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OCTA CA-NV Chapter Trails History
Updated on December 6, 2005

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Lassen Thread Message # 11

date November 21, 2005
author Stafford Hazelett
subject Re: More on Lassen

Listers:

I have been keeping Richard and Orsola Silva and Don Buck updated on the Lassen info. We are working on a plan to complete the mapping of the Lassen and Nobles NHTs in the Lassen National Forest and this discussion has been very timely for our research. Thanks, and here's some info to share with you all. I suspect that some of Richard's formatting will be lost in the transmission, so I have taken the liberty of inserting some hints to indicate what are Richard's comments and what are from the Kingery diary - note especially Kingery's comment on August 7 about traveling an Indian and pack trail. Richard has also sent me the full article from the Shasta Courier newspaper if anyone would like to have that but it only gives the same kind of general information.

Stafford

>From: "Richard Silva"

To: "Hazelett"

>Subject: Re: [overlandtrails] More on Lassen

>Date: Sat, 19 Nov 2005 13:22:15 -0800

>[Silva] Thank you for keeping me updated.

>[Silva] Maybe this will help with the Middle Route?

>[from Stillson's original message of 11/19/05]

> >Third, was there a "middle route." I was very intrigued by Will Bagley's
> >comment that Lassen claimed, in 1857, that he found Noble's Cutoff. When
> >was he supposed to have found it? The reason this is important is that
> >Swain wrote on September 17 from Lassen's meadow, about a "middle passage"
> >that would take them over the mountains in a week. On Sept. 22, about
> >three days onto the Applegate trail, Swain wrote that he expected to be
> >traveling west instead of north: "We found no left-hand [middle] rout,
> >although we were twenty-five miles past the point where we expected to
> >find one." Holiday wrote that McGee and Meyers also expected a "middle
> >passage" but he gave no documentation. There was, in fact, such a pass,
> >Nobles Pass, but it was supposedly not discovered for three more
> >years. If there was such a rumor, or at least vague information about
> >such a pass, it would be about 150 miles from the meadow to the gold
> >fields on the upper Feather River. Is there, perhaps, another twist to
> >the story here? That Lassen, trying to profiteer from the goldrushers,
> >either made up or knew something about, a pass through the Sierras
> >directly west of Black Rock, and somehow communicated this to the
> >migration by mid September.

>[Silva] I am sure the Middle Route was a "Pack trail" to Shasta City via
>the later Nobles Pass Trail, there is writing of packers in 1851 near
>Butte Lake area, I have to locate in file somewhere.

>[Silva] Note: Kingery in the Honey Lake Valley

>[Kingery] Solomon Kingery

> 1852 Diary, [Silva] first wagons over the Nobles Trail.

>[Kingery] August 7th. Traveld 24 miles, 6 miles to Clear Spring, then
>crossed a ridge about 5 miles. The stoniest road I ever Saw. Encamped on a
>dry Creek. There is a hole of water in the bed of the Creek. Grass
>tolerable. We missed the right trail as there was two trails abut 5 or 6
>mils back but we are on the right Course yet. This trail has been traveld
>Some by packers but is an Indian Trail.

>August 8th. Traveld 12 miles. Some of the teams got an Indian to Show
>them the right trail & went back to it. Eleven teams of us went ahead
>without any trail but we had very Stony road. Encamped on willow Creek.
>Grass plenty, water good, plenty of Indians.

>August 9th. Traveld 5 miles. Road good except a great many Sage Bushes.
>Encamped in Honey Lake vally..

>August 10th. Traveld 15 miles. Road good. Encamped on Smith Creek in
>the head of Honey lake vall..

>[Richard] [Roops Fort area. Smith Creek is Piute Creek]

>[Richard] I am sure Noble did his research and knew of this Pack Trail and
>agreed to open this route for $2000.

>Alta California, San Francisco

>Tuesday, June 29, 1852

>NEW IMMIGRANT ROUTE. The Shasta Courier, of June 26th, publishes a report
>of a company of citizens who volunteered to accompany Mr. Nobles in making
>a through survey of a route for a wagon road across the Sierra Nevada
>Mountains. The exploring party left that city on the 3rd of May, and their
>return and report have been anxiously awaited. Below will be found the
>statement of the company.

>On Thursday morning last, after an absence of nearly six weeks, the party
>that accompanied Mr. Nobles across the mountains returned to our town. It
>will be remembered that Mr. Nobles, in consideration of the sum of $2,000
>promised to show a route for a wagon road which would be superior in every
>respect to the routes previously traveled. The members of the party all
>concur in stating that Mr. Nobles has fulfilled his promise to the letter.
>We cannot give as full a report of the movements of the prospecting party
>as we could desire, not having sufficient room.

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