HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF THE UPPER MOJAVE DESERT
P. O. Box 2001, Ridgecrest, CA 93556
Vol. 22 No. 8 October 2007 ___________________________________________________________________________
OCTOBER MEETING: JOHN SEARLES by Jim Fairchild

For the first time, the Society will hold its regular monthly meeting at the former USO/County Building at 230 W. Ridgecrest Blvd. in Ridgecrest. The meeting will be held at 7:30 PM on Tuesday, October 16th. The subject of this month's presentation will be John Searles.

Gold miners John and Dennis Searles discovered crude borax in the crusty surface of a salt marsh in the California desert near Death Valley in 1863 and began production of refined borax 10 years later. Eventually, the marsh they discovered was recognized as one of the largest and most diverse saline mineral deposits in the world. It has proven large enough to support production for over 130 years. Today, that marsh is called Searles Dry Lake.

The story of the Searles brothers is one of adventure and separation, trial and invention, risk and daring, success and failure, but mostly perseverance. Successes included profiting from mining gold, the first production of borax from the California deserts and the first use of 20-mule teams to haul borax in California. For John, he had a near fatal adventure with a California grizzly bear and as a single parent, he raised a son in the desert who would later become a prominent citizen of San Francisco.

At the October meeting, John Searles will tell the story of his life. This story begins with his great grandfathers who were officers in George Washington's Army during the War of the Revolution. John was born in Tribes Hill, New York and traveled to California by ship during the great California gold rush. After mining gold in the Trinity River in northern California, he traveled to the Slate Range mining district where he continued mining gold. After the Slate Range mines played out he and Dennis moved on to the Soledad district to continue mining gold. It was while there that he had a near fatal encounter with a grizzly bear that left him severely scarred.

John married May Ann Covington on January 1, 1873 and they had one son, Dennis III. However, childbirth left Mary severely disabled and it fell to John to raise their son. Because John and his partners started mining at the borax marsh in 1873, after his birth John had to care for infant Dennis at his desert borax mine.

Life in the deserts of California in the period 1860 through 1880 was severe, especially in the valley where Searles was mining borax. The weather was extreme. Summers were blazing hot, winters were freezing cold, and sand storms buffeted the area in the winter and spring. Water was extremely scarce with barely enough to sustain the miners and the borax refining operation.

For this presentation, the role of John Searles will be played by Jim Fairchild. Jim and his wife Bonnie have lived in Searles Valley for nearly 45 years. Recently, Jim has taken an interest in the early history of Searles Valley, especially the role of the Searles brothers in developing mining in the inhospitable desert. The story related will be as John might have told it late in his life. Because this was a time when it was often fashionable to embellish stories to make the men appear more heroic than they really were, some of John's tales may be somewhat exaggerated, but certainly they will be entertaining.

Jim is a chemical engineer and chemist by training at the University of California, Berkeley.

Be sure to come out this month and see the results of the ongoing community efforts to restore the USO Building to its former glory. For more information on this or future meetings, call Society President Bill Nevins at 375-4764.
Jim Fairchild, Andrew Sound

YARD SALE OCTOBER 20 AND 21

We're hoping for another successful Yard Sale at the USO Building on Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 20 ad 21. Donations have made it huge! Volunteers will be on hand on Friday, Oct. 19, from 10 to 3 accepting further donations. Kathy Armstrong

FUND RAISING REPORT

Richard Proesser was the lucky raffle winner of the "sweetheart" diamond ring which was donated by Adams Jewelers.

The ring raffle and our recent auction netted $3685.00. We are always grateful to this community, its residents and businesses for the their contributions, allowing us to continue necessary fund raisers to restore the historical old USO Building. Kathy Armstrong

BLUES EXTRAVAGANZA, Oct. 13

Blues for the Masses Dance Extravaganza is to be held Saturday, October 13th! The Carriage Inn and Bob Peoples of Blues After Hours are co-hosting this benefit at the Carriage Inn at 7 p.m. Pre sale tickets are available at the Carriage Inn Maturango Museum, Chamber of Commerce office and Red Rock Books. $15.00 at the door. Dinner is available, as well as an open bar.
Kathy Armstrong

HALLOWEEN SPOOK HOUSE

Again this year, we'll be partnering with CLOTA with their scary Spook House during the "Olde Towne" fall festival. The spook house will be open Friday evening, October 26, as well as Festival Day, Oct. 27
Kathy Armstrong

UPCOMING TRIPS

Oct. 20 The tour of Goler Wash and Barker Ranch is on. Barker Ranch was where Charlie Manson and his band was captured in the 60's. It has been recently cleaned and is in better shape than I've seen in years. We will see several other sites. I have pre run this and the road is in good shape with some rocks. We will proceed slowly through these areas. Vehicles should be high clearance with reasonably good tires. Most SUV and 2 wheel drive pickups will be OK. I wouldn't recommend low ground clearance cars. Most of the brush trees have been trimmed back, but there is the possibility of some contact. No limit on amount of vehicles. There could be a side trip to the Keystone for the more capable vehicles, but this would be a true 4 WD road.

Nov. 3 There are still openings for the Nov. 3rd Borax Mine tour in Boron. You will drive your own car to the Borax mine, then will ride a Borax supplied bus and will see all of the mining area including a trip to the bottom and view the huge ore trucks in action. Space is limited to 20 people and you must sign up for this trip. You should also visit the 20 Mule Team Museum in Boron; it has a lot of history that concerns our local history. Contact Jim Kenney at 760-371-2458. Jim Kenney

WILLS AND TRUSTS

Please remember the Historical Society in your wills, trusts and other gift giving. We are a 501 (c) 3 organization.

GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY CONTRIBUTION

The Genealogical Society of the Indian Wells Valley recently contributed $250 for the restoration project of our historic USO Building. The contribution was made In Memorium of several long-time members of their Society. Many thanks.

HISTORICAL ARTICLE

(Following is an article prepared by our great local historian member, John Di Pol, drawn from his personal library. Ed).

Juliet Brier - A Death Valley Heroine

Western history is replete with the story of the gold rush migration across the continent in the late 1840s. No cross-country railroads then - by wagon and on foot from jumping off points in the midwest towards Oregon and California. One such family that emigrated was the Brier Family consisting of Rev. James Brier, his wife Juliet Brier and three sons: Chris, age 9, John, age 7 and Kirk, age 4.

In early 1849, the Iowa Methodist Missionary Board asked for volunteers to go to California. Rev. Brier answered the call and he and his family proceeded to Salt Lake City. There they refitted, organized supplies, oxen and wagon. They joined the Sand Walking Company Wagon Train, guided and lead by Capt. Jefferson Hunt. The train was to follow the Old Spanish Trail into Southern California Capt. Hunt was very familiar with this route, having traversed it as an officer in the Mormon Battalion when the Battalion went into California to take part in the war with Mexico in 1846.

By early October, the train of 100 wagons was finally organized and on the 10th departed Salt Lake City and headed south. After two weeks on the trail and in the present -day Cedar City area, the train encountered a small group lead by Captain Smith who had an old map and information from a prior Fremont expedition about a cutoff at this point to a trail due west along a mountain range that trended east-west clear to the Sierra Nevadas. Much discussion about taking this cutoff. Capt. Hunt strongly advised against it. Strangely, Rev. Brier was strongly in favor. Finally, a large majority of the wagons decided to turn to the west, Capt. Hunt and a handful of wagons continued on the Old Spanish Trail.

The westbound train immediately began to encounter difficulties. They were entering the Nevada territory and traversing the basin and range topography. There were no east-west mountains. Forage for the oxen poor or non-existent. Water holes few and far between, game for fresh meat scarce Groups of wagons began to defect and turn south, to intersect the Old Spanish Trail and rejoin (or follow) Capt. Hunt. The Brier family had a specific problem: The Rev. Brier began to weaken physically. and unable to cope with the work that had to be done. The responsibilities increasingly fell on the shoulders of Juliet Brier: to care for her husband and her three small children, handle the oxen, setup and breakdown camp, prepare meals, etc. etc. Juliet , age 35, was a small woman, weighing less that 100 lbs and under five feet in height. But the family continued westward.

By the time the last defector turned south, the westbound contingent consisted of 27 wagons in toto. The largest group was an assembly of young single men calling themselves the "Jayhawkers" , four families with wives and children: the Briers, Bennett's, Arcan and Wade, the Nussbaumer group (all men) and various individuals and partners. They pressed on across southern Nevada to Forty Mile Canyon (20 miles east of present-day Beatty), an area of tortuous terrain. The Briers and others decided to burn their wagons and carry the supplies, etc., on the oxen, a move that many years later Juliet said "was a mistake". They traversed the Amargosa Valley and entered Death Valley via Furnace Creek Canyon., with Juliet Brier carrying her 4 year old son on her back most of the time. They stopped in Furnace Creek and spent Christmas Day at Travertine Springs. During these times, the Briers had been trailing behind the Jayhawkers. Upon arrival in Death Valley, Juliet asked if her family could join the group. At first the Jayhawkers resented having a family travel with them, but they soon saw the courage of Juliet and accepted her as "one of their own".

To reach Los Angeles four mountain ranges, the Panamints, Slates, Argus and the San Gabriels had to be surmounted. To prepare the assault of the Panamints, the Jayhawkers burned all their wagons and loaded the oxen. Surplus animals were slaughtered for food and hides even though they were but skin and bones. The Wade family, followed by the Nussbaumer group, chose a southerly route and
after a long and arduous journey reached civilization via the Mojave River. The Bennett and Arcan families
crossed the valley and set up their "Long Camp" at
Bennett's Well (or Tule Spring?) while Manly and Rogers went on their epic journey of salvation.

In crossing the Panamints, part of the Jayhawkers went via Emigrant Pass and Wildrose Canyon, the others via Towne Pass. The Briers followed the latter, then headed south down Panamint Valley. Historian Southworth states "Death Valley had been defeated but the worst was still ahead for the Brier family ". They were in extremis regarding their physical condition and meager resources at this time, the children suffering and the Rev. Brier nearly an invalid, but Juliet prevailed. The Slate Range Crossing out of Panamint Valley into Searles Valley was surmounted with much difficulty. It was in this stretch that two Jayhawkers collapsed and died. They exited Searles Valley and crossed the Argus Mts north of Argus Peak via Brice Canyon, then down Wilson Canyon (or Mountain Springs?) into the Indian Wells Valley, across to the Indian Wells Springs at the base of the Sierras. Their route turned south into the Antelope Valley then through the San Gabriels via Soledad Canyon to the San Francisquito Rancho on Feb. 4, 1850, Juliet still tending her husband, three small boys and some starving oxen, arriving triumphantly, although in rags.

Ref: THE SHADOW OF THE ARROW, Margaret Long, MD, 1950,
DEATH VALLEY HEROINE, L. Burr Belden, 1954
GOODBYE DEATH VALLEY, L. Burr Belden, 1956
DEATH VALLEY IN 1849, J. Southworlth, 1986
DEATH VALLEY, THE FACTS,W, Chalfant, 1930
THE DEATH VALLEY PIONEERS, Mary & Marv. Jensen, 2005