[Illustration: J. W. (WATT) GIBSON.] RECOLLECTIONS _of a_ PIONEER BY J. W. (WATT) GIBSON Press of Nelson-Hanne Printing Co. 107 South Third Street St. Joseph, Mo. [Illustration] FOREWORD. The following pages are entirely from memory. I kept no notes or other record of the events I have attempted to relate, but I am sure my memory has not often deceived me. My early responsibilities compelled me to give close attention to the things which transpired about me and thus fixed them permanently in my mind. In fact, most of the experiences which I have attempted to relate were of such personal consequence that I was compelled to be alert and to know what was passing. I undertook the present task at the solicitation of many friends and acquaintances who urged that my recollections of a period, now fast passing out of personal memory, ought to be preserved. It is probable that I have made a good many errors, especially, in my attempts to locate places and to give distances, but it must be remembered that we had no maps or charts with us on the plains and that but few state lines or other sub-divisions were in existence. The location of the places where events occurred with reference to present geographical lines has been my most difficult task. J. W. (WATT) GIBSON. _St. Joseph, Mo., August 15, 1912._ TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I. Early Days in Buchanan County. 5 II. First Trip to California. 16 III. Gold Mining in '49 and '50. 42 IV. Back Across the Plains. 58 V. Across the Plains With Cattle. 67 VI. A Bear Hunt. 75 VII. Home by way of Panama and New York. 83 VIII. Another Trip Across the Plains with Cattle. 86 IX. Sojourn in California. 98 X. Beginning of the War. 106 XI. The Battle of Lexington. 114 XII. Back to the South. 124 XIII. Home for Recruits. 132 XIV. War in Arkansas. 147 XV. Back into Missouri. 157 XVI. Worse Than War. 171 XVII. Across the Plains in Sixty-five. 190 XVIII. The Return to Missouri. 206 CHAPTER I. _Early Days in Buchanan County._