On this day in Santa Clarita history, October 7, 1849, the Jayhawker Party crossed paths with another wagon train making its way toward California during the Gold Rush, setting the stage for a desperate journey through the desert that would eventually bring survivors to the Santa Clara River Valley.

The story begins during the California Gold Rush, after James W. Marshall discovered gold at John Sutter’s sawmill on the American River on Jan. 24, 1848.

News of the discovery sparked an enormous migration west, with thousands of people leaving their homes in search of gold and a better life in California.

Among those making the journey was a group led by Asabel Bennett and the Arcan family. In March 1849, the group formed a wagon train of roughly 25 people and began traveling west from Wisconsin.

The party relied on John C. Frémont’s guide, commonly referred to as the “Pioneer’s Bible,” as it made its way toward California.

After reaching southern Utah, the travelers learned about a supposed shortcut known as the Williams Road. On Oct. 7, the Bennett-Arcan party encountered the Jayhawker Party, which consisted of 15 wagons.

Bennett attempted to convince the Jayhawkers to take the new route.

The Jayhawkers, however, were skeptical and decided against following the trail.

That decision would have devastating consequences for the Bennett-Arcan party.

The Jayhawkers eventually made their way safely into the San Bernardino Valley, while the Bennett-Arcan wagons became stranded in the harsh desert landscape. Their journey turned into a fight for survival as the travelers encountered sand, alkali sinks and barren hills.

Of the original group, only 13 adults and seven children survived.

The stranded travelers eventually resorted to eating their weakened oxen in an attempt to stay alive.

On Nov. 4, two young men from the group, 29-year-old William Lewis Manly and 22-year-old John Rogers, set out on foot to find help.

The two carried only a small amount of water and jerky. Their supplies soon ran out.

The journey became a desperate struggle. Manly and Rogers were forced to consume whatever food they could find, including ravens, vultures and pack rats, as they continued across the unforgiving landscape.

Eventually, the two men reached the fertile Santa Clara River Valley.

After months of seeing little more than desert, the sight of the valley was overwhelming.

Manly later described the scene as a “glimpse of Paradise,” writing about a vast green meadow shaded by oak trees and surrounded by hundreds, if not thousands, of cattle.

The men had finally reached an area of abundance after months of deprivation.

Vaqueros from Rancho San Francisco eventually found the two travelers and brought them to the ranch’s main house on Jan. 1, 1850.

There, Manly and Rogers were fed, clothed and provided with supplies to return to their stranded companions. As they prepared to leave, Doña Jacoba reportedly pressed oranges into their hands.

The supplies allowed the men to make the difficult journey back to their party and ultimately help rescue the remaining members.

Manly and Rogers had walked roughly 250 miles through some of the most hostile terrain in North America to find help.

As the survivors eventually escaped the desert, they reached the crest of the Telescope Mountains and looked back at the landscape that had nearly killed them.

Young Sara Bennett reportedly whispered, “Good-bye, Death Valley.”

The name stuck. Today, the area is known as Death Valley.

The journey of the Bennett-Arcan party is one of the many lesser-known stories connected to the Gold Rush, but it also provides a remarkable connection to Santa Clarita Valley history.

Long before the Santa Clarita Valley became the community it is today, the fertile Santa Clara River Valley provided a dramatic contrast to the surrounding desert, a place of grass, oak trees, cattle and fresh supplies that, to exhausted travelers, truly looked like paradise.

To view yesterday’s Today in SCV History, click here. 

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