Stephen William Shaw 1873 Oil on Canvas

Historical records show that he was only 5’2” tall. Napoleon Bonaparte would have towered over him at five-feet-seven, but that didn’t seem to deter the Dane from seeking fortune and adventure.

Regrettably, the world really has only had one true likenesses of the man who changed local history so much, simply by existing.

Photographer Robert Henry Vance was trained as a Daguerreian, and he brought his skills out west. Vance traveled to California in 1850, and he became the first known photographer to capture the essence of California’s Native tribes.

Vance also excelled in photographing the miners and settlers who traveled to our state, and he had a keen eye for noticing the images which would best portray this vital era in the growth of the area. Robert Henry Vance is the only person known to have secured a true and accurate image of Peter Lassen.

Vance’s daguerreotypes became famous, and his work made him wealthy. He opened galleries throughout California, Nevada and as far away as Hong Kong and Chile.

In 1851 he exhibited in New York City, which resulted in rave reviews and huge crowds seeking to see the Wild West from afar. But even with the interest of the eastern enthusiasts, the exhibit was not a financial success.

A ‘lot’ of more than three hundred of Vance’s daguerreotypes was auctioned off in 1853, first landing in the hands of Jeremiah Gurney and later John Fitzgibbon. These three hundred precious images of California’s new beginnings disappeared in the early 1900’s, and it is within this collection that Peter Lassen’s photograph is thought to have existed.

Luckily, before these photos were lost, an artist of immense talent emerged to capture Peter Lassen’s effigy. Between July 1856 and June 1861, publisher and promoter James Hutchings published Hutchings’ Illustrated California Magazine, and in the February 1859 issue of this magazine, Charles Nahl’s fantastic woodcut of Peter Lassen appeared.

The caption below Nahl’s Lassen woodcut tells that it was taken from Robert Vance’s photo.

Charles Christian Heinrich Nahl was a German-born artist who fled political unrest in Germany and then France before coming to the United States and spending the last part of his life in California.

Charles Nahl’s woodcut, based on Vance’s photo

He arrived here in 1849, at the beginning of the Gold Rush, and began attempting to make a fortune in the mines. That did not ‘pan out’, and Nahl turned to painting to make a living. He became one of the most significant artists in California history, capturing the new state as it tried to deal with immense growth and change. Charles Nahl’s amazingly beautiful paintings bring the Gold Rush to life with spectacular color.

Nahl opened a studio in Sacramento with his brother, Arthur and friend, August Wenderoth. After the fire of 1852 swept through their studio and turned their work into ashes, the men moved to San Francisco. Charles Nahl worked under the patronage of Judge Edwin B. Crocker and was commissioned to paint the scenes and the people who represented his new state’s evolution.

Charles Nahl

Lassen died in 1859, so Shaw’s amazing portrait was composed from earlier likenesses, either Vance’s photo or Nahl’s wood cut. Shaw, who had traveled the world with his art career, settled in California, and died in San Francisco in 1900.

Charles Adrian Rutherford was a distinguished artist who usually specialized in paintings of the harvest, and he was called upon to recreate Lassen’s likeness also. Rutherford was born in Tomales, California and was well-known for his work. As an opposite to Nahl’s vibrant colors, Rutherford specialized in the soft translucent tones found among the clusters of grapes.

Frona Eunice Waite Colburn had a fascination with Lassen Peak and wrote a book about it, The Kingship of Mt. Lassen, which was published in 1922. She needed an image of Peter Lassen for her book, and asked Charles A. Rutherford to take on the task.

Rutherford complied, making his painting from previous work, since the photo of Lassen had been lost earlier. The original oil painting, by Charles Rutherford, is said to have been placed in the Grand Lodge of the Masonic Temple in San Francisco.

Today, when you see the image of the scruffy-looking little Dane, you can thank these creative people for understanding his importance and doing what they could to preserve his memory.

Nahl’s famous “Sunday at the Mines” from the Crocker Art Gallery

The driver was asked to exit his vehicle. When exiting the vehicle, officers observed prescription pills in plastic baggies lying on the driver’s seat.

The driver was detained and identified by the Susanville Police Department as 31-year-old Susanville resident, Ryan Anthony Bock.

According to the report it was discovered that Bock’s driver’s license was suspended, and he had an active Felony Arrest Warrant from Plumas County.

SPD photo of the currency found inside the Escalade

While searching the vehicle, Officers located baggies containing suspected methamphetamine packaged for sale, numerous prescription medications and $3,225 dollars in US Currency.

Susanville Police K-9 Zeke was utilized during the traffic stop, making positive alerts for the presence of narcotics while walking around the vehicle.

Bock was subsequently arrested for Possession of Narcotics/Controlled substances for sales; Possession of a Controlled Substance; Felon in Possession of a Stun Gun and his Felony Warrant from Plumas County.

SPD provided photo

Antelope Valley resident Ronald Mccart was driving a Kia eastbound on SR-36, east of Fredonyer Summit, at around 50mph, approaching Stanfill’s location.

“As you are traveling westbound on SR-36 at this location, the roadway consists of a moderate uphill incline and curves sharply to the right,” explains Susanville CHP Public Information Officer Bruce Thuelchassaigne.

“For an unknown reason, Stanfill was unable to negotiate the right curve in the roadway and allowed the motorcycle to cross over the double parallel solid yellow lines that separate the eastbound and westbound lanes of SR-36 and drove directly into the path of the Kia.”

Stanfill and his passenger then struck the Kia in the eastbound lane of SR-36.

Both Stanfill and his passenger were thrown from the motorcycle and landed in the roadway. Mccart immediately stopped at the scene and offered aid to Stanfill and his passenger.

Both Stanfill and his passenger suffered major injuries as a result of this collision and were flown to Renown Medical Center in Reno, Nevada.

According to the CHP report alcohol and/or drugs were not a factor in this collision.

If you or anyone you know would like to learn this lifesaving skill or have any questions, please call the Susanville Fire Department at 530-257-5152.

The class size is limited.

Rockwell After Outlaw Bruin

October 5, 1909

Policeman Remembers Where the Bear Hid When He Drove the Stage

Frank Rockwell, stage driver, Wells-Fargo shotgun messenger and lastly of the eagle eye of the Reno police force, took a vacation yesterday, the first, according to his best memory, in five years of police duty.

Patrolman Rockwell is not going to take a vacation by sitting around and observing the conduct of the citizens of Reno. That would be too much like work. Besides he is a weary of the noise and bustle of the metropolis of Nevada, and his heart hungers for the wild, free life in the mountains which he saw years and years ago, when he was a gamesome youth. For days he has heard the call of the wild, and he purposes to go back to nature and hunt b’ar in the woody purlieus of Susanville.

When the overeland stage used to meander on it toilsome journey over the Sierras, Rockwell sat daily on the seat with a rifle in one hand and a Colt pistol in the other, and drove with his teeth, but in moments when the Indians and stage robbers were not bothering, he observed the caves and shelters where the bear habitually curled themselves up for a winter’s hibernation.

The policeman now says that he remembers distinctly where several prominent bears reside, some having bad records, and he will go down and practice making peek-a-boo waists for them with a rifle.