49 2 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[Sept. 29, 1906. 
usually active business life, covering more than 
half a century, Mr. Whitney is hale and hearty 
and capable of enjoying many more years along 
the streams and in the woods he loves so well. 
Mr. Whitney begins his reminiscences with 
perch fishing on the Pontchartrain canal, near 
New Orleans, his father’s home. At ten he went 
bear hunting in Texas with his brothers. At 
twelve he fished for pickerel in Massachusetts, 
his native State, and by the time he was fifteen 
he had become quite a traveler for a boy of that 
era, and says of the small game he found along 
the Mississippi River in Illinois: 
“The state was then young, containing about 
one-twentieth of its present population. Game 
was plentiful: bear, deer, raccoons, opossum, wild 
turkeys, water-fowl, prairie chickens, and quail. 
Squirrels were common about the hickory groves 
—gray, fox, and some black—and many of the 
gray and fox fell before my gun. I was very 
fond of this shooting, and I have never seen such 
quantities of squirrels elsewhere as were in evi¬ 
dence at that time. The fox squirrels here 
moved about the corn bins and fields, while the 
gray I found more plentiful about the' trees. 
These were more cunning in escaping observa¬ 
tion, and had a habit of rapidly disappearing 
around the opposite side of the trees, where they 
were securely hidden from view, excepting a small 
portion of their heads, projecting for observa¬ 
tion. As I would proceed around the tree I 
would be baffled by the alert squirrels which 
would slip around in sequence with my move¬ 
ments. 
“It has been a mooted question if, in circling 
a tree in this manner, one who made the circuit 
with a squirrel upon the opposite side of the 
tree would actually go around the squirrel while 
going around the tree. This question I will leave 
open. 
“I soon overcame this difficulty by throwing a 
convenient stone or stick of wood as far as I 
could to the opposite side of the tree, which land¬ 
ing with some noise would almost invariably 
throw the squirrel to my side of the tree to in¬ 
vestigate the probably new source of danger. 
The stay would scarcely be more than half a 
second, but sufficient in my preparedness to ac¬ 
complish the end.” 
The last paragraph every sportsman will read 
with anoreciation, for who has not, as a boy, been 
vexed by the antics of a squirrel and endeavored 
to distract its attention in the manner described? 
—not always a successful one, we have found. 
Wild turkeys were abundant in those days 
(1850) in Illinois, and of prairie chickens Mr. 
Whitney remarks: 
“Prairie chickens were in great plentifulness 
at that time, and I can remember seeing the 
farm fences so loaded with them on frosty morn¬ 
ings as to be in danger of breaking down. On 
one occasion, when I accompanied some older 
hunters upon the plains for chicken shooting, we 
filled the wagon body with birds. The prairie 
chicken-pinnated grouse,—indigenous over a 
large area of the middle-western country of the 
United States, existed in great waves of 
plentifulness in the grain regions of Illinois at 
this. time—1849—which in abundance gradually 
diminished as the State became settled up, and 
the wave of plentifulness extended westward.” 
This is how the California boom attracted young 
Whitney’s attention: 
“After leaving Illinois, I attended school at 
Westminster, Mass., where I gave more attention 
to duck and partridge shooting and. fishing than 
I did to studies. 
“One Ossian E. Dodge, a spirited singer, came 
along, accompanied by several minstrels of like 
character, whose concerts interested the town. 
One of their songs pertaining to California was 
given with great effect, of which I remember only 
the following lines: 
’Tis there they say the gold is found, 
In great big lumps all over the ground. 
Who’ll go? Who’ll go? 
And we all sleep sound on the cold, damp ground, 
Except when the wolves come howling around. 
Who’ll go? Who’ll go? 
“I thought I would. 
“Another thing influenced me somewhat in that 
direction. One of the boys at school who had 
lately returned with his parents from California 
indicated a considerable degree of affluence by 
prodigally throwing oranges at some of the boys, 
who so assented for the privilege of keeping the 
oranges thrown. How slight are the circumstan¬ 
ces which seriously affect our lives! 
“In 1852, at seventeen years of age, I arrived 
in San Francisco with my double-barreled shot¬ 
gun, a revolver, and a large, double-edged .knife 
with a blade thirteen inches long, made from an 
old sword of 1846-47. I made a long passage of 
142 days around Cape Horn, a monotonous trip 
diversified occasionally by catching sharks when 
becalmed in the tropics, spearing porpoises, and 
trolling for bonito and dolphins. Off Cape Horn, 
where sea birds were plentiful, we caught sev¬ 
eral varieties, and one day I caught a b&rrelful 
of cape pigeons, so called from their resemblance 
to that bird, but web-footed. These afforded 
several good meals for all hands, and they seemed 
very good eating at the time. I caught these with 
a long line, to which was attached a good-sized 
morsel of salt pork, below which extended a 
string of hooks on a strip of wood, on which the 
feet of the birds became entangled as the vessel 
moved on. This was a base and unfair method, 
which I now regret. . 
“I landed in San Francisco well armed, but 
comparatively penniless, ten cents being all of my 
remaining capital of sixty dollars I had started 
with; fifty-nine dollars and ninety cents having 
been diverted by poker games, in which I was 
initiated by several young men on the voyage 
at one-cent ante and ten-cent limit. 
“An unfortunate incident occurred in connec¬ 
tion with a family of Braggs, who had engaged 
passages.and had their baggage aboard our ship, 
by being left behind. Our ship was delayed in 
loading for several days after the date fixed, and 
this family, depending upon its being still longer 
delayed, were visiting in an adjoining town and 
overlooked. The family sailed two weeks after¬ 
ward for San Francisco in a succeeding ship of 
the same line. 
“When we pulled in at San Francisco, Mr. 
Bragg was on the wharf awaiting our arrival, 
having been in the city two weeks before our 
arrival, our ship being a month longer in passage 
than the one he sailed on with his family. On 
this following ship, which had been loading some 
time before our ship sailed, he had loaded all of 
his goods in trade, valued at $10,000, consisting 
principally of furniture, giving up that business 
in Boston in view of continuing it in San Fran¬ 
cisco. He had insured it against loss, but upon 
being left behind rescinded his insurance to save 
the premium, concluding, as he should take pas¬ 
sage on the same ship with his family, that in 
case of shipwreck resulting in the loss of his 
goods he would probably with his family be lost 
also, and have no advantage from insurance. 
When the ship conveying him and his family and 
goods was entering the Golden Gate entrance of 
the city, it struck on a hidden rock, and sunk 
beneath the water a total loss, although all the 
passengers and crew were safely landed. 
“Penniless though I was, my heart was most 
courageous. Was not the world my oyster, as 
with ancient Pistol, and could I not open it with 
my sword blade? My three elder brothers had 
preceded me in 1848 and 1849 to California, and 
two were engaged in San Francisco in profitable 
business, and I had pressing invitations to join 
them, but I had no taste for it. Had I not my 
gun, and could I not have more fun to my lik¬ 
ing in the country? Besides, I had visions of 
those lumps of gold said to be lying about at 
the mines, and hearing that near Auburn, in Placer 
county, over one hundred and fifty miles north 
of San Francisco, miners were making great pay, 
I went up there. How I got up to Sacramento 
—which was en route, up the bay one hundred 
miles distant—I cannot remember, but I do 
vividly remember that I walked up the distance 
of forty miles to the mines, and back to Sacra¬ 
mento again. The game I killed gave me the 
welcome for meals and lodgings; welcome with 
the miners was more hearty in those days, when 
the professional tramp was unknown.” 
“My rambles about the mines and along the 
sluicing ditches failed to give me the welcome 
sight of nuggets I had expected my keen vision 
to discover. I had expected in my embryotic ex¬ 
perience to sight a few of the size of hen’s eggs, 
which might have escaped the observation of the 
miners, but afterward concluded that I would 
be satisfied with some of more moderate dimen¬ 
sions, and finally thought I would be content with 
a few small ones sufficient to set off some scarf 
pins; but none did I find, and returned some¬ 
what disappointed to San Francisco. Here I 
again declined opportunities for business, and fre¬ 
quenting the markets and game stalls more or 
less, which interested me more than anything 
else, I saw that game and birds, though plentiful, 
were fetching large prices. 
“Obtaining particulars of the sources of-sup¬ 
ply, I concluded that the situation was very 
favorable for adventures to my liking. Small 
table birds, quail, larks, snipe, robins, etc., were 
selling at five and six dollars per dozen retail; 
venison, sixty and seventy-five cents per pound; 
turkeys, ten dollars; chickens three dollars; eggs, 
three dollars per dozen; butter, one dollar per 
pound. Here was my opportunity. I learned 
that the Santa Clara Valley, at the south end 
of the bay of San Francisco, was one grand field 
of birds; and that I could obtain three dollars 
per dozen for any kind. 
“Securing tag cards of the most promising city 
market-men, I directed myself to the port of 
Alviso, at the foot of the bay adjoining the 
promised land. Though my finances were low, 
not having even the fifty cents to defray my pas¬ 
sage down the bay, I was exultant, breathing 
freely of hope and oxygen. The absence of base 
lucre was a trifling item when expectation loomed 
so brilliantly before me, and I had no difficulty 
in gaining the consent of the captain of the boat 
for a free passage when I explained the object 
of my trip, and he seemed very much amused at 
my enthusiasm. 
“My eldest brother, who was Tnuch opposed to 
my absurd scheme, as he termed it, and annoyed 
at my refusal to engage with him in business, 
learning of my proposed departure, made his ap¬ 
pearance at the wharf just about as the boat 
pulled out, and vainly besought me to desist, 
which I positively refused, and also the pecuniary 
aid he offered. As the boat parted from the 
wharf I stepped upon it, and my brother, as a 
dernier, to-ssed a twenty-dollar gold piece at my 
feet, which I promptly threw back at his own, 
and bid him adieu. 
“At Alviso, where I arrived before dark, I had 
no difficulty in getting credit for a good lay-in 
of powder, shot, and percussion caps, the latter 
then being in use for the muzzleloaders in vogue, 
and in the latter respect I was equipped with my 
much-treasured double-barreled companion, which 
that night I placed for safe-keeping* under my 
pillow when I retired. I pushed on two or three 
miles from the village to a farmhouse, plentifully 
surrounded by wild-mustard fields, where birds 
seemed plentiful. Here I engaged board and 
lodgings at eight dollars per week. 
“The following morning at daylight I was in 
the fields, and early in the afternoon had about 
three dozen assorted birds which, tagged, went 
off that day to my market customer. This pas¬ 
time I followed for several weeks, and although 
I did not average my first day’s shooting, I rolled 
up a pretty fair profit over my expenses. The 
labor, however, I found rather wearing, despite 
my youth and activity: for, besides my necessi¬ 
tated walking in the fields, I had to give daily 
three or four miles more to the boat and back 
in forwarding my birds to market. This worked 
down my flesh somewhat, and though weighing 
now 175 pounds, I was down to 120 pounds at 
that time. 
“One day a man came along bleeding from 
a broken head, leading a spirited mustang stall¬ 
ion, which had thrown him, and offered to sell 
it, with the ordinary Mexican saddle and bridle, 
for $25. I had in view the joining of a small 
party of hunters, who were killing deer and elk 
in the neighboring mountains for the San Fran¬ 
cisco market, so I purchased the horse, and in 
a few days joined the mountain party, which 
consisted of four, my interest being one half 
that allowed to the other hunters, and took up 
my abode with them at an open encampment in 
the mountain hills back of the San Jose Mission. 
“This party consisted of a German, a well- 
educated young Englishman, and two Americans. 
