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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.
Returning to Angel's the next day, I lingered again at Tuttletown. There is a strange attraction about the place it would hold you apart from its associations, The old hotel, fast going to decay, surrounded by splendid trees whose shade is so dense as to be impenetrable to the noon-day sun, is a study for an artist.
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.
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." 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.
Bret Harte calls Tuttletown, "Tuttleville," and there never was a "Wingdam" stage. That evening as I lay awake in my bedroom at the Metropolitan Hotel, wondering by what person of note it had been occupied in the "good old days," my attention was attracted to the musical tinkle of a cow-bell.
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 was surprised to see that even now there is a certain amount of prospect work going forward, for I noticed several shafts with windlasses to which ropes were attached; and, in fact, was told that the old camp showed signs of a new lease of life. Musing on Tuttletown and its environment later on got me into serious difficulty.
Inception of the Tramp. Stockton to Angel's Camp. Tuttletown and the "Sage of Jackass Hill" Following as near as might be the route of the old Argonauts, I avoided trains, and on a warm summer night boarded the Stockton boat. In the early morning you are aware of slowly rounding the curves of the San Joaquin River.
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