Monthly Archives: December 2013

The Adventures of the Sutter Gun, Part 1

Posted on December 29, 2013 by nancyleek

A couple of years ago I wrote about the French Army muskets that ended up at Sutter’s Fort, after Johann August Sutter bought Fort Ross from the Russian-American Fur Company. Dismantling Fort Ross and sending every bit of useful equipment … Continue reading →

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Christmas Day, 1869

Posted on December 24, 2013 by nancyleek

From John Bidwell’s diary for 1869: Sat. December 25.  Christmas – Rained last night with a furious wind – Boys & girls of the town invited and had a high old time – May you have just as good a … Continue reading →

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Christmas with the Bidwells, Dec. 23-25

Posted on December 23, 2013 by nancyleek

1870 Fri. December 23.  Little cloudy this morning but pleasant – heavy frost and freeze last night- H.W. Cleaveland left this morning for San Francisco – Annie shopping for Christmas presents – Mr. D. Ramage dined with us – Mr. … Continue reading →

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Christmas with the Bidwells

Posted on December 22, 2013 by nancyleek

How did John and Annie Bidwell celebrate Christmas? Well, for one thing, it didn’t go on all month like it does for us. Bidwell doesn’t usually mention Christmas in his diary entries until a few days before December 25th. For … Continue reading →

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Melons in December

Posted on December 19, 2013 by nancyleek

Most people know that John Bidwell loved to eat melons, especially the casaba melons that he grew from Turkish seed sent to him by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in 1881. He ate them every day from summer until they … Continue reading →

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