Show THE LOST CASNON A Relic of The Patufljuaers Trip Across the Plains Apropos of the proposition to make a collection of relics of General Fre monts trip across the plains in 1842 for exhibition at the Midwinter Fair there is or was up to a few years ago at Glenbrook on the shores of Lake Tahoe an old cannon which was a part of The Pathfinders armament in his memorable journey This cannon is an eightpounder and may be properly des ignated as a brass howitzer It is Of a style used In early days In Indian war fare and was designed to be transported transport-ed upon the back of a mule It is the property of the heirs of the late Cap tain Pray by whom during his life it was held as a relic without price It is called The Lost Cannon and may be described as about three and onehalf feet long black with the corrosion of storms which have spent their fury about it and mounted upon an old log from which it frowns in a sort of lonely grimness suggestive of something which has come down from the days of yore From the rusty muzzle protrudes he gray and decaying ramrod doubtless doubt-less the sam e used by Fremont although hough the log carriage unquestionably belongs to a later epoch This cannon for some reason was left at the head of a canyon on the Carson Car-son river where it was found In the 50s by prospectors who were searching for gold along that stream Here however how-ever it remained until ISfil when an event occurred in Virginia city that made it seem all at once to be a valuable valu-able acquisition It was just at the opening of the civil war and on the Comstock the loyal sentiment was at a fever heat One day he people awoke to find that a rebel flag floated over the store of a man whose avowed sympathy for the Confederacy Con-federacy had already rendered him an object of dislike and suspicion Volunteers Volun-teers were called for and the flag which had been roughly made by the shopkeeper from crude materials was torn from its fastenings and trampled in the dust That very day news was received of he report at Sacramento that a great plot had been discovered formed to gain control of the Pacific states in the interest of the Confederacy It was asserted that Judge Terry then at Salt Lake city had been secretly commissioned commis-sioned by Jeff Davis to be commander of a newly created division of the Pacific Pa-cific and that his emmissaries were In every city making preparations for the simultaneous uprising of those who were In sympathy with the south This report coupled with the raising of the Confederate flag threw Virginia city into wildest excitement It was determined to at once organize equip and drill a company of loyal soldiers sworn to defend the city and surround lag country from invasion The organizing organ-izing of this company and the selection of the men to comprise it was lt to Captain Pray Someone at this juncture bethought himself of the old Fremont cannon on the Carson river and a detachment of soldiers was sent out in search of it returning in due time with the old howitzer It was probably now that the piece was mounted on the log carriage car-riage Time however showed ere long that the fears for the safety of the city from southern conquest had been groundless The company was disbanded disband-ed and years after when Captain Pray removed to Gleenbrook he took the old cannon with him About three years ago before his death he had the relic photographed and sent a copy of the picture to Mrs Fremont who wrote a letter thanking him in kindly terms for the same She declared that she had often heard the general speak of the lost howitzer which he had left on the Carson river Reno Journal |