preserves the rugged frontier spirit of the pioneer days in the Coachella Valley. It also preserves the history of the life of Cabot Yerxa. His was a life of astonishing adventure, travel, long work and individualism.
This story is presented here in the words of Cole Eyraud, one of Cabot's long-time friends.
"Cabot Yerxa left a priceless legacy as a result of his inquisitive, imaginative and creative pioneering spirit. When he embraced the seemingly barren desert land of Southern California and called it home, a new chapter in American history began – one which should ever remind us of man’s tenacity and persistence.
Born June 11, 1883, in Hamilton, Dakota Territories, Cabot spent his first five years growing up on the Sioux Reservation where his parents, Mary and Fred Yerxa, operated a prosperous Indian trading post. Said to be a maternal descendant of John Henry Cabot, who discovered Newfoundland, Cabot thrilled to the sense of adventure and exploration at an early age, in spite of his father’s hopes to have him follow in his merchant footsteps.
On his father’s side, the Yerxas date back to the Netherlands around 1554, as dairy farmers. They immigrated to Canada in 1600, and in 1700 settled in New Brunswick. A great sense of the pioneering spirit from both sides of the family was thus instilled in Cabot.
The Dakota Trading Post was a gathering place for many bearers of tales and legends, such as Cabot’s friend, William “Buffalo Bill” Cody, famous Indian fighter and plainsman. While the family lived in Boston for a brief period before moving to Minneapolis, Buffalo Bill frequently stayed in their home during the performance of his famous Wild West shows.
At age fifteen, Cabot aspired to join the ranks of the prospectors heading toward the Klondike in search of gold, but it was not until one year later, and with the amazing sum