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 No one got this one! Joseph Boyd is the answer for Week 368 of Orofino History Trivia a special feature to celebrate the history and heritage of Clearwater Country. Join in the discovery! Monday: The youngest of 12 children Tuesday: Orphaned at the age of six Wednesday: Was taken in by his brother Thursday: Joined his brother and became a seaman at age 11 Friday: Quit sailing in 1857 and joined the gold rush Saturday: Worked as a miner and logger in the Puget Sound area until he heard about the gold rush at Pierce Monday: Had a claim above Rhodes Creek Tuesday: He and his partners dug a three-mile ditch to get water to their claim. Wednesday: He was a tough and hardy man that was able to overcome problems. Thursday: Was appointed a deputy sheriff to collect taxes Friday: The tax was based on race and levied against Chinese miners. Saturday: He estimated the value of the gold taken from the Oro Fino District over time at $150 million. Monday: He described the conditions of Pierce City during early mining days. Tuesday: If the Chinese miners said they didn't have the money for the tax, he marched them to the local merchant to borrow the money. Joseph Boyd was one of the early day Pierce City miners that wrote about his life and experiences. John H. Bradbury uses some of that information in his Clearwater County history that has been featured in Window on the Clearwater for the last several months. Bradbury says that Boyd was the youngest of 12 children and was orphaned at the age of 6. He was taken in by his brother who was a seaman. When he was 11, he joined his brother as a seaman himself. At the age of 16 while in California, he decided that he would join the Gold Rush and worked as a miner and logger in the Puget Sound area until he heard about the gold rush at Pierce City. He and companions set out for what was quite a journey to the Pierce City part of the time they were able to travel in boats, but often had to ford around rapids and other obstacles on the waterways as they traveled inland. When they got to what is now Lewiston, it was just a tent city they called "Ragtown" for a time. Boyd describes a very rough winter in the Pierce area that had 47 feet of snow that eventually melted down to solid ice. Survival was a challenge, especially for those trying to get to Pierce. He and partners had a claim above Rhodes Creek and they dug a three-mile ditch to get water to their claim. Every morning he went and opened the gates for water to flow into the ditch and then hiked back in the evening to close it so water would accumulate for the next day's work. He estimated the value of the gold taken from the Oro Fino District to be $150 million. Later, he was appointed as a deputy sheriff to collect the tax levied on Chinese miners. Often he had to round them up to do so and if they told him they had no money, he marched them into the local merchant to borrow the money. Boyd is mentioned in several parts of Bradbury's history. You may see more at:
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