Page 110 - Cooke's Peak - Pasaron Por Aqui

Ames), Captain Stevens (an old sailor of the coast), and others “fired” the anvils repeatedly in celebra-
48
In frontier times celebra- tion fireworks were frequently provided by placing one blacksmith’s anvil upside down on top of a second anvil. A small charge of black powder was inserted between the two and ignited. The result was a sharp report and a loud bell-like sound from the anvils. Therefore, this was also called “ringing”
the anvil.
Despite the mail service’s impressive start, not all
had gone entirely smoothly in the first two months of operation. The supply train led by Wallace never reached its destination. After few days on the road, Wallace and his crew were suddenly attacked by a party of Comanches. In the confusion Wallace managed to jump from the stage after the pole snapped and mount one of the spare mules. He and the mounted guards escaped, but young William Clifford, of New Orleans, was trapped and killed by the Indians 49 Meanwhile, Birch had returned to the coast to tend to business for the new line and review the California operations in which he was still involved.
On August 20, 1857, Birch embarked for the east by the steamer route, crossed the Isthmus of Panama, and sailed from Aspinwall in early Septem- ber for Havana, Cuba, aboard the steamship Central
America owned by the United States Mail Steamship Company.50 When the ship departed Cuba on Sep- tember 8, it had 508 passengers, a crew of 101 under Captain William L. Herndon, and a cargo treasure
51
valued at over $1.5 million.
rapidly developing storm reached gale force making headway difficult, and a search revealed that the ship was taking water.
Emergency measures failed to forestall the in- evitable and the following day, September 12, with the ship now helpless, its lifeboats made several hazardous trips to the brig Marine transferring
,
women and children until the small boats were too damaged to continue. Remaining passengers and crew fashioned rafts out of anything that would float, but still many, including all the officers of the crew except Second Officer James M. Frazer, went down with the ship at 8 o’clock that night. Survivors were picked up by three rescue vessels over the next several days, but of the 609 persons on board, only
182 were saved; James Birch was one of the 427 who
Woods had proceeded to California with one of the mail deliveries but missed making contact with Birch
tion of the achievement.
and therefore was unable to obtain any
funds to pay
were not
52
The San Antonio-San Diego Mail Company
On the third day a
Despite continuing losses of men, supplies, and
mules to the Indians, Giddings managed to keep the
line in operation. However, in mid-April 1858, upon
returning to San Antonio, he received two strong
doses of bad news. First, Giddings learned that
Indian raids had nearly destroyed his western sta-
tions, and second, that his brother Frank (Francis
Marion), his agent at El Paso since August 1856
(who was simultaneously pursuing his medical prac-
tice), had been killed in Benjamin Shacklett “Uncle
Ben” Dowell’s saloon, and his assailant had escaped
55
to Mexico
Adding to his troubles, Giddings could not collect
the money still owed him from the last quarter’s service for 1857 because Congress had failed to pass the appropriations bill. Instead the government is- sued him certificates of indebtedness that he could
56
This was an extremely serious matter; cash was needed for payroll, supplies, and equipment because, after only one year of operation, the line had already lost 232 mules and an unrecorded amount of supplies and
equipment.
It is unclear exactly when in 1858 the line started to
haul passengers regularly, but the line was definitely carrying passengers as early as May. Until Giddings established his stations that supplied food for the travelers, the passengers and crew either carried provisions with them or were issued quartermaster supplies at military posts along the route as authorized by Colonel Edwin Voss Sumner. Meals
96
debts that he and Giddings had incurred for the
company. Moreover, on Woods’ return to Franklin,
the next mail from the east carried the news of
Birch’s untimely death, the transfer of control to Otis
H. Kelton, and the confirmation of Abner Barrows
as agent in charge of the line in Texas. Woods was
out. However, he applied to Simeon Hart for a loan
to sustain operations, and Hart loaned him $10,000
and urged fellow merchants to accept Woods’ per-
53
sonal notes
Giddings and Doyle worked out an agreement with
Postmaster General Brown and Birch’s executors for Giddings and Doyle to assume the mail contract as of March 3, 1858, and continue operating as the
San Antonio-San Diego Mail Company. retained Woods as superintendent.
54
Giddings
cash only at a substantial discount.