About 125 miles apart.
Another Death Valley-SCV link?
In the l400s, a great Indian migration began from the midwestern plains and the Shoshone who lived there slowly marched West. Some of Shoshone stopped to make Death Valley home. Others went on a few hundred miles to live in our valley. They would eventually become our local Tataviam Indians who would live in tranquility here for more than a millenium.
In 1849, as the Tataviam were rapidly drifting toward extinction via the settling of California and the SCV, a group of 100 wagons calling themselves, “The Jayhawkers,” started in Missouri and headed out to the gold fields of Northern California. After a disagreement over directions, the Bennett-Arcan portion of the adventurers thought they had a short cut and split off from the main party. On Christmas Day, they ended up lost and stranded in this hauntingly severe desert that they would later name — Death Valley. Exhausted and broken down, the wagoneers sent their two fittest men, William Manly and John Rogers, to race for help.
Well. They raced at a tortoise pace.
The hikers headed over the Panamint Mountains, thinking Los Angeles couldn’t be far beyond. While Manly may have written a book about his exploits (“Death Valley in ’49) he wasn’t much of a navigator. L.A. was over 200 miles away — most of it some of the most unforgiving desert on Earth. The pair lived off dead animals, a crow and a buzzard. They had become so disoriented, they ended up about 50 miles off course — in our very own San Francisquito Canyon.
Still. They were grateful to reach Santa Clarita. From Manly’s own description:
“There before us was a beautiful meadow of a thousand acres, green as a thick carpet of grass could make it and shaded with oaks, wide branching and symmetrical, equal to those of an old English park; while all over the low mountains that bordered it on the south and over the broad acres of luxuriant grass was a herd of cattle numbering many hundreds if not thousands… such a scene of abundance and rich plenty and comfort bursting thus upon our eyes, which for months had seen only the desolation and sadness of the desert, was like getting a glimpse of Paradise, and tears of joy ran down our faces.”
Hm. Saugus?
Odd thing was, the pair were so lost, they thought they were close to San Francisco. The duo stopped a vaquero and asked if they were close to Baghdad by the Bay and he said San Francisco was only a few miles away.
That would be the Rancho San Francisco — home of Ignacio del Valle, mayor of Los Angeles and owner of just about everything in our valley.
The del Valles promptly nursed the two to a quick health and sent a large expedition of men and aid to Death Valley to rescue the Bennett-Arcan group. That is some act of Good Samaritanism. That’s almost 500 miles round trip and today, Auto Club will only tow seven miles without charging you.
Let’s pause a moment and think about something.
Imagine.
Imagine a pair of near-dead men showing up at your front doorstep in 2008. They ask not only for help, but for rescue. They ask if you would mind taking a couple of months off work to go and bring back an entire squadron of essentially homeless, broken down and near-death people.
Would you do it?
Something to think about. Anyway…
While Manly & Rogers walked for help, the Bennett-Arcane group stayed at Death Valley. John C. Colton was one of the group that waited. In 1903, he recalled that hellish adventure of starvation and thirst. At first, the group began killing oxen, even boiling the hooves for soup. They watched members of their party die of exposure and disease.
Manly & Rogers eventually returned, with riders from Ignacio del Valle’s ranch to the rescue. They brought the group back to the Santa Clarita. Colton’s recollection: “Several days without water… struck Santa Clara River. Partly emaciated and nearly dead. Men who had weighed 200 pounds less than 60. Reached Rancho San Francisco February 5, 1850.” About the del Valle hospitality, he wrote: “How we did eat, sleep and drink. We did nothing else for two weeks.”
He also noted: “(How we) have been cared for at the old milk house” which “must be preserved forever — it must remain a landmark — earthquakes will hardly capture it — I regret you didn’t leave a little pile of adobe to mark the locality of the old Ranche House that looked to our starved party like a palace.”
That address was from a letter from Colton to E.H. Bailey, Rancho San Francisquito; Surrey P.O., CA; Feb. 28, 1903.
Many of those original pioneers would stay to make Santa Clarita their home and some of their relatives are still here today I’m told. Up until World War II, relatives of the survivors would hold a reunion party in July at an old oak grove in Castaic.
Besides being joined at the hip millions of years ago when mountains were twisting and tearing apart, here’s something else that links the Santa Clarita with the lowest spot and hottest spot in America.
One of the women who was rescued from one of the most unforgiving and hottest spots on planet Earth, looked back from her wagon as she was leaving for the more moderate climes of Santa Clarita. Bouncing along the dusty road, on her way out of the central California badlands, she disgustedly said, “Good-bye, Death Valley.”
The name stuck.
From Colton’s recollection, that woman who named the beautiful desolation would stay on to live in the SCV.
Death Valley’s a national park now, the largest in the continental United States at 3,286,241.46 acres. It’s one of the few parks where you don’t have to worry about forest fires because everything is pretty much burnt to a crisp already.
Yet, it is so beautiful in its desolation. You ought to consider a winter’s visit before the mercury hits the 130s.
And, finally, one last thing to ponder.
Many of us will launch the New Year with a fresh exercise program to get lean and fit.
William Manly and John Rogers left Death Valley on Nov. 4th, 1849. Without support vans, state-of-the-art tennis shoes, hi-tech camping gear and, oh, yes — water, they walked more than 200 miles. It took them two months.
How’s that for a severe program to get in shape?
See you next week with another exciting Time Ranger adventure here at The West Ranch Beacon. Until then, vayan con Dios, amigos!
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