Just over yonder, on that level spot at the foot of the hill, now the Chinaman’s garden, was the cabin of Dr Wakefield with his wide-awake wife, hailing from the State of Connecticut, and she had the whole field to herself in one respect, at least. She furnished the miners with the regular, old-fashioned mince pies that they had been accustomed to eating in their Eastern homes, and at a price too which no one could cavil at, it being for pies plain $2 each, sugared upper crust 50 cents extra. Whether it was owing to the healthy nature of the pie material, or from the fact that the lady herself never ate any of her own pies, perhaps will never be known. At any rate, she is at the present time in good health, and a resident of the city of Oakland.
In the lower part of Hangtown, and nearly opposite to where the foundry now stands, was the cabin of John Cook, and his wife was the first washerwoman in Hangtown.
Just below them, on the bank of the creek, was the cabin of the two Russell brothers, from the city of New York, who returned home in December of ’49, taking with them about $12,000 each, which they took from Oregon Ravine.
On the opposite side of the creek, upon the side of the hill, could
be seen for many years the remains of an old cabin that was built and occupied in September, ’49, by a company of pilgrims who came around Cape Horn in the good ship “Mayflower” from New Bedford, Mass.
Up there by the bank, on the opposite side of the creek, was the old log cabin in which lived Uncle Ned Keegen, and he continued to occupy it for many years, at the present time living with his family on the same spot.
Nearly opposite, on the flat, was a more pretentious residence: a costly edifice, and an illustration of the expensive habits of the Forty-niners, being constructed of shakes and pine poles. In this were domiciled A. F. Bee, his brother F. A. Bee, C. C. Batterman and others, who came around Cape Horn in the ship “Elizabeth Ellen,” from New York.
During a walk down Weaver Creek, we saw the remains of the old building used by Darlington as a store in ’49, and upon the flats and points, as we passed along down the creek, we noticed the remains of numerous chimneys, which are the indications of the former existence of cabins that were occupied by the Forty-niners; and a short distance below the village of Weaverville a few years previously could be seen the old decayed logs and chimney of the cabin in which resided Mr. Frank Pixley, now editor of the Argonaut, San Francisco, who engaged in mining on the creek. A short distance below, the remains of an old chimney were seen that belonged to a cabin which was occupied by three or four Nantucket boys, who came around Cape Horn in the good ship “Fanny.”