Madera remembered Jim Savage

For The Madera Tribune

Jim Savage — Madera County’s mountain man.

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As difficult as it may be for the 21st century mind to grasp, there once was a time when Maj. James Savage was thought to be a hero in Madera. In fact, on April 23, 1951, more than 100 local folks held a California Centennial program at his grave, which was then located on land that is now covered by Hensley Lake. Guy Crow presided over the gathering, which featured Walter Chandler, Madera County District Attorney, as the guest speaker. Chandler was considered an expert on Savage and gave his audience an inside look at Madera County’s original mountain man.

Jim Savage, who was named after his paternal grandfather, was born in 1823 in Indianapolis, Indiana. He grew up in Illinois. In 1928, a Mrs. Seton Porter — 98 years old at the time — wrote that “Jim was smart as a whip, shrewd, apt in picking up languages, such as German and French — for both were spoken where he was living.”

She said, “Jim Savage was vigorous and strong, had blue eyes and a magnificent physique, loved all kinds of sports engaged in his day, was tactful, likable, and interesting… Sometimes Jim would come to church, but, oh, he was such a wag of a youth. More often than not, he would remain outside, and when he knew time had come for prayer, he’d flick the knees of his horse and make him kneel, too, and then wink at us inside. We couldn’t laugh of course, but we always watched for this trick of Jim’s. He got such a lot of fun out of doing it.”