A Tramp Through The Bret Harte Country | Page 6

Melones mine, with a mill operating one
hundred stamps. The main tunnel is a mile and a half in length; the
longest mining tunnel in the State, I was told.
A steep pull of two miles out of the canon brought me to Tuttletown.
Here I stayed several hours, for the interest of the whole trip, so far as
Bret Harte was concerned, centered around this once celebrated camp,
and Jackass Hill, on which, at one time, lived James W. Gillis, the
supposed prototype of "Truthful James." He died a few years ago, but
his brother, Stephen R. Gillis, is living there to-day, and after some
little difficulty I succeeded in finding his house.

Mr. Gillis scouts the idea that his brother "Jim" was the "Truthful
James" of Bret Harte. He said that in reality it was J. W. E. Townsend,
known in old times as "Alphabetical Townsend," also by the
uncomplimentary appellation of "Lying Jim." According to Mr. Gillis,
Bret Harte made but one visit to Tuttletown. He arrived there one
evening "dead broke" and James put him up for the night and lent him
money to help him on his way. Personally, Mr. Gillis never met Bret
Harte but he had seen Mark Twain on a number of Occasions. I got the
distinct impression that Stephen Gillis disliked the notoriety his brother
had gained, through the fact that his name had become indissolubly
linked with the "Truthful James" of Bret Harte's verses. Be that as it
may, I later on met several men who had known "Jim" Gillis intimately
and they all agreed that he possessed a keen sense of humor and had at
command a practically inexhaustible stock of stories, upon which he
drew at will. Whether Bret Harte derived any inspiration from "Jim"
Gillis may perhaps always remain in doubt; but that Mark Twain did,
there cannot, I think, be any question.
In a recent life of Bret Harte, by Henry Childs Merwin, it is stated
(page 21) that in 1858 Bret Harte acted as tutor in a private family at
Alamo, in the San Ramon valley, which lies at the foot of Mount
Diablo. On, page 50, however, we read: "In 1858 or thereabouts, Bret
Harte was teaching school at Tuttletown, a few miles north of Sonora."
It would seem that this statement is erroneous, apart from the fact that it
conflicts with the prior date in reference to Alamo.
Mrs. Swerer, who has lived continuously at Tuttletown since 1850,
coming there at the age of ten, told me she received her education at the
Tuttletown public school, as did her children and her children's children
- she is now a great-grandmother! She said most positively that she
never saw Bret Harte in her life, but had frequently seen "Dan de
Quille" and Mark Twain. The latter, she said, made periodic visits to
Tuttletown, and always stayed with "Jim" Gillis - called by Twain, the
"Sage of Jackass Hill."
Mrs. Gross, who keeps the Tuttletown Hotel and whose husband owned
a store across the way, built of stone but now in ruins, was born in

Tuttletown. She asserted she never heard of Bret Harte being in
Tuttletown and feels it to be impossible he ever taught school there. At
this ancient hostelry, built of wood and dating back to the early fifties, I
dined in company with an old miner, who told me he came across
"Jim" Gillis in Alaska. He said: "Gillis was a great josher. For the life
of me, I could never tell from his stories whether he had been to the
Klondike or not."
Chapter III

Tuolumne to Placerville. Charm of Sonora and Fascination of San
Andreas and Mokelumne Hill

Sonora is nine miles distant from Tuttletown, and I reached it in the
early afternoon. Perhaps of all the old mining towns, Sonora is the most
fascinating, on account of the exceeding beauty of the surrounding
country. No matter from what direction you approach it, Sonora seems
to lie basking in the sun, buried in a wealth of greenery, through which
gleam white walls and roofs of houses. Even its winding streets are so
shaded by graceful old trees that buildings are half hidden. The bustle
and excitement of the mining days are passed forever, in all probability,
for old Sonora; but in their place have come the peace and quiet that
accompany the tillage of the soil; for Sonora is now the center of a
prosperous agricultural district and the town maintains a steady and
continuous growth.
Here I had the pleasure of an interview with Mr. John Neal, a
prominent and respected citizen of Tuolumne County, who as
Commissioner represented his county at the San Francisco Midwinter
Fair. Mr. Neal is over eighty, but still hale and hearty. He