Shuffleton, Hugh H. - Letter

SHUFFLETON, PARSONS, JENKINS, BELL, KYLE

Posted By: Bill Rathbun (email)
Date: 3/5/2004 at 23:27:30

The Fairfield Ledger, Feb. 8, 1885, Page 3, col. 6.

STAY IN IOWA

An old friend whom we have not seen for thirty-five years writes is from Gas Point, Shasta county, Cal., under date of January 28th. The name of Hugh H. Shuffleton is familiar to the early settlers of Fairfield. He left in 1849 and crossed the plains with a number of other Jefferson County gold fever stricken boys. He returned here in the winter of 1853 and remained a few months. Mr. Shuffleton says of those who were with him in 1849; “Eugene Parsons is a prosperous farmer in this county; B.A.B. Jenkins is a resident of Round Mountain, this county, badly broken in health; Dr. J. N. Bell resides in the same county, but is now on a visit east; Charles A. Kyle resides at Willow Point, Humboldt County, Nevada.” These are all that he knows about. Of himself he writes: “I am a small farmer and stock raiser at this point, and I feel old when I look at my four children and nine grandchildren.“

In regard to the California fever that has possessed so many people lately he says: “We are having quite a boon at this point and property values have considerably increased. To the person well fixed to live comfortably in Iowa, and who can stand the winters, I would say, stay there, for it is as easy to make a living in Iowa as here. Your soil is much better than ours, and your summer rains do away with the necessity of irrigation. I think that to make a success of fruit and grapes the most of places will have to be irrigated. We have a splendid and healthy climate, the thermometer in winter seldom getting as low as 20 degrees above zero; in summer it occasionally gets as high as 110 degrees. Owing to our soil and pure atmosphere men work at harvesting all day with the thermometer at the latter figure without injury. We have no sultry nights. As soon as the sun goes down the weather is always comfortable. My brother Henry resides with his family near Chico, Butte County, Cal. He married Miss Maggie Deever near Fairfield.”