Mark D. Manlove

Coat of Arms - Manlove. Pioneer

arms, azure, a chevron between three anchors. Ermine crest, out of a mural coronet, {Gates, a cubit erect, Erminors {Gules

cuffed, Argent, the hand proper holding a flaming sword of the third, hilked on. (hilted)

It was a William Manlove who placed the banner on the Tower Wall when William the Conqueror took England For this military acheivement received the Coat of Arms.

Coat of Arms

Arms, azure, a chevron between three anchors. Ermine Crest, out of a mural coronet Gates, a cubit erect, Erminors (Gules) cuffed, Argent, the hand proper holding a flaming sword of the third, hilked on. (hilted)

[drawing of coat of arms]

By Mark D. Manlove.

AN OVERLAND TRIP TO THE CALIFORNIA GOLD FIELDS.

Personal Experiences of Mark D. Manlove a Forty Niner.

In the spring of '49, my brothers John, Jonathan and myself decided to go to the California gold fields.

We got a wagon and provisions and put them on a steamboat at Attica Attica, New York on the Wabash [Wabash River] and went to St. Louis St. Louis, Missouri. There I met an old friend Rufus Icet, who lived in St. Louis and he said he had made up a company and wanted us to join him. This we did and bought four mules and harness in St. Louis. We, with the balance of the company, took steamboat to St. Jos, Mo. St. Joseph, Missouri

We left St. Joe St. Joseph, Missouri about the tenth of May, going across the plains up the north side of Platte river [River]. The first settlement we came to was Rubedeaux trading post, two hundred miles up the Platte. A Frenchman had married an Indian squaw and had a lot of little half-breed Indians. A blacksmith shop constituted the town. Traders would come in and get horses shod and Indians would get arrows sharpened.

We found the covered wagon was too heavily loaded for the mules, so we packed the mules and threw away what we could not pack and left the wagon. There were six in the company now. Jack Pellum had two ponies; Leet had two good mules. Umalvany had one good pony which he rode.

John, Jonathan and I had four mules, three packed and one to ride by turns.

[written in pencil]

Gift of daughter, Flora J. Manlove, Jacksonville, Florida. Feb 1958

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We traveled about thirty-three and a third miles a day, two hundred miles a week and rested on Sunday.

The stock lived on grass as we had no feed for them.

The next station we came to was Fort Laramie [Wyoming]. It was five hundred miles from Rubedeaux and there was a bunch of soldiers there.

While we had our wagon there was a bunch of soldiers traveling along near us. One rode up to our wagon and offered four dollars for a pint of whiskey. There was no house or anything to be seen except the caravan before and behind us, but we traveled faster than the wagons and soon got near the front of the emigration.

The next place was Fort Goodyear. There was nothing there except a tent and Indian tents around. Goodyear was a trader who had married an Indian woman. We crossed the South Platte [River] and still went up the south side of North Platte [River]. We crossed over in wagon boxes made tight and swam the animals.

Then we went up Sweet Water [Sweetwater River] and saw what is called Devil's Gate, where the Sweet Water came thru a deep canon and is quite a fall. After traveling a while, we came to the Rocky Mountains where is Independence Rock, with many thousands of names put on the rock, either chiseled or put on with paint. We put ours on with paint. We crossed the Rocky Mtn. at South Pass, six thousand feet above sea level.

We came to Green river [River] where we swam the mules. It was very full and ran like a streak of day light. One mule nearly drowned. There were lots of people crossing, and by helping we got to cross over in

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wagon boxes.

We saw lakes or ponds dried up, leaving a coating of salaratus like snow from one-half to an inch in depth. We took some with us to use in making slapjacks. I made bread with it right along.

Where we crossed South Platte, Jonathan killed an antelope, the first fresh meat we had, having lived on slapjacks, bacon and coffee. Where we camped on North Platte before crossing, another company camped above and a big buffalo came to cross. The water was high and the men concealed themselves and shot at him. Above one hundred shots were fired at him. He ran out on the plain toward the bluff, then turned and came back near our camp. All had shot, but my pistol failed to go off. When he passed close to me, several offered me pistols and rifles and I followed him up, but by the time I got ready to shoot he fell to his knees and I wouldn't shoot him then. Soon he tumbled over dead.

We stopped to camp one night on a little stream called Cajax. Jack Pellum had to stand guard the latter part of the night and he was very cowardly. He thought there were Indians around. He came in and hung around the fire where we were and the mules and horses strayed off. Next morning when I got up they were gone. I went up a little mountain and looked down the valley. About three miles I saw them. I went down and brought them back. While I was after them there was a flock of wild geese lit in the creek close to where they were. After we got packed up and ready to start, Jonathan and I took shot guns [shotguns] and went after them. We got three.

The company went on and it was hurrying us to catch up, for we