Written by August Michel

In the summer 1918, or so I was visiting relatives in Worth County, Missouri, some of my cousins suggested I should write a short history of the trip to the gold mines made in 1864 by my father, Mathias Michel, Casper Abplanalp, an uncle of mine, Jacob Flick, a swiss from the same village in Switzerland that my father came from, and a young man named Warren Walter. They were inspired to make the venturous trip from the experience of others. My father had a brother in California since the gold days. My uncle had two brothers who went there in early days, one via Panama and the other over land. At the time of which I am writing of, there was a great excitement over the rich gold mines discovered at Virginia City, Idaho (now Montana ). That was the Mecca towards which their faces were turned. My father then was 42 years of age and the only married man in the party. Casper Abplanap, Jacob Flick and my brother, supplied me with the material to write this. I will give each narrative separate. Flick's story will be almost complete as told me. The others will be shortened where it can be done.

My uncle now was nearly 82 years old, very feeble and his memory poor. Brother Matt get his information from father and from conversations overheard when the principals of this story were talking the trip over on their return from the West. Last

summer on my visit in Indiana, I also went to see Jacob Flick and spent a very pleasant day with him going over the trip. I often heard my father tell of the trip, the Indians, buffaloes, antelopes, wide prairies and desolate plains, and their journey down the Yellowstone River in a boat. I remember a buffalo robe, a pair of buckskin pants, moccasins, a butcher knife and some gold brought back by him. The gold was small nuggets, or , rather grains of gold. A pair of moccasins that he brought home for mother were ornamented with many small beads of several different colors. The rifle father had with him on the trip, he bought from Minnesota over sixty years ago. It was an old style muzzleloader with a hair trigger. I shot many squirrels with it and often used it at butchering time. To load it, you would take a goose quill scant half-full of black powder, pour it down into the barrel, place a piece of muslin (patching) over the muzzle, push a bullet into the barrel, cut off the patching with your pocket knife, ram down the bullet with the hickory ram-rod and then put a cap on the tube; then if you set the trigger, took a good aim and touched the hair trigger, you usually got the game. Clyde Pryor of Denver, Missouri, now has possession of the gun. My father died at his home west of Napoleon, Indiana, May 10, 1881. Casper Abplanalp died since I visited him last year, December 23, 1918, at his home near Denver, Missouri. Warren Walter, after his return made another plunge into the wild west and it is not definitely known what became of him. When I visited Jacob Flick last summer he was well along in years, living on his old homestead south of Holton, Indiana. He no longer was the giant of strength of his earlier days. Old age infirmities were gradually encroaching upon him, but as he come from a family noted for its longevity, he may still have many years ahead of him. Now I will step aside and make room for their stories.

Aug. Michel.

Santa Ana, California.

May 30,

We started on our trip to Idaho on April 1, 1864. Our party of four were Mathias Michel, Casper Abplanalp, Warren Walter and myself. Our object was to go to the rich gold mines about Virginia City and mine gold. We started from Greensburg, Indiana. We took some provisions with us. I had a blanket, an India rubber-coat and a few other clothes and the rest of the party were fixed about the same way. Michel and I had rifles and powder. I also had a revolver. Abplanalp and Walter either had rifles or revolvers. We may also have taken an axe along. We went direct to St. Joseph, Missouri, by rail. There we contracted with a man to take us to the mines. He had a covered wagon and two yoke of oxen. I don’t remember how much we paid him, but he was to feed us on the way. I also forgot his name. He was such a queer old fellow, we just called him "Yank". He, like one of his oxen, was blind on one eye

When we got to the South Platte River in Nebraska, our man went back on us. His provisions were nearly gone. He gave us his wagon and possibly a yoke of oxen for what we had paid him. We bought a yoke of oxen from a Frenchman, which was the best in the whole train. Whenever we would cross a river and double teams, our oxen were always put in the lead. We paid five dollars toll per team to cross South Platte River on a bridge.

When we got to the North Platte River we had to ford it. We put eight yoke of oxen to a wagon and raised the wagon beds a few inches to keep the goods from getting wet. Each yoke of oxen had to have a guide or driver, the water in the river went up to the driver's breast. A man on a mule had a rope tied to the lead oxen and lead them. The river was about a mile wide and had a quicksand bottom. We went back and forth until the wagons were all over. Then there were eight or ten wagons in our train. There was a Frenchman with a squaw for his wife living on the South Platte; he kept a store and we bought baking powder and flour from him. We made slapjacks and sometimes biscuits but they were not of the baker bread kind. Often they were not baked enough and sometimes they had too much baking powder in them and burned our tongues. We used buffalo chips for fuel they were the anthracite of the plains in those days. The one of our party that complained of being hungry first usually was the cook We had good appetites and therefore everything tasted well. We had a 16-gallon barrel with us and when we came to where there was good water, we would fill it up. There was plenty grass for our oxen. After we got further along our train had about 100 wagons. We traveled together

for protection against hostile Indians. There were two men in our train who had a keg of alcohol with them. They would change about driving their oxen. One would drive during the forenoon and the other in the afternoon. While one drove, the other was drunk. We appointed one of these me captain of our train. We did it more on account of his alcohol than for his usefulness. He often treated us to drinks.

Afterwhile there were rumors of Indians and we waited for another train; when it came up we obeyed the orders of their captain. At one place about fifty friendly Indians came to our train. They looked into our wagon to see if we had anything to exchange for buffalo robes. They were well fed men and women. The Chief wore a silver medal presented to him by President Fillmore. I don¹t remember what was on the meta1, but I think it said they were friendly Indians. The Chief gave us some good advice how to defend ourselves if we should be attacked by bad Indians. He told us to corral our oxen, which we did by placing our wagons in a circle and by stretching a log chain from one wagon to the other and putting the oxen on the inside. But usually we let the oxen run outside of the camp and those that had horses put a long ropes on them and would nearly always find them near the camp in the morning.

At one place our trail was over a very steep peak. There we put four to six yoke of oxen to a wagon going up and on going down we put them on the rear to hold back.

Then water became very scarce and the oxen bellowed and wanted water. Later on we found streams with plenty of water.

Before we got to the Yellowstone Valley, we had to cross a swift, angry stream. The water went up to a man's thigh. We put 6 to 8 yoke of oxen to a wagon to cross the stream. I drove one yoke; the water came so swift and had I not kept step with the oxen, I would have been swept away. Afterwards I got on an ox and rode. Some mules that were hitched to a wagon got tangled up and thrown over; they broke loose and went rolling over and over down the stream in the rapids until they got to still water. When they were taken out, it was found that they were not hurt but as sound as ever.

At one place Michel and I left the party and crossed a hill to cut off part of the distance. We saw something move in the brush. First we thought it might be an Indian with a pony. We looked around for tracks and then we saw an animal raise its head and sniff. It was a grizzly bear eating sarvesberrys. We counseled what to do with him; the decision was to let him alone.

We finally got to Virginia City. There was plenty of gold, but the mines were all taken and owned by others. We got there too late and thousands of men had to go some place else. As we could not get any claims, we decided to saw lumber which was in good demand. Our sawmill consisted of two trestles at a steep place and a whip saw. The saw we bought from some parties who wanted to sell it. It took three men, and sometimes four, to run it. We used chalk line and charcoal to make the lines. Michel was head sawyer and kept the saw in trim. We also had a cross-cut saw to cut the logs. I don't remember how many feet of lumber we sawed a day, but enough to make fifty dollars a day. Abplanalp did most of the teaming. We sold the lumber at the mines in Virginia City. We ran the mill six weeks.

One day Walter and I went hunting in a canyon over in the mountains; we were going to try for mountain sheep, beer, or moose. There was still snow in the upper end of the canyon from the winter before. This was in the fall. Half-way down there was a lake covering about 200 acres; it had an outlet and a good stream of water ran down from it. Below there was timber mostly pine, also large rocks hollowed out underneath. We noticed some limbs broken from a pine tree just fresh, we could also see claw marks in the bark and decided it was done by a bear. Bears break off pine limbs to get the seed from the pine cones, which they eat. We were carefully looking about for the bear, when suddenly he went galloping past us. I suppose we scared him. Walter was going to shoot, but I noticed that he was nervous, so I shot first but did not kill him the first shot. The bear laid down besides a dead tree.

 Walter then shot but missed. The bear then went to some water near and commenced to splash around in it. Walter then gave him a couple of shots with his revolver. When the bear was dead, we found that the bullets from the revolver did not go through the hide and that he died from the first shot. I missed his heart about one inch. We carried him to our camp and it was quite a job as we went up grade most of the way. On nearing the camp we whooped and Michel came to help us. The next day Abplanalp took him to Virginia City and sold him for sixteen dollars in gold; that was the same as thirty-two dollars in greenbacks.

We started to go to another mining camp near Gallatin and stocked up with flour at twenty-eight dollars a sack. Then some of the men wanted to go home before winter came on, so we decided to go home. We sold our flour at an advanced price. We went back to Virginia City and there found some men who thought it feasible to build a boat and float down the Yellowstone River. They joined us and we bought provisions and loaded them with our other belongings in our ox wagon and we started for the Yellowstone River. The new additions to our party were from Missouri and Michigan.

It took us six days to saw the lumber and build the boat. Our boat was about thirty feet long and six feet wide at the bottom. Our oxen disappeared and we always suppose that some of our new members had some friends that got them. After we were in the river awhile, the water got so low that we tore the roof and part of the sides from the boat.

We were getting pretty short on meat. One evening we spied a buffalo about a quarter of a mile out in the prairie and we decided to try for some fresh meat. but three started for the buffalo. We all shot at the same time, he staggered and fell and then got up again. After dusk we went to look for him and we found him partly eaten by the wolves. We saved the balance and stocked up our larder again.

The next day our boat got on a riffle and started to leak We landed our boat and found that some of the bottom planks had to be replaced. Everything in our boat was wet, including our clothes and guns. The new men were not satisfied with our camping place and went about forty rods further and camped. That night the wolves carried away a keg, some shoes and clothes. Those in the other camp were alarmed and thought they had a bear in their camp and called for us to come with our guns, but our guns like theirs were wet. The next day was Sunday; we sawed some boards and repaired our boat.

One day we passed a place where many Indians were camping. They seemed to be breaking up camp and moving. They had quite a large herd of cattle. Some of the Indians motioned to us that they wanted something to eat. I threw a biscuit towards them, but it fell into the water, and some Indians swam out in an upright position to get it. We asked them if they had any meat to sale. They said that in a day and a half we would find plenty of meat. The Chief and another Indian got in our boat with us and wanted to stay that night, we got them to quit the boat as we felt more the secure without them. On the second day down the river from there, I counted one hundred elks around me at one time. After that we saw elk, beaver and mountain sheep.

We now got into the Missouri River and after that we had plenty of water. We then put up our sail sometimes went flying. The sail was made out of our wagon sheet. After that we could buy edibles at military stations along the Missouri River. Sometimes we could get a deer.

One day we saw two buffaloes jump off the bluff into the river and disappear under the water for quite awhile. When they cam up again, they blowed the water out of their nostrils, shook themselves, drank water, jumped up on the bluff again and soon vanished from sight. Near Sioux City we got rid of our boat.

If anyone ever traveled that distance down the Yellowstone River in a boat before, I have not heard of it.

From Omaha, Michel and I took a steamboat to St. Joseph, then to St. Louis, from there by rail to Hofton, Indiana. Abplanalp and Walter went a more direct route by rail.

I can well remember when the party left our place on April 1, 1864, for Idaho. Uncle Jacob (Abplanalp) and Casper Kuster took them to the railroad. They took two chest along, that father made for the purpose, filled with provisions, consisting of hams, cheese, dried fruit and some other things.

Father started with two new pairs of boots, that John Thackery of Napoleon made for him. They all had woolen shirts and woolen underclothes. They were all supplied with guns; father had a rifle.

Father wrote a letter from St. Joseph that they hired a man with a wagon and oxen for two-hundred and fifty dollars to take them to Virginia City, he was to furnish transportation and board. The party sold most of their provision but still had two-hundred and fifty pounds left.

Their man often went ahead of the train with his wagon which looked rather suspicious to them. Father said the others objected to it. Afterwhile he found he could not fill his contract and gave father and his party the wagon and one yoke of oxen, to release him from further obligation.

When they crossed North Platte River, the water was deep and the quicksand bad. The captain of the train rode a pony and if anyone was in distress of deep water or quicksand, he could ride up on them and they would get hold of the pony's tail and pulled up to safety.

After they got to where the Indians were, many of the many bought buffalo robes. Father and uncle Casper each bought two home.

The wolves would often come near their camps and howl. The first night the wolves came, one man was frightened and made a fort out of oxyokes and got inside with his rifle.

Sometime during August, mother got another letter from father. Among other things he wrote that they were in the gold regions, that the country was all staked out and that they changed to sawmilling, that they built a sawmill, finished it the second day and had enough steam to run it.

When they first got out there, they saw a piece of gold from a placer mine as big as a man's hand; it had gone over with the tailings because the riffles in the sluice box were not big enough.

In building their boat, they used very dry wood from their wagon to pin it together.

Besides the four in father's party, three men from Michigan and four from Missouri joined them to build the boat and go down the Yellowstone. The men from Missouri had what was on their backs with the possible exception of firearms. Those from Michigan were better fixed.

One night as they were camping on the river bank on account of a leaky boat, the seven new men were not satisfied with the location and camped some distance from father’s party. That night the wolves made a raid on their camp and carried away a keg of lard and some boots. The seven were disturbed by wolves and thought a bear was about their camps and called for the other four to come with their rifles. They did not pay any attention to them. Then one of the seven came over and was going to start trouble. Jacob Flick told him if they had staid in camp with them, this fuss would have been avoided. After the troublemaker went back to his camp, Flick said that was the best thing he could have done, or he would have convinced him with something stronger than arguments.

At one time their menu was almost holly made up of elk meat. I heard father say that they did not have to take any pills while on elk meat diet.

After they got down where there were settlements a man wanted to buy their tools but had no money. He offered to give all the wine they could drink for them and they accepted the offer. The wine was made from wild grapes and honey. As they were going back to the boat, Warren Walter in his hilarity explained "We will put up the sails today whether the wind blows or not."

When they got down near a great bend in the Missouri River, a man hauled them across the bend to Sioux City for their boat.

Uncle Casper and Walter made a short stop in Iowa and then came home direct by rail. Father and Flick went by steamboat as far as St. Louis and then via the O&M R.R. now the B&OSW to Holton, Indiana. Jacob Flick brought father home the next day.

Father brought home two buffalo robes, a pair of buckskin pants, two pairs of moccasins and a butcher knife that he got from an Indian in a trade. The Indian said it was good for scalping. He also had a piece of tanned Indian hide that he got from a white man. A year before they had a fight with the Indians and this man skinned one and tanned the hide.

Warren Walter was 18 years old when he went to the mines in1864. Two years later he and a nephew, one of Lewis Walter’s sons, went again by the same overland route with a big team of three or four yoke of oxen. They started from St. Joseph loaded with bacon, coffee, flour and other groceries. At that time there was big money in freighting. Their fathers furnished them with the money for the outfit. That fall Warren sent $600.00 to his father from Virginia City. They were going further north and then were going to send more money. That was the last heard of Warren Walter and his nephew

I was within 30 or 40 miles of Virginia City, Montana. The big placer diggings were located at Alder gulch.

In 1866 gold was found at Last Chance (Helena, Montana). At that time there were all kinds of outlaws and cut throats in that country, who would rob and kill sometimes disguised as Indians. Old timers told me that they thought that was the fate of the Walter boys. I met an old timer that knew father and the men that were whipsawing lumber at Alder Gulch in 1864, but could not remember any names.