Colonel McIlhany – 1849 Overland Pathfinder
Lead
Colonel McIlhany, a resident of Los Cerrillos, New Mexico, was an early pathfinder who crossed the plains to California in 1849 and later narrated his journey. [1]
LEAD: Colonel McIlhany, a resident of Los Cerrillos, New Mexico, was an early pathfinder who crossed the plains to California in 1849 and later narrated his journey. [1]
In September 1848, McIlhany met Colonel Russell in Maysville, Kentucky, who had just returned overland from California and spoke enthusiastically of the gold discoveries. [1] McIlhany freed a slave to accompany him and departed Independence on May 4, 1849. [1] He reached Bridger's Fort on July 3, and the next day joined a celebration with a barbecued beef and twenty gallons of Kentucky bourbon. [1]
Sources
- Crossing the plains in ’49 : Colonel Mc-… (1891)Crossing the plains in ’49 : Colonel Mc- Ilhany, of Los Cerrillos, New Mexico, an old friend of the Field and Farm, was an early pathfinder on the plains and tells an interesting story about his trip over the…