Lane's Ranch Burns Down

Lane maintained a good relationship with Camp Cady throughout this period, and his provisioning of the outpost was rapidly removing him from the ranks of the poor.

But just when things appeared to be brightest, the Captain's good fortune met with setbacks. The October 26, 1867, San Bernardino Guardian carried the news that his ranch had burned down:

There seems to be some fatality attending the houses along the Mojave river. We believe one at almost every station has been burned down. And now, Captain Lane's, the best house on the river, has shared the same fate. Our friend Meacham lost his house, and now Capt. Lane suffers. Two fires in succession in this locality are rather startling. The fire originated in a storehouse on Lane's property that was used by freighters for storage of their supplies, among which were several kegs of gunpowder. Five of the kegs exploded, and the resultant fire destroyed his home, his storage buildings, and everything inside them. Lane was away at the time, and when he returned he found nothing except smoldering ruins. The Captain began rebuilding immediately. In fact, in the same news story that reported the fire, it was announced that he was already prepared to supply travelers as before.

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