John
B. Cave. Among the representative men of Sacramento, who have passed through
the vicissitudes of pioneer life with honor and credit to themselves, is the
gentleman whose heads this sketch. Mr. Cave is a native of Boone County,
Missouri, born April 12, 1819. His parents, Reuben and Catherine (Hayden) Cave,
were natives of Virginia, who removed from there to Woodford County, Kentucky,
and afterward to Boone County, Missouri, where they were pioneers, having
located there at a time when their only neighbors were Indians, yet wild and
numerous, bear being plentiful. John B. Cave was reared near Columbia, Boone
County, and when he had arrived at a suitable age to go to school, it was
necessary to walk three or four miles to a school-house. When he was a mere
child his father died, leaving nine children. Only three yet survive, viz.:
William J., aged seventy-six, who lives in Yolo County; John B., aged seventy; and
Jesse H., aged sixty-seven. In 1833 the family removed to Van Buren County,
Iowa, then also an Indian country, and shortly afterward the children lost
their mother by death, and were then thrown entirely upon their own resources.
Our subject grew to manhood in the vicinity of Bonaparte, Van Buren County, and
there followed agricultural pursuits. Having
been reared in a wild country, and accustomed to the scenes and incidents
attending the settling up of a new country, the trip across the plains to
California had no terrors for him, and in 1850 he started for that far westward
land, at the head of five men, having four two-horse wagons, all belonging to
him, having outfitted at Bonaparte. They went to Salt Lake, etc., then
proceeded down the Humboldt and through Carson Valley to Hangtown. After a
brief stop there Mr. Cave came on to Sacramento, and soon afterward went to
Downieville and engaged in mining at Goodyear’s Bar. He and his oldest brother
hewed out lumber for a flume, whip-sawed it, built a flume 400 feet long,
sixteen feet wide, and three feet deep, dammed the river and run the water
through the flume. They then commenced mining in the river bed, but found the
enterprise only a moderately paying one, though people just below them were
making “lots” of money. They were taking out about $6 per day apiece when the
high water came on, and Mr. Cave, after selling out to Theodore Winters, went back
to Iowa. He remained in Van Buren county until 1852, when he started to drive
out about 200 head of cattle and some twenty-five horses across the plains to
California. This having been accomplished, he returned to Iowa. In 1853 he
returned to California with cattle and horses, worth about $10,000, twenty-five
or thirty common horses, and 300 head of cattle. After selling these along the
Sacramento river, he made the return trip to Iowa. There he remained until
1858, when he again started for California, this time with 350 cattle and 18 or
20 horses and mules. The Mormon troubles were then on, and he was advised to
make the journey through Mexico, via Santa Fe. He had proceeded as far as Albuquerque,
when he met Lieutenant Beal returning to California. He advised Mr. Cave to
turn off from his course and go the northern route, and the latter was
persuaded to do so, and secured a guide for that purpose. At Peach Springs
(where they found peach-trees growing) they had their first trouble with
Indians, who commenced to steal stock and to shoot at the members of the party.
One night the camp was startled by the loud barking of dogs, and but for this
all of them would have been massacred. The Indians succeeded in running off
over 200 head of cattle that night, and kept making rushes and shooting, having
no trouble in driving away the cattle though Mr. Cave had out a double picket
guard. He himself was wounded at the first attack with an arrow, and his mule
was shot three times, while one of his men was hit with a rifle ball. This sort
of thing continued until Mr. Cave got to a large spring about twelve miles from
the Colorado River. There he met L. J.
Rose, from the same county and now of Los Angeles, who had got that far, but
the Indians had killed one of his men, and had taken eight or nine fine wagons,
and all of his stock except thirteen head of old oxen hitched to a wagon, a
couple of mules and a pony. He asked Mr. Cave to help him, and the latter replied,
“I have plenty, and you can share with me as long as anything is left.” they
decided to go back to Albuquerque, and on the way met two brothers named Smith,
from Texas. During the conversation that followed on of the Smith brothers
announced his determination of going on to California, and tried to persuade
Mr. Cave to do the same. The latter answered that he had enough of making that
attempt. Finally he traded cattle for some of Smith’s mules, and Mr. Cave
fitted up mule teams to go to Albuquerque, intending to proceed from there to
Iowa. When they reached Las Vegas they were snowed in, and it became necessary
to camp there that winter. Corn was purchased and a house and corral rented.
His men obtained employment from the United States Government, Major Rucker
turning off peons to put them at work. Along about the last of January the weather
became favorable for traveling, and Mr. Cave said to his wife one night, “Which
would you rather do---go to California, or back to the States!” The brave
woman, companion of his misfortunes, replied that she would never be in favor
of going back to Iowa broke, and Mr. Cave then said, “ It is California.” He
sent word to his men that each of them as wished to go to California would
accompany him, and they refitted and started on the 1st of February.
They followed the Rio Grande until they struck the old overland St. Louis and San
Francisco road, thence proceeded by Tucson, Ft. Yuma, and Los Angeles to
Sacramento. There Mr. Cave arrived with three wagons and some twenty mules and
horses, his entire band of 350 cattle having been lost on the Colorado River.
He traded 100 cattle to Smith for mules. He at once went to the ranch of his
brother, who lived ten miles down the Sacramento River, in Yolo County. Mr.
Cave left his family there, and then proceeded with one of his nephews up above
Yreka, where another brother had a hydraulic mine. Mr. Cave borrowed enough
money from his brother to buy 300 head of cattle, which he purchased right
there. He paid for the cattle and branded them, then came to Sacramento to rent
some land to put the cattle on. While he was on this mission a terrible
accident happened at the place he had just left. The brother from whom he had borrowed the money had three sons
living at Sawyer’s Bar, who had a large pack train, and in their possession was
considerable money belonging to their father. The father went over to the Bar
to visit his sons, and while there they said to their father, we will send the
money by express. They provided him with a mule and a new saddle to ride back.
On the way home he was shot by some one who knew he had the money, and killed.
The murderers got but little money. The miners turned out to search for him,
and found the body, but not the perpetrators of the foul deed. When Mr. Cave
got back there, he at once told the boys to take the cattle and they did so,
but gave him fourteen head. He then came back here, bought a ranch, and
commenced farming seven miles below Sacramento. When the Nevada mining
excitement broke out he went to teaming, and drove forty mules over the
mountains out of Sacramento, in four ten-mule teams. When the Pacific Railroad
was building, a serious dispute arose between the railroad people and the
Teamsters’ Association as to whether the latter should take freight from
Sacramento, or at Colfax. Mr. Cave was sent for, and at 1214 K street he met Messrs.
Stanford, Crocker, Hopkins and Earl to discuss the situation. Mr. Stanford said, “We have a favor to ask. We
want you to go to Colfax and haul a quartz-mill to Austin.” He offered to haul
the teams to Colfax for free, but Mr. Cave drove them. He continued teaming
until that division of the road was built, and then sold his teams to a man
named Yeager, of Ft. Yuma, who engaged Mr. Cave to go and haul quartz for the
Vulture Mining Company, up the Colorado River about 150 miles above Ft. Yuma. Yeager borrowed $2,000 above the price of the
team, Mr. Cave went to Sacramento, where he would get the money, but Yeager did
not show up with it. Mr. Cave went to San Francisco and, meeting Yeager at the
Russ House, “tackled” him for a settlement, and a promise of payment was there made.
Mr. Cave afterward met a man who told him the teams had been attacked, and he
proceeded to look Yeager up. He made a trip to the scene of Yeager’s workings,
and after much trouble and discouragement found he would never realize a dollar
from him, so that he was out more than $14,000 in the operation, and all by
accommodating a man. Mr. Cave has since devoted his attention to farming. He
and George L. Clark purchased 1,100 acres of land in Yolo County, sixteen miles
from Sacramento, and have started in the business of raising alfalfa on a large
scale. They have made many improvements, and have built a levee a mile and three-quarters
long, fifty feet wide at the base and six feet high. They have some 10,000
cords of wood on the place. Mr. Cave was married in Van Buren County, Iowa, on
the 8th of April, 1842, to Miss Delilah Donaldson, a native of Ohio.
They have four children, viz.: Reuben, David and Hugh, who reside in Yolo
County; and Miss Ella. Mr. Cave is a member of Bonaparte Lodge, No. 73, A. F.
& A. M., which he joined away back in 1856. Politically he is a Democrat. He has led an active life, more than
ordinarily mixed with adventure, and is at the present time a pushing man of business.
An Illustrated History of Sacramento County, California.
By Hon. Win. J. Davis. Lewis Publishing Company 1890. Page 316-319.
© 2004 Marla Fitzsimmons.