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Newspaper List
Beatty
Bullfrog Miner – Beatty, Nevada [was called the
Bullfrog Miner during first two months of publication –
not to be confused with the Bullfrog Miner, of
Rhyolite, Nevada]
Inyo
Independent –
Independence, California
Inyo Register
– Bishop, California
Rhyolite Herald –
Rhyolite, Nevada
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Inyo
County, California
(Items in Which No
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Note: Newspaper articles quoted will be formatted in Courier New font with white background to simulate newspaper formatting.
Newspaper Articles
1870
Inyo
Independent,
September 19, 1870
"DETERMINED PURSUIT"
Summary:
Horses were stolen from Inyo County Sheriff Elder. He dispatched his
deputies to go on the southern road, but he himself started
northward. He rode to Bishop Creek and lost his fugitives, so he
returned to Big Pine. There he crossed the river and the Inyos and
into Deep Springs Valley. He eventually tracked the horsethieves to
Treasure City in the White Pine District in Nevada.
Inyo Independent, September 26,
1870
"RECOVERED"
“We
are pleased to announce the almost complete recovery of our talented
young friend, Mr. Fennel from his late indisposition, which at one
time threatened information of the brain. He has resumed his duties
at Swansea, slinging ink and balancing bullion accounts, at which,
when in good health, Mr. Fennel has no superior.”
1871
Inyo
Independent,
August 19, 1871
"DIED."
“A
letter from the Resident Surgeon of the Insane asylum, addressed to
Judge Hanson, contains the news of the death of John T. Ryan,
recently sent there from this county. We believe the immediate cause
was from an abscess in the liver, although his death from general
debility was daily expected. The deceased had a sister residing in
St. Louis, Mo. Poor Ryan was a brilliant but erratic genius, always
in his little troubles, but possessed of an inexhaustible fund of
humor. He was a brilliant imaginative writer, as a great many of his
effusions now before us will testify - but through all was noticeable
the little eccentricities which culminated in the dethronement of
reason and final dissolution.”
1874
Inyo
Independent,
December 9, 1874
“During
the past week two children of Mr. McGee, the eldest about four years
of age, died suddenly in Round Valley. The disease was something
resembling scarlet fever.”
1884
Inyo
Independent, August 9, 1884
Summary: Steven G.
Gregg reimbursed $42.40 for his salary as Sheriff of Inyo County; as
well as another $90 for his duties as jailer.
Inyo
Independent, September 24, 1884
Summary: The body
of a miner, who was from the Keynot Mine in the Inyo Range, was found
near Coyote Holes in the Indian Wells Valley.
1899
Inyo
Register, January 12, 1899
"ROUGH
EXPERIENCE."
Summary: John B. Clark met with a
narrow escape from death, coming down with a load of ice from McGee
Meadows. On nearing Birch Creek, the team could not hold back the
wagon, the road being icy and steep. The wagon hit a boulder,
throwing him out of the wagon, knocking him unconscious; the wagon
stopped just before rolling over him. Nobody knows why the wagon
stopped when it did, possibly because Mr. Clark either shouted at the
team when he flew out of the wagon; or possibly it was that Luther
Olds, who was behind him in another wagon, managed to stop them by
shouting at the team.
Inyo Register,
March 2, 1899
"RECORD OF DEATH"
Summary:
O.K. Berry, of Oasis, California, is dead. He is a pioneer of the
Fish Lake Valley, living there for more than a quarter century. His
last request was to be buried on the N.T. Piper ranch.
Inyo Register,
March 23, 1899
Summary: Death of Nathan Smith. He came to
Inyo from Eureka, Nevada.
1905
Inyo
Register, January 19, 1905
"POCO LOCO."
“Sheriff
Collins came into town the early part of the week. He reports all
quiet further south. The chief care just now is the surveillance of
Jaun [sic] Andrada, a Mexican who is believed to be somewhat
unbalanced mentally. The man has been an inmate of the county
hospital and has left there three times, once getting as far as
George's Creek, once to Lone Pine, and once to Keeler, on foot. He is
held pending examination.”
Inyo Register,
January 26, 1905
"DIED."
“In
San Jose, Cal., Jan. 20, 1905, D.E. Gish, father of D.W., A.E., E.E.,
T.U., and J.L. Gish, and of Mrs. M.H. Hughes, Mrs. Emma Herrick, and
Mrs. Ida M. Brand, a native of Indiana, aged 75 years.”
Inyo Register,
February 9, 1905
"DEATH OF E.D. SUITS."
“Elihu
D. Suits, who was known to many here either personally or by
reputation, died in Douglas, Arizona, January 18, of abscess of the
liver. He, with his brothers, was at the El Tigre mine, of which he
was a large owner, in Sonora, Mexico, when he was taken ill. He was
taken thirty miles by team, then a long journey by rail before being
able to have the needed care, but after his arrival at the hospital
everything possible was done for him, but to no avail.
Mr. Suits
married Miss Mary A Jones, daughter of the late Mr. and Mrs. John E.
Jones, in Round Valley in 1882. Their home since has been in Santa
Monica, where they have considerable property interests. For the last
three years Mr. Suits has been looking after mining interests in
Mexico. Recently the family moved to Palo Alto, the oldest son and
daughter having entered Stanford University. Besides these, two
younger children are also left, with their mother to mourn a father
who, from all accounts, was one of the best of men.
Deceased was a
native of Stockton, California, aged 49 years. His wife, mother, and
other relatives were at his bedside at the time of death. The funeral
occurred in Santa Monica, and was the largest ever witnessed in that
city. The Masons, Odd Fellows, Knights of Pythias, Eastern Star and
Royal Arcanum, to all of which orders he belonged, had places in the
procession and services.
Those who knew Mr. Suits speak of him in
the highest terms, as a man of exceptionally high character, and his
home papers fully agree in this estimate as his worth as a citizen.”
Inyo Register,
February 9, 1905
"DIED"
“At
Douglas, Arizona, Jan. 18, 1905, Elihu D. Suits, a native of
California, aged 49 years.”
Inyo Register,
February 16, 1905
"A RECORD OF ACCIDENTS."
“A
Mr. White, who has been living at J.N. Newlon's place, had his arm
broken a few days ago.
W. Glover Allen was brought into town
Monday, suffering from a wound caused by an accidental blow of an ax.
He was with the electric line survey party now working in the White
mountains, and at the time of the accident was in the tree trimming
it. A misdirected blow brought the ax down on his left kneecap,
cutting it to an extent that it will necessitate his taking a two
weeks vacation.
Geo. L. Albright met with a painful accident
Thursday afternoon, threatening serious consequences to his eyesight.
While trimming a timber at his mill in town, he chopped a knot with a
hand-ax. The knot flew out and struck him squarely upon the left
eyeball. To what extent the sight will be impaired cannot yet be
determined; of course all hope that the permanent injury will be
little if any.”
Inyo Register,
March 16, 1905
"SHOULD BE TOLD TO MOVE ON"
“A
Mexican man named Escattina committed a breech of the peace Tuesday
night by a demonstration toward a young lady who was passing down the
sidewalk between Underwood's and Mark & Cohn's place of business.
Marshall Bradshaw was near at hand and promptly arrested him.
Yesterday he pleaded guilty and was this morning was given a $50 or
50 day sentence. There was a general sentiment that he deserved the
limit, but the sentence seems to have satisfied all but those most
directly concerned. Escattina was a fellow who a year or two ago
chopped a man with an axe in Saline Valley, which has been his
headquarters until recently. For that offense he was tried and
acquitted, though the impression is that the crime was a cold blooded
one. More recently, he was convicted of furnishing liquor to the
Indians here. Among his other offenses was flourishing a pistol in a
saloon in town. Altogether, he is a man apparently capable of any
crime that may become handy. It would simply be a wise measure of
precaution when he is again at large to invite him to infest some
other community.”
Inyo Register,
March 16, 1905
"BIG PINE NEWS"
“W.G.
Gothard perished in the storm March 12th while teaming from Saline to
this place. A Chinaman who was with him brought the news last night.
The body was brought in this morning.”
Inyo Register,
March 23, 1905
“Marshal
Bradshaw took Jesus Escattina to Independence Thursday night to be
the county's guest for fifty days.”
Inyo Register,
April 13, 1905
"DR. S.G. GEORGE DEAD"
“Dr.
S.G. George, one of the earliest explorers of the mineral fields in
this county died at Porterville April 2nd, after an illness of three
weeks. He was the oldest brother of the late Dr. W.H. George of this
place and cousin of S.G. Gregg of Big Pine, and one of a remarkably
long lived family. His age at the time of death was a little over 91
years. Dr. George was born in Ohio in 1814. His father was a colonel
of the Revolutionary war. At an early age, the burden of caring for
the family fell upon young Samuel, who worked at different
occupations until he was of age. He saved enough money to enter an
Ohio medical college from which he graduated. He practiced in
Cincinnati for two years when the Mexican War broke out and he
entered the army as a surgeon. In 1850 he came to California, settled
in Visailia in 1855, and in Porterville in 1871, making that his home
since. In the spring of 1860, Dr. George and others accompanied
Colonel Russ on an expedition into this region. April 20th 1860 they
organized the Russ District, the first semblance of organized
government on this side of the Sierras. He was elected secretary of
the district, later when the movement to organize the county here was
begun, Governor Lowell tendered Dr. George the position of judge, so
he was stated to the writer, but the offer was declined.”
1906
Inyo
Register, March 29, 1906
Summary: Pat Keys dead.
History of his life.
Inyo Register,
June 28, 1906
Summary: Death of T. F. A. Conolly, who was
one of the original 1861 Darwin French Party, and explored what is
now Inyo County.
Inyo
Independent, July 6, 1906
"Sheriff
Collins and Tax Collector Shepherd got back last Monday from a trip
through southern Inyo. They say that Emigrant Springs is bound to
become a great camp. There is a wonderful showing of ore and there is
plenty of capital enlisted to thoroughly develop the country. They
returned by way of Little Lake and brought in the remains of the dead
man found at Ninemile. From papers and a letter found in his clothing
his identity is established as a Mexican who worked at the Soda works
last winter. There is a hole in his skull that looks like bullet
wound. As near as can be ascertained there were four in the party and
this one met his death at the hands of the others, but the mystery
will probably never be solved."
Inyo Register,
July 12, 1906
Summary: Death of Inyo and Mono County
pioneer, who formerly resided at Owensville and Montgomery City.
Inyo Independent, October 12, 1906
“Richard
Godfrey, well known in the southern mining camps of this county, was
found dead on a trail between Junction and Mountain Springs last
Saturday by George Vornberg. Godfrey left Mountain Springs Thursday
morning, October 4th, and his body was found on the following
Saturday. The body was in an advanced state of decomposition and was
buried near the place where found. Deceased was aged about 70 years.”
Beatty
Bullfrog Miner, November 17, 1906
“MEXICAN
SHOT.”
“At
the Borax railroad grading camp in Amargosa canyon a white man shot a
Mexican last week in a dispute. Justifiable shooting was the verdict,
because the Mexican had drawn a knife.”
Inyo Register,
November 29, 1906
"VICTIM OF THE STORM."
Summary:
Death of man in the Inyo Range south of Cerro Gordo, on the
Saline Valley trail.
Inyo Register,
December 6, 1906
Summary: Article on the death of man
reported the previous week, in the Inyo Range south of Cerro Gordo,
on the Saline Valley trail. Updated with new evidence and conflicting
accounts of those who were with him.
Inyo Register, December 20, 1906
“The
Independent relates that R.N. of Los Angeles perished on the trail
between Mount Whitney Station and the summit of the Inyo Range while
on his way to the Beveridge Mines on Sunday of last week.”
1907
Inyo
Register, January 24, 1907
Summary: George Payson,
of Deep Springs Valley, was found dead near Westgard Pass, face down
in the snow. His cane was found still standing upright in the snow.
Inyo Independent, May 10, 1907
“George
Maus brought James Wood, an insane man, in from Wild Rose Canyon
yesterday."
Inyo Register,
August 27, 1907
Summary: Death of Frank Conn, Saline Valley
borax miner.
1908
Inyo
Register, May 21, 1908
"GOOD CITIZENS GONE: JOHN
SHEPPARD AND CHARLES CLARK TAKEN HENCE."
Summary:
Deaths of John Sheppard, of George's Creek, and Charles Clark.
Clark was an Inyo County Sheriff's deputy.
Inyo Register,
May 28, 1908
"APPALLING FOREST FIRE: MANY LIVES DESTROYED
- INYO FOREST AFLAME - RANGERS UNABLE TO PREVENT DEVATSTATION -
PROMOTOR OF FORESTRY CANNOT BE FOUND - WHERE WAS LIPPENCOT? -
SWIRLING SMOKE SHOOTS SKYWARD - LOSS OF LIVES ESTIMATED IN THOUSANDS
- DEATH VALLEY PROSPECTORS SUSPECTED - BLOOD HOUNDS MAY BE SENT FOR -
MILLIONS OF ACRES SPARED - GOVERNMENT EXPERTS CAN'T ESTIMATE LOSSES -
WARNING TO PEREGRINATING PROSPECTORS."
Summary:
Sarcastic, scathing and biting editorial, pointing to suspected
collusion between the City of Los Angeles and the United States
Department of the Interior in what amounts to a land grab in the
Owens Valley. Article claims that "casualties amounted to two
thousand ants, butterflies and wood ticks."
Inyo Register,
June 11, 1908
Summary: Two year old daughter of Mr. and
Mrs. C.A. Hilton burned in a rubbish fire in Round Valley.
Inyo Register,
June 11, 1908
"THIRTY-SIX YEARS AGO."
From
Inyo Independent issue of June, 1872
Summary:
Sheriff Mulkey returns after chasing horse thieves for six weeks.
Captured thieves and in doing so found his own horses among horses
that were in possession of the thieves. Sucess in the capture was
bittersweet - though he found his own horses, he lost his pocket book
containing $500.
Inyo Register,
June 11, 1908
"RECAPTURED"
Summary: Bud
Williams captured on the Deep Springs-Big Pine toll road.
Inyo
Independent, June 12, 1908
"NOTICE TO
CREDITORS"
Summary: Estate of Burgess T. Robinson.
Inyo Register,
June 18, 1908
"SEVERAL ACCIDENTS."
Summary:
Dr. Doyal called to the Nevada Power Company camp at Middle Lake on
Bishop Creek to attend to a man whose leg had been crushed.
Inyo Register,
June 25, 1908
"RESULT OF A FALL."
Summary:
Man named Smith falls in one of the Nevada-California Power Company's
power plants, receiving multiple fractures.
Inyo Register,
June 25, 1908
"THIRTY-SIX YEARS AGO."
From the
Inyo Independent, June 28, 1872
Summary: Four
deserters from Camp Independence captured at Bishop Creek.
Inyo Register,
June 25, 1908
"THIRTY-SIX YEARS AGO."
From the
Inyo Independent, June 28, 1872
Summary:
Sheriff Mukley back from Kern County, where he was engaged in the
chase of a horse thief named Sepulveda, who had stolen a horse from
the Bishop Creek area.
Inyo Register,
June 25, 1908
"CAME OUT SECOND BEST."
Summary:
Charley Summers gets clobbered by a falling board at the Goodale
Brothers Stable.
Inyo Register,
July 9, 1908
Summary: James A. Crocker, of Big Pine, dies
at Deep Springs.
THE INYO
MAGAZINE, July 15, 1908
"TA HAH THE ANCIENT PAIUTE
SQUAW"
Summary: She was said to be 125 years old
when she died.
Inyo Register,
July 16, 1908
“The
Virginia Enterprise notes the death of a Mr. Wogan, who, it says, was
born at Wogan City, Inyo County, forty years ago, locality unknown.”
Inyo Register,
July 30, 1908
"LEGALLY DEAD."
Summary:
A young Connecticut man lost his life in the Sierra Nevada. A
Connecticut court has declared him legally dead.
Inyo Register,
July 30, 1908
"NOTICE TO CREDITORS"
Summary:
Estates of Robert M. Chrysler (of Big Pine) and Frank Shaw.
Inyo Register,
August 20, 1908
Summary: Legal notice of Will L. Smith vs
Black Canyon Gold Mining Company. Judgment against company. List of
properties seized.
Inyo Register,
August 27, 1908
Summary: Otto Duenweg, of Colorado Springs,
has died from ptomaine poisoning. He was in charge of mines owned by
the Southern Belle (extreme northern Inyo County near Chalfant
Valley). He was 40 years old.
Inyo Register,
September 3, 1908
"WATER SUIT OVER HAIWAI CREEK."
Summary:
Dr. Merritt, of the Roosevelt Oil Company, brings suit against the
city of Los Angeles over the waters of Haiwee Creek. Merritt claims
that he made location on the flow of water in 1906.
Inyo Register,
September 17, 1908
Summary: Legal notice of death of Pierre
Joseph Giraud, who owned numerous Inyo County properties and claims,
including one third interest in the Ella B. and the Forgot mines in
the Coso Mining District.
Inyo Register,
September 17, 1908
Summary: Thomas Higgins was serving a
125 day sentence in the town jail in Bishop. He got a hold of a saw
and he cut his way out to freedom. Officers chased him across the
White Mountains east of town, but returned without him. Mr. Higgins
has a long criminal record, now is wanted for jail breaking.
Inyo Register,
September 24, 1908
"THIRTY-SIX YEARS AGO."
From
the Inyo Independent, September 21, 1872
Summary:
Corn stalks are growing 18 feet high at Ike Clanton's place in Inyo
County, California. After paragraph, in parenthesis, an update is
stated that the Clanton family moved to Arizona, where they became
notorious in the Clanton - Erp feud.
Inyo Register,
October 1, 1908
Summary: Notice of Real Estate. Estate of
the late Pierre Joseph Giraud.
Inyo Register,
October 1, 1908
Summary: Death of Henry Jackson, an Inyo
County old timer.
Rhyolite
Herald, October 28, 1908
“PERISHED ON
DESERT.”
“According
to a Los Angeles dispatch, B.T. Pratt has perished on the desert in
the Argus mountain range.
G.W. Lewis and S.E. Shankland, who have
just returned from a prospecting trip in the Argus mountains, Inyo
county, tell of the discovery of the dead body of a man approximately
60 years old, who had perished in the desert on account of a lack of
food and water.
B.T. Pratt was the name of the man found and a
note book taken from a vest pocket by Mr. Lewis gave the date the man
started out to cross the desert. He had been dead nearly two
months.
The scribbling in the book gives no clew [sic] as to how
the man happened to be over thirty miles from any habitation. The
fact that he was without prospecting tools, blankets or canteen would
tend to show he was not prospecting. The note book tells a story of a
fierce struggle and suffering before the wandered perished. The last
entry reads:
“I left Grape Vine, Inyo county, California,
July 28. Tom Spratt told me I would perish. I thought I could make
it, but got lost, so guess I will have to give in. I have no water,
nothing to eat and can't walk.
“I have brothers, C.H. Pratt,
at Banner Springs, Wyandotte county, Kansas; E.B. Pratt in St. Louis
and W.R. Pratt, Custer county, Wyoming.”
Inyo Register,
October 29, 1908
Summary: Death of B.T. Pratt in the Argus
Range.
Inyo Register,
November 26, 1908
"THIRTY-SIX YEARS AGO"
From
the Inyo Independent, November 23, 1872
Summary:
The sheriff has returned after chasing horse thieves for three
weeks. Four head of stock belonging to Colonel Stevens, of Cerro
Gordo, were stolen. The thieves had taken off in the direction of
Belmont, Nevada.
Inyo Register,
December 3, 1908
"LEG BROKEN BY A HORSE'S KICK"
Summary:
H.M. Gibson brought to Big Pine from the Waucoba Road suffering
from a badly broken leg. He was riding on a wagon without a front
board, his feet hanging down. He kicked one of the horses to
stimulate them, and they immediately kicked back, breaking both bones
of one leg below the knee. The accident occurred near McMurry
Springs. W.P. Teel was nearby and brought the injured man to the
valley.
Inyo Register,
December 10, 1908
"COTTONWOOD SHOOTING SETTLED BY A $300
FINE."
Summary: John Ward, laborer on the under
construction Los Angeles aqueduct, shot the construction camp cook at
Cottonwood. Ward escaped. Incident took place prior to Thanksgiving.
The cook, a Mr. Cummings, and Ward had quarreled. Cummings chased
Ward out of the mess tent with a knife. The next morning Ward
approached and called for Cummings to come out. Cummings came with
knife in hand. Ward warned that if he came near he'd be shot, to
which Cummings ignored the warning. Ward shot him in the calf and the
leg. Ward escaped to Bakersfield where he was captured by Sheriff
Naylor and Undersheriff McDonald. Ward was arraigned, pleaded guilty,
and fined $300.
Inyo Register,
December 10, 1908
Summary: F.A. Hyde, who had fraudulent
land dealings in Inyo County as well as many other locations, has
been sentenced to pay a fine of $10,000 and serve two years in a West
Virginia penitentiary for land fraud.
Inyo Register,
December 10, 1908
"DEATHS REPORTED."
Summary:
James Ryan, 62 years old, died at the County Farm at Big Pine. Mr.
Ryan had been in southern Inyo County for the last ten years. Another
deatj was that of M. Marks, who was a traveling salesman - "a
cigar drummer for 35 years in the Inyo County area." Died in San
Francisco. Universally respected by all who knew him. Aged about 70
years. And a letter from a Mrs. J.S. Brown, formerly of Bishop, now
of Moose Lake, Quebec, sent a letter to her old acquaintances from
Inyo County, saying that her adopted daughter Pearl is dead. The
young woman was 22 years old, a full sister of Mrs. Ed M. Chamberlain
and John Tibbets of Bishop.
Inyo Register,
December 24, 1908
Summary: A man named Garten awaits trial
on a charge for Grand Larceny. It is alleged that he tore down the
old Eclipse Mill, located southeast of Independence, and shipped the
iron to Reno. Mr. Garten profited $1100 for his efforts. The owner of
the mill was in Randsburg at the time of Mr. Garten's removal
operation.
1909
Inyo
Register, January 7, 1909
"RIBS BROKEN."
Summary:
A man from Big Pine, California brought in from the Deep Springs
area. He was on a fence trying to reach a tree limb to cut off and
the board he was standing on broke and he fell across the board
below. He broke two ribs.
Inyo Register,
January 21, 1909
"DAVID OLDS IS NO MORE"
Summary:
David Olds, resident of Round Valley since 1866, is dead at age 85
years, three months, 22 days. Native of New York. Well known in
region from Mono County to Owens Lake. He first arrived in California
in 1850, then settled for years in Nevada Territory in Carson Valley.
Inyo Register,
January 28, 1909
Summary: Almrain B. Paul, a former Inyo
County resident, is dead in San Francisco. He is known from his
tenure at the Kearsarge Mines, near Independence.
Inyo Register,
January 28, 1909
“J.S. MCGEE’S LIFE ENDED:
RESPECTED PIONEER DIED SUDDENLY AT HIS HOME.”
Summary:
John Simpson McGee. Born in Texas August 23, 1846. Lived at
Aurora, Nevada, during its boom period. He and his brothers came to
Owens Valley in the earliest days. Participated in the Indian wars
during that time. Elected Inyo County Sheriff in 1884 and served one
two-year term. Afterward, he left Pleasant Valley and moved to San
Mateo, California, where he lived the remainder of his life.
Inyo Register,
January 28, 1909
"THIRTY-SIX YEARS AGO"
From
Inyo Independent, January 25, 1872
Summary:
Enterprising horse thieves, having recently stolen Inyo County
horses, have transferred their operations to Nevada. They were
captured near Belmont, Nevada, but made their escape from the Nye
County jail. A thieve named Morecio was supposed to be making his way
back home to Montana, however decided to come back to Inyo County and
resume his horse-thieving operations, stealing two more lots of loose
horses. He is once again being pursued.
Inyo Register,
February 4, 1909
"NOT A SERIOUS AS REPORTED"
Summary:
Mrs. Alney L. McGee was severely injured in a fall at her home in
Berkeley. A letter from McGee to her sister, Mrs. J.S. McGee of
Bishop, says accounts were greatly exaggerated; although she did
suffer painful injuries.
Inyo Register,
February 4, 1909
Summary: H.A. Jones, the Keeler man who
died of Bright's Disease, is the second son of Mr. and Mrs. T.E.
Jones, of Round Valley, Inyo County.
Inyo Register,
February 4, 1909
"THIRTY-SIX YEARS AGO"
From
the February 1, 1872 Inyo Independent.
Summary:
An "epizootic" is threatening the motive power of every
freight and farm wagon as well as the plow. An epizootic is a
widespread epidemic of disease among animals, and the region's horses
are falling victim.
Inyo Register,
February 11, 1909
"ALLEGED EMBEZZLER IN DURANCE."
Summary:
Man named Stanton, in charge of running the Monster Mine, is
charged with embezzlement. He is associated with Charles M. Schwab.
Schwab alleges that Stanton misappropriated money toward his own use.
Fearing arrest, Stanton fled from Big Pine with his wife and son,
taking the toll road over the mountains toward Goldfield. The White
Mountains were covered with snow, so he sent his wife and son
northwards to Mina and struck across the mountains on horseback with
a guide. He has many men working at the Monster Mine, taking out ore
and shipping it to the smelter at Keeler, keeping the returns and
neglecting to pay his bills. Reprint from the Goldfield
Chronicle.
Inyo Register,
February 11, 1909
"BLACK JACK TABOOED"
Summary:
Inyo County authorities believe they know the best for mankind and
say that the "seductive game" of Black Jack must cease in
the county.
Inyo Register,
February 11, 1909
"THIRTY-SIX YEARS AGO"
From
the Inyo Independent, February 8, 1872
Summary:
Inyo County Sheriff Mulkey delivered to their rightful owner twelve
head of stock stolen by horse thief Moracio.
Inyo Register,
February 18, 1909
"STANTON RELEASED."
Summary:
Update of Stanton, who fled Big Pine. Worked for Charles M. Schwab,
at the Monster Mine. He was arrested in Goldfield. A telegraph was
sent from Big Pine, that he was wanted there on a charge of
embezzlement. He is a free man in the state of Nevada. Governor
Gillette of California refusing to issue extradition papers for his
removal to California. Reprint from the Goldfield Chronicle.
Inyo Register,
February 18, 1909
"FOUR VICTIMS OF THE DEADLY WEED: TWO
LIVES LOST, TWO OTHERS IN DANGER FROM EATING PLANT COMMONLY TERMED
WILD PARSNIP"
Summary: Two people have died at the
Owens River Canal camp after eating wild parsnip. (Note: The camp is
that of the City of Los Angeles Department of Water & Power - who
were then constructing the aqueduct from the Owens River to Los
Angeles).
Inyo Register,
February 18, 1909
"MOST POISONOUS OF NATIVE
PLANTS"
Summary: Wild parsnip dangers. The young
son of J.H. Jackson, of Round Valley, died from eating wild parsnip.
A boy named William Birchim, of Round Valley, nearly died after
eating wild parsnip given to him by an Indian boy, with whom he was
playing. A Paiute man lost his wife and killed himself by eating wild
parsnip. In a suicide attempt, four Indian girls all ate of the
plant.
Inyo Register,
February 18, 1909
"WILD PARSNIP QUESTIONED"
Summary:
One of the people recently poisoned by wild parsnip is out of the
hospital and back on the street. Another person recently poisoned is
still hospitalized with pneumonia.
Inyo Register,
March 18, 1909
"THROWN FROM A RUNAWAY HORSE"
Summary:
Rhys Jones, the fifteen year old son of a John E. Jones of Round
Valley, California, sustained severe injuries after being thrown from
a runaway horse. He struck a pile of rocks, badly fracturing his left
wrist and dislocating his right wrist. Telephone and auto served to
bring him to medical attendance.
Inyo Register,
March 18, 1909
"DEATH OF MRS. J.D. McLEOD"
Summary:
The deceased was formerly Mrs. Thomas Williams, of Round Valley.
Ironically, the same issue brought news that the current wife of
Thomas Williams gave birth to a son.
Inyo Register,
March 18, 1909
"NOTICE TO CREDITORS"
Summary:
Estate sale of J.F. Sanders.
Inyo Register,
March 25, 1909
"SONNY JONES REPORTED DEAD"
Summary:
S.J. Jones has died in Denver, Colorado. He is remembered by many
in Inyo County as an employee of the Nevada-California Power Company.
Inyo Register,
March 25, 1909
"NOTICE TO CREDITORS"
Summary:
Estate sale of Rachael Hilton.
Inyo Register,
April 1, 1909
"ACTION APPROVED"
Summary:
The State Commission approved the course of Deputy Commissioner Ober
in releasing the Indian on suspended sentence after a conviction of
killing a mountain sheep in southern Inyo.
Inyo Register,
April 15, 1909
"NOTICE TO CREDITORS"
Summary:
Estate of J.S. McGee, deceased.
Inyo Register,
April 29, 1909
“GAME LAW VIOLATIONS”
“Deputy
Fish Commissioners Ober and Goodale took a trip along the river
Sunday, Mr. Ober arming himself with a fishing rod and making casts
as he sauntered along. Meanwhile he kept a weather eye open for
others who might be making similar motions, but more in earnest, and
was thus enabled to come on a group of three boys just as one of them
pulled out a fine trout. One of the culprits recognized him, and a
suspicious sound indicated that a string of fish had gone back into
the river. To secure the evidence, Mr. Ober took the fish from the
hook, whereupon the fisherman alleged an intention of throwing it
back, as he was fishing for catfish. The allegation seemed fishy, yet
it might have served as a sufficient ground for jury uncertainty; and
as the offender is a young man of otherwise good character who would
have had to serve an imprisonment term in the case of conviction,
Justice Shannon deemed it best to allow him to go with a reprimand.
This was the first arrest in this part of the valley for such an
offense. Probably the next will not be so lightly treated; anyway it
is not advaisable to experiment.
Mr. Ober says that there has been
close observance of the fish and game laws, and that violations have
been very few indeed.”
Inyo Register,
April 29, 1909
"NO PETTIFOGGING."
“Any
person other than a regularly licensed attorney who advertises
himself as entitled to practice law in any court of justice is guilty
of a misdemeanor.”
Inyo Register,
May 6, 1909
"BIG PINE ITEMS."
Summary:
Death of Lew Payson May 4th. Early Inyo pioneer. Resident of Antelope
Springs in Deep Springs Valley. Lew Payson died at the residence of
Fred Crocker in Big Pine. He had just passed his 80th birthday. His
remains were laid away in Big Pine Cemetery.
Inyo Register,
May 13, 1909
“DISAPPEARANCE CASES.”
Summary:
A.M. Chene, recently arrived in Bishop. Mr. Chene borrowed a team of
mules to drive as far as Lone Pine, he being on his way to Mexico
with his family. At George’s Creek he sold the mules, wagon and
the whole outfit, pocketed the proceeds and disappeared. No trace has
been found. It is felt that he is probably in Mexico by this time.
The mules and wagon were restored to their owner, leaving the
purchaser at George’s Creek the looser.
Inyo Register,
May 20, 1909
“TABOOSE”
Summary:
Jasper Shipley brought in from Round Valley suffering from a
dislocated shoulder.
Inyo Register, June 3, 1909
“BURGLARY AT PINE
MOUNTAIN.”
Summary: Letter from S.P. Roberts, of
Pine Mountain (White Mountains). His house broken into, an antique
gun and cartridges stolen. Nothing else molested. The gun was given
to Roberts by Billy Irwin, of Bodie, in 1878.
Inyo Register, June 3, 1909
"THIRTY-SIX
YEARS AGO"
(From Inyo Independent, May 31,
1873)
Summary: Tom Boyce, an old resident, mysteriously
disappeared last Sunday evening. As far as the public is aware, it is
a genuine, mysterious disappearance.
Inyo Register, June 10, 1909
“WARM
CLIMATE.”
“Engineers
Strong and Leffingwell have lately been out in the Eureka Valley
country, far eastwards from Big Pine, Mr. Strong having some mining
patent surveys on hand. They say that region is about the jumping off
place, and that the sinner who dies while acclimated to Eureka Valley
will certainly make a plea for blankets in the lower regions.”
Inyo Register, June 10, 1909
“DEATH OF TOM
PRICE”
Summary: Thomas Price, resident of Mono
and Inyo County for years, received injuries near Lundy Monday of
last week, which resulted in his death the following morning. As far
as learned from the Bodie Miner, he started to his mine with the
company of a John R. Gray. The trail was covered in snow and he had
to cut steps on the way up. After a short stay he started to return,
he being in the lead. He lost his footing and rolled to the foot of
the hill about 300 or 400 feet below. Gray secured assistance and
carried the injured man to Lundy, where he died the next morning.
Several of his ribs and arms were broken, and he was internally
injured. Further information obtained from the Bridgeport
Chronicle-Union adds that Price fell about a distance of about ten
feet, then over another bluff about twelve feet. where he caught a
large rock, which then gave away, then he rolled down the hill about
200 feet.
Inyo Register,
July 15, 1909
“THIRTY-SIX YEARS AGO.”
(From
Inyo Independent, July 12, 1873)
Summary:
William Callahan, a farmer from George’s Creek, aged 29, was
killed in Mazourka Canyon due to a kick from his horse.
Inyo Register,
July 29, 1909
“THE PROSPECTOR'S REVENGE”
“The
conversation drifting to Indian warfare, the Fat Citizen contributed
this tale:
“Did you know Joaquin, the Indian sage of Saline
Valley? He and I were great friends during a summer which I spent
there, and he used to tell me many things about the natives. One
evening, after he had been supplied with the makings for a smoke, he
gave me the Indian version of an affair that happened in southern
Nevada in '63. Before I tell that part, you had better have the
history of it from the white man's side.
“Saline and the
country around there used to be the headquarters for Indian
renegades. It was not uncommon for them to waylay lone prospectors in
those days, killing them and taking all they had.
“At the
time I mention, four men left Silver Peak to prospect out southerly.
They had crossed the Red mountain summit. One of the party left his
comrades and went up on a hillside, and while he was there a party of
Indians came on and three on the trail. The man above saw them all
killed, and as he had nothing to gain by making his appearance he
kept hidden. When the coast was clear he went back to the Peak, and
told his story. The miners there were anxious to set out on the trail
at once, but he stopped them. 'No,' he said, 'I have a scheme that
beats that. Give me a supply of canned peaches, a horse and outfit, a
gun, and some strychnine, and I'll even things up.'
“In
those days canned fruit was a novelty to the Indians, and what they
had taken from their victims made them anxious for more. This man was
supplied as he asked, and started out alone. He got to a hot spring
on the east side of Saline Valley, and made camp. The canned fruit
had been doctored before he started, by punching holes in the tops,
putting in some strychnine and soldering the cans again.
“The
man opened his box of fruit and scattered it around; picked out a
good place for a bed and made it up, with a log covered over with a
blanket. When everything was ready for departure, he set up a big
camp fire, and lit out.
“The Indians were camped at a cold
spring on the west side of the valley. Seeing the big fire, they
scented a prospector and more supplies, and made a bee-line for the
place. The log under the blanket answered to make them come up
cautiously – and get fooled, by which time the prospector was
miles away. The canned fruit was eagerly taken. Being a luxury, it
was reserved for the warriors in the camp.
“Now comes in
Joaquin's story:
“Long time go, I little boy, so big, my
father big chief. Bad Injun here then, rob um, kill um, any time. One
time they kill um one man over there, hetchum heap hogadie. Great
Spirit he mad – no likum. Forty Injuns he die!”
Inyo Register,
July 29, 1909
“NOTICE TO CREDITORS”
“Estate
of Timothy J. Sullivan, deceased.
Notice is hereby given by the
undersigned, J.D. Lewis, administrator of the estate of Timothy J.
Sullivan, deceased, to the creditors of, and all persons having
claims against the said deceased, to exhibit th esame with the
necessary vouchers, within four months after the first publication of
this notice, to the said J.D. Lewis, administrator, at the law office
of Ben H. Yandell in Independence, California, the same being his
place for the transaction of the business of the said estate in the
county of Inyo, State of California.
J.D. LEWIS,
Administrator
of the Estate of Timothy J. Sullivan, deceased.
Dated at
Independence, Cal., July 21, 1909. W.A. Lamar and Ben H. Yandell,
Attorneys for the Administrator.”
Inyo Register,
July 29, 1909
“Don
Hudgins and his wife propose to bring suit against the Tuolumne man
who had them arrested lately for alleged horsestealing, unless he
makes satisfactory settlement. They have placed their case in the
hands of an attorney.”
1918
Inyo
Register, January 3, 1918
“At
Riverside Wednesday of last week, Mrs. S.A. Densmore, one of the
earliest settlers of Inyo county, aged 87 years.”
1920
Inyo
Register, September 2, 1920
Summary: Death of
George Albright.
Inyo Register,
September 2, 1920
Summary: Notice to Creditors in the
estate of William Lyle Hunter.
Inyo Register,
September 9, 1920
"WHAT WAS SAID IN '71"
From
the Inyo Independent, September 2, 1871
“The
Visailia stage robbery mentioned last week was done by a gang
including Tiburcio Vasquez.”
1952
Inyo
Register, January 3, 1952
“DYERS UNINJURED IN
CRASH OF CARS.”
“LONE
PINE – Dr. Douglass Dyer, dentist and president of the local
chamber of commerce, and his wife, Florence, escaped possible serious
injury Sunday about 1 a.m. When their car skidded on a grade near
Tinnemaha [sic] and rammed into a parked car.
With others stalled
on the icy grade, Beryl Bodenham, of Bishop, was at the side of the
road putting chains on his car. Dyer started down the grade, coming
south, through a heavy snow storm. He said he saw the car in time,
but discovered his brakes were ineffective on the ice. He slid into
the Bodenham car at slow speed, but hit hard enough to cause
considerable damage to the front end of his car. Bodenham was
slightly injured, but required no medical attention. Neither Dr. nor
Mrs. Dyer was injured.”
Inyo Register,
January 3, 1952
“VALLEY RESIDENT OF 57 YEARS DIES IN
SOUTHLAND.”
“INDEPENDENCE
– Mrs. Georgia Mae Jones, an Owens Valley resident the past 57
years, died Monday, Dec. 31 at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Maude
A. Kemp, in Van Nuys. She was 77 years of age.
Funeral services
for Mrs. Jones were conducted Thursday afternoon from Pioneer
Memorial church of the Rev. Francis Baldwin officiating. Burial was
at Independence cemetery. Pallbearers were Dave Ward, W.I. Bay, Ben
and Frank Lawrence, Ed Austin and C.H. Walters. Vocal numbers were
given by William R. Ray, with Mary V. Phillips accompanying.
Mrs.
Jones was a member of the 1874, at Chicago, the daughter of George D.
and Mary A. Calvert. As a baby she came to Virginia City, Nev., with
her parents. She spent most of her life in Nevada and the Inyo-Mono
area. In 1894 she was married to John I. Jones. There were six
children, two of them preceding her in death.
She is survived by
her daughter in Van Nuys, another daughter, Olive M. Reynolds, of
Independence; two sons, William, of Chico, and John, of Mojave; her
husband, and five grandchildren. Mr. Jones is a resident of
Corona.
Mrs. Jones was a member of the Sheba Rebekah lodge 35, of
Winnewood, Indian Territory, Okla., and the Sierra chapter, Order of
the Eastern Star, Big Pine.
For some time during the family's
early residence in this area, Mrs. Jones' father carried mail by
horseback and snowshoe from Mammoth to Bodie. They lived at Pine
City, north of Mammoth.”
Inyo Register,
January 3, 1952
“DERRICK OPERATOR KNOCKED FROM HOIST
DURING EARTHQUAKE.”
“A
derrick operator at the Owens Valley Gorge project suffered little
more than burises last Thursday evening at 6:50 when a boulder,
jarred loose by the sharp earthquake, rolled into the hoist he was
operating and knocked him to the ground.
The quake occurred
throughout the valley at 6:50 p.m. It was felt in the Fresno area
approximately one minute later. The tremblor was recorded on the
seismograph at Fresno state and at the University of California at
Berkeley. It was reported to have centered here in the valley.
No
damage was reported.”
Inyo Register,
January 10, 1952
“MRS. ANNIE JONES, EARLY PIONEER, DIES
IN WOODLANDS.”
“Mrs.
Annie Jones, daughter of early pioneer settlers in this area, passed
away at her home in Woodlands, it was learned this week.
Mrs.
Jones, wife of John E. Jones who operated one of the first flour
mills in the valley, is survived by her widower, son Rhys and other
nephews and nieces.
She was born at Ft. Independence Sept. 27,
1869 and was married Feb. 23, 1893 at Independence. They lived near
Pine Creek where they operated the flour mill until the early 30s
when they sold their property to the city of Los Angeles and moved to
Woodlands.
The mill had previously been operated by Jones'
father.”
Inyo Register,
January 10, 1952
“WOMAN DIES OF ACCIDENT
INJURIES.”
“INDEPENDENCE
– Florence Lillian Pulliam, 41, of Los Angeles, died Jan. 2 at
Ridgecrest hospital as a result of injuries received in a highway
accident Dec. 30, on 6-395, one and a half miles north of the Kern
county line, it has been reported by the highway patrol.
According
to the patrol report, a station wagon being driven south at slow
speed by Mrs. Pulliam was rammed from the rear by a tank truck and
trailer being operated by John F. Tuttle, of San Fernando. Tuttle
told officers he was driving behind another truck and failed to see
Mrs. Pulliam as the front truck pulled around her. He said she
apparently was just parking at the side of the road or was pulling
onto the highway as the first truck swung around her car. Tuttle said
he was unable to stop or swerve around the station wagon. The car did
not turn over but came to a stop 102 feet off the west side of the
highway. The truck overturned. Tuttle was treated at Ridgecrest
hospital for slight injuries and released.”
Miscellaneous Documentation
Laws Railroad
Museum, Laws, California
“HISTORY OF THE MCGEE
FAMILY.”
(File folder, typewritten copy)
by Eva L.
Yaney
“The McGees were first identification of the histories
of Inyo and Mono Counties in the spring of 1861 when the father,
mother, three sons and Taylor McGee, a cousin of the boys, gathered a
herd in beef cattle in Tulare County, and started to Owensville in
Inyo County, near the present site of Laws, via Walker’s Pass.
The Indians were unfriendly but caused no trouble outside of
threatening to stampede the cattle. The party estimated that there
were at least 1,000 Indians in the valley at the time. Other stockmen
began coming into the valley about this time with their herds. As the
fall of 1861 approached, several of these families decided to remain
in the valley for the winter. Among these were the McGee’s and
as late as the first week in November, Alney and Bart brought in
about 1,500 head of cattle. On November 12, 1961 [1861] when they
arrived in Lone Pine, about four inches of snow fell. They drove on
to George’s Creek, now Manzanar, and decided to winter there.
This was the beginning of the wettest winter ever recorded in Inyo
County. Bart went on to Aurora, a mining camp near Bodie, for
supplies and reported eight feet of snow there at the time. He also
reported finding white settlements on Little Pine, now Independence,
Bishop Creek and at Round Valley. Upon returning to Lone Pine, they
put up a cabin for the winter. I am informed that remains of this
cabin are still standing. On Christmas Eve, the winter set in in
earnest. In Bart’s records, he said there was not a day in the
next 54 days that it did not rain or snow sometime in the 24-hours,
sometimes snowing to a depth of two or more feet and then raining it
off. Owens River was one-fourth to one mile in width and Owens Lake
raised twelve feet. Before spring, the settlers at Lone Pine had
nothing but beef to eat, and sometime with no salt.
The McGee
Brothers participated in the Indian Was [sic] which is recorded in
Chalfant’s history of Inyo, and into which I will not go into
detail. One fight I would like to mention. On the old road between
Bishop and Big Pine, many of you will remember a very large, oval
shaped rock of granite on the south side of the road. The Indians
were behind this boulder, the white’s drove the Indians out,
and a white man’s scalp was found lying on top of the boulder
after the battle. In Paril [April] 1862, most of the white settlers,
including the McGees, left the valley to the Indians. They had been
defeated in several battles, and little support from the government.
The whites took with them about 4,000 head of cattle, and 2,500 head
of xheep [sic]. A fort had been established by the government at Fort
Independence and a force of soldiers had been left there. The next
year, the whites began drifting back into the valley, although the
Indians were still hostile. The McGee family continued to conduct
their market in Aurora, bringing their cattle from
Tulare.”
[subheading] "CHARLIE'S BUTTE"
On
March 1963 [1863] Mr. and Mrs. Jesse Summers, Alney McGee, his
mother, a small niece, and a Negro, ‘Charley' Tyler, camped at
Owenville near the present site of Laws, on their way from Aurora to
Visailia. The family was traveling in a wagon and Charley was on
horseback rining [sic] a band of saddle and work horses. On March 7,
they came across the body of a white man who had been killed by the
Indians and stripped of his clothing.
Signal fires were seen near
Fish Springs and the party hurried on. Just before getting into the
black rock country below the present Tinemaha Dam on Owens River,
their way was blocked by approximately 100 Indians. The party turned
from the road and attempted to cross the river near a small, black,
butte. Their horses were unable to haul the wagon out of the river,
so the men cut them loose from the wagon, and mounting the horses
started for Fort Independence, several miles away. Negro Charley gave
them his horse and told them to get the women out of danger, and he
would catch another one out of the band and follow them. They never
saw him again. Years later a pistol was found and identified as
Charlie’s. It’s empty chamber a mute reminder of the
valient fight. My father rode behind his mother on one of the horses
until they had outdistanced the Indians on their inferior ponies.
Then, as the horses began to tire, he dismounted and ran behind the
horse. His boots were filled with water when in the river, and the
weight caused them to fall off his feet when on the horse with no
stirrups, so he was practically barefoot and had to run through the
lava rocks and tussock grass which had recently been burned
over.
They reached the fort that night, with a reception of the
Captain was not to his credit, according where the reception by the
Captain was not to his credit, according to Mr. Chalfant. However,
the party remained at the fort. They asked for military escort to
take them back to Aurora. This was refused by the officer in charge.
A strong party of citicixens [sic] was formed and the McGee party
joined them and made the trip back without trouble.
The
Summers-McGee party lost 22 head of horses in this attack, besides
their wagon, and all their personal belongings and several hundred
dollars in cash from the Aurora Market.
Laws Railroad
Museum, Laws, California
“HISTORY OF THE MCGEE
FAMILY.”
by Eva L. Yaney
(File folder, copy of
publication "SUMMERS FAMILY OF CALIFORNIA")
Eva L.
Yaney
Born June 1, 1891 at Bishop, California
Died September 9,
1963 near Hermisillo, Mexico. Buried in Bishop, California.
Mother:
Elizabeth Nevada Gunter. Father: Alney L. McGee
Law & Order, Life & Death California Site List
Law & Order, Life & Death Other States List
©2004, 2005,
2006 , 2007, 2008 D.A. Wright
All Rights Reserved
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