Battle of Pine Tree Mine and John Fremont

[Subdeacon Joe]

 

Gold Country Adventure and Exploration  · 

Join

 

Suggested for you  · Donald Swanson  ·   · 

 

 

Battle of Pine Tree Mine

Today in Mariposa County, John Fremont is revered as a hero to some, great explorer, and founder, but in the eyes of many of the early gold miners who settled the region in the 1850’s, Fremont was their worst nightmare, a land grabber and claim jumper who was bent on having the wealth of the Sierra Nevada foothills to himself and to himself only.

On July 9, 1858, a group of approximately 100 rightfully angry miners gathered together. They eventually named themselves the Hornitos League, and came up with a plan to attack and take over a well known gold mine owned by Fremont, the Pine Tree Mine. The ideal target, the entrance into the mine, was known as the Black Drift Tunnel. The Pine Tree Mine was only one of countless mines located along a gold bearing quartz vein some thought to be the mother lode. Although the Pine Tree Mine was first opened by a large company called the Merced Mining Co., many of the region's hard rock mines, and hundreds of placer claims, were operated by independent miners and small scale prospectors.

The Merced Mining Co., which grew to a fairly large consortium funded with foreign investments, had one very important thing in common with the lone prospectors working small claims in Mariposa County. All of their claims were located within the boundaries of Fremont's Las Mariposas. Fremont believed that he alone had the right to mine the deposits located under his grant. Up to this point, however, he had been unable to keep the Merced Mining Co. and independent miners from prospecting on his land. He had opened the Black Drift Tunnel in order to compete in a race to take gold out of this rich deposit before someone else could do so first.

There is no way to know for certain who the men were who formed the Hornitos League. It is likely that some were employees of the Merced Mining Co., which had a practical interest in keeping Fremont from removing gold from a mine that he had claimed earlier. It was just as likely that other members were independent miners, whose dreams and livelihood were jeopardized by what they viewed as Fremont's intentions to claim ownership of just about every strike in Mariposa County. In any case, the attack on the Black Drift Tunnel came to symbolize the miners support for the traditional mining law based on the principles of discovery and capture, as well as their opposition to Fremont and the threat he posed to that tradition.

On the night of the attack, The Hornitos League armed themselves heavily, that way they were ready for any potential strong opposition. They also had hopes of easily accessing the inside of the mine and then defend their position. Due to this, they made their move at a time when the Black Drift Tunnel would likely be deserted. When they arrived at the entrance they found, to their surprise, that a small group of Fremont's employees, also well armed, were inside and were well aware of the incoming armed force. Inside of the mine was multiple miles of tunnels that could easily be defended from within. Faced with a very complicated resistance, the Hornitos men decided to lay a siege to the mine and starve out the defenders.

As soon as Fremont learned about the siege at the Black Drift Tunnel, he set out to defend the mine with another small group of his men. When he arrived, the siege was settled into an extremely tense stalemate with Fremont's men in the mine, the Hornitos men at the entrance, more of Fremont’s men surrounding them, and even more Hornitos sympathizers blocking the roads out of the direct area. Tension increased even more so when the wife of one of Fremont's miners boldly forced her way into the tunnel with food and ammunition. The Hornitos League did nothing to stop her. Tensions within the mine rose even higher when rumors spread that the Hornitos men had found a back way into the tunnel.

Everyone at the mine waited for the opposing side to kick off the fight, but no one did, causing the stalemate to carry on for several more days. "Fremont’s men were well fortified in their tunnels," reported the San Francisco Evening Bulletin, "and if attacked by the party which has surrounded them, there will be a terrible slaughter." Though tensions were high, the highly anticipated slaughter never occurred.

On July 12, a group of men, calling themselves a committee on behalf of the citizens of Mariposa County, sent written terms to Fremont. If Fremont would withdraw his forces and quit mining the shaft, they would also withdraw, placing the mine in the hands of two neutral individuals until the California Supreme Court could finally decide who owned the mineral rights in the area. Fremont, calling the demands a flagrant violation of common right, would hear nothing of it. "I hold this property by law, by occupation, and even by mining regulations," he replied. "This demand you make upon me is contrary to all my sense of justice, and what is due to my own honor."

Although the roads were blocked, young Englishman staying with the Fremont’s at that time managed to slip through the back country with a message to the governor. Time, along with rumors that the state militia was moving in the direction of Mariposa, weakened the Hornitos miners' resolve. The siege quietly dissipated, leaving Fremont in control of the mine. The siege of the Black Drift Tunnel was an event tinged with impending violence. It was a minor episode in a much larger conflict over how the land and minerals of California would be distributed and exploited. Incredible wealth, wild dreams, hope, and individual livelihood were a large part of the mix.

The broader conflict was played out in a setting in which the stabilizing force of government was at best unsettled. In all, it provided an ideal recipe for violence. It is not surprising that violent outreaches over land and mineral rights did occur in the 1850’s and 1860’s in California. Given the circumstances, what may be more surprising is how relatively few incidents there were, and how quickly the violence dissipated. The siege at Black Drift Tunnel was more typical than not. Neither the siege nor the conflict that spawned it would be settled by force of arms, nor even by legislation. The conflict was ultimately settled by the judiciary system in courts of law and it was settled by judges playing fast and loose with formalities of law and principles of equity.

-The Battle of Pine Tree