Captain Granville Perry Swift
California Pioneer and Sonoma Bear
by
Book Cover & Preview Text
It is not surprising that, on arriving in California in 1841-2, it was to John Augustus Sutter and his Sutter’s Fort in the Sacramento Valley that Swift first came, becoming, with Thorpe, a provider of game and pelts for Sutter’s growing establishment. (44)
Sutter was originally from Baden, Switzerland. After immigrating to New York in 1834, he settled and lived for some years in Missouri in the same areas as the Swift, Boone, and Walker families. During his Missouri years, he was enthralled by the tales, which the trappers of the Rockies and the Sante Fe Trail brought back. It is not documented, but it is probable that he heard some of these tales from Swift’s uncle, renowned trailsman Nat Walker. Sutter headed west, finally settling in the Sacramento Valley in 1839 and was quite the ruler of all he surveyed since not much settlement had been done as yet by any other from any country. A History of the Donner Party, written in 1879, states that it was Sutter who taught the area Indians to be "soldiers and farmers and vaqueros." (15) Granville P. Swift’s family were traditionally stockmen in Kentucky and in Missouri. So it is also not surprising, then, that once he had enough money, he followed this family lead, left hunting and scouting, and began cattle ranching in the area northwest of Sutter’s Fort. In Swift’s day, this area was all Colusa County, but in 1891, it was split into Glenn (more northerly) and Colusa (more southerly) counties. Swift’s stock ranch headquarters were one mile north of the present day town of Orland, and parts of his Stone Corral (California State Registered Landmark #238) are still extent in Colusa County. (36) He used the Stone Corral for corralling wild horses as well as for cattle and sheep. Swift is credited not only for early stock raising, but also with being the first to plant barley in the North Sacramento Valley. (13) Willows was a deep pond area in the early 1800s, since filled up, and Granville Perry Swift was the first of the pioneers to occupy it. (20) Here is where he planted barley. One proof of Swift’s expertise is his quick success; of all who paid Colusa County taxes on personal property in1852, Swift paid the largest amount. (20) As well, Swift was treasurer of Colusa County (termed Colusi County before 1854) for about a year. Swift came down from this Sacramento Valley area to be part of the Bear Flag Rebellion. He stayed with Fremont and joined the U.S. forces as a captain for the Mexican war during 1846-7. He returned after both the Bear Flag event and the Mexican War activities, which had taken him to Southern California and back. Referred to from 1846 on as Captain Swift, Swift expanded his stock ranching in what we now call the Sacramento Valley with extensive help from his Indian vaqueros. When gold was discovered, he then spent about two years rushing for gold with so many others in the early and first rush, gaining, it is said, as much as half a million dollars and more in gold before returning completely to ranching.
Formats
Book Details
About the Book
Read the life of a true man among the men of early California--Captain Granville Perry Swift, trapper, pioneer, grand-nephew of Daniel Boone, and Bear Flagger. A dauntless pioneer of the first class, of noble presence, generous and open-handed, Swift was said to be the Adonis of all the handsome men among the early settlers. From age ten on he traveled the Rocky Mountain and the Santa Fe trails with his uncle Nat Walker (a well-known trapper and trader in the early 1800's), came to California as a hunter and trapper in 1841. Successful ranching in northern Sacramento Valley placed him in the position of a leader with the group of men who stormed the Mexican garrison at Sonoma in 1846. This action is known as the Bear Flag Revolt and resulted in California becoming a United States republic. Under the command of John Fremont, he was made captain in the US Army during the Mexican War. Kit Carson was a close companion during the war. After the war he was in the right place at the right time and became rich by the early gold workings by 1848. His riches moved him definitely out of his known milieu as he moved from Colusa County to Sonoma in 1856, and began to enter high society, married, and built a mansion. Thanks to total access to all family papers and records, this book tells the story that has never been told fully until now of the life and times of Captain Granville Perry Swift--a California Bear Flagger, a man among men, and a noble pioneer.
About the Author
Author Billie Hobart is a writer with an eclectic range of publications including, humanities, personal and spiritual growth, poetry, fiction, and now historical biography. She is a community college professor with a rich academic background in literature, psychology, and academic organization as well as being trained in historical research. She became interested in Captain Swift’s story when she was involved in creating a 140th birthday celebration for Temelee Hall, the mansion the Captain built in 1858, in Sonoma, California.