George Hawkins was a master mechanic. But in 1879 the Comstock had seen its greatest glory days and George could not find work. So he moved on to Bodie, California to work in the mines and mills there. For two years he worked at the Standard Mill - Bodie’s biggest - and the mines as needed.
In 1881 he was no longer needed at the mill, but was given the opportunity to run the ‘Rocket.’ The Rocket was a famous boat that ran from one side of Mono Lake to the other ferrying people, supplies, and barges. Hawkins tells us lot about his time on the Rocket (See a few copies of his original letters at the end of this article.). Some excerpts from these letters include: “Mr. Huff came to me & said that he wished me to run the steamer Rocket & take charge of the freight and barges & see that all freight was safely landed on the south shore.” “...up this morning at 3:30 to get up steam in the boat & placed in the boat a water tank with its several connections to the pump. After this all being done we were in readiness to take a boat load of passengers out for a little ride. We took all on board that could ride then started for the islands which are in the center of the lake arriving there in safety all were landed. The first thing was to partake of luncheon, which was very nice, then the party wanted to see the sights on the island and nothing would do but that. I should go ashore & be there guide on shore as well as the engineer on board. I agreed and away we went. The first place we went to was the crater of an extinct volcano. This being quite a curiosity, not far from this we visited what is known as the Big Crack. It is about one hundred yards long and varying in width from two to ten feet & a deep that you cannot get in any position in which you can see the bottom. “ “I have just pulled in from the hardest trip I have had on the lake yet. The wind blew a perfect gale & I was as wet as though I had been rolled in the lake myself. I tell you it is very exciting at times especially when a wave washed over the deck every two or three minutes.” “Tuesday morning I arose from my restless sleep on my couch at 4 am, steamed up, and crossed the lake arriving at the other side at 8 am. There I hooked on to the barge which was loaded and waiting for me & started back. Besides the barge I had L. Anderson who is the Chief Engineer of the B.R.W. Co.” [The Bodie and Benton Railroad would be completed shortly and make the Rocket unnecessary.] "We reached the other shore. I loosened the skiff & 4 of the men jumped in. The rest stayed on board with me. As they neared the shore a wave caught them, capsized the boat, & gave them a jolly dunking” “I had one of the roughest crews that ever was in a boat. When I reached shore there were 15 men and every one of them so drunk. Some wanted to fight and some tried to keep peace. I also had 5 Chinamen on board & when I was about half way across the men were going to throw the Celestials overboard so taking it all around I had a jolly crew.” “...we braved the storm & got into harbor, but the wind soon changed. We had to put out to sea again. This time one of the Chinamen came near going overboard however I caught him & he only lost his bed. The next thing was we lost our row boat. Then we had only the steamer & not any more than we wanted. We were all right so I had all the men put on life preservers & tried to scare them. They all thought they would never reach shore though my pilot & myself were having lots of fun with the crew. “ “I am going across the lake now & the engine is so unsteady that I can hardly keep my pen on the paper.” * Keith and Abby Mulcahy interviews and artifacts |