Two sons of Joseph &
Priscilla Longley's went to California in the 1840s
William Tennessee (1820-1908)
& Alexander Preston "Pres" Longley (1819-1912),
Philosopher, Poet, Newspaperman
Both are buried in the
DAR Plot at Oroville Cemetery.
Photos Courtesy
of Yvonne Adams, Descendant of Mary Catherine Longley Tyler
Alexander
Preston Longley signed his newspaper articles "Pres"
His brother's
simple marker, Wm. Tennessee Longley
Following are three of Pres's
newspaper articles, republished in the Dogtown Nugget Souvenir
Program, 1972:
STANDING GUARD
Battle Creek, Dec. 24, 1868 - Mr. Editor:
Did you ever stand guard on the desert? No? Well, then you may
not understand the incidents attending this little narrative.
Now, in the course of human events, Messrs. Brooks and Chandler
purchased fifty head of extra beef steers at Butte Creek for the
Sacramento Market. These gentlemen were fully persuaded that there
was not a sufficient number of people this side of that market,
who could appreciate a good article of that kind; so they were
determined to drive them thither, in order to obtain a price commensurate
with their quality. They were the best lot of steers ever raised
in Butte County, or drive n out of it - so Brooks says and he
knows.
We started with the band in the afternoon,
Billy, Charley and I. It was one of those damp, drizzling kind
of days that tempt a man out if he has business, and warn him
to stay in if he has none.
All went well until we arrived at a point
about ten miles due west from the most enterprising and flourishing
little town, Oroville. Here night began to cast its shadow over
that undulating red land, little known to any of us in the day
time, and not at all at night.
Billy was captain of the band, and I, general
advisor. Billy advanced to the front to reconnoitre the country,
and find out, if possible, the where abouts of our mighty destination,
Boulder's Ranch. Charley and I stood guard. We sat on our horses.
No sound was heard, save the sweep of the wind and the patter
of the rain. Our horses wheeled their tails to the storm, and
appeared to think like their masters, wet, cold and hungry, that
they had taken their position for the night. The herd put their
noses to the ground, only to find that there was nothing to eat
there. After a time of silence, save only the noise of the storm,
Charley broke it with the inquiry; "Are there any Indians
about here?" "No, I think not," I answered, "at
least no hostile ones." "I have stood guard; but to
stand on guard on a stormy night, without food or fire, in the
midst of a civilized community, seems to me to be assuming a rather
ridiculous position." "I know of no better way,"
said I, "than for us to accept the situation. We have got
into a scrape, and the easiest way to get out of it the best way."
We concluded that Billy had lost his reckoning,
and was probably wandering to larboard, and moved our band in
double file. It was stimulating to think that we were driving
a band of the best beef cattle that anybody ever got lost with
on that red rolling desert. No beacon light appeared by which
to guide our craft to port; no "vesper ringing of the bells
of Saint Boniface" to guard the weary traveler to light,
food and fire.
Presently Billy returned and reported progress. He had been lost,
as we supposed, and returned to us by the noise of driving. As
captain of the band, he suggested that I should re___________
________ ____________ ted abode, and I soon saw a light gleaming
through the live oaks and shrubbery. Another moment and I had
dismounted and sounded the door panel of a two-story house, being
all I could see of the town of Hamilton, the ancient county seat
of Butte County. Two or three honest faces made their appearance,
and with a slight foreign accent gave proposed destination. A
few moments more and we took our course as directed, and were
somewhat astonished to see the moon shining in the north, as it
made its appearance for a moment between the clouds.
It is but just to say that after we had
turned and were progressing in the right course, one of the gentlemen
from Hamilton rode up to us. He had come out to see if we were
on the right road. We thanked him kindly for the pains he had
taken in our behalf. When he returned to his home, we all agreed
that his conduct was that of a gentleman. We soon arrived at Mr.
Boulder's, found plenty to eat, a good fire, and Charley was delighted
to think how he escaped standing guard surrounded by civilized
people.
Sentinal [signed Pres.
Longley ]
AWAKENING OF THE ECHOES
Hell Town - Jan. 8, 1870 - The earth has
commenced another revolution around her centre, while man with
all his ingenious appliances impressed upon the annals of history
the glorious achievement of the last year, which will forever
remain on the ledger of time as a brilliant epoch in the history
of the world. Two continents bisected and two oceans connected
by means of the Suez Canal, offers facilities to the commerce
of the nations that were never known before, while the great railway
thoroughfare across the continent of North America, from the Atlantic
to the Pacific Ocean, awakens the echoes of civilization amid
the silent solitudes of a savage domain.
But what may not be reasonably be expected
to occur through the instrumentality of science and art in the
year 1870? It would seem that man, not satisfied with the natural
disposition of land and water upon the earth's surface, had taken
into his wise noddle the immense idea of reconstructing the whole
thing to suit his own practical convenience, nor do we think it
impious for him to make the attempt, since God has given him the
earth, "and the fullness thereof," and endowed him with
a intellect for the noblest of purposes; Moses smote a solid rock
and a stream of clear cold water bursted from it, to allay the
thirst of a traveling nation; but we, in our time have accomplished
greater wonders than that; we smote the earth, and two continents
were rent asunder, and the water of one ocean mingled with those
of the other; we send the quick spirits of the air on a wire along
the coral clad bottom of the ocean for a distance of three thousand
miles in a moment, and they speak of tranquil peace and prosperity,
or they speak of battles, bloodshed and disaster. And yet these
wonders are not accomplished by man alone, it is God in man, as
it was God in Moses when he worked the wonders that astounded
Egypt and Israel.
Hence, we believe that all the late, far
gone triumphs of science were but the forerunners of mightier
achievements that were to follow and in the present year we may
expect to see the atmosphere of the earth successfully navigated,
we may expect to vault into the heavens with out aviator, fearlessly
rise above the regions of the storm and sail to our destination,
with cloudless skies above our heads, and mid the pure fields
of ether that are lying unoccupied all around this mighty globe
of ours, and it may happen, it is quite reasonable to suppose
that in these aerial voyages, our minds will be susceptible of
higher, grandeur, and more glorious thoughts than we have known
before; but there, let us come down; we get tired to stay above
the clouds so long; let us come down to railroads, steam plows,
telegraphs, printing presses, threshing, mowing and sewing machines,
that all admit of and no doubt will this year receive great improvements.
Also there is religion and morality that must be fostered, respected,
and believed.
"To be truly great, is to be truly
good."
A REMINISCENCE OF THE OLD MINING
DAYS
Nov. 3, 1908 - The Americans are people
of impulse, progress, improvement nd discovery. They are perhaps
the most peculiar people in the world. They will lie down in the
midst of the most appaling danger with perfect equanimity, but
when calamity falls upon them they rouse like lions, and resist
it with infinite rage.
When gold was discovered in California
by Marshall on Sutter Creek, an excitement ensued that had no
previous parallel in the history of the world. Men of wealth,
men of talent, with nothing but energy, muscle and youth dropped
their vocations and started in hot haste for the fabulous gold-fields
of the West.
It was an irresistible stream of humanity
that weathered the perils of Cape Horn, by the ocean route, and
other vast crowds fought their way over thousands of miles of
desert plains, confronted by hostile Indians, starvation and death.
Many of these daring spirits fell by the way, many made fortunes
and returned to the bosom of their families, while many thousands
remained in the land and by their energy, intelligence and patriotism
built up one of the grandest commonwealths in our great republic.
From Sutter Creek, where Marshall found
his first nugget, the prospectors took divergent courses. Some
went south and found rich diggings along the foothills of the
Sierras; some went north and scattered themselves along the great
watersheds of the Sierras, where they found rich deposits of the
needful, building mining towns, digging trails over impossible
mountains, bridging roring cataracts, fluming rivers tunneling
gravel channels and knocking into atoms vast gravel mountains
with their hydrants.
But in this great rush for gold they did
not lack the ability to organize counties and courts of justice,
for within that vast army of gold hunters could be found eminent
lawyers, shrews politicians, skilled doctors, intellectual journalists,
big-hearted merchants, and last but not least - the preacher of
glad tiding stood up and reiterated the simple story of the Cross
and, though it had been 2000 years ago, it seemed as new to them
as though it had only happened yesterday.
Many of the early mining camps contained
men of genius and eminence, disguised with mud and patched garments,
who, to a careless obserer, would seem an insignificant nobody;
but when the occasion called them to the front they astounded
the beholder with a flood of eloquence. I recollect an incident
that occurred on Feather River in 1852. A valuable mining claim
was in litigation. The rightful owner was on the point of being
ousted by a party that had lots of money and influence. The case
was to be decided by a miner's meeting, as usual. An obscure-looking
individual, wearing an old slouched hat, his garments covered
with dirt and mud, and his pants patched with flour sacks, stepped
up to a man who was on the point of losing his claim and told
him he would gain his claim for $100. The claim owner had but
few friends in camp, and accepted the offer. The meeting was called
to order, witnesses examined, and the crowd leaned fearfully towards
the side of whiskey and influence. But old slouch came forward
and said the miners of California had always been celebrated for
their love of justice, and hoped they would give the claim to
its rightful owner, in fact he warmed up on his subject, and inundated
the crowd with a gust of eloquence that would carry a jury out
of its boots. The vote was taken, and resulted in the young man
getting his claim, which was a very rich one. When they came to
find out, the orator was "Tom Cox," one of the most
celebrated lawyers of Nashville, Tennessee.
