toddy. "If I am to die anyhow, this dram will do me no harm,' he said. And so thought his attendants. Within an hour after the toddy was given him, he was thickly "broken out" with measles; and his recovery was rapid and complete.

as

After his graduation Gregg returned to Jackson county and began the practice of his profession. In this he continued two or three years and until his health began to decline. He supposed he was the victim of tuberculosis-"consumption," it was then called. His strength fell to so low an ebb that he could not mount his horse without assistance. This was in the winter of 1830-1831. There were many instances known to the people of Jackson county where a voyage across the plains with the traders had been of the greatest benefit to persons so afflicted. Independence was at that time the headquarters of the Santa Fé trade. The caravans started to Santa Fé from that point. Gregg's father had been a member of William Becknell's expedition from Arrow Rock in the year 1822-the first in which wagons were taken to Santa Fé in this commerce. So, being familiar with the nature and financial contingencies of the trade, Gregg engaged in it himself. His caravan set out from Independence on the fifteenth day of May, 1831. His life for the next ten years may be read in his matchless work on that period and those times. There is one curious incident he does not mention. It was furnished me by the late lamented and brilliant Miss Mary Louise Dalton, secretary of the Missouri historical society, though I had heard some previous mention of it from members of the Gregg family.

On one of his many trips to Santa Fé he was employed by a priest to build a clock in the tower of his church, the contract price for which was $1,000. Mr. Gregg, however, finished the work in much less time than was anticipated by the priest, and he refused to pay more than $700.

When building the clock Mr. Gregg placed in it the image of a little negro, which, when the clock would strike, would come outside and dance. Some months after Mr. Gregg's return to the United States he received a letter from the priest stating that the little negro had ceased to perform his mission, and if he would return and repair it he would pay him the remainder of his money according to the original contract, $300. The following spring Mr. Gregg returned to Santa Fé and repaired the clock; and, on inquiry, he learned that the priest's flock had

told him the reason the negro would not come out and dance as before, was because he had not paid the full price agreed upon. Mr. Gregg got his $300 and heard no more of the clock.

Dr. Gregg was not a soldier in the war with Mexico but was a correspondent for newspapers. The names of these papers have not been ascertained. Perhaps those at New Orleans were among them, but this is not confirmed. He was with General Taylor's army. He accompanied a force sent by Taylor to Colonel Doniphan at Chihuahua, and he returned with Colonel Doniphan to the sea. Meredith T. Moore of the Cole county company, Doniphan's expedition, a man of the highest character, saw Gregg almost daily on the march from Chihuahua. He gave me the account of this incident.

The weather was extremely warm the day the army marched out of Chihuahua, and when the sand-wastes were reached it was scorching. Gregg was never physically a strong man, and at that time his health was poor. He raised a red silk umbrella to protect himself from the intense heat. At that time he was near the rear of the line. The soldiers were always on the lookout for something to furnish them diversion and amusement. They all knew Dr. Gregg, and upon sight of his red umbrella they began to cheer and make such remarks as men in their situation will. It was all good-naturedly meant, but he rode hurriedly down the line to escape it, which caused the efforts of the men to be redoubled. Gregg reached the position of Colonel Doniphan in no good humor, believing that the men knew him well enough to realize that in even fair health he would rough it with any of them. He complained to Doniphan, but a few words from the colonel restored his equanimity.

After the close of the war with Mexico Dr. Gregg probably returned to his home in Missouri; for in 1849 he went to California, as did every other Missourian who could possibly get there. William H. Gregg, of Jackson county, Missouri, told me that he understood that his uncle Josiah went to California from New Orleans, crossing the Isthmus of Panama. But that he could have done this, I think improbable. There is nothing very certain, however, as to the route taken by Dr. Gregg. The members of the Gregg family consulted, with the above exception, believed he went overland. The particulars of that journey over grassy stretches, up and over barren ranges, down rocky valleys, over plains above which whirled clouds of choking,

blistering alkali, across the Sierras and down the golden streams to the western sea, are now known to none.

The date of Dr. Gregg's arrival in California has not been found. He was at San Francisco. There he met Jesse Sutton, whom he must have previously known; for from him he borrowed some money with which to make a tour of the Trinity river country. The object of this tour is not exactly known, and its nature is uncertain. His brother-in-law, Mr. Hardwicke, had left Missouri in search of him when the intelligence of his death was received. Writing home from Smith's trading house, California, September 21, 1850, he said: "I saw one man who said that he saw him on Trinity river two or three hundred miles north of this, last winter, and that he was doing some business for the Government. I think this most likely."

The cause of the journey of Mr. Hardwicke to California to search for Dr. Gregg is found in a letter written him by John Gregg from Shreveport, Louisiana, May 16, 1850. In that letter John Gregg says: "The last letter I had from him [Dr. Gregg] was dated Trinity River, some 400 miles north of San Francisco." All this is indefinite as to location as well as purpose. From an article prepared with care by L. K. Wood for the Humboldt Times, in 1856, we know that Dr. Gregg was at Rich Bar in October, 1849. This point must have been in what is now Trinity county, but it does not appear on any map which I have consulted. There were some forty persons there at that time. They were from all quarters, and chief among them was Dr. Gregg. The supplies at this camp were insufficient for the number of men quartered there for the winter, and there was no hope of getting in anything more, as the rainy season had come on with great violence, and the mountain passes were filled with snow. Information which they had secured from the Indians was to the effect that to the west a distance of not more than eight days of travel was the ocean, together with a beautiful bay surrounded by fine and extensive prairie lands. It was decided that the whole company then at Rich Bar should go to this bay. It was raining torrents in the lowlands and snowing on the mountains. The object of this journey to the coast was to discover some suitable place there for a city, which was to be the port for the northwestern portion of California. The

mines, or placers, on the Trinity river had been discovered in the spring of 1849. It soon developed that these diggings were very rich. The supplies for these placers came by way of Sacramento, and at that time boats did not go beyond that city. These supplies for the Trinity river placers had to be freighted by team from Sacramento. There had not been, in October, 1849, time to organize an adequate freight service for that region, and the rate was one dollar per pound. The miners on the Trinity knew they were at no great distance from the Pacific ocean. If a city could be founded there which would become a port for the rich placers not only would it prove of great benefit to the country, but fortunes might be made by the sale of town lots. This project had been under discussion for some time, and had been the cause of the inquiries made of the Indians concerning the country to the westward and the distance to the ocean. It was fully determined that a seaport for the northern mines must be established. That there should be no failure of the enterprise, two exploring parties were formed. One was to go overland directly west. The other was sent by way of San Francisco, from which point it went by water. This party founded Klamath City.

Dr. Gregg was made the leader of the overland party by common consent. He had with him his astronomical instruments and was in all respects qualified for the leadership of such a party. But when the time for departure arrived most of the company faltered, and only eight finally made the start-Dr. Josiah Gregg, captain, from Missouri; Thomas Seabring, Ottawa, Illinois; David A. Buck, of New York; J. B. Truesdell, of Oregon; Van Duzen; Charles C. Southard, of Boston; Isaac Wilson, of Missouri; and L. K. Wood, of Mason county, Kentucky.

This party, mounted, left Rich Bar on the fifth of November, 1849. It was poorly supplied with food and other equipment, and the rain and snow were enough to appall the most intrepid. These men, however, slowly made their way westward. They crossed the South Trinity at its junction with the main stream. On the thirteenth of November their provisions were entirely exhausted, and hunting had to be relied on for food from that date. When they reached the giant redwoods near the coast,

bad feeling, engendered more from hardships experienced than from any other cause, developed among the members of the company. Dr. Gregg was answered with shameful abuse when he requested assistance in making measurements and observations. On the seventh of December they arrived at Trinidad head, which they named Gregg's point. They soon turned south. The party was completely disrupted. While its members continued together and went in the same direction, it was each man for himself and opposed to every other man. Before coming to Mad river, a degree of harmony had been restored. Canoes were secured from Indians for making the crossing of that stream. Dr. Gregg wished to determine the latitude of the mouth of the river, and set about doing this. The others would not wait for him. While he was at work, thinking they would not desert him, they pushed into the stream, and he was compelled to gather up his instruments hastily and wade out to the canoes to avoid being left to perish. Speaking of this incident in later years, one of the party said:

His cup of wrath was now filled to the brim; but he remained silent until the opposite shore was gained, when he opened upon us a perfect battery of the most withering and violent abuse. Several times during the ebullition of the old man's passion he indulged in such insulting language and comparisons, that some of the party, at best not any too amiable in their dispositions, came very near inflicting upon him summary punishment by consigning him, instruments and all, to the beautiful river. Fortunately for the old gentleman, pacific councils prevailed, and we were soon ready and off again. This stream, in commemoration of the difficulty I have just related, we called Mad river.

The party continued south. On the twenty-ninth of December, 1849, Humboldt bay was discovered, but these men called it Trinity bay. It is not the intention to claim here that Dr. Gregg made the original discovery of Humboldt bay. But the assertion of Bancroft to the contrary, based on the authority he cites, is not sufficient ground for depriving Dr. Gregg of that honor. And here was the point where the city and port for the rich gold diggings of northwestern California would have been then founded had the men making the discovery been in condition to take advantage of the results of their fearful journey. They had come to the logical location and found it an ideal site