John Bidwell urged General Sherman to stop over in Chico, enjoy a rest, and see his ranch. But Sherman had urgent business and couldn’t stay.

Here is his letter of apology–

San Francisco, Cal.  Oct. 8 1877

General John Bidwell

            Chico, California

My dear sir,

            I owe you an apology for having passed Chico without stopping, and it seems like a dream when you came aboard the train. I was not fairly awake, having lost sleep for the previous two night in the stage over the very rough road from Roseburg to Redding. I have always desired to visit your place, preferably in the spring and thought I could do so on this trip. But we were so delayed that on reaching Reading [?] I had but a single day in San Francisco to send my son Tom home to resume his studies. I had to come here to arrange for his passage and Major Hammond had come up to Redding in a Special Car to bring me down.

            I rec’d your two most kind letters of Oct. 3. somewhere on the Road where there was no telegraph. The moment we reached Redding I made a telegraph to you explaining the situation.

            Now I beg you to excuse me and I promise to come to Chico and it is not very improbable that I may bring President Hayes. He wants to come to California and he particularly promised to come with me and I am always ready for California. If this succeeds I am sure you will not find fault with my passing Chico this time. I see Mr. Kennedy often at the Club in Washington and will explain to him fully. The drought which has been so hard in the Southern part of your state has I am told been easy on you. I suppose however that you are now so rich, that you hardly feel for poor folks.

            My best love to the ladies, and believe me always,

                        your friend

                                    W.T. Sherman

Notes:

There was no rail connection between Roseburg, Oregon and Redding, California. At the time of this letter the terminus of the California portion of the Oregon and California Railroad was at Redding. Sherman had to take a stagecoach to make the connection. A stagecoach journey may seem picturesque to us now but really it was a rough and bumpy ride. Hence Sherman hadn’t gotten a good night’s sleep for two days.

Sherman’s reference to “Reading” confuses me. He definitely writes “Reading” and not “Redding,” and I don’t know whether he means that city or some other place.

Sherman’s son Tom graduated from Yale University in 1876 and in 1877 began studying law at Washington University School of Law in St. Louis, Missouri, where the Sherman family lived. At this writing Tom was in California and about to go home to begin his legal studies.

“Mr. Kennedy” was Annie Bidwell’s father, Joseph C.G. Kennedy, the director of the U.S. Census Bureau.

You can see from this letter than General Sherman and President Hayes were already discussing a tour of the western states, which would happen three years later in 1880. General Sherman would be back. As he said, he “was always ready for California.”