the powder into a 
 fire; if it burns with the characteristic blue flame of sul- 
 phur, and gives off the familiar sulphurous odor, the test 
 is a complete demonstration that the substance is not gold. 
 Other tests might be mentioned, such as boiling in nitric 
 acid; dissolving in aqua-regia, chlorine water, etc.; all of 
 which require some experience in such matters and will 
 not be dwelt upon. 
 
 All native gold contains a percentage of silver which is 
 sometimes present in such quantity as to lower the value 
 to $12.00 or less per ounce. $16.00 to $18.00, however, is 
 the average value of gulch or placer gold ; the value varies 
 to a considerable extent according to the location where 
 the metal is found. In some districts as high as $20.00 per 
 ounce is a fair value, and in other districts as low a value 
 as $10.00, or less. 
 
 Alluvial gold is won by washing the sands and gravels of 
 ancient or present river beds; which may be by panning, 
 cradling, ground sluicing, sluicing proper, or hydraulicking. 
 The typical California miner of '49 did his mining with the 
 pick and shovel, and washed out his gold with a pan, which 
 was very similar to an ordinary milk-pan, only it was made 
 of sheet iron and not tinned; having found what he calls 
 "pay gravel," he fills his pan and carries it either to the 
 river bank or a pool of water. Placing the pan and its 
 contents just under the water he violently agitates it, hold- 
 
Gold: Its Distribution, Identification, Etc. 395 
 
 ing the pan at an acute angle, until the light mud and sand 
 are floated off; he then throws out with his fingers all the 
 coarse stones, and by a peculiar working of the pan under 
 water, floats off all the worthless matter except a quantity 
 of black sand, which is invariably associated with gold, and 
 being very heavy collects with it in the angle of the pan. 
 This black sand is practically magnetic oxide of iron, which 
 is separated from the gold dust with a hand magnet. The 
 coarse gold is taken out and the fine gold subsequently 
 collected by quicksilver. This manner of working is very 
 slow and laborious. Our typical miner disdains any- 
 thing less than "ounce diggins"; that is, his day's labor 
 must yield him an ounce of gold. 
 
 The cradle is a machine very much like the old wooden 
 affairs in which our grandfathers were rocked, except that 
 it has what would be called a coal sieve at the upper end, 
 underneath which was an apron set at an angle so as to 
 deflect the water and its burden of sand to the upper part of 
 the floor of the cradle. Cleats are nailed across the bottom 
 to retain the gold, or mercury. The cradle is set at a slight 
 grade and the gravel shoveled into the sieve, and water 
 poured in gradually from a dipper; the cradle meanwhile 
 being rocked back and forth. This process is continued 
 until all the fine material has been washed through the 
 sieve, which retains the coarse stones, etc., which are then 
 thrown out. The gold is collected from the pockets formed 
 by the cleats on the bottom of the cradle, or as amalgam, 
 if quicksilver is used. This cradle process requires two or 
 more persons to keep in continual operation, but will work 
 many times the amount of gravel that it is possible to work 
 by panning. 
 
 "Sluicing" consists in shoveling the gravel into a trough 
 constructed of boards, usually about two feet wide on the 
 bottom, with sides about ten inches high, and made in sec- 
 tions some ten feet long. In the bottom of this sluice are 
 constructed what are known as "riffles," which comprise a 
 
396 Proceedings. 
 
 grating made by placing two-inch strips of board on edge 
 lengthwise of the sluice, leaving a space of about an inch 
 between each strip. These riffles are framed together by 
 transverse bars so that they can be easily removed when 
 a ''clean-up" is made. The sluice is set at a sufficient 
 gradd so that when a stream of water is led into it, stones 
 as large as a man's head are readily washed through. The 
 sluice is built of any desired length, and any number of 
 men may shovel gravel into it, providing the supply of 
 water is sufficient to wash the gravel and keep the sluice 
 clear of tailings. The gold settles down into the spaces 
 between the slats, and a clean-up is made by removing the 
 riffles and panning or cradling out the gold from the sand ; 
 mercury is sometimes used in the lower run of boxes to 
 gather the fine gold. 
 
 Ground sluicing is a similar process, except that the 
 ground itself makes the sides and "bed rock" the floor and 
 riffles of the sluice. 
 
 Hydraulicking is that process where a stream of water is 
 piped under heavy pressure and discharged onto the gravel 
 deposit, which is moved by the force ef the water alone. 
 Ditches, which are constructed to convey the water, are 
 sometimes many miles in length, and find their level high 
 on the sides of the hills at the place where used ; a head of 
 two to five hundred feet not being uncommon. The water 
 is led down the hill-side through wrought-iron pipes and 
 discharged from a nozzle that is so constructed and mounted 
 that it can be deflected, or moved in any direction, and 
 controlled by one man. The force of the water issuing un- 
 der high pressure through a four-inch nozzle is tremendous. 
 The gravel banks melt away under this torrent like snow 
 beneath a summer sun , even the very hills themselves dis- 
 appearing in time under its terrific force. The gold is 
 saved in a huge sluice of great length, which is paved with 
 cobble-stones, and which serves the same purpose as the rif- 
 fles in the smaller sluices before mentioned. By this hy- 
 
Gold: Its Distribution, Identification, Etc. 397 
 
 draulic process, large areas of land can be worked, and 
 poor gravel made to give a substantial profit. An excep- 
 tional case that may be mentioned, is one where gravel 
 yielding but three cents per cubic yard gave a dividend to 
 the company operating the mine ; ten cents per cubic yard, 
 however, is generally considered poor ground. 
 
 This process is not at present in general use in California, 
 because of a law enacted against it, as the tailings or slick- 
 ings made by washing down the immense areas of gravel 
 were fast filling up the river beds, covering and destroying 
 thousands of acres of farm lands in the valleys below the 
 mines, and making general havoc throughout the state. 
 
 Gold is also mined from the old river, beds which occur 
 on the sides of the present valleys. This gravel is ex- 
 tracted by "drifting" in a manner similar to that of coal 
 mining, and the gold washed out in a sluice ; or if "cement- 
 ed," as it sometimes is, crushed and amalgamated in a mill. 
 
 Much gold is now being recovered by dredging machines 
 working in river beds and areas wholly or partly covered 
 by water. These dredges are fitted with machinery for 
 washing the material brought up by the dredging buckets 
 and saving the gold. This form of gold mining is increas- 
 ing fast, as these machines have been so perfected that they 
 have become very efficient, and pay large dividends on the 
 capital invested if located on proper ground. 
 
 Gold ore proper is quartz, which may or may not contain 
 other minerals, and is found in veins or leads inclosed in 
 other rocks. What are known as "contact veins" are 
 usually considered the best. 
 
 A contact vein is one that is bedded between two kinds 
 of rock, as, for instance, slate on the hanging wall and gran- 
 ite on the under-lay or foot wall. The gold is not distrib- 
 uted equally through a vein, but usually follows well-de- 
 fined chutes or chimneys, which are sometimes so exten- 
 sive as to be called "bonanzas," but outside of which the 
 ore is too poor to pay for working. If the gold contained 
 
398 Proceeding s. 
 
 in the ore is "free," that is, capable of being amalgamated by 
 mercury, it is treated by what is known as the mill process. 
 In this process, the ore is first coarsely crushed in a rock 
 breaker, the largest pieces of which are about the size of 
 stove coal, and then fed into a stamp mill which contains 
 five ponderous stamps, or pestles, in each battery or set. 
 These stamps weigh from 700 to 1,000 pounds each, and 
 are lifted by cams at the rate of 80 or more drops per min- 
 ute. They fall a distance of about 8 inches. Each stamp 
 drops on a die which is contained in a coffer or mortar, the 
 mortar having one or more open sides, in which screens or 
 gratings are placed. The screens are of a size of mesh 
 suitable for the ore under treatment, usually about 40, or 
 1, 600 holes per square inch. A stream of water is led into 
 the mortar which drives the ore, when crushed fine enough, 
 through the screen, by the splash produced by the fall of 
 the stamp. Outside the mortar, a copper apron, or series 
 of plates are placed, which are amalgamated or coated with 
 quicksilver, and over which the crushed ore, together with 
 the water, is conducted. The gold, by reason of its weight, 
 sinks onto the plates; combines with the mercury to form 
 an amalgam, and is retained by them. 
 
 Other appliances are used to trap the gold, a percentage 
 of which escapes, however, in the tailings or waste. After 
 a certain amount of ore has been crushed in the mill, de- 
 pending on its richness, the stamps are hung up, the amal- 
 gam scraped off the plates, the plates re-coated with mer- 
 cury, and the crushing, etc., resumed as before. The amal- 
 gam is subsequently distilled in an iron retort to recover 
 the mercury, the gold being left in the retort as a spongy 
 mass, which is removed, melted down in crucibles with 
 fluxes, run into bars, and is then ready for market. 
 
 If the ore, being milled, contains a mixture of sulphurets, 
 which may be of iron, copper, lead or other metal, the ore 
 is crushed and amalgamated as before, and the sulphurets 
 contained in the tailings concentrated, that is, separated 
 
Gold: Its Distribution, Identification, Etc. 399 
 
 from the worthless rock by special machinery constructed 
 for that purpose. The concentrates are either treated on 
 the spot by chlorination, or sold to smelting works. These 
 concentrates are many times richer than the original ore, 
 but require a special treatment to extract the gold. 
 
 If treated by chlorination the concentrates are dried and 
 then thrown on the bed of a roasting furnace and' exposed 
 to the combined action of heat and air until all the sulphur 
 is burnt off, and the metals oxidized or roasted dead. After 
 it has cooled it is then slightly moistened with water and 
 shoveled into tubs capable of holding three tons or more. 
 These tubs are fitted with covers which are luted on with a 
 dough made of wheat flour, and are furnished with an inlet 
 at the bottom and an outlet through the cover. Chlorine 
 gas is then generated in a retort and conducted up through 
 the ore in the tub, until the chlorine shows by test at the 
 outlet, which is then closed and the ore allowed to lie in the 
 gas for forty-eight hours, by which time the gold is con- 
 verted into a chloride, soluble in water. The covers are 
 then removed and the gold leached out by running water 
 through the ore in the tubs, then precipitated from the 
 water by a solution of sulphate of iron, or copperas, which 
 throws down the gold as a brown powder or precipitate. 
 This is collected, washed, melted down in crucibles and 
 cast into bars; these several operations constituting what 
 is known as the "Plattner process," first and for many years 
 used in this country in California. 
 
 In a later and more improved variation of this process, 
 the roasted ore is charged into a lead-lined barrel, together 
 with a quantity of chloride of lime or bleaching powder. 
 Water is added in sufficient quantity to form a thin pulp, 
 together with enough sulphuric acid to more than decom- 
 pose the bleaching powder. The barrel is quickly closed 
 up and revolved for three or four hours, when the gold will 
 be found dissolved as in the first process. The contents of 
 
4OO Proceedings. 
 
 the barrel are then discharged onto a filter bed and the gold 
 leached out and precipitated as before. 
 
 Another method, known as the cyanide process, has 
 lately come into extensive use in many localities, particu- 
 larly for the extraction of the gold and silver still remain- 
 ing in the tailings from quartz mills. Briefly stated, in this 
 process the tailings are shoveled into iron tanks holding 
 ten tons and upwards, and the gold and silver leached out 
 by a solution of cyanide of potassium containing about 
 .5 of one per cent, or less of that salt, the leach being ef- 
 fected in a manner similar to that used by our grandmothers 
 in leaching ashes. The gold and silver are then separated 
 by running the leach solution over zinc shavings, on which 
 it precipitates; the leach liquor being brought up to the 
 proper strength by adding fresh portions of the cyanide 
 salt, and in this manner used over indefinitely. Large 
 amounts of gold and silver are now recovered by this pro- 
 cess from material formerly considered worthless. 
 
 When gold occurs in combination with massive copper, 
 or lead ore, it is treated by smelting, usually in blast fur- 
 naces. The gold and silver follow the copper or lead in 
 either case. The method employed to separate the gold 
 and silver from the copper is known as the electrolytic pro- 
 cess, which not only affords chemically pure copper, now so 
 imperative for use in electrical appliances, but also saves 
 every atom of precious metal present in the crude copper. 
 This process consists in subjecting impure copper, cast in 
 the form of plates, to the action of a current of electricity, 
 the plates forming the annodes, which are immersed in an 
 acid solution of sulphate of copper, and sheets of pure cop- 
 per forming the cathodes, which are arranged in pairs in 
 a series of vats. On passing a current of electricity of 
 proper tension through this arrangement, the copper in the 
 annode plates is gradually dissolved and is immediately de- 
 posited on the cathode plates. The gold, silver, etc., which 
 
Gold: Its Distribution, Identification, Etc. 401 
 
 in this instance are impurities, are not soluble in the men- 
 strum employed, and fall to the bottom of the vat as fine 
 mud or precipitate, which is gathered from time to time 
 and afterwards refined. Large amounts of precious metals 
 are gained in this way that formerly went to waste. 
 
 If the ore is smelted with lead ores, so-called "base bul- 
 lion" is formed, which is metallic lead alloyed with the gold, 
 silver and other metals occurring in the ore, and reduced by 
 the furnace process. 
 
 This lead is melted down in huge kettles holding ten tons 
 or more, and when fluid a certain percentage of pure zinc 
 is added, the metal being thereafter thoroughly agitated or 
 stirred up. The affinity of the gold and silver for zinc is 
 greater, than it is for lead when both are in a molten con- 
 dition, consequently they forsake the lead to combine with 
 the zinc ; and when the fluid metal is allowed to stand and 
 cool, the zinc being a lighter metal than lead rises on the 
 surface, and in cooling forms a crust or scum which con- 
 tains practically all the gold and silver. This crust is 
 skimmed off from the still fluid lead and subjected to a 
 special treatment to recover the contained metals. These 
 crusts, however, contain a large percentage of lead mixed 
 with the zinc and other metals, requiring a further process 
 to separate the gold and silver. The lead remaining in the 
 kettle is separately refined and cast into pigs for market. 
 Cupellation is a final process, where lead forms the major 
 part of an alloy. This process is, briefly, melting and then 
 oxidizing and slagging off the lead in the form of litharge 
 on the hearth of a peculiarly constructed reverberatory fur- 
 nace, until nothing but gold and silver remains on the test 
 or hearth, and is the process by which the gold and silver 
 are refined that are recovered by'the zinc process mentioned 
 in the preceding paragraph, the zinc being distilled off from 
 the alloy metals previous to cupellation. 
 
 Thus briefly have been outlined the processes most in 
 use in the metallurgy of gold; their variations ard endless, 
 
402 Proceedings. 
 
 and are multiplying daily; by their application more gold 
 is being won to-day than ever before in the history of the 
 world, and as a consequence mankind is advancing rapid- 
 ly in every department of human knowledge, and, let us 
 hope, in those attributes which make him more Godlike 
 and better fitted for the life to come hereafter. 
 
 Mr. Rice placed on exhibition a fine collection of 
 samples of ores and metals to illustrate points in his 
 paper, among which were samples from the Old 
 Silver Mine in Worcester, which he said was opened 
 about the year 1750, and re-opened fifteen years 
 ago, when the ore yielded about twenty- five dollars 
 per ton of various metals. Considerable interest in 
 the subject was shown by the various questions pre- 
 sented to and answered by Mr. Rice. 
 
 Hon. Stephen Salisbury was then introduced and 
 read the following papers prepared by Mrs. E. O. 
 P. Sturgis, which were listened to with great inter- 
 est, Mrs. Sturgis having furnished the Society with 
 several valuable historical reminiscences. 
 
 OLD WORCESTER. I. 
 
 The Worcester of my young days bore little resemblance 
 to the city of to-day, though the natural features are the 
 same, but buildings have covered the ground so entirely, 
 that the marked lines of the hills are almost obliterated. It 
 can hardly be called "The City of the Seven Hills," but it is 
 almost entirely built on hills, or their sides. Take Lincoln 
 street, for instance, it being laid out on the western decliv- 
 ity of "Millstone Hill," the water-shed rising high up on the 
 east, and the hill inclining gradually down to Lincoln 
 square on the south, while on the western slope the descent 
 
Old Worcester. 1. 403 
 
 is much steeper, making a sharp incline before reaching 
 the valley. Main street, too, is laid out on the side of a 
 hill, which begins at Lincoln square and rises up, by a 
 sharp ascent towards the west, while on the eastern decliv- 
 ity the land descends to the valley, and from thence rising 
 up again towards the east. At the northern and southern 
 extremities of Main street were two small hills, or spurs 
 of the main elevation, both covered with buildings. The 
 northern one is called "Court Hill" and a flight of stone 
 steps as well as a steep roadway led to the lower Main 
 street, on the north, while on the south side, the descent 
 was very gradual, until it joined Main street proper. On 
 the southern eminence there were no steps, but the ascent 
 and decline were similar to the northern, or Court Hill. 
 On both hills an iron fence protected the pedestrian from 
 falling into the street. Main street, as I first recall it, prac- 
 tically began and ended between "The Old South Meeting 
 House" and the "Salisbury Mansion." The street was 
 broad and shaded by fine old elm trees, and on the western 
 side was lined with houses, some having gardens on the 
 front and some in the rear of them. A few shops were in- 
 terspersed with the houses, while two meeting houses, the 
 "Unitarian" and the "Orthodox," with the old school-house 
 and the "Court House, "well filled up that side of the street. 
 The eastern side also had houses on it, and most of them 
 had large gardens in the rear, for the lay of the land was 
 such that no other arrangement was possible. All the 
 taverns of the town were on this side, and there were more 
 shops than on the opposite one. The old "Town Hall" 
 and the "Old South Meeting House" nearly filled up the 
 space on the western end of the common. Let us recall 
 some of the old landmarks. Those whose knowledge of 
 the "Salisbury Mansion" is derived from its present aspect 
 and surroundings in the midst of steam and electric 
 cars, can hardly realize what its appearance was in the old 
 days. This stately and beautiful house was built in 1770, 
 
404 Proceedings. 
 
 by Mr. Stephen Salisbury, the grandfather of the present 
 owner, and occupied by him until his death, in 1829, and 
 subsequently by his widow and their only child, the late 
 Stephen Salisbury. The only occupant of the house ^fter 
 the marriage of her son was "Madam Salisbury/' as she 
 was always styled, whom I frequently visited ; and I recall 
 distinctly the handsome old lady in the southwest parlor, 
 which was her favorite room, and where in winter was al- 
 ways burning a bright wood fire, and probably this house 
 was the last one in Worcester where the man servant would 
 bring in the logs of wood in what was called a "leather 
 apron," a broad strip of leather with handles at each end. 
 Mrs. Salisbury was Miss Elizabeth Tuckerman, a member 
 of the very prominent family of that name in Boston, and 
 sister of Dr. Joseph Tuckerman, the noted philanthropist, 
 and the pioneer of the "Home Missionary" movement, 
 which has done so much to ameliorate the condition of the 
 poor in large cities. The house faced up Main street and 
 was always bathed in sunshine, and an unobstructed view 
 was had of its whole length. There was a lawn in front of 
 the house divided by a stone walk, on both sides of which 
 were shrubs and trees. On the east side of the house were 
 parlors, from the windows of which one looked out on a 
 strip of lawn, on which were shrubs, and over Salisbury's 
 brook, the depth and width of which were regulated by the 
 abundance of water, or the reverse, in the ponds in the 
 northern part of the town ; to Lincoln street, a green field 
 intervening between the brook and the street. All the sur- 
 roundings were peaceful and quiet, and the only sound 
 heard was the lapping of the water against the stone wall, 
 which prevented the ground from being washed away. 
 On the western side of the house the view was of green 
 fields, for the Antiquarian Hall was not yet built on the 
 site where it now is, and the lawn of Mr. Stephen Salis- 
 bury's house reached down to the roadside. There was 
 not much passing on the west side of the house, for there 
 
Old Worcester. L 405 
 
 were only a few scattered farms beyond until after 1836, 
 and then when the Rural Cemetery was completed, long 
 lines of carriages passed from time to time up and down 
 this roadway bearing often friends and acquaintances of 
 the occupant of this house, and always leaving behind them 
 one of their number to rest with their kindred in those 
 sacred precincts. Finally, the friends and kindred of Mad- 
 am Salisbury followed her to her last resting place, and this 
 ancient house no longer sheltered the descendants of its 
 founder. 
 
 While so near it, we will take a look at the old jail on the 
 opposite side of Lincoln square. It was a tall and most 
 forbidding looking building of stone, the windows being 
 barred with iron. In it some of the English prisoners 
 were confined during the War of 1812. The saddest event 
 connected with this old jail* was the trial and execution of 
 Mrs. Spooner, more than one hundred years ago. She was 
 the daughter of Brigadier-General Ruggles of Hardwick, 
 one of the most prominent men in the county of Worcester, 
 and one of the most noted of the American Royalists. 
 This lady did not murder her husband herself, but she 
 hired others to put him down a well, and in consequence 
 she was arrested, brought to Worcester, and very possibly 
 tried in the old historic "Court House" f which has so re- 
 cently renewed its youth, and was condemned to be hung. 
 She claimed that another life was bound up with hers, but 
 the authorities would not listen to her, so she went to her 
 doom dressed in a rich brocade dress, and sitting in an old- 
 
 * Mrs. Spooner and her associates in crime were incarcerated in 
 the old wooden jail on the north side of Lincoln square, near the 
 entrance of Lincoln street, the old stone jail not having been erected 
 till 1788, ten years after the trial, and which stood on the south side 
 of Lincoln square. 
 
 f By common tradition, corroborated by the testimony of persons 
 present, the trial was held in the "Old South Church." The session 
 of the court was called to be held in the court house, now the Trum- 
 bull mansion, but for lack of room the trial was adjourned to the 
 church, there being great interest manifested in the trial. 
 
406 Proceedings. 
 
 fashioned chaise. She met her fate on "Mill Stone Hill,"* 
 and at the post-mortem examination it was discovered 
 that her story was true and that the Commonwealth of 
 Massachusetts had murdered an innocent child, a foul blot 
 on its good name. This lady was buried on "Mill Stone 
 Hill/' in the Green Woods. All the details of this crime 
 may be read among "The State Trials of Massachusetts." 
 Although women have committed murder since the date of 
 this unfortunate affair, none, perhaps on account of it, have 
 had capital punishment meted out for the crime, and it 
 seems to have become an unwritten law that no woman 
 shall again be hung in the "Old Bay State." 
 
 On the southern corner of Main and School streets there 
 stood, in the early part of the nineteenth century, a hard- 
 ware shop, which was bought by Dr. Wm. Paine, about 
 1818, I think, for I can't fix the exact date, and was fitted 
 up by him as a dwelling place for his daughter, Mrs. Harriet 
 Paine Rose, making the entrance on School street. Mrs. 
 Rose had returned from the Island of Antigua some time 
 previously to Worcester, not because it was her native 
 town, for she had been born in one of the numerous places 
 her parents had resided in during Dr. Paine's banishment 
 from the United States, but on account of wishing to be 
 near her father and mother in their declining years. Her 
 husband was Mr. Joseph Rose, an Englishman, and a West 
 Indian planter, and she had resided for many years in Anti- 
 gua. Her family consisted of herself and two daughters, 
 the oldest, Harriet Paine Rose, a young lady in society who 
 later became Mrs. John C. Lee of Salem, and a little girl of 
 ten years of age, named Josephine, who married Dr. 
 George Chandler of Worcester, many years later. A slave 
 woman named Mary, who had followed her mistress from 
 
 * On the testimony of witnesses who were present, the place of 
 execution was on a knoll which occupied the site of the present 
 Union Station, being on the east side of the old Worcester and Graf- 
 ton road. 
 
Old Worcester. I. 407 
 
 the "Rose Plantation," also made a part of the household. 
 Miss Rachel Rose, a sister of Mr. Rose, also formed part 
 of the family and was a very important member of it, for 
 she was its staff and stay. This lady was much esteemed 
 by her friends, being a kind-hearted woman, having much 
 energy of character, and a large share of common sense. 
 Having been born and bred in England, she found it diffi- 
 cult at times to adapt herself to the free and easy ways of 
 New England life and was much annoyed that her young 
 niece should be sent to school to mix with children of all 
 ranks in life, and urged upon the child not to play with her 
 schoolmates out of school. But the little English child with 
 Yankee air had imbibed Yankee notions of independence, 
 and announced to her scandalized aunt "that if the children 
 were good enough to go to school with, they were good 
 enough to play with out of school, and that she should con- 
 tinue to do so." in a letter from Miss Rose to one of her 
 friends, describing this incident, she writes : "There has 
 been a coolness between me and Josephine ever since." 
 The child, however, went on her way rejoicing, and did not 
 then stop to inquire into the pedigree of her schoolmates, 
 no more than she did into those of her friends of later life, 
 or of any one on whom she wished to confer a kindness. 
 Miss Rose also feared the little girl might contract some 
 disease at school, but she writes, "Dr. Paine tells me not 
 to worry, for Josephine never stops still long enough to 
 catch anything." Miss Rose in one of her letters writes, 
 "The good doctor has spent a great deal of money on the 
 house, and we call it The Arsenal'," and indeed she dates 
 many of her letters with that title. Miss Harriet Rose 
 owned one of the four pianos in the village of Worcester, 
 and as her aunt was an accomplished performer on the 
 tambourine, there was no lack of music for the young friends 
 of the household when they wished to dance. 
 
 A short distance below Mrs. Rose's house on School 
 street, on the same side of the way, was what must have 
 
408 Proceedings. 
 
 been a part of an old meeting-house or chapel, for some 
 few pews were left in the room and in it a Mrs., or Miss, 
 Collins taught an infant school, which I attended at the 
 mature age of two years, to begin my education. 
 
 Dr. Paine's house, my home, was, I suppose, considered 
 too far out of town in those days for me to be sent from 
 there, so I lived with my aunt, Mrs. Rose, and "Aunt 
 Rachel," as Miss Rose was called, took me to and from 
 school each day. I remember the school-mistress perfect- 
 ly, and that, with other children, I used to be put to sleep 
 every afternoon in one of the old pews. On the northern 
 corner of Main and Central streets, there was a white wood- 
 en house, but of this I can only repeat what I have been 
 told, at one time the home of Hon. Francis Blake, one of 
 the most eminent lawyers in Massachusetts, and consid- 
 ered the handsomest man of his day.' He married Miss 
 Eliza Augusta Chandler, a granddaughter of "The Honest 
 Refugee/' as John Chandler was called, and lived here with 
 his large family of children, among whom were the late 
 Mrs. G. T. Rice, H. G. O. and Commodore George Blake. 
 At a later date I recall Dr. and Mrs. Oliver H. Blood living 
 here. The house is, I am told, still standing, having been 
 moved down to Central street. The "Waldo Mansion" 
 was the most imposing house on the eastern side of Main 
 street, being a large, double house, * built of brick, and paint- 
 ed white, and stood quite near the street, an iron fence 
 dividing the narrow strip of grass in front of the portico 
 from the sidewalk. The occupants of this dwelling, as I 
 recall them, were Daniel Waldo and his three maiden sis- 
 ters, the Misses Betsey, Rebecca and Sally Waldo. There 
 was another sister, Martha, who had married Hon. Levi 
 Lincoln, the father of the late gentleman of that name, who 
 had died in 1828. Their parents were Daniel Waldo and 
 Rebecca Salisbury Waldo, the latter a sister of the first 
 
 * It was not a double house, but had a single, spacious front door 
 on Main street. 
 
Old Worcester. I. 409 
 
 Stephen of 'that name. Some people may recall Daniel 
 Waldo, Jr., the carefully dressed, alert old gentleman with 
 snow white hair, as he walked briskly down Main street of 
 a morning on his way to his office in Waldo block. The 
 Misses Waldo I used to see, as I passed the house, sitting 
 at work by the windows of their southwest parlor, but I 
 chiefly recall these dainty little ladies as I have met them 
 of a summer's afternoon,, walking down Main street, on 
 their way to take tea with their aunt, Madam Salisbury. 
 The three sisters walked side by side, all dressed exactly 
 alike in dove colored silk dresses, and each wearing a cal- 
 ash over their caps. Does anyone in these days know 
 what a calash is ? It was an outdoor covering for the head, 
 generally made of green silk, after the pattern of the hood 
 of an old time bellows topped chaise, with a small cape be- 
 hind, and kept in place while in use, by a bridle, so called, 
 or piece of ribbon fastened on each side of the frame in 
 front. The wearer held on to the bridle while it was in use, 
 but when that was let go, the calash collapsed and folded up 
 flat. They were universally worn by ladies who wore caps 
 and turbans, when they went visiting in a social way, and 
 were thereby saved the trouble of taking their head dresses 
 with them to be put on at the house where they were bound. 
 The last one of the Waldo ladies died, I believe, some time 
 in the forties. The last person in Worcester to wear a 
 turban was Mrs. Rose, though I have been told some of the 
 young people adopted the fashion for evening parties, one 
 lady having one made of India muslin, as delicate a fabric 
 as a spider's web. A friend copied her example, put the 
 same quantity of material into stiff book-muslin, and with 
 this monstrosity on her head appeared at an evening gath- 
 ering. Her husband after gazing at her spellbound for 
 some time, crossed the room, and in the presence of those 
 
 assembled, said, calling her by name : '* you look like 
 
 the devil." 
 
 Before 1840, or perhaps a little earlier, there were very 
 
41 o Proceedings. 
 
 few private carriages in Worcester, and I can only recall 
 three. Mr. Daniel Waldo and his nephew, Gov. Lincoln, 
 and Madam Salisbury owned them, and the ladies of these 
 families drove in them to church and to make visits to their 
 friends. These carriages would not be considered hand- 
 some equipages now, but they were each drawn by a pair of 
 horses, and were quite up to the standard of the day. A 
 coachman in livery was unknown, and the driver was gen- 
 erally "the man of all work," and the horses could not al- 
 ways be spared for visiting, if there was hay waiting to be 
 attended to or the mar* was needed for any especial exi- 
 gency connected with household affairs. Many people had 
 one horse vehicles, and the old-fashioned bellows top chaise 
 was not entirely obsolete, while people who lived in the 
 outskirts of the town came into the centre in their comfort- 
 able farm wagons with two seats. Writing of one horse 
 carriages reminds me of a story connected with one. A 
 lady from out of town had married a gentleman in Worce3- 
 ter, to be supposed for affection, but it was thought by out- 
 siders, for other considerations, and one was a handsome, 
 new carryall. She was calling at a house one day, with an 
 aged relative of her husband's, and on leaving rushed out 
 and entered the carriage, leaving her companion to get in 
 as she could. The family on whom the call had been 
 made commented on this breach of good manners, but the 
 master of the house said, "She married the carriage, why 
 shouldn't she get in first ?" emphasizing his remark by 
 some words beginning with the letter "D," not commonly 
 used in polite society. 
 
 Very near the corner of Main and Front streets were 
 some low buildings, painted white, and from the front of 
 one of them projected a barber's pole, indicating that one 
 of that profession was in possession. Mr. John 
 Weiss had served his apprenticeship with "Old Galoupe," 
 as he was called, a famous barber in Boston in former days ; 
 this shop was frequented on Sunday mornings by the 
 
Old Worcester. L 411 
 
 gentlemen of that day to be shaved, and to hear the news. 
 He had married his master's daughter, Miss Galoupe, and 
 had moved to Worcester in 1829, to set up a business of his 
 own. He had two sons John, the eldest, became a noted 
 Unitarian minister, though he will chiefly be remembered 
 as a leader and exponent of the doctrines of "The Free Re- 
 ligious Association," whose members met on Sunday after- 
 noons to voice their opinions, which did not always meet 
 with the approbation of their more conservative brethren in 
 Boston, and from whose pulpits they would not be allowed 
 to promulgate them. I often attended these Sunday after- 
 noon gatherings and enjoyed the brilliant discourses of 
 John Weiss, though I could not agree with his teachings. 
 He was also an author of some repute, having written a 
 "Life of Theodore Parker." 
 
 The "United States Hotel" stood on the corner of 
 Main and Front streets, the latter street being a rural 
 thoroughfare, with few buildings on it, and they 
 facing the common, a shady, grass-covered piece 
 of ground, on which in those days there was no 
 railway. Mr. and Mrs. Rejoice Newton occupied the first 
 house, a large, double wooden building, with their son and 
 daughter, and three nieces. In the middle of the street, 
 which extended to a cross street beyond, the name of which 
 I can't recall, was a small brick house painted white, and 
 here lived Mrs. Rose. Why she had moved from School 
 street, I have no means of knowing, and she could only 
 have occupied this house for a short time, as she left it 
 soon after Dr. Paine's death in 1833, f r Salem, where she 
 died in 1862. On the corner of Front street and the one 
 running at right angles with it, there stood a large wooden 
 house painted white, with a barn and outbuildings in the 
 rear. Here lived Mr. and Mrs. Abijah Bigelow, with one 
 son and four daughters, one of the old Worcester families, 
 and one much honored and respected. The garden on the 
 west side of the house extended nearly to Mrs. Rose's, a 
 high wooden fence dividing it from the sidewalk. The son 
 
412 Proceedings. 
 
 was supposed to belong to that religious sect called "Mill- 
 erites or Second Adventists." One seldom hears of these 
 people now, but fifty or sixty years ago there was a large 
 following of them in New England and many in the town 
 and county of Worcester. Led on by false prophets these 
 misguided people sold and disposed in various ways of all 
 their belongings and dressed in their white robes idled 
 away their time, watching for signs and portents and wait- 
 ing patiently for the expected coming of the Lord to take 
 them up to the heavens. When this craze came to an end, 
 as it did in time, these poor folks found themselves ruined, 
 and in middle life had to begin all over again to regain what 
 they had lost by their foolishness. The ridgepole of a barn 
 was a favorite place on which they perched, where dressed 
 in their ascension robes they would remain for hours, wait- 
 ing and watching for the opening of the heavens, and for 
 the coming of the chariot which was to convey them up- 
 wards. After a little, they became discouraged and when 
 a number of them had fallen from high places, and broken 
 their legs they concluded to descend to terra firma, and 
 go to work, and to no longer lead idle, foolish lives, but to 
 wait until they were called, and to show by their works that 
 they were fit to enter the heavenly kingdom. In connec- 
 tion with the Second Adventists I am reminded of an 
 anecdote of Rev. Dr. Francis Parkman, whose house in Bos- 
 ton at one period stood where, from the rear, he overlooked 
 the grounds of an establishment of these deluded people. 
 One day a minister from the country came to visit his 
 friend, and his attention being called to these white-robed 
 men and women, as they disported themselves in the 
 grounds, wandering about, with no end and aim, he re- 
 marked after gazing at them for some time, "Brother Park- 
 man, I should say those people were fools." "I call theni 
 d fools," said the genial little doctor. 
 
Old Worcester. II. 413 
 
 OLD WORCESTER. II. 
 
 The "old Nazro house," as it was called, stood on the 
 southern corner of Main and Pleasant streets. 
 
 It was a large wooden house, painted a dark brown,, and 
 set far back from the street in the middle of a. yard, a walk 
 leading up to it from the sidewalk, on each side of which 
 was a lawn. An immense elm tree stood in one corner of 
 the yard, one of the many which added so much in former 
 days to the beauty of Worcester streets. 
 
 As I remember the house, Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Ward 
 occupied it, with a family of children, the eldest being Miss 
 Sarah Ward, who married the late Harrison Gray Otis 
 Blake, the son of the Hon. Francis Blake. Mrs. Ward was 
 the daughter of Major Charles Chandler, and grand- 
 daughter of "the Honest Refugee," John Chandler. 
 
 She inherited a large tract of land from her father's es- 
 tate, reaching from Pleasant street to the present May 
 street. On the northern corner of Pleasant street were the 
 spacious grounds of Judge Nathaniel Paine, reaching a 
 long way up Pleasant street, then a high hill. The house 
 stood almost directly on the street, a common wooden one, 
 painted white, there being nothing particularly attractive 
 about it, either inside or out. 
 
 The pleasantest room in the house was a long, narro\v 
 one, entered from the front entry and running the whole 
 width of the house, with a large glass window on the south- 
 ern side, in which the sun lay all day long. This room 
 was the living as well as the dining-room, and constantly 
 occupied by the family, which consisted, as I recall it, of 
 Judge Paine, his twin sons, Charles and Henry, and one 
 daughter, Miss Sarah Paine.* 
 
 From this room, one entered the kitchen, and from there 
 went out on to a broad, sunny piazza, close to which was 
 
 * Gardiner, another son of Judge Paine, was married and resided 
 on Church street. 
 
4 1 4 Proceedings. 
 
 an old-time well, on the curb-stone of which in summer 
 time there always stood a monthly rosebush, much treas- 
 ured by the family, it having belonged to Mrs. Paine, who 
 died in 1830. 
 
 Just on the corner of Pleasant street stood Judge Paine's 
 law-office, where he married couples and attended to any 
 legal matters in which he was interested. 
 
 I knew this house very well as a child, for I went to 
 school in that part of the town, and my own home being 
 too distant for me to go there at noon time, I always 
 dined on week days with my great uncle. There was one 
 most interesting ghost story connected with this house, and 
 the most authentic one I ever heard of. Mr. Anthony 
 Paine, a son of Judge Paine, who died in 1819, was lying 
 very ill in his father's house and not expected to live from 
 day to day. 
 
 One morning, quite early, Mr. John Bancroft, a son of 
 Dr. Aaron Bancroft, and a most intimate friend of Mr. 
 Paine's, saw the curtains at the foot of his bed drawn 
 aside, and there stood his friend Anthony. Mr. Bancroft 
 spoke to him, but he vanished at once. 
 
 So soon as the latter was dressed he hastened down stairs 
 and reported to the family what he had seen, and a mes- 
 senger was at once dispatched to Judge Paine's house, 
 who quickly returned with the news that Mr. Paine had 
 expired a short time previous to his being seen at Dr. 
 Bancroft's. 
 
 Next to the Paine house on the north was a brick shop, 
 in which dry goods were sold, and over it was Mr. Hen'*y 
 Paine's office, access to which was gained by a staircase 
 on the outside of the building. This office was quite a 
 resort of the young men of that day, who gathered there 
 of an afternoon to hear and report the news of the day. 
 Before, my time, Mr. Samuel Ward had a shop on this 
 spot, a wooden building, and I read in an old letter that 
 he was always ready to take letters to and from Boston, to 
 
Old Worcester. II. 415 
 
 bring samples of goods for the ladies of that day, and to 
 do any errands to oblige them during his visits to the city. 
 
 Between Pearl and Elm streets stood a large, white, 
 wooden house in the middle of a lawn, and not very far 
 back from the street, all the surroundings being kept in 
 the most perfect order and condition. 
 
 Here lived Mr. Calvin Willard, high sheriff of the county 
 of Worcester. It is not many years since he passed away, 
 so many people must recall him, but perhaps not when he 
 was in office and as he appeared walking down Main street, 
 preceding the judges on their way to court, dressed in his 
 official costume of blue cloth coat with brass buttons, buff 
 vest, high silk hat, with a cockade on the side of it, and 
 holding a cane. Seemingly, the very embodiment of the 
 majesty of the law. 
 
 It used to be said he once hung a man, and later kept 
 the rope in the garret of his house, where in consequence 
 no one dared go after dark. 
 
 Mr. Willard was very neat in his dress and person, pre- 
 cise in his conversation, a good man and much respected 
 in the town, belonging to a past generation, where digni- 
 fied and courteous manners prevailed more than they do 
 at the present day. I believe the house was finally moved 
 round into Pearl street, to make room for the present brick 
 block now standing on its site. 
 
 I must ask my hearers now to stop for a few moments 
 on the sidewalk in front of the "Lincoln House," while I 
 read an extract from the memoirs of Dr. Pliny Earle. 
 
 He had, with his mother, Mrs. Patience Earle, come 
 down from the Leicester hill to catch a sight, if he could, 
 of "Lafayette," having heard he was to be in Worcester on 
 such a date. He writes, "When I visited Worcester, where 
 the Governor of Massachusetts then lived, I went to see 
 Lafayette and shook hands with him in company with hun- 
 dreds of others, as he stood in the gateway in front of the 
 
41 6 Proceedings. 
 
 residence of Gov. Levi Lincoln, a mansion afterward en- 
 larged and converted into a hotel, "the Lincoln House/' 
 
 The old "Maccarty house" stood just north of Governor 
 Lincoln's, Maple street being the dividing line. 
 
 I have no recollection of the interior, but the house it- 
 self was a fine old colonial mansion, set high up on the 
 hillside, the access to which was gained by steps and ter- 
 races from the street, and on the latter of which were 
 planted shrubs and flowers. 
 
 In an old letter, dated 1822, I read that Mrs. Maccarty 
 had recently died, and her husband felt her death extreme- 
 ly, for he said, "He never expected to find any one again 
 who would put down his winter's pork to suit him as she 
 had done." 
 
 Mr. Nathaniel Maccarty must have survived his wife 
 many years, for I recall the auction held in the house after 
 his death, when many handsome pieces of furniture were 
 sold. The house was finally moved away, and I learn is 
 still standing in the vicinity of its former location. 
 
 Brinley block was erected on the site of the Maccarty 
 house, a fine building for its day. 
 
 The Citizens' Bank occupied the southwest end, while 
 the remaining front space was occupied with shops. The 
 second floor of the building was chiefly used for lawyers' 
 offices, the sign-boards of the occupants covering a large 
 part of the front of the building. 
 
 The main feature of the third story was Brinley Hall, a 
 beautiful room and one admirably adapted for the purposes 
 for which it was used. 
 
 I first recollect it when Mr. Weaver, the fashionable 
 dancing master of his day, had his dancing classes here. 
 The first ball I attended there was on the 4th of March, 
 1841, to celebrate the inauguration of President Harrison, 
 the grandfather of one of the late presidents and occupants 
 of the White House. This occasion was probably the last 
 when the so-called old people of that day joined in the 
 
Old Worcester. II. 417 
 
 dance, and I recall perfectly seeing the late F. W. Paine 
 and Mrs. John Davis, Mr. S. M. Burnside and Mrs. Paine, 
 Mr. G. F. Rice and his partner, and others too numerous 
 to mention, in a contra-dance, and all footing it as bravely 
 as any of the young people on the floor. In the lately 
 published diary of Mr. C. C. Baldwin, I note that he says 
 "Mr. Burnside preferred contra-dances to cotillions." 
 
 It would be an easier task to describe what did not take 
 place in Brinley Hall than what did. The cattle-show balls, 
 as well as military ones, were held here. Giants and 
 dwarfs and dancing dogs were exhibited here. Political 
 and temperance meetings, public dinners, private theatri- 
 cals, fairs, social gatherings and lyceum lectures were held 
 here. 
 
 Here Signer Blitz performed his wonderful feats. Here 
 Russell, the noted singer of his day, who has recently died, 
 sung to admiring audiences, and nere R. W. Emerson 
 lectured to the delight of those who heard and understood 
 him. When the Church of the Second Parish was burned, 
 the society worshiped there until the new house was built. 
 The last time I was in the hall was to hear Lola Montez 
 give an account of her experiences, now more than thirty 
 years since. 
 
 I remember well when the "Citizens' Bank" was inau- 
 gurated, and the great sheets of bills my father used to 
 bring home for his family to cut apart, and what a sensa- 
 tion it gave one of handling vast sums of money, though 
 these bills in their unsigned state were perfectly worthless. 
 This bank, on the corner of Main and Maple streets, was 
 a capital place to see and, note what was going on in Wor- 
 cester, for everything and everybody were sure to pass 
 there during some part of the day if they were out, and 
 it used to be said that the frequenters of the bank appre- 
 ciated this vantage ground, and that all the conversation 
 of the gentlemen who occupied the chairs in the large win- 
 dow was not always confined to financial matters. 
 
4 1 8 Proceedings. 
 
 I never hear of the "Citizens' Bank" without being re- 
 minded of an amusing incident connected with it. One 
 morning, when people on business arrived there, they were 
 treated to an entertainment they had not counted upon, 
 for upon entering they found the cashier of the bank, the 
 late Mr. George A. Trumbull, and the late F. W. Paine, 
 each armed with a long-handled broom, trying to separate 
 two dogs engaged in mortal combat, an end only achieved 
 when the contents of Mr. Paine's snuff-box were thrown 
 into their faces, and then the aggressor was ejected from 
 the bank. The floor was swept up, and the two chief actors 
 in the affair had retired, one to his armchair in the window, 
 and the other behind the counter, and then the business 
 of the bank began. 
 
 The story was that "Jack Paine," as he was called on 
 the street, a Scotch terrier belonging to Mr. Paine, had 
 arrived with his master, as was his usual custom every 
 morning at the bank, and being very weary after his long 
 walk and having had several lively encounters with friends 
 on his way up town, had retired to his own private corner 
 to take his first nap of the morning, for he was accustomed 
 to take many in the course of the day, as he waited the 
 pleasure of his master in different banks and insurance 
 offices ; when an outsider, an old enemy of his, having seen 
 him enter, watched his opportunity, got into the bank and 
 attacked him just as he was dropping off to sleep, and thus 
 the fight. Those who remember Mr. Trumbuil and his 
 racy mode of speech, when occasion offered, can readily 
 understand what an amusing story he made of this affair, 
 as he described the prowess of Mr. Paine and himself with 
 the broomsticks, in this battle royal of the dogs in the old 
 Citizens' Bank. 
 
 I have referred to the bank window as being an excel- 
 lent place from which to view all that was going on in the 
 street. One day one of the frequenters of the bank saw, 
 or thought he saw, his daughter pass the window practis- 
 
Old Worcester. II. 419 
 
 ing what was called the "Grecian bend," an ungainly style 
 of walk practised by the young people of that day. He 
 walked home at noontime brimming over with wrath, and 
 demanded that the culprit should appear before him. "I 
 was mortified," he said, "to have my friends in the bank 
 see you making such an exhibit of yourself as you did when 
 you passed this morning, and I tell you I won't have it." 
 "But, father, I have not been out of the house this morning, 
 and have not been near the bank." "I don't care if you 
 have been out or not, that is the way you would have looked 
 if you had been by it, and I tell you I won't have it." 
 
 This last argument being unanswerable, the young lady 
 retired, and when she wished to practise the "Grecian bend," 
 in the future, she took good care to walk in a direction 
 where the parental eye would not follow her. 
 
 The cashier and all the old frequenters of the Citizens' 
 Bank have long since passed away, and while we hold them 
 in respectful remembrance we may feel sure their feelings 
 would not be hurt, if we recalled any amusing incident con- 
 nected with their lives while they were with us.