Harvey was discharged after a farce of an examination by Joel H. Brooks as the justice, a personal friend of Harvey and a fellow who had fed on Savage's bounty. Brooks was specially appointed to conduct the examination. Afterward he fathered a series of articles assailing the Indian management, but was silenced with congenial employment at one of the agencies. Harvey left the country later in mortal fear that the Indians would avenge Savage's murder. According to Bunnell, "the ghost of Major Savage seemed to have haunted him, for ever after he was nervous and irritable and finally died of paralysis" — and drink.
The body of Savage was, in 1855, exhumed and removed to the Fresno near his old trading post on the J. G. Stitt Adobe Ranch, a few miles east of Madera. A ten-foot shaft on a pedestal was there erected to his memory by Dr. Leach, his successor in business. The shaft is of Connecticut marble, cost $800, and the monument weighing many tons was shipped from Connecticut by water to Stockton and from there transported overland on a specially made truck, drawn by eight horses. It bears the simple inscription, "Maj. Jas. D. Savage."
Dr. Bunnell relates as a conversation had with Savage over a prospective business connection this:
"Doc, while you study books. I study men. I am not often very much deceived, and I perfectly understand the present situation, but let those laugh who win. If I can make good my losses by the Indians out of the Indians, I am going to do it. I was the best friend the Indians had and they would have destroyed me. Now that they once more call me 'Chief they shall build me up. I will be just to them, as I have been merciful, for after all they are but poor ignorant beings, but my losses must be made good."
Bunnell gives credit to Savage for many noble qualities — manly courage, generous hospitality, unyielding devotion to friends, and kindness to immigrant strangers, but admits that he had "serious defects but such as would naturally result from a misdirected education and a strong will." He seemed to justify his course in using the opportunity to make himself whole again, while acting as a trader and in aiding others to secure "a good thing," by the sophism that he was not responsible for the action of the commissioners or of Congress.
CHAPTER XIII
Permanent settlement of Mariposa county's Fresno territory was slow and tedious. With only a narrow fringe of placer mines, confronting a great expanse of arid plains in the center and on the west, and backed by an equally uninviting ruggedness along the Sierra slopes, it was deemed to have few attractions for the white settler. The Indian troubles tended to hold back settlers, and so the few were restricted to the northeastern placers, with a light sprinkling of stockmen and farmers elsewhere.
In connection with General Riley's visit to the placers, a reconnaissance of the Sacramento and San Joaquin Valleys was made with a view of establishing military posts to defend the miners and settlers. From the character of the mining population and the nature of their occupations, Riley advised that unless a strong military force were maintained on "the frontier." it would be impossible to prevent the outrages upon the Indians, and these in turn avenged by murders of isolated parties of whites. He urged that a military post be speedily established in the Kings River neighborhood, because the new gold discoveries being made in this vicinity were attracting miners, while the rapidly increasing population of the northern placers was gradually forcing the Indian to the south to congregate on the waters of Lake Buena Vista in the Tulare country. The later Fort Miller was one result, and it was the only military protection afforded the entire valley "frontier" as far south as Fort Tejon.
The record of early settlements and events in the Fresno territory is scant. Up to 1856, it is officially a part of the archives of Mariposa County. Newspaper there was none until the Millerton Times in January, 1865. It lasted two and one-half months, and then there was a hiatus until April, 1870. Both were weekly apologies, which gave what little news they chose to gather and color in the presentation after it had been popularly threshed over during the week and was as stale as a last year's bird nest. What newspaper publicity may have been given was in faraway journals by volunteer correspondents when the mood took them to send them a few lines. The actors, who participated in the early events, have nearly all passed away, and the story is necessarily a patchwork of fugitive-recorded recollections of the pioneers and the traditions handed down through their descendants. These are not always reliable because the memory of man is at best treacherous.
This slow settlement-process was due to various natural causes. It was scattered because the first comers located in the mountain gulches and on streams where there was gold, and the farmer where there was soil and water. Moreover the population was of the floating class, with little thought of permanency in location. Besides, the territory was so isolated and so remote from the county seat that actually for years there were communities without the semblance of authoritative government, unless in the repressive representation by the military at the fort, and it having nothing to do with matters civil. No wonder that there were excesses and that human life was valued at so little in -those wild and woolly times. For years, there was unrest because of the Indians. The nearest populous stage points were Stockton, 140, and Visalia, 120 miles, by the routes traveled then. Yet Millerton was a lively enough mining village in 1853, during which and for later years it was at its zenith, but with some of its glory and life departed on the abandonment of the fort and the removal of the soldiers in September, 1856, not to be reoccupied until August, 1863, because of rumored activities in the valley during the Civil War by adherents of the southern cause.
EARLIEST TERRITORIAL SETTLEMENTS
The earliest settlement in the territory was of course Savage's trading post of 1850, above Leach's old store on the Fresno River, which was afterward part of the county's northern boundary line. Next was very likely Rootville, the mining camp on the San Joaquin on the later site of Millerton, antedating even Fort or Camp Barbour, temporary headquarters of the commissioners during a part of the Mariposa Indian War and succeeded by the permanent Fort Miller. The peace treaty was signed in the camp on April 29, 1851. Upon return from the starvation campaign against the Chowchillas before that date, Fort Miller was being built for the protection of the settlers. It was named for Captain Miller, its first garrison commander, but was not established until 1852, and Rootville and Fort Barbour changed names accordingly. There was a Fort Washington further down the river on the site of a vaquero corral of 1849, according to tradition: but this is little more than a tradition.
This fort was below Rootville at Gravelly Ford on the river, and was the location of Cassady & Lane's post, where Cassady was killed and a previous massacre of several persons had occurred in the series that led to the Mariposa Indian War. It was hurriedly thrown up as an earthwork defense in expectancy of hostilities and was located above the present Lane's (Yosemite) bridge and below Little Dry Creek on land afterward of the V. B. Cobb ranch. The school district there still bears the name of Fort Washington. Cassady was surprised and killed while beyond reach of succor in search of stray stock. Certain it is that Cassady & Lane had post and camp operating in January, 1851, and possibly before.
After peace on the treaty signing. Savage put up a second store in the summer of 1851 on the Fresno, moving in the winter further down the stream to Bishop's camp or fort, before which the Fresno reservation had been selected on the Fresno. That summer Coarse Gold Gulch was a bustling mining camp, and Texas Flat was booming, Rooney & Thornburg keeping a store there. Fine Gold Gulch was probably also in existence then. Another Indian war threatening in October, 1851, Coarse Gold was depopulated by the miners, save for a half dozen, including William Abbie, but before December they returned and C. P. Converse and T. C. Stallo opened a store one and one-half miles below Texas Flat in charge of Samuel H. P. Ross, nicknamed "Alphabetical" Ross, afterward district attorney of Merced County.
Asa Johnson came then, with three negroes and a wench, in the summer of 1852. He killed Thomas Larrabee and upon acquittal left the country. Stallo & Converse discontinued their store in the spring of 1852 and were succeeded by the Walker brothers,