Buffalo Gnats Plague The Mining Camp Trails

by Cecile Page Vargo

             It all began on a spring day in 1875, as Victor Beaudry, rode his horse along the familiar route from Cerro Gordo to Darwin, now better known as California State Highway 190. Perhaps it was a day much like the one experienced most recently by our group of Los Angeles Pierce College photojournalism students, with temperatures finally warming to the very dry 80's after a long wet winter. Owens lake would not have been bled dry by thirsty neighbors to the south, and strong air currents would have created gentle waves in the great inland sea instead of hazardous dust. The nearby mountains, clearly towering amongst the bright blue sky, may have also reflected in that great inland sea. The silver bullion king may also have been 

Free from the threat of outlaw buffalo gnats, Pierce College photojournalism student Maria Zajacz photographs present day Cerro Gordo.

enjoying the prolific wildflowers before he was surprised by a group of Mexicans who demanded, "Dismount, and write an order. Beaudry orders good as currency," after he had tried to persuade them that he actually had very little money on his person. Seeing no reason to argue with them, he wrote the orders as they requested, an amount he considered reasonable all and in all considering,  and then was sent on his way. The Mexican bandits disappeared into the nearby hills. A stagecoach heading to Panamint City from Indian Wells, noted a few days later that a group of Mexicans passed them by.

Reign of Terror Begins

          The weather may or may not have been as glorious as described in the previous paragraph,  but the days that followed were reportedly heavy with rains, and flooding. Trade along the Owens Valley slowed, and the stagecoaches had a tough time going along the muddy routes. Between Independence and Lone Pine one particularly large mud hole nearly swallowed up several teams that attempted to pass through. By late March, however, the bandit Cleovaro Chavez was raiding the station at Little Lake. He and his band of man tied up the station proprietor and three others, then took off with four stage-line horses, supplies, and valuables. Not long after this, the Boron Lake station keeper was kidnapped and eleven stage horses were stolen. This station keeper was found hours after the event, tied up and abandoned. He told stories of Chavez practicing his gun skills by shooting off the neck of a bottle. At still another station it was said that Chavez stole more food and supplies. Once again he showed off his shooting skills, by aiming at and shooting the head of an unsuspecting chicken from 300 yards away. The reign of terror by Chavez and others like him had begun. The bandits were dubbed "Buffalo Gnats" by the boys in blue down in Independence who tried to capture them, as they were as elusive and pesky as the black fly that went by the same name. 

The buffalo gnat (family Simuliidae), sometimes referred to as the black fly, has historically been a serious pest, causing much economic and physical damage.

          One Indian War veteran was captured by two bandits, he described as an old man and a young one, both Mexicans, who asked him if he would forget the whole thing if they were to release him. Barton McGee honestly replied that he would kill them at the first chance. Fortunately, for McGee, his captors were afraid to execute him. In the dark of night he was able to loosen his ties and proceeded to follow through on his threat to kill them, but was caught in the act, and tied up once again. McGee was held captive for a total of 28 hours, then thrown barefoot and hatless on a bare, bridles mule. As he was turned loose, McGee slapped the mule with his hands and headed for the mining camp of Coso. In Coso he obtained proper supplies and headed back to the scene of the crime. The next time he was seen he was on his own horse, which had been stolen by the bandits, replying, "Well, I got my horse." Later at a inquest for one dead and one runaway bandit, the Coroner's jury reported that the dead man had been "buried according to Hoyle."

Yellow Grade Robberies

          The roads to Darwin and Cerro Gordo were continually plagued by the Buffalo Gnats that spring of 1875. Thomas Henning, who ran the tollhouse a mile and a half below the town of Cerro Gordo was tied up by bandits who daringly traversed there way up the Yellow Grade. They stole all of the toll receipts and abandoned Henning at the side of the road and in great agony. Somehow he managed to loosen the ties that bound him, and  proceeded to head in to town. Unfortunately, the bandits discovered him before he could get there, and he was tied up once again. Throughout the night, he struggled with his dilemma. When the morning stage came in from Lone Pine, the passengers noticed his leg upraised amongst the boulders near the road. The tollkeeper was rendered speechless from his ordeal.  Safely back in Cerro Gordo, Thomas Henning's voice recovered, and he was able to describe the robbery which was reported in the March 24, 1875 Inyo Independent:  

"Held to Answer: Francisco Cortez, brought before Justice Schalten on a charge of being one of the two parties who robbed and tied Major Henning at the Toll House last week, tried hard to prove an alibi but failed, and being positively identified as one of the robbers, was held to answer."

          Meanwhile, up at Cerro Gordo the word was out that an Indian had been murdered. The Indians in and around the town now threaded to kill every white man they met. When the Commander of Camp Independence, Captain MacGowan, found out, he sent Lieutenant Wotherspoon and a detachment of soldiers up the mountain to investigate the Indian death, and to look for the bandits. 

May 1, 1875, the Inyo Independent reported more Yellow Grade robbery in spite of the heavy military patrol:

"Stage Robbed-More Outrages: About 5:00 Wednesday evening two mounted Mexicans met the ascending stage on the "Yellow Grade," about two miles below Cerro Gordo, and covering Jake Chase the driver, and Mr. Cartier, on the box with him, and the only passenger, with shotguns, ordered him to drive on to more level ground near by. Jake drove on, got there, and was told to stop. One of the Mexicans then tied both fast to the box, took about $25 from Jake and about $75 from Cartier and three of the horses. But before starting away, Rafael Dias road up. They corralled him; horse and all, and riding off about 10 miles tied him up, with orders to keep quiet and they would come back soon and turn him loose. All they took from him was his hair rope. He soon after got loose and made his way to Lone Pine to the relief of his friends who had heard the news and thought he was murdered. Jake and Cartier worked and struggled and swore, a great deal, and finally got loose and went on to town, whence an Indian was dispatched to this place with the news, arriving at 3 in the morning. Deputy Sheriff,  W. L. Moore, finding he could not raise a party here soon after started off alone to join one from Cerro Gordo , known to be ready to start after the robbers."

Boys In Blue To The Rescue

          Upon hearing of the latest robberies, Captain MacGowan took his own detachment of men up to double the patrol up in the Cerro Gordo area. He knew that his foot soldiers would have a hard time keeping up with the bandits who were equipped with the fine horses taken from the stage-lines they had robbed. MacGowan hoped that the mere presence of his soldiers would have a quieting affect on the bandits. In spite of the two detachments of soldiers, the bandits still managed to rob people and tie them up, then quickly disappear. Those who chose to travel roads to Cerro Gordo, Panamint City and Darwin during this time found safety in numbers and groups and were well armed. 

          Postmaster Rowley began hearing hints that a mail robbery was planned in Cerro Gordo. Upon his request, troops were sent directly to the mining town. Cerro Gordo businessmen agreed to take care of the needs of the soldiers while they were there. Victor Beaudry, his own bandit encounter fresh in his mind, offered wood, food, water, liquor and other comforts for the soldiers. Captain MacGowan sent off a request to army headquarters in San Francisco for cavalry reinforcements. Company I, first U.S. Cavalry, under command of Captain C.C. Carr picked up mounts in Reno when their train arrived fresh in from Camp Halleck, Nevada, and headed to Camp Independence.

          Captain MacGowan and his men headed down the mountain from Cerro Gordo and arrived in Camp Independence on May 23, 1875, following a 25 day patrol of the area. The cavalry  he had requested was already there waiting orders from him. With a medical officer in tow, the cavalry headed up the Yellow Grade to protect Cerro Gordo from Buffalo Gnat invasion.

Grand Ball At Cerro Gordo Landing

           The presence of Captain Carr and his men on the hillsides surrounding Cerro Gordo greatly relieved the anxiety of the citizens of Cerro Gordo and the other mining camps who had been terrorized by the Mexican bandits that spring of 1876. Business began to pick up and life was calming down to some semblance of normal. Wagonloads of people in gay spirits began to arrive for celebrations on the mountain. When the partying was done there, all of Cerro Gordo climbed in the bullion wagons and headed to Cerro Gordo Landing at the shores of Owens Lake for a grand ball. As they were dancing, a band of Mexicans made their way to Cerro Gordo, thinking that the boys in blue were down protecting everyone at the grand ball. Captain Carr and his men, however, remained at their hillside camp above the mining town, and showered the marauders with bullets. Many fell from their saddles. The rest turned around and hightailed it down the Yellow Grade road. Meantime the good citizens of Cerro Gordo continued their gaiety and dancing down at the landing.

          In the days that followed the cavalry continued to patrol Cerro Gordo and the other mining towns in the area. A few days after the day of celebrations on the mountain and at the shores of Owens lake, soldiers battled with an entire group of Mexican bandits. Jose Marie Guerro was found among the dead with valuable papers belonging to those he had robbed. The bandits who escaped were widely scattered and everyone was sure the reign of terror would come to an end.

          The military continued to maintain a presence in the area. Captain Carr and men raided bandit hideouts from Cerro Gordo to Panamint City. Lieutenant Wotherspoon and detachment Company D. 12th Infantry scouted out and found the men responsible for the Indian that been murdered, captured them, and headed back to Camp Independence, leaving Cerro Gordo and surrounding mining towns in the capable hands of the First Cavalry.  Fighting, shootings and stabbings amongst the citizens began to rise as the populations of the towns increased now that the infestation of Buffalo Gnats had dwindled down. Things were returning to back to normal.   

 Bibliography

The Boys In the Sky-Blue Pants
by Dorothy Clora Cragen
The Pioneer Publishing Company

The Story of Inyo
by W. A. Chalfant
Chalfant Press Inc.

Inyo Independent (newspaper)
April 24, 1875
May 1, 1875

Thanks go to Robin Flinchum for providing newspaper clippings.
Thanks also to Mike Patterson for another wonderful visit to Cerro Gordo, which served as the inspiration for this story.  

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