This volume brings to a close our four volumes on the chronicled life of Augusta during a very turbulent and pivotal period in the History of the United States: the opening-up of the West, the question of whether slavery would prevail nationally with political attempts to legitimize it in the new territories, starting with Kansas; a serious depression brought on by over expansion of our then growth industry, the railroads; the explosive discoveries of gold in most of the Western Territories; one of the worst wars in our history to settle once and for all whether we were to be "one nation indivisible" with slavery or not. Augusta's original three bound journals, which I inherited, with some 2,000 entries, beginning before she was seventeen, records not only her personal and occasionally tragic involvement in all of these events, but the influence these events had on her life at the time. Her journal entries from 1857 to 1860 present a record of the founding (by her father and a few other abolitionists) the town of Eldorado, Kansas that is better and more authentic than any professional early history of the city we've seen. She described in detail these two or three-dozen mostly young pioneers that were willing to go far beyond the Frontier to establish a voting district free of proslavery domination.
Augusta's Journal
Augusta Seeks Her Fortune In Gold Mines of two New Territories: Colorado; Montana 1860 - 1870By Ralph Crump Marjorie CrumpAuthorHouse
Copyright © 2010 Ralph & Marjorie Crump
All right reserved.ISBN: 978-1-4520-1778-5 Contents
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS...................................................................................................xiHISTORICAL PROLOGUE................................................................................................xiiiINTRODUCTION TO VOLUME IV..........................................................................................xix53. Return to Lawrence, 1860.......................................................................................154. Lawrence - Adda Marries, Winter of 1860 to Spring 1861.........................................................1955. Lawrence, Kansas - The Eve of Civil War, March 1861............................................................4156. Lawrence, Kansas - The Civil War, Summer 1861..................................................................6357. Graton - Part I................................................................................................7758. Graton - Part II...............................................................................................9359. Lawrence and the Early Months of the War - Rumors of a New Scourge: Quantrill, Summer 1861.....................11160. Going to Colorado, Spring 1863.................................................................................13161. Kenosha House-Tarryall, Colorado, Early May 1863...............................................................14962. Harriman Ranch - Tarryall, Colorado, August 1863...............................................................16963. Harriman Ranch - Tarryall, Colorado, Early Winter 1864.........................................................18964. Virginia City: We've Arrived, Summer 1864 Part I...............................................................20965. Gold, Virginia City: Montana Territory, Summer 1864, Part II...................................................22966. Gold - Alder Gulch Mining Camp, Montana Territory, 1865........................................................25367. Alder Gulch Mining Camp, Montana Territory, Fall 1865..........................................................27568. Nevada City & Virginia City, Montana Territory, 1866...........................................................29769. We Begin Our Family and Move to Silver Star, Montana Territory, 1867...........................................315Index..............................................................................................................335
Chapter One
53. Return to Lawrence 1860
Returning to Lawrence that July we found the area as dry as Eldorado. The river was so low, oxen wading the Kaw River were pulling ferries from the New Hampshire Street slip to the other side.
We arrived on Thursday, about noon, in late July leaving the horses and wagon at the end of Connecticut Street, close to the river, upstream two blocks from the ferry landing, where there were still patches of green grass for the horses and walked over to Mrs. Fiske's place. She was back from Emporia with her health restored looking so much better than she did when we offered her a ride out there earlier this summer. She's a widow, but she looks ten years younger than she did last June when she was "under the weather". She has resumed running her boarding house, though it seems rather small to me, if she intends to "make it pay".
She was most hospitable and immediately suggested that we help her run her business. We told her about our selling out in Eldorado, but she already knew. Can you beat that? She had already heard about it. In fact, she said both Mr. Stone over at the Whitney House and she had discussed it, hoping we'd both be available to one or the other of us. I thought there must be a shortage of female help.
I asked Mrs. Fiske if she was full.
"Yes, but I can always make room for you two. My own bed is too big for just me. You can just crawl in with me. Every other bed in the house has two men in it, but I have an upstairs room with two dormer windows. I can dress it up and put a bed up there for you two.
I looked at Adda. It was obvious that Mrs. Fiske's offer was better than nothing.
Adda response was "I'd like to walk down to the Whitney House and see if we can board and room there for a week or so until we figure out where to live."
I said, "Adda, I can't go there. Have you forgotten how that man treated us? How many weeks we all went without pay until our friend from Plymouth, Mr. Montague, took Mr. Stone to the woodshed on our behalf? He'll never forgive me for that embarrassment.
"Well, I need a bath. I've been sweaty and dusty for a week and I don't want to live in the wagon when I know I can rent a bed and buy some hot water in a half dozen places in this town. I can put up with Mr. Stone."
"What happens if he doesn't have a room?"
"We'll try the Cincinnati House. With Aggie Rourke the food is better there anyway. There are three or four places in town ... How about the Killam's place? If the whole town is full, the three of us in Mrs. Fiske's bed beats another night in that dusty wagon and Mrs. Fiske has a bathtub."
Mrs. Fiske piped up, "Just say the word and I'll buy a bed and we'll fix-up that upstairs room for you."
It was obvious that Adda wasn't going to spend another week in the wagon, knowing she had better alternatives ... all within walking distance.
"I have an idea. I'll go down to the Whitney House. I'll ask Mr. Stone if he's got space. I'll be able to tell in a second if we are welcome. Yes or no, I'll come back and tell you."
"Well, if you are so determined, I'll go with you."
"Fine, but let me do the talkin'.'"
About five o'clock we walked over to the Whitney House. I was apprehensive. To my surprise Mr. Stone could not have been nicer. We had learned from Mrs. Fiske that Mr. Stone had his family out here from Detroit for the summer. When Adda asked if he had a room for two more boarders for a week or so, much to our surprise Mr. Stone invited us to be his guests for supper and said he had a spare room if we wanted to stay at the Whitney House.
Adda asked, "Can I get some hot water for a bath before supper?"
"Certainly."
He seems to have changed, especially towards me. He knew my name, used it and behaved as though all that difficulty over our back wages and Mr. Montague's visit never happened. The Stone family, which includes Mrs. Laura Stone and their three "children", all eat at their own table. Mr. Stone invited us to join them. I counted seventeen boarders. Some of them, like Mr. George Burt and Mr. Esterbrook have been boarding here for several years. Many board here but live elsewhere. That's customary. At supper we walked around and said hello to several of the "old timers".
Then I saw why Adda was so insistent about a room and a hot bath before supper. Who was at table number three, shaking hands with my just bathed sister, none other than John Graton., the handsome gunsmith.
So, I thought, that's what all this has been about. Although we both sat at Mr. Stone's table, Mr. Graton came over mid meal to bid a good evening to Mrs. Stone but it was really to make another hello to Adda ... who was beaming.
Well, who am I...
