Apr. 1--Moved into new house--it is in such pleasant place we can see across the valley 30 miles. Tom killed a rattlesnake this eve--a centipede yesterday.
Apr. 2--'Will' went to the Park--papered the kitchen with newspapers; Tom killed another rattler.
Apr.
3, Sun.--Warm--John and I went up near the spring to dig up Indian in
waste--did not find Indian--got some new varieties of flowers.
Apr. 4--Warmest yet--'Will' got only two letters--one from Lill--one from Isaiah Caldwell.
Apr.
5--Red letter day--had first lady visitor--Mrs. VanHogan who lives 8
miles from here--our nearest neighbor and her brother Watt
Thompson--with Mrs. ____, their sister--Boston esthetes of the highest
order--liked them so much--two little girls along--came in a two-horse
carriage--had just quit papering in the room and had dinner--'Will'
came this afternoon--brought some fine specimens and letter from Sam
Caldwell.
Apr. 6--High wind--did washing today--men working at nearest spring.
Apr.
7--John and I went to top of mountain--right of cut to look around.
Found a large striped snake and John shot it--boys thought from
description it must be a bull snake--Tom and 'Will' went across to look
for another spring--did not find one. Brought me a Tuni cactus--flower
large of a pink color and partially double.
Apr. 8--Rained and blew quite a gale. Tom and 'Will' started to Park and Kingman--sleeting and cold rain.
Apr.
9--Rained last night--clear this morning. John and I went to big spring
one mile this forenoon--washed a while and baked pies. A man from the
Park got lost in the fog in mountains; was making across the wash to a
canyon, saw the house and came up--was dripping wet and chilled
through--had him come in and gave him dry clothes and had him stay all
night.
Apr. 10, Sun.--Sun shining
in the valley but cold rain and very cloudy; boys did not come home
last night; I went for flowers this morning--got some new
varieties--was on my way back to house with a handful and holding my
dress skirt up full of funny stones with the other not thinking of
snakes as it was cold--when a rattler began to play close beside me--I
gave some long jumps, losing some of my choice flowers--thought I could
slip up and get them with a stick--he began buzzing again--I thought
discretion the better part of valor and went home to tell John--who
proposed if we could not vanquish him and started with the gun.
Following my tracks and found after getting wihin two steps of him,
John shot him. Jim came over from the Park--got here at eleven--brought
me some eggs and some oranges--were just at dinner when 'Will' came
home--had been all night at IXL cabin--sleet, snow and storm.
Apr. 11--Clear, cold, ground covered with snow.
Apr.
12--'Will' went to IXL barn for flour. [No date entry-may fit near
here.] Had another man for week past [?] about 9 o'clock--he had been
out all day before and stayed in an empty cabin all night without any
food--was used up yet started for the Park--mountains white with
snow--bad weather for the poor Indians--they have the measles and are
dying off--Benowa was very sick--an Indian medicine man dug a hole in
the sand--built a fire to heat the sand--heated some rocks--put them in
the hole--then he lay Centa, a resinous plant--much like the mountain
ash--then spread blankets on them--tied the sick man's hands and feet
and laid him on the blanket covering him with more--it cured him. Jim
saw him, with some of the plaster still sticking.
Apr.
13--Clear and pleasant--washed forenoon--John and I started to go up
the highest mountain hemming in this small valley--walked two miles to
the foot and John thought it too much of a climb; 'Will' started this
morning for the Park and Kingman to see if claim he had located and
handed papers in, had been recorded, as he heard at the IXL barn that
two men who had been cutting wood to melt snow for water. [Must have
suspected the men.] Got a horned toad on the way up the valley--tied it
up in paper to take home.
Apr.
14--Clear--'Will' did not go farther than the Park--man he wanted to
see was in California--finished papering the house. 'Will' brought
letter from Maj, one from Annie Norris.
Apr.
15--John and I started for water--� mile--got wet--'Will' had started
for cabin--came back--cleared up--'Will' made another start.
Apr.
16--Clear and warm--washed some--John clearing for another corral by
cutting down weeds--Tom came home--'Will' not back yet.
Apr.
1, Sun.--Clear but rather chilly--read this forenoon--John and I went
to mouth of wash to get some later variety of cactus--Tom said he had
run out of storm--took hom[?] to edge of valley--found one kind and
___other flowers--found another--load on--our way back--got back and
found Jim and 'Will' had come with the sad news that there had been a
shooting scrape on Saturday morning. Mr. Scott, the hotel proprietor,
had shot and fatally wouded George Moore,[Monroe?] deputy
sheriff--his/her name is Botty/booth[?[.
Apr.
18--On his way to Kingman to bring trunks to pack for starting
away--home--had Mr. St. Clair from Quail Springs and Mr. Blackner--son
of Judge Blakeney[sic] of the Park for dinner--were hunting
horses--brought word that Monroe was living yet--had the doctor--and
said there was no hope--is from PA.
Apr.
19--Went to hunt living specimens--got two small centipedes and a
chinchilla [sic] bug--then John and I went to the spring--and got two
more centipedes--Jim back from Park--Monroe thought to be on the
mend--will start for Los Angeles in morning.[Undated entry which fits
near here?]--and Hickok in the lower cabin--Mr. Lewis and Hart in the
tent farther up--quite nice friendly men--while sober--Park--heard
Piute Indian--had chee [sic] on Friday and burned on Sat.--one Mr. Hass
persuaded one of the Indians he knew to agree to let him go along--they
started in file--after going a little ways, an Indian came to him and
said, "You go back, Hickum no go long Indian"--Hass said Mr. Monroe
dead--much dead Indian must all friend burned and so they went a way
farther and tried again to get him to go back saying Indian go heap
long road--Hicko no go, no good. But Hicko wanted so much to see his
friend buried so they went a couple miles from town to gulch and began
operations telling Hass you must much Indian--Indian friend--you fetch
much heap wood to burn his dead friend--so Hass had to rustle around
and gather wood to burn his dead friend and two horses they killed to
go along to the Happy Hunting Ground.
Apr.
20--Left the ranch at 8 A.M.--walked several miles and got some new
specimens of flowers to press. Jim going along to take the team
back--got to Kingman at 5 P.M.--stopped at Miss Styles--train due at
4:15 A.M. at night--got up at 1--too soon--went back to bed--got up at
4--went to station--accident to train beyond Williams [AZ]--would be in
at 7--went back to bed--got up for breakfast--said train would now be
along at noon--had dinner--train to be along at 2--did come at 3--got
aboard for $33.90.
This just came from my cousin (2nd or 3rd??) John McCreight of Kinderhook,NY which letter I have added to Eliza's diary web page. ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Inserted here is copy of a letter Eliza wrote this day to her son, Joe, in PA:
Mineral Park (AZ) Oct [sic] 22 (should have read Nov 22)
Dear Joe, We have been here almost a week and do not know how long we will [stay?]. Not long [we think?] as it would take a small fortune to stay here all winter. have been trying to persuade "Will" to go East or at least leave here as he is not so well as he was when he left home. the air is too rare for his lungs, he cannot climb easily as I can. he and I were [-ing?] to the mining [...illegible... ] direct, but much farther by the Burro path we had to follow it winds around points, beside a precipice at the base of which lies the carcass of a horse which fell over loaded with wood. the path is scarce a foot wide, the mountain close to the right, around a butte which a [sic] wished to ascend but had no time. John and Jim have been at the mines all week digging for ore. they have one tunnel about 50 ft and another about 10 ft. they have some good ore on the Dump, have not sold any yet. they have a good Cabin to stay in but too small for all of us. Jim got dinner thought I was too tired, had good Bread Jim baked Splendid Steak Penn butter, Bologna Tea, and to celebrate the occasion canned apricots, all well got up. The mines are in the Hualapai Mts with the Sacramento Valley on the right, going from here and the Hualapai Valley on the left of the mountain all [?] in the Hualapia [sic], Indian, Res. On the way up I could see into Cal Nevada, and Utah, such strange plants, Brush, and Cacti. this town is the County seat. the [?] are trying to have it moved to Kingman, the largest town in the County, about as large as Sykesville. the houses are built one story and of adobe. There is a school of about 12 or 15 scholars. the teacher gets $10.00 per month. wish I could teach school, could afford to stay then. I was met by about a dozen Indians big and little when I got off the stage. some of them talk English. they wear clothes in town, American fashion-, but go naked when at their own camp. they are around the Hotel most all day, after the broken vituals [sic]. Antelope, a young squaw just passed my window. she is considered the handsomest around but drinks like a fish, and is bad as can be. The married ones are decent, would be killed if they were not. they pack hay and wood to town and do washing and cleaning. I want to get a Rabbit skin mantle from a Mohave squaw if I can. "Will's" friend thinks he can get me one for four or five doll. I wrote Lill [?] you to send $200.00 in Po Orders. If sent, send $300.00 more as we may take Will to Los Angeles with us. Tell Maj my advice would be to try for something farther East, this is a place to make and spend faster. "Will" thinks he would do well in store but so much has to be trusted out to go into the cattle business would require much capital. "Will" says if Maj had come when he wrote him first he could have had all the Butcher business in town as there was no butcher here then. Be good all of you and you will be happier there than any place seen yet.
Love to Babies and all and write soon your mother"
